FARMINGTON, Utah (Dec. 5, 2024) — Montana State's Brent Vigen was voted the 2024 Eddie Robinson Award winner, as the top coaching honor headlined the Big Sky's list of representatives for the Stats Perform FCS National Awards voting results from this week.
Vigen and the Bobcats had one of the best season's ever in 2024, going 12-0 and winning the program's first outright Big Sky title since 2011. Montana State was tabbed the No. 1 overall seed for the FCS Playoffs for the first time ever and the first since 2009 for a Big Sky squad. The Bobcats will open their postseason play this Saturday against UT Martin in the second round of the playoffs.
The Eddie Robinson Award, which was first presented in 1987, was last won by Sacramento State's Troy Taylor in 2019 prior to Vigen's win this season. Overall, the Big Sky has won this award five times, with it being the first in program history for Montana State. Dan Hawkins of UC Davis (2018), Joe Glenn of Montana (2000) and Chris Ault of Nevada (1991) are the other Big Sky winners for the Eddie Robinson Award since it began in 1987.
Vigen finished with 173 points in the voting results, while Tennessee State's Eddie George finished with 115 points for second place and the Big Sky's Tim Plough of UC Davis finished a close third with 110 points.
Vigen will officially accept his award at the Stats Perform FCS National Awards Banquet on Jan. 4 in Frisco, Texas.
For the full release from Stats Perform FCS,
click here.
Vigen's quarterback, Tommy Mellott, was named a Top 3 finalist for the Walter Payton Award as well this week, with the winner officially being announced at the Stats Perform FCS National Awards Banquet on Jan. 4 in Frisco, Texas. Mellott was invited to the banquet alongside North Dakota State's Cam Miller and Southern Utah's Targhee Lambson as the three will vie for top offensive award in the FCS.
Mellott led Montana State to a 12-0 record and Big Sky title, with 22 passing touchdowns and only one interception. The Bobcat quarterback also had 11 touchdowns rushing as well to give him 33 total TDs on the year. Mellott finished the regular season with 1,930 yards passing and 633 yards rushing to give him a 2,613-yard haul for the year.
The Walter Payton Award, which was first presented in 1987, was last won by a Big Sky school in 2021 following Eric Barriere winning the honor after a great year for Eastern Washington. The Big Sky has won the award a total of nine times in the award's 37-year history.
The Big Sky had four finalists in total for the Walter Payton Award, as the UC Davis duo of Lan Larison and Miles Hastings finished fifth and seventh in the voting, while Eastern Washington's Efton Chism III garnered ninth place following the voting results.
For the full release from Stats Perform FCS,
click here.
The Big Sky had three finalists for the Buck Buchanan Award, which is given to the top defensive player in the FCS. Montana State's Brody Grebe, who was named the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year, finished ninth in voting, while Idaho's Keyshawn James-Newby was 16th and UC Davis' David Meyer tied for 17th in voting.
Jeremiah Grant of Richmond, David Walker of Central Arkansas and TJ Moore of Mercer were named the Top 3 finalists for the Buck Buchanan Award and will be invited to the Stats Perform FCS National Awards Banquet on Jan. 4 in Frisco, Texas.
For the full release from Stats Perform FCS,
click here.
The Big Sky's streak of two-straight Jerry Rice Award winners was snapped this season, but the league did finish with a second and third place finish in voting for the top freshman in the FCS award. Adam Jones of Montana State and Carson Conklin of Sacramento State came in second and third following the voting results, as North Dakota State's CharMar Brown won the award. Voting was especially tight for the top spot, as Brown finished with 183 points and Jones with 178 points.
Outside of the Top 3, Idaho's Mark Hamper finished sixth in voting and Eastern Washington's Derek Ganter Jr., finished eighth overall in voting.
For the full release from Stats Perform FCS,
click here.
Montana State, UC Davis, Idaho and Montana will all be in action for Saturday's second round of the FCS Playoffs, with the Bobcats, Aggies and Vandals hosting games and the Griz hitting the round following their first-round victory.
Follow all things #BigSkyFB on Twitter and Instagram at @BigSkyFB. Follow the Big Sky Conference (@BigSkyConf) on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Blue Sky, YouTube and TikTok for all the latest news around the league and use the hashtag #ExperienceElevated to stay connected.