MISSOULA — Four Montana State Bobcats and three Montana Grizzlies are on the Stats Perform preseason watch lists for the Walter Payton and Buck Buchanan awards, the organization announced Tuesday.
The awards annually recognize the offensive and defensive players of the year in Division I FCS college football.
Related: Montana State leads way with 8 players on preseason All-America teams; Montana earns 3 selections
Quarterbacks Justin Lamson and Keali'i Ah Yat headline the Walter Payton Award watch list, which also includes Youngstown State QB Beau Brungard, the 2025 award winner. MSU's Lamson is joined by teammates Adam Jones and Taco Dowler on the 30-player watch list, while Ah Yat's UM backfield mate Eli Gillman is also on the list.
The Bobcats and Grizzlies each have one player on the watch list for the Buck Buchanan Award: Caden Dowler, who was a finalist for the award last year, for MSU, and Peyton Wing for UM.
Lamson and Ah Yat figure to be near the top of every preseason awards list, as the two quarterbacks enter 2026 coming off impressive 2025 campaigns. A transfer from Stanford, Lamson guided Montana State to the FCS championship in his first year in Bozeman last season. He completed a Big Sky-record 71.6% of his passes for 3,172 yards, 26 touchdowns and just three interceptions. He also rushed for 734 yards and 16 TDs.
Ah Yat, the son of former Griz quarterback Brian Ah Yat, broke out last season as a sophomore. He passed for 4,070 yards, 33 touchdowns and nine interceptions while completing 69.1% of his passes last year. Ah Yat added eight rushing touchdowns as he led a record-setting Montana offense and earned All-Big Sky and All-America honors.
Jones and Gillman are two of the premiere running backs in the FCS. Gillman, a senior from Minnesota, is seeking to become Montana's all-time leading rusher this fall. Sitting at 3,677 career yards, he needs just 394 more yards to take over the top spot. Last season, Gillman had 250 carries for 1,540 yards and 21 touchdowns, as well as 33 receptions for 240 yards and two more TDs.
Jones last year became the first MSU running back to have 1,000-yard rushing seasons in both his freshman and sophomore years. The Missoula product carried the ball 173 times for 1,093 yards and 15 touchdowns last season, and added 35 receptions for 301 yards and two more scores.
Taco Dowler has led MSU in receiving each of the past two years and last season became just the seventh Bobcat to record 1,000 receiving yards in a single season. He finished the year with 77 catches for 1,025 yards and seven touchdowns, including the game-tying TD reception in overtime of the FCS national championship game.
Caden Dowler, Taco's twin brother, was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award last year and is the reigning Big Sky Conference defensive player of the year. In 2025, Caden Dowler ranked second on MSU with 91 tackles and led the team with six interceptions, including pick-6s against UC Davis and Montana.
Wing, who transferred to Montana from Portland State, recorded 78 tackles, 8.5 tackles-for-loss and four interceptions last season. His four picks led the team and his 8.5 TFLs were second, as he was named a first-team All-Big Sky linebacker.
The Big Sky Conference will release its preseason coaches and media polls next week ahead of the Big Sky Kickoff, the league's media event that takes coaches and players to Spokane, Wash., to preview the upcoming season. The league's preseason all-conference teams will be released during the Big Sky Kickoff, which takes place July 24-27.
The 2026 college football season begins in late August. Montana and Montana State both open their seasons Aug. 29 with conference games. The Griz host Southern Utah at 7 p.m. inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium, while the Bobcats play Utah Tech in St. George, Utah, at 8 p.m. Both games will be broadcast by Scripps Sports and air on Montana Television Network stations.
2026 Walter Payton Award Preseason Watch List
(Past finalists designated with an asterisk)
Quarterbacks
*Keali’i Ah Yat, Montana, R-Jr., 6-1, 200 (Big Sky Conference)
*Andrew Body, Alabama State, R-Sr., 6-0, 205 (Southwestern Athletic Conference)
*Beau Brungard, Youngstown State, Sr., 6-0, 215 (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
*Devin Farrell, Rhode Island, R-Sr., 6-0, 195 (CAA Football)
*Collin Hurst, West Georgia, Jr., 5-10, 190 (United Athletic Conference)
*Justin Lamson, Montana State, Sr., 6-2, 210 (Big Sky Conference)
Chase Mason, South Dakota State, Gr., 6-4, 240 (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
*Chris Parson, Austin Peay, R-Jr., 5-11, 224 (United Athletic Conference)
Ty Pennington, Northern Arizona, Sr., 6-2, 210 (Big Sky Conference)
Dante Reno, Yale, Jr., 6-2, 205 (Ivy League)
*DJ Williams, Southern Illinois, Sr., 6-3, 218 (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
Running backs
Dason Brooks, Idaho State, R-Sr., 5-11, 228 (Big Sky Conference)
Ness Davis, Duquesne, R-Jr., 5-11, 200 (NEC Football)
Victor Dawson, Illinois State, Sr., 5-11, 220 (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
MJ Flowers, Tennessee Tech, R-Sr., 6-1, 220 (Southern Conference)
Eli Gillman, Montana, R-Sr., 6-0, 213 (Big Sky Conference)
Carson Gresock, Gardner-Webb, R-Sr., 5-11, 215 (Ohio Valley Conference)
Tylan Hines, Tarleton State, Sr., 5-7, 180 (United Athletic Conference)
Adam Jones, Montana State, Jr., 6-1, 200 (Big Sky Conference)
Ja’briel Mace, Villanova, Jr., 5-9, 175 (Patriot League)
Charles Pierre Jr., South Dakota, R-Sr., 5-10, 210 (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
*Luke Yoder, Lehigh, Sr., 5-11, 205 (Patriot League)
Wide receivers
*Marquis Buchanan, Rhode Island, R-Sr., 6-4, 190 (CAA Football)
Taco Dowler, Montana State, Sr., 5-9, 190 (Big Sky Conference)
Samuel Gbatu Jr., UC Davis, Sr., 5-10, 185 (Big Sky Conference)
Gavin Lochow, Dayton, Sr., 6-0, 185 (Pioneer Football League)
Sam Milligan, Bucknell, Sr., 6-3, 220 (Patriot League)
Bugs Mortimer, Stephen F. Austin, R-Sr., 5-10, 177 (Southland Conference)
Chance Peterson, North Carolina Central, R-Jr., 5-8, 155 (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference)
Brayden Smith, Mercer, Jr., 5-10, 185 (Southern Conference)
2026 Buck Buchanan Award Preseason Watch List
(Past finalists designated with an asterisk)
Defensive linemen
Camden Byrd, Richmond, R-Sr., 6-3, 245 (Patriot League)
Andrew Huff, Lamar, Sr., 6-2, 230 (Southland Conference)
Mirko Jaksic, Dayton, R-Jr., 6-2, 284 (Pioneer Football League)
Lance Rucker, North Dakota, Sr., 6-3, 230 (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
*Joshua Stoneking, Furman, R-Jr., 6-3, 258 (Southern Conference)
Michael Wells, Youngstown State, Sr., 6-3, 250 (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
Linebackers
Brodie Carroll, Elon, R-Jr., 6-1, 240 (CAA Football)
Jake Dalmado, Southeastern Louisiana, Sr., 6-0, 215 (Southland Conference)
Mikey D’Amato, Cal Poly, Sr., 6-0, 230 (Big Sky Conference)
Rohan Davy, Rhode Island, Jr., 5-10, 205 (CAA Football)
*Eli Ennis, Stephen F. Austin, R-Sr., 6-2, 220 (Southland Conference)
Anthony Ferrelli, Stony Brook, R-Sr., 6-0, 225 (CAA Football)
Jordan Franklin, South Carolina State, R-Jr., 6-2, 205 (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference)
Cullen McShane, South Dakota State, Jr., 6-2, 230 (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
*Tye Niekamp, Illinois State, Sr., 6-3, 240 (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
Kaden Smith, Eastern Kentucky, Jr., 6-2, 222 (United Athletic Conference)
Peyton Wing, Montana, Sr., 6-0, 229 (Big Sky Conference)
Steve Zayachkowsky, Charleston Southern, Sr., 5-10, 215 (Ohio Valley Conference)
Defensive backs
Rex Connors, UC Davis, Sr., 6-1, 220 (Big Sky Conference)
*Caden Dowler, Montana State, Sr., 6-0, 205 (Big Sky Conference)
Damien Henderson, Harvard, Sr., 6-0, 180 (Ivy League)
Christopher Jean, Central Connecticut State, R-Jr., 5-10, 180 (NEC Football)
Jaylon Jenkins, Eastern Washington, R-Jr., 6-1, 192 (Big Sky Conference)
Jaeden Jones, Monmouth, Jr., 6-0, 190 (CAA Football)
*Abu Kamara, Yale, Sr., 6-1, 208 (Ivy League)
Ken Moore Jr., Western Carolina, R-Sr., 5-10, 160 (Southern Conference)
Nick Peltekian, Lehigh, 5th Year, 6-0, 215 (Patriot League)
Dylan Rowsey, Murray State, Sr., 6-1, 195 (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
Ta’Shaun Sims, Alabama State, Jr., 6-0, 188 (Southwestern Athletic Conference)
Trey Watkins, LIU, R-Sr., 6-0, 184 (NEC Football)
