Big Sky Announces 2020-21 Spring Football All-Conference Honors
4/21/2021 9:23:00 AM | Football
FARMINGTON, Utah -- Two days removed from being named a finalist for the Walter Payton Award, Eastern Washington's Eric Barriere has been named the Big Sky's Offensive Player of the Year for the 2020-21 spring football season.
The senior led the Big Sky in the vast majority of passing categories. He completed 166 passes for 2,188 yards and 18 touchdowns. He connected on 62 percent of his passes and averaged 364.7 yards per game through the air. The Eagles scored at an incredibly high clip, averaging 40.67 points per game. EWU finished the season with the sixth-highest scoring offense in the FCS.
Earning the title of Defensive Player of the Year is Weber State's Conner Mortensen. The top defensive player on the Big Sky Championship team finished the season with 44 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, an interception, and a sack. The Wildcats held opposing offenses to 17.6 points per game and only allowed teams to move the ball on an average of 138 yards per game.
After transferring to Idaho State from Wyoming, Bengal quarterback Tyler Vander Waal has been named Newcomer of the Year by the Big Sky Conference. The first-year ISU player completed 116 passes for 1,843 yards and 12 touchdowns. He averaged 307.2 yards per game through the air and completed 54 percent of his passes.
Freshman of the Year honors was split between UC Davis' Chubba Maae and Weber State's Dontae McMillan.
Maae was a nightmare for opposing offensive lines with 12 tackles and a tackle for loss. McMillan had a big year on the ground in his first regular-season outing with the Wildcats. He had 49 carries for 308 yards and five touchdowns. He averaged 61.6 yards per game on the ground. McMillan was a strong complement to first-team honoree Josh Davis, the leading rusher for the Wildcats.
Highlighting the all-conference first team, Weber State's Rashid Shaheed earned his third honor of his career on the top team, along with WSU offensive lineman Ty Whitworth and running back Davis.
A number of players were unanimous selections to the all-conference first-team, headlined by Barriere, at the quarterback spot.
Weber State head coach Jay Hill has been named Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year following an undefeated spring campaign. The Wildcats went 5-0 this year, and are set to make their fifth consecutive FCS playoff appearance this weekend.
The Big Sky All-Conference team and individual award winners were selected by the eight head football coaches that competed in a Big Sky season. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own players. The conference's Coach of the Year award will be announced on Thursday.
While Cal Poly was eligible to nominate players for the all-conference teams, the coaching staff respectfully declined the opportunity after opting out for the remainder of their campaign and playing only three games.
The all-conference teams were cut down from the traditional three teams to two due to only eight teams playing a shortened schedule.
Spring 2020-21 Big Sky Football All-Conference
Offensive Player of the Year: Eric Barriere, QB, Eastern Washington
Defensive Player of the Year: Conner Mortensen, LB, Weber State
Newcomer of the Year: Tyler Vander Waal, QB, Idaho State
Co-Freshman of the Year: Chubba Maae, DT, UC Davis & Dontae McMillan, RB, Weber State
Coach of the Year: Jay Hill, Weber State
FIRST TEAM OFFENSE Player Year School
Quarterback Eric Barriere* Sr. Eastern Washington
Wide Receiver Talolo Limu-Jones* Sr. Eastern Washington
Wide Receiver Tanner Conner Sr. Idaho State
Wide Receiver Hayden Hatten So. Idaho
Offensive Line Nick Amoah* Jr. UC Davis
Offensive Line Ty Whitworth*% Sr. Weber State
Offensive Line Noah Atagi So. Weber State
Offensive Line Braxton Jones Jr. Southern Utah
Offensive Line Connor Pettek Jr. UC Davis
Offensive Line Tristen Taylor Sr. Eastern Washington
Running Back Josh Davis*% Jr. Weber State
Running Back Tamarick Pierce Sr. Eastern Washington
Tight End McCallan Castles* So. UC Davis
Fullback Logan Kendall* Jr. Idaho
Kicker Luis Aguilar*$ Sr. Northern Arizona
Punt Returner Rashid Shaheed*% Sr. Weber State
Kick Returner Rashid Shaheed*% Sr. Weber State
Special Teams Player Colton Belnap* Sr. Idaho State
FIRST TEAM DEFENSE Player Year School
Defensive Tackle Jared Schiess*$ Sr. Weber State
Defensive Tackle Bryce Rodgers Sr. UC Davis
Defensive End Mitchell Johnson Jr. Eastern Washington
Defensive End Francis Bemiy Jr. Southern Utah
Outside Linebacker Christian Elliss$ Sr. Idaho
Outside Linebacker La'akea K-Davis Jr. Southern Utah
Inside Linebacker Conner Mortensen* Sr. Weber State
Inside Linebacker Tre Walker* Jr. Idaho
Defensive Back Morgan Vest* Jr. Northern Arizona
Defensive Back Jayden Dawson Jr. Idaho State
Defensive Back Eddie Heckard So. Weber State
Defensive Back Jordan Perryman Jr. UC Davis
Defensive Back Anthany Smith Jr. Eastern Washington
Defensive Back Preston Smith Sr. Weber State
Defensive Back Desmond Williams Jr. Weber State
Punter Daniel Whelan * Sr. UC Davis
SECOND TEAM OFFENSE Player Year School
Quarterback Tyler Vander Waal Jr. Idaho State
Wide Receiver Freddie Roberson So. Eastern Washington
Wide Receiver Landen Measom Sr. Southern Utah
Wide Receiver Stacy Chukwumezie Sr. Northern Arizona
Offensive Line Luke Rudolph Sr. Northern Arizona
Offensive Line Terron Carey So. Idaho State
Offensive Line Jonas Leader RJr. Northern Arizona
Offensive Line Wyatt Musser Jr. Eastern Washington
Offensive Line Jacob Angel So. Idaho State
Offensive Line Jordan Ford So. UC Davis
Running Back Lan Larison Fr. UC Davis
Running Back Dontae McMillan Fr. Weber State
Tight End Matthew Kempton RJr. Northern Arizona
Kicker Seth Harrison So. Eastern Washington
Punt Returner Isaiah Thomas Sr. UC Davis
Kick Returner Nick Romano So. Idaho
Special Teams Player Treyson Johnson Fr. Southern Utah
SECOND TEAM DEFENSE Player Year School
Defensive Tackle Chubba Maae Fr. UC Davis
Defensive Tackle Sione Lapuaho Sr. Weber State
Defensive End George Tarlas Jr. Weber State
Defensive End Luka Nixon Jr. UC Davis
Outside Linebacker Oshea Trujillo Sr. Idaho State
Outside Linebacker Connor Airey Sr. UC Davis
Inside Linebacker Cole Hansen Jr. UC Davis
Inside Linebacker Harrison Beemiller Sr. Northern Arizona
Inside Linebacker Sherwin Lavaka Sr. Weber State
Defensive Back Anthony Sweeney Jr. Northern Arizona
Defensive Back LJ Davis Jr. Southern Utah
Defensive Back Tyrese Dedmon Sr. Idaho
Defensive Back Jalen Hoover Sr. Idaho
Defensive Back Tre Weed So. Eastern Washington
Punter Cade Coffey Sr. Idaho
Honorable Mention
Quarterback: Justin Miller (SUU) and Keondre Wudtee (NAU)
Offensive Line: Logan Floyd (UI)
Running Back: Malakai Rango (ISU) and Dennis Merritt (EWU)
Kicker: Cade Coffey (UI) and Manny Berz (SUU)
Punt Returner: Judd Cockett (SUU)
Kick Returner: Judd Cockett (SUU)
Defensive Line: Joshua Jerome (EWU), Kainoa Fuiava (ISU), Jonah Kim (UI) and Rashaan Crawford (UI)
Defensive End: Carson Taylor (NAU) and Terrence Jones (ISU)
Outside Linebacker: Fa'ave Fa'ave (UI)
Inside Linebacker: Connor Wills (ISU), Ty Graham (EWU) and Tristen Vance (NAU)
Punter: DJ Arnson (NAU)
*-Unanimous All-First Team Selection
$ - Two-Time All-Big Sky First Team Selection
% - Three-Time All-Big Sky First Team Selection
