Three Rams named to Athlon Sports Mountain West All-Conference team

While the kickoff of the 2015 college football season is still nearly three months away, the excitement is building with preseason award lists.

On Tuesday afternoon, Athlon Sports announced their All-Mountain West team, with three Colorado State Rams football players earning recognition.

Wide receiver Rashard Higgins – a 2014 consensus First Team All-American – was a no-brainer, while guard Fred Zerblis and kick returner Deionte Gaines landed on the list as well.

Higgins set CSU records with his 1,750 yards and 17 receiving touchdowns last season and was a Biletnikoff Award Finalist, too. “Hollywood” Higgins is a burner, able to turn five-yard screens into dashes to the end zone, and his juke moves can break ankles. Without a doubt, he’s the most talented player on the Rams offense and it will be exciting to see what he can do in this, his junior year.

Zerblis is a redshirt junior who started all 13 games last year on the Rams line which helped Dee Hart to 1,275 rushing yards while protecting Garrett Grayson. Zerblis is one of the most important players on the line which has sent Weston Richburg and Ty Sambrailo to the NFL in successive seasons.

Gaines is a speedster who played in 12 games as a freshman for Colorado State as the teams kick returner and sometimes as a wideout. Gaines averaged 24 yards per return on 28 returns last year, and broke one 61 yards on Wyoming.

Last week, Phil Steele announced his 2015 preseason All-Mountain West team, with 11 players making one of his four teams.