FARMINGTON, Utah — Montana State quarterback Tommy Mellott on Wednesday was named Big Sky Conference offensive player of the year, becoming one of four Bobcats to win individual awards as the league announced its postseason honors.
Joining Mellott were Big Sky defensive player of the year Brody Grebe, freshman of the year Adam Jones and coach of the year Brent Vigen.
In 12 regular-season games, Mellott, a senior from Butte, threw for 1,956 yards with 22 touchdowns and just one interception while completed 68.5% of his passes. He also rushed for 640 yards and 11 scores on the ground while leading the Bobcats to a 12-0 record and the outright Big Sky title.
Mellott joins former MSU quarterbacks DeNarius McGhee (twice) and Kelly Bradley as Big Sky offensive MVP honorees.
Grebe, a senior defensive end from Melstone, finished the regular season with six quarterback sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss. He had 28 total tackles, a forced fumble and three pass breakups. Grebe is the ninth Bobcat to win defensive MVP honors.
Jones, a freshman running back out of Missoula Sentinel, rushed for 928 yards on 125 carries, an average of 7.4 yards per attempt, and had nine rushing touchdowns. He is the third from MSU to win the league's top freshman award.
Vigen, in his fourth year as Montana State's head coach, guided the Bobcats to the best regular-season finish in school history and the outright league crown. MSU is the No. 1 seed for the upcoming FCS playoffs.
Vigen is the fourth Bobcat to win multiple league awards as the top coach, joining Mike Kramer, Sonny Holland and Jim Sweeney.
The Big Sky newcomer of the year was Northern Arizona quarterback Ty Pennington. Pennington had 20 total touchdowns in his first season with Northern Arizona, with over 2,500 total offensive yards. Pennington also led the Lumberjacks to their first playoff appearance since 2017.
The Bobcats had nine players named first-team all-conference, and 17 overall. Grebe and offensive guard Marcus Wehr were unanimous first-team selections.
The Montana Grizzlies had two first-team all-conference selections in offensive lineman Brandon Casey and Junior Bergen, who was chosen as the top kickoff returner.
Below is the full list of Big Sky award winners and all-conference selections:
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 All-Big Sky Offense
(* - Unanimous selection)
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
First Team All-Big Sky Defense
(* - Unanimous selection)
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
First Team All-Big Sky 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 All-Big Sky Offense
QB: Miles Hastings, UC Davis
RB: Damon Bankston, Weber State
RB: Eli Gillman, Montana
FB: Austin York, Eastern Washington
WR: Jacob Sharp, Weber State
WR: Jared Gipson, Sacramento State
WR: Keelan White, Montana
WR: Jordan Dwyer, Idaho
TE: Mike Martinez, Idaho
TE: Tanner Beaman, Portland State
OL: Jonny Bottorff, Northern Arizona
OL: Titan Fleischmann, Montana State
OL: Stryker Rashid, Idaho State
OL: Eli Simonson, UC Davis
OL: Gavin Ortega, Weber State
OL: Cole Sain, Montana State
AP: Dante Chachere, Portland State
Second Team All-Big Sky Defense
DL: Kemari Munier-Bailey, Weber State
DL: Hayden Harris, Montana
DL: Matt Brown, Eastern Washington
DL: Paul Brott, Montana State
DL: Evan Bearden, UC Davis
LB: Riley Wilson, Montana
LB: Peyton Wing, Portland State
LB: Porter Connors, UC Davis
LB: Ryan Tirrell, Montana
LB: Danny Uluilakepa, Montana State
DB: Andrew Powdrell, Montana State
DB: DJ VanHook, Northern Arizona
DB: Zach Lewis, Northern Arizona
DB: Trevin Gradney, Montana
DB: Mason Rivera, Cal Poly
DB: Derek Ganter Jr., Eastern Washington
Second Team All-Big Sky Specialists
KR: Michael Wortham, Eastern Washington
PR: Junior Bergen, Montana
K: Hunter Ridley, UC Davis
P: Brendan Hall, Montana State
ST: T.J. Rausch, Montana
Honorable Mention Offense
QB: Dante Chachere, Portland State
RB: Adam Jones, Montana State
RB: Elijah Tau-Tolliver, Sacramento State
WR: Giancarlo Woods, Cal Poly
WR: Mark Hamper, Idaho
WR: Junior Bergen, Montana
TE: Jett Carpenter, Eastern Washington
OL: Nate Azzopardi, Idaho
OL: Jack Seelye, Eastern Washington
OL: Billy Lutui, Portland State
OL: Ernesto Nava, UC Davis
OL: Luke Dahlgren, Eastern Washington
OL: Journey Grimsrud, Montana
OL: Richard Estrella, Portland State
Honorable Mention Defense
DL: Micah Carreon, Northern Arizona
DL: Princeton Toki, UC Davis
DL: Ethan Rodriguez, Cal Poly
DL: Malakai Williams, Idaho
DL: Kenneth Eiden IV, Montana State
DL: Brayden Wilson, Weber State
LB: Garrett Beck, Weber State
LB: Isiah King, Idaho
LB: Ammon Allen, Northern Arizona
LB: Zach Johnson, Idaho
LB: Brandon Wong, Northern Arizona
DB: Jaxon Lee, Montana
DB: Tyreese Shakir, Portland State
DB: DaJean Wells, Eastern Washington
DB: Cam Chapa, Northern Colorado
Honorable Mention Specialists
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
ST: Sean Farfan, Northern Arizona
