SPOKANE, Wash. — Five Montana State Bobcats and four Montana Grizzlies have been named to the preseason All-Big Sky Conference football team, which was announced Sunday during the Big Sky Kickoff at the Northern Quest Resort & Casino.
The Bobcats, who won the conference championship in 2024 with a perfect 8-0 league record, are represented by running back Adam Jones, wide receiver Taco Dowler, offensive lineman Titan Fleischmann and defensive linemen Paul Brott and Kenneth Eiden IV. Dowler also received recognition as the top punt returner in the conference.
Montana placed running back Eli Gillman, linebacker Peyton Wing, kick returner Michael Wortham and long snapper Grayson Pibal on the all-conference team. Wortham, a transfer from Eastern Washington, was also selected as an all-purpose player.
Jones and Gillman make up the running back selections despite neither carrying a full workload last season.
Jones, a sophomore from Missoula, was the Big Sky's freshman of the year in 2024 after rushing for MSU freshman records of 1,172 yards and 14 touchdowns while splitting time with Scottre Humphrey, who transferred to New Mexico in the offseason. Humphrey earlier this week was named a preseason all-conference running back in the Mountain West.
Gillman, a Minnesota native, won the 2023 Jerry Rice Award for FCS freshman of the year. He averaged 78.9 yards per game and totaled 1,104 total yards last season as a sophomore while sharing the backfield with Nick Ostmo. Now a junior, Gillman currently ranks No. 7 in UM history with 2,137 career rushing yards, No. 5 with 28 rushing touchdowns and No. 7 with 30 total touchdowns.
Fleischmann, a 6-foot-4, 300-pound junior tackle from Pocatello, Idaho, is coming off a 2024 season in which he earned third-team All-America and second-team All-Big Sky honors. He started all 16 games at right tackle in helping the Bobcats make a run to the FCS national championship game last season.
Dowler, a Billings West High School product entering his junior season with the Bobcats, led MSU in receiving last year with 597 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was an All-American as a returner last season, with his 12.5 yards per punt return ranking second in the Big Sky and 11th in the FCS. For his career, Dowler has a program-record 1,068 punt return yards.
Brott, another former Billings West standout, was a second-team All-Big Sky selection last season after totaling 49 tackles, including six for loss. Now a senior, Brott will wear Montana State's legacy No. 41 jersey this season.
Eiden, a senior from Bozeman, had a breakout season in 2024, finishing with 10.5 tackles-for-loss and nine sacks, including at least one sack in each of the Bobcats' final seven games.
Wortham was a 2024 All-American and a two-time All-Big Sky pick while at Eastern Washington. He averaged 134.6 yards of total offense per game to rank 11th in the FCS while slotting in at quarterback and receiver for the Eagles last season. He also led the Big Sky and set a program record with 1,093 kickoff return yards.
Wing, a Portland State transfer, was second-team all-conference in 2024 with a team-high 93 tackles and 7.5 TFLs for the Vikings. His 8.5 average tackles per game was the fourth-most in the league.
Pibal, a redshirt senior from Oregon, is entering his fourth season as UM's long snapper.
UC Davis had a league-high seven all-conference selections. Offensively, wide receiver Sam Gbatu, Jr., tight end Winston Williams and linemen Ernesto Nava and Eli Simonson were recognized for the Aggies. Twin brothers Rex and Porter Connors, a defensive back and linebacker, respectively, were honored on the defensive side, and placekicker Hunter Ridley got the nod on special teams.
The preseason offensive and defensive players of the year will be announced later Sunday.
2025 BIG SKY CONFERENCE FOOTBALL PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
OFFENSE
QB: Ty Pennington, Northern Arizona
RB: Adam Jones, Montana State
RB: Eli Gillman, Montana
FB: Colter May, Weber State
WR: Sam Gbatu, Jr., UC Davis
WR: Taco Dowler, Montana State
WR: Michael Briscoe, Cal Poly
TE: Winston Williams, UC Davis
TE: Tanner Beaman, Portland State
OL: Titan Fleischmann, Montana State
OL: Gavin Ortega, Weber State
OL: Stryker Rashid, Idaho State
OL: Nate Azzopardi, Idaho
OL: Ernesto Nava, UC Davis
OL: Eli Simonson, UC Davis
DEFENSE
DL: Paul Brott, Montana State
DL: Kenneth Eiden IV, Montana State
DL: Ethan Rodriguez, Cal Poly
DL: Micah Carreon, Northern Arizona
DL: Tylin Jackson, Eastern Washington
DL: Zach Krotzer, Idaho
LB: Peyton Wing, Montana
LB: Porter Connors, UC Davis
LB: Isiah King, Idaho
LB: Brandon Wong, Northern Arizona
LB: Nathan Reynolds, Idaho State
DB: Rex Connors, UC Davis
DB: Mason Rivera, Cal Poly
DB: Cam Chapa, Northern Colorado
DB: DaJean Wells, Eastern Washington
DB: Isaiah Green, Portland State
DB: Mason Young, Idaho State
SPECIAL TEAMS
PK: Hunter Ridley, UC Davis
P: Ben D’Aquila, Northern Arizona
KR: Michael Wortham, Montana
PR: Taco Dowler, Montana State
LS: Grayson Pibal, Montana
ST: Trevor Thurman, Eastern Washington
AP: Michael Wortham, Montana
