There are a lot of unknowns about Utah State football right now.
With a largely remade roster, a new coaching staff and a concerted effort by Bronco Mendenhall to keep things under wraps in order to prevent tampering and with that the loss of key players, not much is known about the Aggies ahead of the 2025 season.
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After four seasons at Utah State, a lot it known about safety Ike Larsen, though. The Cache Valley product has been a star for the Aggies since his redshirt freshman season in 2022.
With a team full of unknowns, Larsen is, unsurprisingly, the Aggies’ lone representative on the 2025 preseason All-Mountain West football team.
Boise State quarterback Maddux Madsen — an American Fork High School product — was tabbed as the MWC offensive player of the year, while San Diego State edge rush Trey White was picked as the preseason defensive player of the year.
In total, 35% of the preseason all-conference team was Boise State players (10 of 28). San Diego State and San Jose State were also well represented (three players apiece).
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2025 Mountain West Football preseason all-conference team
Offensive Player of the Year: Maddux Madsen, Jr., QB, Boise State
Defensive Player of the Year: Trey White, Jr., EDGE, San Diego State
Special Teams Player of the Year: Gabe Plascencia, Sr., PK, San Diego State
Offense
QB Maddux Madsen Jr. Boise State
WR Latrell Caples Gr. Boise State
WR Pofele Ashlock Jr. Hawai‘i
WR Nick Cenacle Sr. Hawai‘i
RB Scottre Humphrey Jr. New Mexico
RB Jai’Den Thomas** Jr. UNLV
OL Kage Casey* Jr. Boise State
OL Mason Randolph Sr. Boise State
OL Peseti Lapuaho Sr. San José State
OL Caden Barnett Sr. Wyoming
OL Jack Walsh** Sr. Wyoming
TE Matt Lauter* Sr. Boise State
Defense
DL Braxton Fely** Sr. Boise State
DL Jayden Virgin-Morgan* Jr. Boise State
DL Trey White* Jr. San Diego State
DL Gafa Faga Sr. San José State
LB Marco Notarainni* Sr. Boise State
LB Tano Letuli Jr. San Diego State
LB Jordan Pollard* Sr. San José State
LB Marsel McDuffie Sr. UNLV
DB Ty Benefield Jr. Boise State
DB A’Marion McCoy Gr. Boise State
DB Al’zillion Hamilton Sr. Fresno State
DB Ike Larsen Sr. Utah State
Specialists
P Luke Freer** Sr. Air Force
PK Gabe Plascencia** Sr. San Diego State
PR Marcus Bellon Sr. Nevada
KR Abraham Williams Sr. New Mexico
* – member of the 2024 All-Mountain West first team
** – member of the 2024 All-Mountain West second team
For Larsen, preseason all-conference honors are more of the same. It is his third consecutive season being named to the team.
Last season, Larsen finished second on Utah State with 80 total tackles (55 solo), including 1.5 tackles for loss. He also registered a team-high nine pass breakups and added an interception. He finished the season with three double-digit tackle games.
Boise State wide receiver Cameron Bates (80) battles for yards against Utah State safety Ike Larsen (6) after a reception in the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Boise, Idaho. Boise State won 62-30. (AP Photo/Steve Conner) | Steve Conner