Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference

2021 RMAC Football All-Conference Release

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – New Mexico Highland’s CJ Sims, Western Colorado’s Will Lydle and Colorado State University Pueblo’s Justin Dwinell are the 2021 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Football Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Year, respectively, the league announced Thursday. In addition to the 2021 RMAC Football individual awards announcements, the league also released its 2021 all-conference teams. Individual awards and all-conference rosters are voted on by the league’s 10 head coaches. Coaches are not permitted to vote for their players.
 
Sims earns RMAC Offensive Player of the Year after leading the RMAC with 10 receiving touchdowns on the season, a mark that also stands 10th nationally. As a wide receiver, Sims also ranks eighth in the nation with 155.4 all-purpose yards per game. He is responsible for 78 points for New Mexico Highlands this season and is a catalyst for the Cowboys’ kick return team. Sims leads the league and ranks 15th in the country with 1,007 receiving yards on the season, averaging 100.7 receiving yards in his 10 appearances this season. His offensive antics are even more impressive as he averages 5.7 receptions per contest.
 
Lydle earns RMAC Defensive Player of the Year after leading the Mountaineers to a share of the conference regular-season championship in the 2021 season. He played in 11 games and registered 43 tackles, 22 solo, and 15 tackles for loss in the regular season. The redshirt senior stamped 9.5 sacks from the defensive tackle position, resulting in 48 yards lost for opponents. In addition to ranking second in the conference and 34th nationally for sacks, the Cedar Park, Texas, native averages 1.3 tackles for loss per game.
 
Dwinell claims RMAC Special Teams Player of the Year after leading the conference with 43.1 yards per punt this season. On 56 punts, the sophomore racked up 2,415 yards, including a season-long of 71 yards against Grand Valley State (Sept. 11). He pinned opponents inside their own 20-yard line on 21 occasions and booted the ball over 50 yards 16 times throughout the season. He was never blocked and forced foes into nine fair catches this season.
 
Colorado Mesa quarterback Karst Hunter earns RMAC Offensive Freshman of the Year after stepping onto the field and dealing out 190 completions for a 147.96 rating in his first season with the Mavericks. He secured a 62.5-percent completion average and compiled 2,481 passing yards and 18 touchdowns. Hunter averaged 248.1 passing yards per game with a season-long touchdown pass of 77 yards. The freshman also added in seven rushing touchdowns and 385 rushing yards to push Colorado Mesa to an 8-2 overall record and a 7-2 mark in conference play.
 
Western Colorado’s Anthony Johnston claims RMAC Defensive Freshman of the Year after helping the Mountaineers to their first regular-season title since the 1998 season. The redshirt freshman appeared in 10 games for WCU and claimed 14 tackles on the season. The Mountaineers rank first in the nation for red zone defense (.500).
 
After leading the Mountaineers to the regular-season title and their first berth in the NCAA postseason since the 1997 season, WCU head coach Jas Bains is the RMAC Coach of the Year. Bains’ squad currently ranks No. 11 in the latest American Football Coaches Association poll after being nationally ranked for a majority of the season. Bains will lead his team into the postseason as a No. 3 seed after securing a 10-1 overall record and a 9-2 mark in conference action. The Mountaineers are set to host Nebraska-Kearney in the opening round of the 2021 NCAA Football Championship, marking the first time since the 1991 campaign that the Mountaineers will play a postseason game at home.
 
Colorado School of Mines and CSU Pueblo lead the way with 11 all-conference selections apiece, followed by Colorado Mesa with eight honorees. Western Colorado checks in with seven rosters spots, followed by New Mexico Highlands’ six selections. Adams State nabs five spots, just ahead of Chadron State’s four honorees. South Dakota Mines earns a trio of all-conference recipients, followed by one selection from Black Hills State.