Big Sky Conference announces 2023 award winners, all-conference teams

FARMINGTON, Utah (Nov. 21, 2023) – Yearly awards for Big Sky football were announced on Tuesday by the league office, with Montana winning four of the five individual honors up for grabs as the Griz were recognized for their outstanding season.

The award winners were voted on by the league’s 12 head coaches this past Sunday. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own players

Alex Gubner, Clifton McDowell, Eli Gillman and Bobby Hauck won individual honors for Montana, while Lan Larison of UC Davis denied a Griz sweep for the individual awards across the Big Sky Conference.

Larison, who finished the season with 10 touchdowns in the final three games, was named the Offensive Player of the Year after an outstanding season for the running back. Larison rushed for 1,101 yards on the year and 13 touchdowns, despite missing three games due to injury midseason. Larison is the first Aggie to win Offensive Player of the Year since Jake Maier did in 2018. 

Gubner was named Defensive Player of the Year after controlling the line of scrimmage for a dominant Montana defense all season. Gubner finished the year with 30 tackles, eight for loss, and three sacks. The Griz defense led the league in points allowed, giving up just 14.5 per game to rank third overall in the FCS. Gubner is the first Grizzly to win Defensive Player of the Year since Dante Olson won in 2019.  

Clifton McDowell and Eli Gillman were named Newcomer of the Year and Freshman of the Year respectively, as the Griz one-two punch was honored by the league’s head coaches.

McDowell, a transfer from Central Arkansas, had nearly 2,000 yards of total offense and 16 touchdowns as he finished the year leading Montana on a seven-game win streak. Gillman, a redshirt freshman from Dassel, Minnesota, rushed for 857 yards and 10 touchdowns on the season. 

McDowell is the first Newcomer of the Year winner for Montana since Justin Ford won in 2021, while Gillman becomes the program’s first-ever Freshman of the Year winner in the award’s history which began in 2013. 

Rounding out the individual awards was head coach Bobby Hauck, who was named Coach of the Year for the fourth time and first since 2009. Hauck led Montana to a 10-1 record overall and 7-1 mark in league play, as the Griz won their first Big Sky crown since 2009.

Hauck also became the Big Sky’s all-time wins leader, after he surpassed former Northern Arizona head coach Jerome Souers and sits with 126 victories at Montana heading into postseason play.

2023 Individual Award Winners

Offensive Player of the Year: Lan Larison, RB, UC Davis
Defensive Player of the Year: Alex Gubner, DL, Montana
Newcomer of the Year: Clifton McDowell, QB, Montana
Freshman of the Year: Eli Gillman, RB, Montana
Coach of the Year: Bobby Hauck, Montana*

The All-Conference Teams were voted on by the league’s 12 head coaches this past Sunday. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own players.

Montana and Montana State each had eight first-team selections to lead the way, with Idaho and Weber State each netting five to round out the top recognized teams.  

Efton Chism III (Eastern Washington), Hayden Hatten (Idaho), Noah Atagi (Weber State) and Alex Gubner (Montana) were all unanimous first-team selections.

The All-Conference news comes on the heels of Tuesday’s individual award announcement, which saw five standouts recognized for their success on the field. For that full release, click here. 

2023 Big Sky All-Conference Football Teams

First Team All-Conference Offense
QB: Gevani McCoy, Idaho
RB: Lan Larison, UC Davis
RB: Anthony Woods, Idaho
FB: Derryk Snell, Montana State
WR: Efton Chism III, Eastern Washington*
WR: Hayden Hatten, Idaho*
WR: Chedon James, Idaho State
WR: Junior Bergen, Montana
TE: Marshel Martin, Sacramento State
TE: Treyton Pickering, Montana State
OL: Noah Atagi, Weber State*
OL: Marcus Wehr, Montana State
OL: Rush Reimer, Montana State
OL: Brandon Casey, Montana
OL: Jordan Ford, UC Davis
OL: Jackson Slater, Sacramento State
AP: Sean Chambers, Montana State
 
* – Unanimous Selection  

 
First Team All-Conference Defense
DL: Alex Gubner, Montana*
DL: Brody Grebe, Montana State
DL: Elijah Ponder, Cal Poly
DL: Zach Kennedy, UC Davis
DL: Eloi Kwete, Northern Arizona
LB: Braxton Hill, Montana
LB: Winston Reid, Weber State
LB: Armon Bailey, Sacramento State
LB: Nolan Askelson, Montana State
LB: Jack Kelly, Weber State
DB: Marcus Harris, Idaho
DB: Maxwell Anderson, Weber State
DB: Cameron Broussard, Sacramento State
DB: Marlon Jones Jr., Eastern Washington 
DB: Corbin Walker, Montana
DB: Trevin Gradney, Montana
 
* – Unanimous Selection  
 
First Team All-Conference Special Teams
K: Ricardo Chavez, Idaho 
P: Brendan Hall, Montana State
KR: Abraham Williams, Weber State
PR: Junior Bergen, Montana
ST: Garrett Graves, Montana

 
Second Team All-Conference Offense
QB: Tommy Mellott, Montana State
RB: Eli Gillman, Montana
RB: Julius Davis, Montana State
FB: Andrew VanBuren, Portland State
WR: Jermaine Jackson, Idaho
WR: Coleman Owen, Northern Arizona
WR: Jared Gipson, Sacramento State
TE: Hayden Meacham, Weber State
TE: Blake Gobel, Eastern Washington 
OL: Jonny Bottorff, Northern Arizona
OL: Shiloh Ta’ase, Portland State
OL: Garrett Weichman, Cal Poly
OL: Jordan Lutui, Weber State
OL: Omar Aigbedlion, Montana State
OL: AJ Forbes, Montana 
AP: Trent Tompkins, UC Davis
 
Second Team All-Conference Defense
DL: Jett Stanley, Sacramento State
DL: Sebastian Valdez, Montana State
DL: Brayden Wilson, Weber State
DL: Dino Kahaulelio, Portland State
DL: Chubba Maae, UC Davis
LB: Evan Tattersall, UC Davis
LB: Teddye Buchanan, UC Davis
LB: Levi Janacaro, Montana
LB: Riley Wilson, Montana
LB: Nick Eaton, UC Davis
DB: Rex Connors, UC Davis
DB: Alex McLaughlin, Northern Arizona
DB: Donovan Saunders, Cal Poly
DB: Calvin Pitcher, Idaho State
DB: George Steele, Northern Arizona 
DB: Tizell Lewis, Northern Colorado
 
Second Team All-Conference Special Teams
K: Gianni Smith, Portland State
P: Ricardo Chavez, Idaho
KR: Michael Wortham, Eastern Washington
PR: Jermaine Jackson, Idaho
ST: Sean McCormick, Idaho

 
Honorable Mention (at least 3 votes)
QB: Kekoa Visperas, Eastern Washington 
RB: Marcus Fulcher, Sacramento State
RB: Devon Starling, Northern Arizona 
WR: Jermaine Braddock, Portland State
WR: Hendrix Johnson, Northern Arizona 
OL: Chris Walker, Montana 
OL: Ivan Garza, Sacramento State
OL: Journey Grimsrud, Montana
OL: Nathan Mejia, Sacramento State
OL: Ayden Knapik, Idaho 
OL: Austin Lawrence, Northern Colorado
OL: Justus, Perkins, Montana State
OL: Jake Parks, UC Davis
AP: Quincy Craig, Portland State
DL: Keyshawn James-Newby, Idaho
DL: David Rowe, Idaho State
DL: Marcus Howard, Northern Colorado
DL: Mark Ho Ching, Northern Arizona 
DL: Dallas Afalava, Idaho 
LB: Tre Thomas, Idaho 
LB: Parker McKenna, Portland State
LB: Xe’ree Alexander, Idaho
LB: Jacob Stanton, Northern Colorado
DB: Tommy McCormick, Idaho
DB: Jehiel Budgett, UC Davis
DB: Rylan Ortt, Montana State
DB: Naseme Colvin, Weber State
DB: Dillon Juniel, Sacramento State
K: Hunter Ridley, UC Davis
P: Cal McGough, Sacramento State
P: Hunter Green, Northern Colorado
P: Jack Burgess, Weber State
KR: Jermaine Jackson, Idaho
PR: Haze Hadley, Weber State
ST: Hendrix Johnson, Northern Arizona