The Phil Steele 2026 FCS Preseason All-America team was released Monday, and there is no shortage of Big Sky Conference players honored. 

Especially from defending national champion Montana State, which had nine players honored and filled 11 spots out of 120 spread between the first- and fourth teams. 

Receiver Taco Dowler and tackle Titan Fleischmann were first-team on offense for the Bobcats, and safety Caden Dowler was first-team on defense.  

Montana’s Eli Gillman was first team at running back and Peyton Wing was the same at linebacker.  

The first team had a large Big Sky footprint with UC Davis getting receiver Samuel Gbatu and safety Rex Connors selected along with Idaho State O-lineman Styker Rashid and Cal Poly linebacker Mikey D’Amato. 

Back to the Bobcats: Quarterback Justin Lamson was second team along with kicker Myles Sansted and Taco Dowler at all-purpose; running back Adam Jones was third team, as was defensive end Zac Crews, corner Tayden Gray and Taco Dowler (again) at punt returner; on the fourth team were offensive tackle Braden Zimmer.  

The Grizzlies had one other player honored in quarterback Keali’i Ah Yat, as fourth-team quarterback. 

So Many Cats 

Philsteele.com, along with the website Draftscout.com, also picked a preseason all-Big Sky and the Bobcats dominated that as well with 20 spots out of 90 (first, second and third teams). 

Nine were picked first-team, three second team — Dane Steele at receiver, Burke Mastel at O-line, Cole Taylor at linebacker, Brody Johnson at long snapper — and three were third team (linebacker Bryce Grebe, defensive back Bryant Meredith and punter Colby Frojker).  

Gillman was named the preseason player of the year on offense and Caden Dowler got the honor on defense. 

Alongside Gillman, Grizzlies honored included Jake Mason (first-team, D-line), Brooks Davis (second-team, receiver), Solomon Tuliaupupu (second team, linebacker), Ian Finch (third-team, receiver) and Tanner Huff (third team, safety). 

Veteran QBs 

The Grizzlies held their first non-River Bowl practice on Monday, taking to the grass adjacent to Dornblaser Stadium, then had head coach Bobby Kennedy, offensive coordinator Brent Pease and quarterbacks Keali’i Ah Yat and Gage Sliter talk to the assembled media. 

Ah Yat had a landmark season in 2025, becoming the Grizzlies’ first-team all-Big Sky quarterback since Craig Ochs in 2004. He did it as a third-year sophomore. Now, with the NCAA’s advent of the 5-for-5 rule, he’s a fourth-year, and he’s not resting on his laurels. 

Asked what he hoped to improve on from 2025 — when he threw for 4,070 yards and 33 touchdowns — he said, “Everything.” 

“I don’t think I’m anywhere close to where I can be,” Ah Yat continued. “Slowing the game down, still being a student of the game, processing coverages, being a student of the game every day you’re out there.” 

Sliter, the Glacier High product who came in the same year as Ah Yat, has ascended to veteran status despite throwing 697 fewer regular-season passes than Ah Yat (and Ah Yat has thrown 697). There are six QBs in camp, and Pease professes to liking them all. 

“Going into Year 4, with a guy like Keali’i in front of me and how good of a player he is, my mentality doesn’t change,” Sliter said. “Being a leader, being vocal, just lead by example  and work as hard as I can every single day.” 

You Wonder If. ... 

Speaking of Glacier quarterbacks, incoming Portland State coach Chris Fisk had positive things to say about true freshman Jackson Presley, who has been with the team all summer. 

Summer coaching is limited to one-on-one stuff while team drills are run without coaches present. Presley, who had a recruiting stops at Boise State, Montana State and Sacramento State before PSU, is one of four QBs in camp with the Vikings. 

“The things that are working against us are obviously not being in spring ball,” Fisk said. “But he did get in there for the summer sessions, so he’s got some reps with his teammates under his belt. We’re excited about him.  

“As we started the recruiting process last winter I didn’t think we had a shot at him. But as things transpired, it was just kind of the way it worked out. And the relationship he’s developed with our offensive coordinator and quarterback coach, Coach Atkins, and myself — it really was a fit for all of us. It’s been an honor to get to know his family and him. He’s a special person.” 

Of PSU’s quarterbacks, John-Keawe Sagapolutele has the most experience; he threw for 1,623 yards and four touchdowns in 12 games in 2025. Third-year Gabe Downing and second-year Tyrese Smith are the other QBs in camp. Smith is a dual threat who ran for 405 yards and threw for 551 in 12 games last fall. Downing saw action in two games, going 15-for-26 with two interceptions and 140 yards, with no TDs.