Montana State QB Tommy Mellott named Big Sky offensive player of the year

FARMINGTON, Utah – Everyone knew Tommy Mellott was special and now the Big Sky Conference has made it official, naming him the offensive player of the year Wednesday.

Mellott, the Montana State quarterback out of Butte, America, was one of eight Bobcats named first-team all-Big Sky. The senior didn’t have the gaudy statistics of seasons past — he ran for 694 yards and threw for 1,956 — but there was no denying his role in MSU’s unbeaten regular season.

The senior was part of a Bobcat sweep of sorts: teammate Brody Grebe was named the league’s defensive player of the year; running back Adam Jones was named freshman of the year; and Brent Vigen landed coach of the year honors. 

Northern Arizona quarterback Ty Pennington, who was named newcomer of the year, kept MSU from taking all five individual Big Sky awards. 

Mellott and Grebe were joined on the first team by teammates Scottre Humphrey at running back, fullback Rohan Jones, offensive linemen Marcus Wehr and Conner Moore, linebacker McCade O’Reilly, safety Ryla Ortt and special teams standout Taco Dowler. 

The Bobcats, who just completed the first 12-0 regular season in their history, put six more players on the second team: Titan Fleischmann and Cole Sain on the O-line; Paul Brott on the defensive line; Danny Uluilakepa at linebacker; Andrew Powdrell at defensive back; and punter Brendan Hall. 

The Montana Grizzlies, who play Tennessee State in a first-round playoff game Saturday with an 8:15 p.m., had two first-team all-Big Sky picks — offensive lineman Brandon Casey and kick returner Junior Bergen.  

The Grizzlies saw running back Eli Gillman, receiver Keelan White, defensive end Hayden Harris, linebacker Ryan Tirrell, cornerback Trevin Gradney and Bergen garner second-team honors alongside TJ Rausch (special teams). Bergen’s second-team honor came as punt returner. 

Both the 8-4 Grizzlies and unbeaten Bobcats have at least one game left. Montana State, the top seed in the FCS playoffs, has a bye and awaits the winner of Saturday’s game between Tennessee-Martin and New Hampshire. 

The Bobcats had two more players get honorable mention: freshman running back Adam Jones, a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award that UM’s Gillman won last year; and defensive lineman Kenneth Eiden IV. 

Montana had safety Jaxon Lee, Bergen (receiver) and O-lineman Journey Grimsrud get honorable mention. 

2024 Big Sky Football Individual Awards 

Offensive Player of the Year: Tommy Mellott, Montana State 

Defensive Player of the Year: Brody Grebe, Montana State 

Newcomer of the Year: Ty Pennington, Northern Arizona 

Freshman of the Year: Adam Jones, Montana State 

Coach of the Year: Brent Vigen, Montana State 

First Team 

Offense 

QB: Tommy Mellott, Montana State 

RB: Lan Larison, UC Davis* 

RB: Scottre Humphrey, Montana State 

FB: Rohan Jones, Montana State 

WR: Efton Chism III, Eastern Washington 

WR: Jeff Weimer, Idaho State 

WR: Christian Fredericksen, Idaho State 

TE: Bryzai White, Northern Arizona* 

TE: Winston Williams, UC Davis 

OL: Marcus Wehr, Montana State* 

OL: Jackson Slater, Sacramento State* 

OL: Conner Moore, Montana State 

OL: Brandon Casey, Montana 

OL: Wyatt Hansen, Eastern Washington  

OL: Ayden Knapik, Idaho 

AP: Michael Wortham, Eastern Washington 

Defense 

DL: Brody Grebe, Montana State* 

DL: Keyshawn James-Newby, Idaho 

DL: Elijah Ponder, Cal Poly  

DL: Dallas Afalava, Idaho 

DL: Zach Kennedy, UC Davis 

LB: McCade O'Reilly, Montana State 

LB: David Meyer, UC Davis 

LB: Jaxton Eck, Idaho 

LB: Tommy Ellis, Northern Arizona 

LB: Will Leota, Sacramento State 

DB: Rex Connors, UC Davis* 

DB: Alex McLaughlin, Northern Arizona* 

DB: Tommy McCormick, Idaho 

DB: Andrew Marshall, Idaho 

DB: Kavir Bains, UC Davis 

DB: Rylan Ortt, Montana State 

Specialists  

KR: Junior Bergen, Montana 

PR: Taco Dowler, Montana State 

K: Gabe Panikowski, Idaho State 

P: Hunter Green, Northern Colorado 

ST: Dwayne McDougle, Idaho  

Second Team  

Offense  

QB: Miles Hastings, UC Davis 

RB: Damon Bankston, Weber State; Eli Gillman, Montana; Austin York, Eastern Washington 

WR: Jacob Sharp, Weber State; Jared Gipson, Sacramento State; Keelan White, Montana; Jordan Dwyer, Idaho . 

TE: Mike Martinez, Idaho; Tanner Beaman, Portland State. 

OL: Jonny Bottorff, Northern Arizona; Titan Fleischmann, Montana State; Stryker Rashid, Idaho State; Eli Simonson, UC Davis; OL: Gavin Ortega, Weber State; Cole Sain, Montana State. 

AP: Dante Chachere, Portland State. 

Defense  

DL: Kemari Munier-Bailey, Weber State; Hayden Harris, Montana; Matt Brown, Eastern Washington; Paul Brott, Montana State; Evan Bearden, UC Davis/ 

LB: Riley Wilson, Montana; Peyton Wing, Portland State; Porter Connors, UC Davis; Ryan Tirrell, Montana; Danny Uluilakepa, Montana State. 

DB: Andrew Powdrell, Montana State; VanHook, Northern Arizona; Zach Lewis, Northern Arizona’ Trevin Gradney, Montana; Mason Rivera, Cal Poly; Derek Ganter Jr., Eastern Washington. 

Specialists 

KR: Michael Wortham, Eastern Washington 

PR: Junior Bergen, Montana 

K: Hunter Ridley, UC Davis 

P: Brendan Hall, Montana State 

ST: TJ Rausch, Montana 

Honorable Mention 

QB: Dante Chachere, Portland State 

RB: Adam Jones, Montana State; Elijah Tau-Tolliver, Sacramento State 

WR: Giancarlo Woods, Cal Poly; Mark Hamper, Idaho; Junior Bergen, Montana 

TE: Jett Carpenter, Eastern Washington. 

OL: Nate Azzopardi, Idaho ; Jack Seelye, Eastern Washington; Billy Lutui, Portland State; Ernesto Nava, UC Davis; Luke Dahlgren, Eastern Washington; Journey Grimsrud, Montana; Richard Estrella, Portland State. 

DL: Micah Carreon, Northern Arizona; Princeton Toki, UC Davis; Ethan Rodriguez, Cal Poly; Malakai Williams, Idaho; Kenneth Eiden IV, Montana State;  Brayden Wilson, Weber State; Garrett Beck, Weber State/ 

LB: Isiah King, Idaho; Ammon Allen, Northern Arizona; Zach Johnson, Idaho; Brandon Wong, Northern Arizona/ 

DB: Jaxon Lee, Montana; Tyreese Shakir, Portland State; DaJean Wells, Eastern Washington; Cam Chapa, Northern Colorado.  

KR: Andrew Marshall, Idaho 

PR: Isaiah Eastman, Northern Arizona 

K: Zach Schreiner, Sacramento State 

K: Mathias Uribe, Portland State 

P: Ben D’Aquila, Northern Arizona  

ST: Jeremy Justice, Cal Poly; Sean Farfan, Northern Arizona 

    Grizzlies wide receiver Junior Bergen (5) catches an 11-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter against Northern Arizona at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 12. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider