FARMINGTON, Utah -- Montana State defensive lineman Kyle Finch and University of Montana linebacker Dante Olson were two of five Big Sky Conference football players named to the CoSIDA (College Sports information Directors of America) academic all-American teams, the league announced on Monday. The five honorees were the most for the Big Sky since 1996.
Finch was the conference's lone representative on the first-team academic all-American team after boasting a 4.0 grade-point-average in his major of mechanical engineering. He is the 14th Bobcat to receive the honor and the first since receiver Mitch Herbert in 2017.
Olson was named to the second team, becoming the 35th academic all-American in Montana Grizzly history. The linebacker maintains a 3.91 GPA in business administration/management. Olson is also a 2019 National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete, a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy and a finalist for the STATS FCS Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award.
Idaho State offensive lineman Dakota Wilson and UC Davis defensive back Tiger Garcia were also named second-team academic all-Americans. Wilson has a 3.97 GPA in health science, while Garcia is majoring in managerial economics with a 3.92 GPA.
Northern Colorado linebacker Luke Nelson, who holds a 3.97 GPA in criminology and criminal justice, was also honored.
The Big Sky Conference had a league-best six academic all-Americans in 1988.
Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert, the younger brother of MSU grad Mitch, was named the CoSIDA academic all-American team member of the year. The 2019 honorees can be found below.
2019 CoSIDA Academic All-America Team – NCAA Division I
FIRST TEAM
Pos. Name School Yr. GPA Major
QB Justin Herbert (1) ($) University of Oregon Sr. 4.00 General Science
RB Travis Brannan U.S. Naval Academy Sr. 4.00 Ocean Engineering
RB Ezra Gray Alabama State Sr. 4.00 Computer Information Systems
WR Brandon Arconado Washington State University Gr. 3.65 MIS (UG) / MBA (G)
WR Andrew Griffin Princeton University Sr. 3.82 Computer Science
TE Charlie Kolar Iowa State University Jr. 3.98 Mechanical Engineering
OL Jacob Bacon (1) Drake University Sr. 4.00 MBA
OL Eric Cal U.S. Naval Academy Sr. 3.93 Chemistry
OL Adam Holtorf (1) Kansas State University Gr. 3.92/3.80 Business & Agribusiness (G)
OL Jacob Marnin (1) Southern Illinois University Gr. 4.00/4.00 Criminology & Criminal Justice
OL Justin Szuba Monmouth University So. 4.00 History Education
K Rodrigo Blankenship University of Georgia Gr. 3.71/3.65 Digital/Broadcast Journalism (UG) / Journalism (G)
ST Blake Best (2) University of Kentucky Sr. 4.00 Economics & Finance
DL Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund Southeastern Louisiana University Sr. 3.81 Exercise Science
DL Kyle Finch Montana State University Jr. 4.00 Mechanical Engineering
DL Victor Jergens Drake University Sr. 3.98 Finance
DL Jack Raines Mercer University Gr. 3.99 Finance / Spanish
LB Jack Gibbens Abilene Christian University Sr. 4.00 Accounting
LB Rick Mottram Bucknell University Jr. 4.00 Mechanical Engineering
LB Lucas Weber University of Nevada Gr. 4.00 Public Health (UG) / Secondary Education (G)
DB Spencer DeMedal Duquesne University Jr. 3.98 Biology
DB Kyle Hegedus Youngstown State University Gr. 3.89/4.00 Exercise Science (UG) / Physical Therapy (G)
DB K.J. Smith University of North Alabama Sr. 4.00 Interdisciplinary Studies
DB Jelani Taylor Cornell University Sr. 3.95 Hotel Administration
P Blake Gillikin (1) Pennsylvania State University Sr. 4.00 Kinesiology
SECOND TEAM
Pos. Name School Yr. GPA Major
QB Tom Flacco (*) Towson University Gr. 4.00/3.80 Applied Information Technology (G)
RB Jake Chisholm University of Dayton So. 3.97 Pre-Med
RB Brad Sznajder (2) Butler University Sr. 3.88 Finance
WR Josh Fink (1) Abilene Christian University Sr. 3.81 Finance
WR Bryce Nunnelly Chattanooga Jr. 3.81 Mechanical Engineering
TE Ean Pfeifer University of Louisville Gr. 4.00/4.00 MBA (G)
OL Blaise Andries University of Minnesota Sr. 3.86 Mathematics
OL Graham Ashkettle Eastern Kentucky University Jr. 4.00 Chemistry
OL Isaiah Kent-Schneider Drake University Gr. 3.98/4.00 Sec. Edu./Env. Science (UG) / STEM Education (G)
OL Calvin Throckmorton University of Oregon Sr. 3.82 Human Physiology
OL Dakota Wilson (2) Idaho State University Sr. 3.97 Health Science
K Samuel Hayworth Eastern Kentucky University Gr. 3.96 Biomedical Science (UG) / Public Health (G)
ST Connor McGinnis University of Oklahoma Gr. 4.00 Finance (UG) / Finance (G)
DL Jonathan Clayton Coastal Carolina University Sr. 3.95 Business Management & Marketing
DL Brogan McPartland Harvard University Sr. 3.65 Applied Mathematics
DL Sam Renner University of Minnesota Gr. 3.54/3.60 Accountancy (G)
DL Andre Walker Houston Baptist University Sr. 3.69 Biochemistry / Molecular Biology
LB Jackson Hankey North Dakota State University Jr. 4.00 Agricultural Economics
LB Luke Nelson University of Northern Colorado Sr. 3.97 Criminology & Criminal Justice
LB Dante Olson University of Montana Sr. 3.91 Business Administration / Management
DB Jordan Fuller (1) (#) Ohio State University Sr. 3.60 Business Marketing
DB Tiger Garcia (2) UC Davis Sr. 3.92 Managerial Economics
DB Kekaula Kaniho Boise State University Jr. 3.93 Health Sciences
DB Tim Simon University of Dayton Sr. 3.83 Mechanical Engineering
P Trent Schneider University of South Florida Jr. 4.00 Communication
CoSIDA Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year: Justin Herbert, University of Oregon
(1) -- Academic All-America® Division I first team selection in 2018
(2) – Academic All-America® Division I second team selection in 2018
(*) – Academic All-America® Division I baseball second team selection in 2019
($) – Academic All-America® Division I first team selection in 2017
(#) – Academic All-America® Division I second team selection in 2017
