The great mystery of Cody O'Connell in 2016 might be called "Snubbed!" Or perhaps "The 13th Lineman." Or "The Big City Cougar-Hating Cabal."

The plot line -- plot against! -- goes like this: O'Connell came from nowhere as a redshirt junior to not only start at left offensive guard for Washington State, he turned in one of the best seasons among all linemen in the nation. He was good as a run blocker, but the 6-foot-8, 354 pounder became an impenetrable wall in pass blocking, which a lineman does a lot playing for the Cougars' "Air Raid" offense.

Cody O'Connell came out of nowhere to become an Outland Trophy finalist for Washington State. But the highest honor the Pac-12 could think to offer him was an honorable mention. Robert Johnson/Icon Sportswire

According to one advocate, Pro Football Focus, O'Connell was "dominant" while he "surrendered one sack, one hit and three hurries on 591 pass blocking snaps, his 99.3 pass blocking efficiency ranks No. 1 among Power-5 guards."

PFF named him a first-team All-American, just as everyone else did. He ended up just the second unanimous All-American in Washington State football history -- and the first position player, as the other was kicker Jason Hanson in 1989.

And yet (polite cough) he didn't earn first-team All-Pac-12 honors as voted by conference coaches. Or (uncomfortable cough) second-team honors. One of three finalists for the Outland Trophy, which goes to the nation's best interior offensive or defensive lineman, and overladen with first-team All-American trophies and plaques, O'Connell merely earned "honorable mention," with 12 linemen ahead of him.

O'Connell, a notoriously chill, gentle giant off the field, said he was not bothered, although he admits noticing that more than a few Cougars fans were.

"I thought it was funny," O'Connell said. "The Coug fans have our backs 100 percent. I saw that and five seconds after [the All-Pac-12 announcement] I was getting Twitter mentions, all this stuff about 'Why is he not on this list?' But I can't control it. Whatever I get is probably what I deserve."

The mystery was so complete that Cougars coach Mike Leach, a man not afraid to state a bold opinion, seemed downright forgiving of the notable oversight, about which the Pac-12 has remained mum. (An email last week to a typically reliable conference spokesperson was ignored.)

"That's a great question," Leach said. "When [coaches vote on] the All-Pac-12 [team], it's very hurried. The guys you know the least about are linemen. You've got to research it a little bit. My gut feeling is things went fast, and guys didn't evaluate it. They have a tendency to give it to upperclassmen on good teams."

And by "good teams," Leach means the headliners, not entirely the teams winning games. So while Washington, USC and Utah placing multiple linemen on the first- and second-teams shouldn't be surprising, it is notable that UCLA, which might have had the worst-performing O-line in the conference, also had two players on the All-Conference teams.

One coach, while speculating that some might dismiss O'Connell as thriving in Leach's quick-hit passing system, called the omission an unfortunate confluence of ignorance and a "straight oversight."

Said another coach via text message, "I would not really have an answer for that one ... many times the All-Conference O-linemen get lost because of a lack of stats, etc. I know there were a ton of good linemen in our league last year."

If you want to further twist the dagger, Washington's sophomore tackle Trey Adams made first-team. Adams, playing for the hated rival Huskies, was two years behind O'Connell at Wenatchee (Washington) High School and was his backup, taking over, in fact, when O'Connell blew out his knee during his senior season.

And so the most decorated returning Pac-12 player and a certain preseason All-American heading into the 2017 season is coming off an "honorable mention" campaign in his own conference.

There is good news on the Cougars' end of things, starting with O'Connell's returning for his senior year. If he'd opted to enter the NFL draft, he likely would have been a middle-round selection this month, but he now has higher aspirations. If O'Connell refines his hand and footwork and displays just a bit more nastiness finishing blocks, he could jump significantly, perhaps even becoming the first guard selected.

Said Leach, "He moves real well for that size too. He's weirdly flexible."

O'Connell will join three other returning starters on what should be a stout Cougars O-line, including the underrated and co-honorable mention right tackle Cole Madison. They will be protecting quarterback Luke Falk, a budding three-year starter and the nation's top returning passer.

Washington State's 2016 season was a decidedly mixed bag. The team lost its first two games, then won eight in a row, then lost its last three, including a shockingly lackluster performance in the Holiday Bowl against Minnesota.

"I think it was a good stepping stone," O'Connell said. "If we can win eight in a row, why can't we do nine, 10, 11, 12?"

O'Connell started raising eyebrows in Pullman a year ago during spring practices as he stepped into replace three-year starter Gunnar Eklund. Now, as a certifiable star, he's got higher aspirations.

"It's hitting me that maybe I can make it," he said. "I need to turn that 'maybe' into an 'I've made it.'"

He's talking about the NFL. Not first-team All-Pac-12.