(Editor's note: University of Montana media release)
MISSOULA -- The Montana Grizzlies landed five players on one of three Stats Perform Preseason all-America teams, the FCS news organization announced Monday. Weber State and Montana, who went one and two, respectively, in the preseason Big Sky polls, were tied with five selections each - the most of any team in the league.
Receiver Samuel Akem and linebacker Jace Lewis were each named to the second team, while safety Robby Hauck, long snapper Matthew O'Donoghue, and kick returner Malik Flowers each landed on the third team.
Akem, Lewis, Hauck, and O'Donoghue were also named to the preseason all-Big Sky team last week at the conference's annual kickoff event in Spokane. Flowers, a preseason all-league pick in 2020, earns his first preseason nod ahead of the 2021 season.
All 15 FCS conferences and 60 schools were represented among the 120 preseason All-Americans, split into three 40-player Stats Perform teams. Over 80 percent of the players earned a spot on a previous preseason or postseason All-America squad.
Sam Houston and North Dakota State, the two most recent FCS national champions, had a team-high six players each named to the list.
Akem, a preseason All-Big Sky pick, is set to enter his senior season as one of the top-20 receivers in Montana history with 2,022 career yards to date. He also enters the season among UM's top-20 in career receptions (142) and will serve as an anchor on one of the premiere receiving corps in FCS football. The senior from Oklahoma was a 2020 preseason all-league pick as well as a HERO Sports Preseason All-American in 2019 when he finished the season with second-team all-conference honors.
Lewis, the 2020 Big Sky Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, was also a repeat preseason all-league pick in 2021. The senior from Townsend enters the 2021 season as one of the top-40 all-time tacklers in Montana history with 219 stops to his name. As a junior in 2019, he was one of the top five tacklers in the Big Sky and a top-25 tackler in FCS football with 131 stops that year. He was recently announced as the next Grizzly to carry on the No. 37 jersey tradition as well.
Hauck has started every game of his career at Montana. His 236 career tackles currently place him at No. 31 on UM's all-time leading tackler list. Ahead of the 2020-21 season, Hauck earned preseason All-Big Sky honors from the conference and preseason All-America and all-league selections from HERO Sports and Phil Steele Magazine. With 12 stops, he was UM's top overall tackler during the two-game 2021 season.
O'Donoghue was a consensus All-American after his junior season in 2019 and is expected to handle UM's snapping duties for a fourth-straight year, with preseason all-conference honors going his way in 2021. As a junior he earned All-America honors from Stats Perform, Athlon Sports, and Phil Steele Magazine after putting in 144 attempts on the punt team, field goal team, and PAT team without a bad snap. He also caught a pass for a two-point conversion at Sac State.
Flowers continues his junior season after two years as one of the most dominant kick returners in FCS football. With two electric returns for 70 yards in the spring season, he enters the fall of 2021 with 1,556 career kick return yards and three touchdowns, needing just over 500 more yards to break the school record. He earned multiple All-America honors as a junior in 2019 and was a preseason All-Big Sky pick in 2020. He was also named a 2020 preseason All-American by Phil Steele magazine, Athlon Sports and HERO Sports, while being named to the College Football America FCS Starting Lineup.
Montana enters the 2021 fall season coming off a 2-0 spring campaign that saw the Grizzlies dismantle Central Washington and Portland State by a combined score of 107-10.
UM opens the season on Sept. 4 against the University of Washington in Seattle, with the home opener against Western Illinois set for Sept. 11 in Missoula.
2021 STATS PERFORM FCS PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA TEAM
FIRST TEAM
OFFENSE
QB – Eric Barriere, senior, 6-0, 200, Eastern Washington
QB – Cole Kelley, senior, 6-7, 260, Southeastern Louisiana
RB – Julius Chestnut, senior, 6-1, 215, Sacred Heart
RB – Jah-Maine Martin, senior, 5-10, 214, North Carolina A&T
RB – Otis Weah, junior, 5-9, 195, North Dakota
FB – Hunter Luepke, junior, 6-1, 245, North Dakota State
WR – Avante Cox, senior, 5-10, 170, Southern Illinois
WR – Jakob Herres, senior, 6-4, 211, VMI
WR – Tyler Hudson, sophomore, 6-2, 185, Central Arkansas
TE – Ryan Miller, senior, 6-2, 221, Furman
OL – P.J. Burkhalter, senior, 6-3, 330, Nicholls
OL – Liam Fornadel, senior, 6-4, 310, James Madison
OL – Garret Greenfield, junior, 6-6, 295, South Dakota State
OL – David Kroll, senior, 6-7, 315, Delaware
OL – Cordell Volson, senior, 6-7, 310, North Dakota State
OL – Ty Whitworth, senior, 6-4, 300, Weber State
DEFENSE
DL – Jared Brinkman, senior, 6-2, 290, Northern Iowa
DL – Isaiah Chambers, grad, 6-5, 250, McNeese
DL – Mike Greene, senior, 6-3, 285, James Madison
DL – Jahari Kay, senior, 6-2, 255, Sam Houston
DL – Jordan Lewis, junior, 6-3, 205, Southern
LB – Troy Andersen, senior, 6-4, 235, Montana State
LB – Logan Backhaus, senior, 6-4, 205, South Dakota State
LB – Willie Eubanks III, senior, 6-2, 230, The Citadel
LB – La'akea Kaho'ohanohano-Davis, senior, 6-1, 215, Southern Utah
LB – Stone Snyder, junior, 6-3, 225, VMI
LB – Tre Walker, senior, 6-1, 235, Idaho
DB – Markquese Bell, redshirt senior 6-3, 205, Florida A&M
DB – Nicario Harper, junior, 6-1, 205, Jacksonville State
DB – Kordell Jackson, senior, 5-9, 188, Austin Peay
DB – Ferlando Jordan, junior, 6-0, 180, Southeastern Louisiana
DB – Zyon McCollum, senior, 6-3, 195, Sam Houston
SPECIAL TEAMS
PK – Ethan Ratke, senior, 5-10, 185, James Madison
P – Daniel Whelan, senior, 6-6, 215, UC Davis
LS – Kyle Davis, senior, 5-11, 210, James Madison
KR – Christian Watson, senior, 6-4, 200, North Dakota State
PR – Jequez Ezzard, grad, 5-9, 190, Sam Houston
AP – Elijah Dotson, senior, 6-0, 185, Sacramento State
AP – Quay Holmes, senior, 6-1, 216, ETSU
AP – Javon Williams Jr., junior, 6-2, 245, Southern Illinois
SECOND TEAM
OFFENSE
QB – Zerrick Cooper, senior, 6-3, 225, Jacksonville State
QB – Eric Schmid, senior, 6-1, 180, Sam Houston
RB – Percy Agyei-Obese, senior, 6-0, 204, James Madison
RB – Karl Mofor, senior, 5-9, 229, Albany
RB – Pierre Strong Jr., senior, 5-11, 210, South Dakota State
FB – Nathan Walker, senior, 6-0, 225, Wofford
WR – Samuel Akem, senior, 6-4, 212, Montana
WR – Dai'Jean Dixon, senior, 6-4, 200, Nicholls
WR – Xavier Gipson, junior, 5-9, 170, Stephen F. Austin
TE – Noah Gindorff, junior, 6-6, 266, North Dakota State
TE – Rodney Williams II, senior, 6-4, 235, UT Martin
OL – AJ Farris, senior, 6-2, 300, Monmouth
OL – Tylan Grable, junior, 6-7, 260, Jacksonville State
OL – Braxton Jones, senior, 6-7, 310, Southern Utah
OL – Trevor Penning, senior, 6-7, 321, Northern Iowa
OL – Tre'mond Shorts, senior, 6-4, 326, ETSU
OL – Tristen Taylor, senior, 6-6, 325, Eastern Washington
DEFENSE
DL – DJ Coleman, senior, 6-6, 265, Jacksonville State
DL – Malik Hamm, senior, 6-3, 260, Lafayette
DL – Kobie Turner, senior, 6-3, 285, Richmond
DL – Spencer Waege, senior, 6-5, 274, North Dakota State
DL – Joseph Wallace, senior, 6-1, 300, Sam Houston
LB – Ryan Greenhagen, senior, 6-1, 235, Fordham
LB – James Kaczor, senior, 6-0, 211, North Dakota State
LB – Jace Lewis, senior, 6-1, 238, Montana
LB – Conner Mortensen, senior, 6-0, 215, Weber State
LB – Tristan Wheeler, junior, 6-2, 228, Richmond
DB – Anthony Adams, junior, 6-0, 185, Portland State
DB – Anthony Budd, senior, 5-11, 200, Monmouth
DB – Qua Brown, senior, 5-11, 206, Southern Illinois
DB – Decobie Durant, senior, 5-11, 175, South Carolina State
DB – Chris Edmonds, junior, 6-2, 205, Samford
DB – Kedrick Whitehead, senior, 5-11, 195, Delaware
SPECIAL TEAMS
PK – Antonio Zita, senior, 5-9, 170, Tennessee State
P – D.J. Arnson, grad, 6-0, 185, Northern Arizona
LS – Robert Soderholm, junior, 6-1, 216, VMI
KR – Rashid Shaheed, senior, 6-0, 180, Weber State
PR – Tyrin Ralph, senior, 5-8, 170, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
AP – Kevin Brown, senior, 5-9, 204, UIW
AP – Dejoun Lee, senior, 5-7, 185, Delaware
THIRD TEAM
OFFENSE
QB – E.J. Perry, senior, 6-2, 210, Brown
QB – Cameron Ward, sophomore, 6-3, 225, UIW
QB – Liam Welch, grad, 6-2, 194, Samford
RB – Josh Davis, junior, 5-9, 195, Weber State
RB – Juwon Farri, junior, 5-10, 195, Monmouth
RB – Geno Hess, senior, 5-8, 209, Southeast Missouri
RB – Devin Wynn, senior, 6-0, 211, Furman
FB – Logan Kendall, senior, 6-4, 264, Idaho
WR – Xavier Smith, redshirt senior, 5-10, 175, Florida A&M
WR – C.J. Turner, junior, 6-2, 180, Southeastern Louisiana
WR – Lujuan Winningham, junior, 6-3, 195, Central Arkansas
TE – Marshel Martin, sophomore, 6-2, 210, Sacramento State
OL – J'Von Brown, senior, 6-3, 320, Central Connecticut State
OL – ZeVeyon Furcron, senior, 6-2, 327, Southern Illinois
OL – Kyle Nunez, senior, 6-2, 340, Stony Brook
OL – J.D. DiRenzo, senior, 6-6, 315, Sacred Heart
OL – Colby Thomas, senior, 6-2, 295, Sam Houston
OL – Matt Waletzko, senior, 6-7, 295, North Dakota
DEFENSE
DL – Malik Fisher, senior, 6-4, 295, Villanova
DL – Devonnsha Maxwell, senior, 6-2, 295, Chattanooga
DL – Shaundre Mims, senior, 6-0, 276, Charleston Southern
DL – Jared Schiess, senior, 6-3, 300, Weber State
LB – Keonte Hampton, senior, 6-2, 220, Jackson State
LB – Matthew Jackson, senior, 6-2, 205, Eastern Kentucky
LB – Forrest Rhyne, senior, 6-1, 225, Villanova
LB – Jeremiah Tyler, senior, 6-2, 225, Princeton
DB – James Caesar, senior, 5-10, 185, Southern Illinois
DB – Brandon Easterling, senior, 6-0, 203, Dayton
DB – Marcis Floyd, junior, 6-0, 188, Murray State
DB – Robby Hauck, junior, 5-10, 185, Montana
DB – Evan Horn, senior, 6-0, 220, New Hampshire
DB – Tyree Robinson, senior, 5-11, 184, ETSU
SPECIAL TEAMS
PK – Luis Aguilar, grad, 6-3, 200, Northern Arizona
P – Noah Gettman, senior, 6-5, 205, Sacred Heart
P – Brady Schult, senior, 6-1, 215, South Dakota
LS – Matthew O'Donoghue, senior, 6-1, 260, Montana
KR – Malik Flowers, junior, 6-2, 195, Montana
PR – Mike Roussos, senior, 6-0, 195, Columbia
AP – Jake Chisholm, senior, 5-9, 182, Dayton
AP – Isaiah Davis, sophomore, 6-1, 220, South Dakota State
