FARMINGTON, Utah (Nov. 14, 2022) - Marqui Johnson (Montana State), Ulonzo Gilliam Jr. (UC Davis), Winston Reid (Weber State) and Devin Bale (Northern Colorado) earned conference honors after their performances this past Saturday, as the quartet was named Big Sky Football Players of the Week, presented by Cloverdale Plumbing.
Co-Offensive Player of the Week - Marqui Johnson (Montana State)/Ulonzo Gilliam Jr. (UC Davis)
Montana State's Marqui Johnson earned Big Sky Football Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors after an explosive day for the Bobcats in their 72-28 win at Cal Poly. Johnson rushed for 242 yards and four touchdowns, scoring on runs of 78, 71, 36 and 12 yards while setting a Bobcat single-game record following his 18.6 yards per carry average. Johnson and the Bobcats also broke the Big Sky single-game mark for rushing yards with 554 on the night.
UC Davis running back Ulonzo Gilliam Jr. shared honors with MSU's Johnson on the offensive side of the ball after leading the Aggies to an upset road win over No. 15 Idaho on Saturday. Gilliam rushed for 164 yards, eclipsing the 100-yard mark in the first half, while scoring three times for the Aggies. On his first score of the game, Gilliam broke the UC Davis career rushing touchdown record of 40 that was held by Preston Jackson (1991-93), before also moving past the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season.
Defensive Player of the Week - Winston Reid (Weber State)
Weber State's Winston Reid won his first Big Sky Football Defensive Player of the Week honor, after posting a very active day for the Wildcats in their 45-7 win over Idaho State this past Saturday. Reid forced three fumbles, including two strip sacks, and one was returned for a touchdown. He also posted a team-high seven tackles, including four solo tackles. On the season, Reid leads the Wildcats and is sixth in the Big Sky in tackles at 8.3 per game. He is also second in the conference with four forced fumbles.
Special Teams Player of the Week - Devin Bale (Northern Colorado)
Northern Colorado's Devin Bale won his first Big Sky Football Special Teams Player of the Week honor, as he did a little bit of everything to help the Bears defeat Northern Arizona 21-20 at home Saturday. Bale boomed seven punts for a 43.7 average, as three of his punts landed inside the 20-yard line while two soared past 50 yards. Bale also scored a third of the team's points after going 2-of-2 on field goals and tacking on an extra point, while logging five kickoffs for three touchbacks to round out his kicking duties for the day.
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Others Nominated
Off: Nick Ostmo (Montana), Dylan McCaffrey (Northern Colorado), Pierre Williams (Sac State), Draycen Hall (NAU), Dontae McMillan (Weber State)
Def: Rex Connors (UC Davis), Robby Hauck (Montana), Tama Tuitele (Northern Colorado), Armon Bailey (Sac State), Cosmas Kwete (NAU)
ST: Garrett Graves (Montana), Marshel Martin (Sac State)
Past Big Sky Football Players of the Week
9/5 - Off: Gunner Talkington (EWU); Def: Braxton Hill (UM); ST: Cameron Skattebo (Sac State)
9/12 - Off: Jaden Jones (CP); Co-Def: Rex Connors (UCD)/Desmond Williams (WSU); ST: Taco Dowler (MSU)
9/19 - Off: Bronson Barron (WSU); Def: Patrick O'Connell (UM); ST: Ricardo Chavez (Idaho)
9/26 - Off: Lucas Johnson (UM); Co-Def: Robby Hauck (UM)/Armon Bailey (Sac State); ST: Elijah Dotson (UNC)
10/3 - Co-Off: Sean Chambers (MSU)/Dante Chachere (PSU); Def: Armon Bailey (Sac State); ST: Patrick Rohrbach (UM)
10/10: Off: RJ Martinez (Northern Arizona); Def: Callahan O'Reilly (Montana State); ST: Abraham Williams (Weber State)
10/17: Co-Off: Willie Patterson (MSU)/Gevani McCoy (Idaho); Def: Charles Ike (Idaho State); ST: Kyle Sentkowski (Sac State)
10/24: Off: Tommy Mellott (MSU); Def: Rex Connors (UC Davis); ST: Eemil Herranen (NAU)
10/31: Off: Miles Hastings (UC Davis); Def: Teddye Buchanan (UC Davis); ST: Jack Burgess (Weber State)
11/7: Off: Hayden Hatten (Idaho); Def: Michael Jackson (Portland State); ST: Blake Glessner (Montana State)