LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV football's historic season continued off the field Tuesday with the announcement of three major honors for the Rebels as part of the conference's annual postseason awards.
 
Record-smashing place-kicker Jose Pizano (Lehi, UT) became the first Rebel ever named a league's Special teams Player of the Year, starting quarterback Jayden Maiava (Las Vegas) became the third MW Freshman of the Year from the program in the last four seasons, and Barry Odom is the first Mountain West Coach of the Year from UNLV in nearly a quarter century.
 
The Rebels, who first joined a conference in 1982, also set program records for most first team honorees with six and most combined first and second team winners with nine. That doesn't even include five honorable mention players. In comparison, the 2022 team had one first-teamer and two second-teamers.
 
Notably, right tackle Tiger Shanks (Lake Oswego, OR) is the first offensive lineman from UNLV to be named First Team All-Mountain West since Tony Terrell in 2002, Pizano is the first Rebel kicker named first team since Nolan Kohorst in 2012, and  Ricky White III (Marietta, GA) is the first wide receiver named first team since Ryan Wolfe in 2009. Standout linebacker Jackson Woodard (Little Rock, AR) led the way on defense with a first team nod and return man Jacob De Jesus (Manteca, CA) was a two-time first-teamer as a punt returner and kickoff returner.
 
The second team included Maiava, who is the first Rebel quarterback to be named either first or second team since Jon Denton was second team back in 1996 as part of the WAC, defensive lineman Jalen Dixon (Seattle, WA) and defensive back Cameron Oliver (Richmond, TX).
 
Earning honorable mention were running backs Vincent Davis Jr. (Fort Lauderdale, FL) and Donavyn Lester (Plano, TX), linebacker Marsel McDuffie (Grand Prairie, TX), safety Jaxen Turner (Moreno Valley, CA) and punter Marshal Nichols (Atlanta, GA).
 
Pizano, who is one of just three finalists for the Lou Groza Award, is a Super Senior who has shattered the UNLV record book this fall, setting new marks for field goals in a game (six) and a season (23), kicking points in both a game (19) and a season (119) while also breaking the UNLV record for consecutive field goals made with 19. He currently sits 23-of-25 in field-goal attempts (with a long of 52) and 50-for-50 in extra points. Pizano has hit two game-winning field goals this season (vs. Vanderbilt and Colorado State) and earned Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Week three times.
 
Maiava came off the bench because of injury in Game Three and has led UNLV to a 7-2 record as a starter. The product of local power program Liberty High School, he set a record with five MW Freshman of the Week nods. He is the top freshman in the nation for both pass completion percentage and pass efficiency and his total of 2,626 yards passing already ranks seventh in school single-season history. Maiava has passed for 14 touchdowns and run for three more to go with 244 net rushing yards. He is the seventh Rebel to be named a MW Freshman of the Year, including current teammate Cameron Friel in 2021. 
 
In his first year at the helm, Odom has led UNLV to its first appearance in the Mountain West Championship Game after reaching the nine-win mark for the first time since 1984. His Rebels shared the regular-season league title with a 6-2 mark after being picked to finish ninth in the preseason MW poll. The team has also earned four road wins for the first time since 2003 and will be making its first trip to a bowl game in a decade.

  
 
Leading the way up front, Shanks led UNLV's line in helping produce the most rushing touchdowns in the nation with 36. White is an All-America candidate who currently stands sixth in the nation with 1,308 receiving yards on 76 catches and just became the first Rebel in history to record five consecutive 100-yard games. He has scored seven touchdowns and averaged a whopping 130 yards per game in Mountain West play. Woodard ranks 34th in the nation with 104 total tackles to go with 1.5 sacks, one interception and three pass breakups. De Jesus leads all of college football with 833 total return yards and is the only player in the nation to rank in the top 15 for both punt and kickoff returns. He sits third in punt returns with 16.8 yards per attempt and 13th in kickoff returns with 26.4. He is only the second UNLV player to earn two first team all-league honors in the same season, joining College Football Hall of Famer Randall Cunningham, who was First Team All-PCAA (Big West) as both a quarterback and punter in 1983 and '84.
 
Dixon has been a stopper on the defensive line, totaling 24 tackles, including five tackles-for-loss, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Oliver, meanwhile, has 45 tackles, including 4.5 TFL, two sacks, three interceptions, four pass breakups and a forced fumble.
 
Davis Jr. leads the team with 667 net rushing yards with six overall touchdowns and a sparkling average of 5.7 yards per carry. His backfield mate, Lester, has nine touchdowns on the ground with 449 yards overall. McDuffie ranks second on the squad with 77 tackles, including 2.5 TFL, one sack and a forced fumble. Turner is tied for the Mountain West lead with four interceptions to go with 55 TT, two TFL and a forced fumble. Nichols' stellar season sees him standing 11th in the nation with a punting average of 46.27, which would rank third in UNLV single-season history. 
 
All 14 honorees will make their final home appearance on Saturday as UNLV hosts Boise State in the Mountain West Football Championship starting at noon PT. Tickets, which start as low as $20, including fees, are available now by visiting unlvtickets.com.