FARMINGTON, Utah (Nov. 23, 2022) – With the Big Sky football regular season officially concluded, the league office has announced its 2022 All-Conference Teams, along with the yearly individual award winners.
The 2022 All-Conference Teams and individual awards were voted on by the league’s 12 head coaches. Coaches were not able to vote for their own players.
Sacramento State’s Cameron Skattebo and Marte Mapu swept the Big Sky Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year awards for the Hornets after a stellar 2022 season for the duo. Sacramento State now becomes the first Big Sky team to sweep both awards since Montana State’s DeNarius McGhee and Jody Owens accomplished the feat in 2012.
Skattebo was the Big Sky’s leading rushing at 113.7 yards per game, racking up 1,251 total yards on the ground for the year. The running back also led the league in yards per carry (7.4) and all-purpose yards per game (150.0), not to mention being a regular in making highlight reels. Mapu was an all-around performer on the defensive side of the ball, racking up 64 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and two interceptions on defense. The Hornet duo was also named finalists for the Walter Payton and Buck Buchanan Awards on Tuesday.
Newcomer of the Year was awarded to Montana State’s Sean Chambers, while Freshman of the Year went to Idaho’s Gevani McCoy after the impressive season for both quarterbacks in 2022.
Chambers, a transfer from Wyoming, split time with Tommy Mellott at quarterback this year for the Bobcats as he took the league by storm. Chambers rushed for 17 touchdowns on the year, which ranked second in the league and fourth in the FCS. The Newcomer of the Year win is Montana State’s first since Tray Robinson won the award in 2010.
McCoy paced the Vandals in 2022 as he led Idaho to its first FCS Playoff appearance since 1995. McCoy ranked first in the league for passing efficiency and passing TDs, as he threw for 2,378 yards and 25 scores. The Vandal QB was named a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award earlier in the week as well.
Coach of the Year was split between the Big Sky’s Co-Champions, as Sacramento State’s Troy Taylor and Montana State’s Brent Vigen shared the honor. Taylor’s Hornets finished 11-0 on the year and perfect in the Big Sky, while Vigen’s Bobcats were 10-1 in 2022 and also a perfect 8-0 in the league. The Coach of the Year honor is the third overall for Taylor in just three seasons at the helm, while the laurel for Montana State is its first for the program since 2010.
Sacramento State led the league with nine First Team All-Big Sky honorees, while racking up 18 total across the first, second, third and honorable mention squads. Idaho posted 16 total selections across the four teams to finish with the second-most in the league.
The FCS Playoffs will feature five Big Sky teams, with Weber State, Idaho and Montana all in action this weekend. Sacramento State and Montana State received first-round byes after they were awarded national seeds.
2022 Big Sky Football Individual Award Winners
Offensive Player of the Year: Cameron Skattebo, RB (SAC)
Defensive Player of the Year: Marte Mapu, OLB/DB (SAC)
Newcomer of the Year: Sean Chambers, QB (MSU)
Freshman of the Year: Gevani McCoy, QB (UI)
Co-Coach of the Year: Troy Taylor (SAC)/Brent Vigen (MSU)
First Team All-Big Sky
QB: Miles Hastings (UCD)
RB: Cameron Skattebo (SAC), Ulonzo Gilliam Jr. (UCD)
FB: Derryk Snell (MSU)
WR: Hayden Hatten (UI), Pierre Williams (SAC), Jermaine Jackson (UI)
TE: Marshel Martin (SAC)
OL: Nick Amoah (UCD), Noah Atagi (WSU), Tyson Pauling (PSU), Jackson Slater (SAC), Brandon Weldon (SAC), Hunter Mayginnes (UM)
DT: Sebastian Valdez (MSU), Alex Gubner (UM)
DE: Brody Grebe (MSU), Zach Kennedy (UCD)
OLB: Marte Mapu (SAC), Patrick O’Connell (UM)
ILB: Armon Bailey (SAC), Callahan O’Reilly (MSU), Winston Reid (WSU)
DB: Eddie Heckard (WSU), Justin Ford (UM), Robby Hauck (UM), Maxwell Anderson (WSU), Rex Connors (UCD)
K: Kyle Sentkowski (SAC)
P: Patrick Rohrbach (UM)
KR: Abraham Williams (WSU)
PR: Jermaine Jackson (UI)
ST: Lan Larison (UCD)
AP: Asher O’Hara (SAC)
Three ILBs on the 1st team due to a tie
Second Team All-Big Sky
QB: Tommy Mellott (MSU)
RB: Elijah Dotson (UNC), Anthony Woods (UI)
WR: Xavier Guillory (ISU), Ty MacPherson (WSU), Beau Kelly (PSU)
TE: McCallan Castles (UCD)
OL: Nathan Mejia (SAC), Rush Reimer (MSU), Connor Pettek (UCD), Jordan Lutui (WSU), Troy Stiefel (SAC), Jordan Ford (UCD)
DT: Jett Stanley (SAC), Kalisi Moli (WSU)
DE: Cosmas Kwete (NAU), Juliano Falaniko (UI)
OLB: Ty Okada (MSU), Paul Moala (UI)
ILB: Fa’Avae Fa’Avae (UI), Elijah Anderson-Taylor (UNC)
DB: Caleb Nelson (SAC), Desmond Williams (WSU), Morgan Vest (NAU), Devon King (UCD), Marcus Harris (UI)
K: Ricardo Chavez (UI)
P: Nick Kokich (EWU)
KR: Malik Flowers (UM)
PR: Haze Hadley (WSU)
ST: Tyler Flink (UM)
AP: Sean Chambers (MSU)
Third Team All-Big Sky
QB: Gevani McCoy (UI)/Jake Dunniway (SAC)
RB: Dontae McMillan (WSU), Marcus Fulcher (SAC)
WR: Coleman Owen (NAU), Efton Chism III (EWU), Willie Patterson (MSU), Freddie Roberson (EWU)
TE: Josh Cuevas (CP)
OL: Ethan Atagi (WSU), Logan Floyd (UI), AJ Forbes (UM), PJ Poutasi (NAU), JT Reed (MSU), Brady Odom (UNC)
DT: EJ Ane (PSU), Chubba Ma’ae (UCD)
DE: Killian Rosko (SAC), Eloi Kwete (NAU)
OLB: David Meyer (CP)
ILB: Teddye Buchanan (UCD), Charles Ike (ISU)
DB: Tommy McCormick (UI), Marlon Jones Jr. (EWU), Xavier Bell (PSU), Jehiel Budgett (UCD), Jordan Knapke (UNC)
K: Isaiah Gomez (UCD)
P: Cal McGough (SAC)
KR: Marqui Johnson (MSU)
PR: Marcus Fulcher (SAC)
ST: Sean McCormick (UI)
AP: Junior Bergen (UM)
Two QBs on the 3rd team due to a tie
Four WRs on the 3rd team due to a tie
Honorable Mention
QB: Gunner Talkington (EWU), Dylan McCaffrey (UNC)
RB: Damon Bankston (WSU)
WR: Chris Coleman (CP), Mitch Roberts (UM), Hendrix Johnson (NAU), Mataio Talalemotu (PSU)
TE: Cole Grossman (UM), Justin Malone (WSU), Anthony Rodriguez (PSU)
OL: Wyatt Hansen (EWU), Justus Perkins (MSU), Beau St. John (UI), Ayden Knapik (UI)
DE: Joshua Jerome (EWU), Elijah Ponder (CP), Leo Tamba (UI), VJ Malo (PSU), Mitchell Johnson (EWU)
ILB: Levi Janacaro (UM), Marcus Welnel (UM), Nolan Askelson (MSU)
DB: Kamden Garrett (WSU)
K: Blake Glessner (MSU)
P: Devin Bale (UNC)
KR: Lan Larison (UCD), Elijah Dotson (UNC)
PR: Elijah Dotson (UNC)
ST: Kurt Gallup (UNC)
AP: Elijah Dotson (UNC), Draycen Hall (NAU), Emmanuel Daigbe (PSU)
