Montana senior wide receiver/punt returner Jerry Louie-McGee, the former Lake City High standout, was named to the all-Big Sky Conference first team in football.

Louie-McGee was honored as a punt returner by the conference. He led the league in punt return yards by more than 8 yards per attempt with a 17.1 yards per return average — the fourth-most in the FCS.

Louie-McGee also became Montana’s all-time leader in pass receptions this season, bringing his record-setting total to 221 — currently tied for the 11th-most in Big Sky history.

Nine Idaho Vandals earned all-conference honors, including two first-team honorees — Christian Elliss at outside linebacker and Nick Romano as a kick returner.

Jeff Cotton, Noah Johnson, Cutrell Haywood and Tre Walker all earned second-team honors, while Lloyd Hightower was a third-team selection. Mason Petrino and former Lakeland High standout Cade Coffey earned honorable mention accolades.

Eastern Washington kicker Seth Harrison, from Coeur d’Alene High, earned honorable mention.

Elliss recorded 9.5 tackles per game, the sixth best mark in the league. He also recorded 12.5 tackles for loss, the fifth best total in the Big Sky. Elliss stepped up in conference play, averaging 11.2 tackles per game, and finished with 10.5 tackles for loss in just eight games.

Romano finished second in the league in kickoff return average at 27.0 yards per return. His biggest moment came against Weber State, when he ran back the first kickoff return for a touchdown by a Vandal since 2012.

Cotton led the nation in receptions per game, averaging 8.8 catches over his 10 games played. He also led the Big Sky and finished second in all of FCS with 114.1 yards per game. Cotton closed the season with a program-record 18 receptions at Northern Arizona, tying the most by an FCS player this year. Cotton was the only Big Sky student-athlete to average over 100 yards receiving per game. Despite playing only 10 games, Cotton led the conference in total catches and finished second in total yards.

Johnson, a first-team All-Big Selection a season ago, was the steady leader of the offensive line. Johnson started all 12 games for the Vandals, and appeared in 45 of a possible 48 games over his four-year career. Haywood finished second in the Big Sky in punt return average at 9.1 yards per return, but upped his average in conference play to 9.5 yards per return.

Walker finished second in the Big Sky with 138 total tackles, averaging 11.5 per game. Walker led the conference with 74 solo tackles. Hightower finished the season in the top-10 in the conference in passes defended. He had the game of his career against Idaho State, when he scored a pair of touchdowns, on an interception and a fumble recovery, to help lift the Vandals to victory.

Petrino was the only quarterback in the league this season to be responsible for seven touchdowns in a single game, against Northern Arizona to close the season. Petrino closes his career with the highest completion percentage in program history.

Coffey averaged 42.8 yards per punt during the season, the seventh best mark in the conference. He led the league with 20 punts of at least 50 yards. In conference play, Coffey led the Big Sky at 44.8 yards per punt, while dropping 17 punts over 50 yards.

Montana linebacker Dante Olson was named the league’s co-defensive player of the year honoree. The senior linebacker leads the FCS in tackles with 151, while his average of 12.6 tackles per game ranks second. The Buck Buchanan Award finalist has 9.5 tackles for a loss of 37 yards and is an instrumental part of a Griz defense that has held opponents to an average of 135.1 rushing yards per game.

ALL-BIG SKY CONFERENCE

Offensive Player of the Year — Kevin Thomson, quarterback, Sacramento State

Co-Defensive Players of the Year — Dante Olson, linebacker, Montana; Jonah Williams, defensive end, Weber State

Newcomer of the Year — Marcus Knight, running back, Montana

Freshman of the Year — Nick Eaton, linebacker, UC Davis

FIRST TEAM

Offense

Quarterback — Kevin Thomson, jr., Sacramento State. Wide receivers — Samori Toure, jr., Montana; J.J. Koski, sr., Cal Poly; Pierre Williams, so., Sacramento State. Running backs — Josh Davis, so., Weber State; Elijah Dotson, jr., Sacramento State. Offensive line — Zach Larsen, sr., Southern Utah; Mitch Brott, sr., Montana State; Wyatt Ming, sr., Sacramento State; Spencer Blackburn, sr., Eastern Washington; Chris Schlichting, sr., Eastern Washington; Ty Whitworth, jr., Weber State; Cole Habib, sr., Northern Arizona. Tight end — Charlie Taumoepeau, sr., Portland State. Fullback — Clay Moss, jr., Weber State. All-purpose — Travis Jonsen, sr., Montana State. Kicker — Luis Aguilar, jr., Northern Arizona; Punt returner — Jerry Louie-McGee, sr., Montana; Kick returner, Nick Romano, fr., Idaho.

Defense

Tackle — Jared Schless, jr., Weber State; Dariyn Choates, sr., Sacramento State. End — George Obinna, sr., Sacramento State; Jonah Williams, sr., Weber State. Outside linebacker — Troy Andersen, jr., Montana State; Christian Elliss, jr., Idaho. Inside linebacker — Dante Olson, sr., Montana; Jace Lewis, jr., Montana; Josh Hill, sr., Montana State. Defensive back — Daron Bland, jr., Sacramento State; Brayden Konkol, sr., Montana State; Devon King, so., UC Davis; Khalil Dorsey, sr., Northern Arizona; Anthony Adams, so., Portland State. Punter — DJ Arnson, jr., Northern Arizona. Special teams — Emmanuel Daigbe, jr., Portland State.

SECOND TEAM

Offense

Quarterback — Case Cookus, sr., Northern Arizona. Wide receiver — Jeff Cotton, sr., Idaho; Brandon Porter, so., Northern Arizona; Samuel Akem, jr., Montana. Running back — Ulonzo Gilliam, so., UC Davis; Antoine Custer, Jr., sr., Eastern Washington. Offensive line — Nick Blanco, sr., Sacramento State; Conlan Beaver, jr., Montana; Noah Johnson, sr., Idaho; Cy Sirmon, sr., Montana; Lewis Kidd, jr., Montana State; Tyler Whisenhunt, sr., Cal Poly; Tristen Taylor, sr., Eastern Washington. Tight end — Marshel Martin, fr., Sacramento State; Wes Preece, sr., UC Davis. Fullback — Duy Tran-Sampson, so., Cal Poly; Joe Logan, sr., Northern Arizona; Trey Tuttle, jr., Weber State. Punt returner — Cutrell Haywood, so., Idaho; Willie Fairman, sr., Northern Colorado.

Defense

Tackle — Derek Marks, sr., Montana State; Jesse Sims, sr., Montana. End — Bryce Sterk, sr., Montana State; Adam Rodriguez, sr., Weber State. Outside linebacker — Marcus Bruce, sr., Sacramento State; Nick Eaton, fr., UC Davis; Auston Tesch, sr., Weber State. Inside linebacker — Marcus Hawkins, jr., Sacramento State; Tre Walker, so., Idaho. Defensive back — Michael Walker, sr., Northern Colorado; Adkin Aguirre, sr., Idaho State; Eddie Heckard, fr., Weber State; Caelan Barnes, sr., Sacramento State; Robby Hauck, so., Montana. Punter — Doug Lloyd, sr., Weber State.

THIRD TEAM

Offense

Quarterback — Eric Barriere, jr., Eastern Washington. Wide receivers — Emmanuel Daigbe, jr., Portland State; Kevin Kassis, sr., Montana State; Andrew Boston, so., Eastern Washington. Running back — Marcus Knight, so., Montana; Milo Hall, sr., Northern Colorado; Kevin Smith, jr., Weber State. Offensive line — Dallen Collins, sr., Idaho State; Angel Villanueva, sr., Montana; Kaleb Levao, sr., Eastern Washington; Braxton Jones, so., Southern Utah; Ben Bos, jr., Weber State; Garrett Stauffer, sr., Portland State; Taylor Tuiasosopo, jr., Montana State. Tight end — Jayce Gilder, sr., Eastern Washington. Kicker — Cody Williams, so., Portland State. Kick returner — Judd Cockett, jr., Southern Utah.

Defense

Tackles — Elijah Chambers, jr., Sacramento State; Chase Benson, jr., Montana State. End — George Tarlas, so., Weber State; Jim Townsend, sr., Eastern Washington. Outside linebacker — Amandre Williams, jr., Montana State; Luke Holloway, sr., Idaho State. Inside linebacker — Kody Graves, sr., Idaho State; Matt Shotwell, jr., Cal Poly. Defensive back — Lloyd Hightower, sr., Idaho; Josh Sandry, sr., Montana; Preston Smith, jr., Weber State; Dehonta Hayes, sr., Eastern Washington; Carlton Johnson, fr., Southern Utah. Punter — Daniel Whelan, jr., UC Davis.

HONORABLE MENTION

Quarterbacks — Dalton Sneed, Montana; Jake Maier, UC Davis; Mason Petrino, Idaho; Jacob Knipp, Northern Colorado.

Wide receiver — Mitch Gueller, Idaho State; Tanner Conner, Idaho State; Lance Lawson, Southern Utah; Jayson Williams II, Eastern Washington; Khris Vaughn, UC Davis; Willie Fairman, Northern Colorado.

Running back — B.J. Perkinson, Sacramento State.

Offensive line — Jordan Ford, UC Davis.

Kicker — Seth Harrison, Eastern Washington.

Tackle — Bryce Rodgers, UC Davis; Dylan Ledbetter, Eastern Washington; Kenton Bartlett, Portland State; Anthony Del Toro, Portland State.

End — Shawn Richard, Portland State; Josiah Erickson, Sacramento State; Myles Cecil, Cal Poly.

Outside linebacker — Alex Sims, Southern Utah.

Inside linebacker — Luke Nelson, Northern Colorado.

Defensive back — Kitu Humphrey, Northern Colorado; Jerone Jackson, Northern Colorado; AJ Stanley, Southern Utah; Carter Nichols, Cal Poly.

Punter — Jered Padmos, Montana State; Cade Coffey, Idaho.