FARMINGTON, Utah (Dec. 6, 2023) - After an incredible season in the backfield for the Montana Grizzlies, Eli Gillman was named the 2023 Jerry Rice Award recipient by Stats Perform on Wednesday. The award honors the top national freshman player of the year in the FCS and is presented by FedEx Ground.
Montana's Eli Gillman is 2023 Jerry Rice Award Recipient | The Analyst
Gillman's win on Wednesday marks the Big Sky's fifth Jerry Rice Award winner since it first began in 2011. Gillman joins Idaho's Gevani McCoy (2022), Weber State's Josh Davis (2018), Northern Arizona's Case Cookus (2015) and Eastern Washington's Cooper Kupp (2013) as the league's all-time winners for the national freshman player of the year award.
Gillman, a redshirt freshman from Dassel, Minnesota, has rushed for 926 yards and 10 touchdowns on the season and helped lead Montana to its first Big Sky championship since 2009. Gillman was also named the Big Sky Freshman of the Year following his outstanding season in 2023, becoming the first-ever winner for Montana in the award's history that began in 2013.
A 56-member panel voted on the 13th annual award – named after legendary wide receiver Jerry Rice, who starred at Mississippi Valley State as part of his Hall of Fame career – with Eastern Illinois running back MJ Flowers finishing second and South Carolina State running back Jawarn Howell finishing third. Montana State's Conner Moore finished sixth in the voting, while Northern Colorado's Hunter Green tied for 11th to round out the Big Sky's finalists for the award.
Gillman will be honored at the Stats Perform FCS National Awards Banquet on Jan. 6 in Frisco, Texas. Additionally, the winners of the Walter Payton Award (FCS offensive player of the year), Buck Buchanan Award (FCS defensive player of the year), Eddie Robinson Award (FCS coach of the year) and FedEx Ground Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award will be honored at the banquet.
Gillman's Montana squad will continue its playoff run on Friday, Dec. 8, as the Griz host Furman in the quarterfinals. The game will kickoff at 7 p.m. MT in Missoula and air on ESPN2.
Last year's Jerry Rice Award recipient, Gevani McCoy, will lead his Idaho Vandals against UAlbany on Saturday, Dec. 9, with kickoff slated for 8 p.m. MT on ESPN+ to round out the Big Sky participants in the FCS Quarterfinals.
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2023 Jerry Rice Award Voting Results
Following is a breakdown of the voting results. A first-place vote was worth five points, a second-place vote four points, a third-place vote three points, a fourth-place vote two points and a fifth-place vote one point. The final number is the combined point total.
1. Eli Gillman, RB, Montana: 31-6-6-2-2-203
2. MJ Flowers, RB, Eastern Illinois: 6-11-6-10-7-119
3. Jawarn Howell, RB, South Carolina State: 6-6-2-10-1-81
4. Tye Niekamp, LB, Illinois State: 3-6-8-3-6-75
5. Griffin Woodell, RB, UAlbany: 3-4-8-5-2-67
6. Conner Moore, LT, Montana State: 2-3-6-6-6-58
7. Jaylen King, QB, Gardner-Webb, QB: 2-6-4-3-5-57
8. Carter Glassmyer, LB, Saint Francis: 0-5-4-6-9-53
9. Beau Sparks, WR, Utah Tech: 1-3-4-3-7-42
10. VJ Wilkins, WR, Campbell: 0-3-1-0-1-16
11.(tie) Hunter Green, PK/P, Northern Colorado: 0-0-2-2-4-14
11.(tie) Malachi Hosley, RB, Penn: 0-3-0-1-0-14
13. Jaylon Joseph, DE, Lafayette: 0-0-3-1-2-13
14. Anthony Johnson, WR, Stony Brook: 1-0-1-1-1-11
15.(tie) Dom Nankil, QB, San Diego: 1-0-0-0-1-6
15.(tie) Ty’Jarian Williams, QB, Mississippi Valley State: 0-0-1-1-1-6
17. Owen Zalc, PK, Dartmouth: 0-0-0-1-1-3
18. Brendan Jenkins, WR, Samford: 0-0-0-1-0-2
19.(tie) Gavin Lochow, WR, Dayton: 0-0-0-0-0-0
19.(tie) Rasheed Lovelace, DT, Nicholls: 0-0-0-0-0-0
19.(tie) Aaron Sears, CB, Stephen F. Austin: 0-0-0-0-0-0
19.(tie) Luke Yoder, RB, Lehigh: 0-0-0-0-0-0