Emany Johnson (5) is the only Wolf Pack player to earn Mountain West Conference first-team honors.
Emany Johnson's career season for Nevada in 2023 earned him selection to the All-Mountain West First Team at defensive back, the conference announced Tuesday.
Johnson headlines six Wolf Pack selections, as the quintet of wide receiver Dalevon Campbell, linebacker Tongiaki Mateialona, kicker Brandon Talton, linebacker Drue Watts, and offensive lineman Isaiah World.
Johnson's first-team recognition makes for the ninth season out of Nevada's 12 in the Mountain West that a Wolf Pack defender has achieved the feat.
And the sixth-year safety earned it with team-leading figures in tackles (100) and interceptions, while finishing second on the team with four pass breakups.
One of just six Mountain West defenders to hit the century mark in tackles through the end of the regular season, Johnson led he Mountain West in solo tackles (72), ranks sixth with 8.33 tackles-per-game (all games), and third in MW-only contests, making 9.38 per game over the eight conference contests.
Johnson's three interceptions were just one off the conference lead in all games, but shared the crown for the eight MW-only contests.
Four times he recorded double-digit tackles in 2023, topped with a career-best 13 in the regular-season finale against Wyoming.
Johnson would finish the campaign with 3.5 tackles-for-loss along with a forced fumble.
Talton earned his third-career All-Mountain West honor in his final season. The Vacaville, Calif., native ends his career atop multiple career stat rankings, including as the Mountain West's and Nevada's all-time leader in field goals made (83), and as Nevada's all-time leading scorer (390 points), passing Marty Zendejas (1984-87) as Nevada's leader in each category.
This season, Talton hit 15 field goals, with a long of 52, and was perfect on 19 PAT attempts.
He was named Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Week following his four-field goal, 14-point performance in Nevada's 34-24 win over New Mexico Oct. 28.
Watts became a two-time All-Mountain West selection with a solid follow-up to his debut 2022 campaign.
The inside linebacker leads the nation with four fumble recoveries, and finished third on the Wolf Pack with 60 tackles, including 6.0 tackles-for-loss (second on the team), and 1.5 sacks.
Campbell, Mateialona, and World each earned their first-career all-conference nods.
Campbell led all Wolf Pack pass-catchers with 594 receiving yards and two touchdowns, while making 31 catches. One of the most consistent deep threats in the Mountain West, Campbell had five receptions of at least 40 yards, and nine of at least 30 yards, this season.
His 19.2 yards-per-catch over all games led all Mountain West receivers with at least 30 receptions, and his 21.2 yards-per-catch over eight Mountain West games also paced the conference.
In conference play, Campbell ranked eighth with 60.9 receiving yards per game.
Mateialona, a senior, finished fourth on the team with a career-high 54 tackles, including 2.0 tackles-for-loss, a sack, and two forced fumbles.
In 2023, he had seven games with at least five tackles, including a season-high eight in Nevada's 6-0 shutout of San Diego State.
World earned his first all-conference recognition, anchoring the Nevada offensive line. In 2023, World started all 12 games at left tackle, helping the Pack rush for 1,498 yards while five different ball carriers ran for 100 yards on the season, led by 527 with six touchdowns for Sean Dollars.
Also, Wolf Pack quarterbacks Brendon Lewis (495 rushing yards) and AJ Bianco (183) combined to run for 678 yards on the ground this season.