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(STATS) - FCS receptions leader Keelan Doss was named the Big Sky's offensive player of the year Tuesday in voting by the league's 13 head coaches, while playoff-bound Weber State led the All-Big Sky first team with eight selections.
Doss caught 115 passes for UC Davis as a junior, 15 more than any other player in Division I, and the STATS FCS Walter Payton Award finalist also led the nation with 1,499 receiving yards. The player who threw Doss the majority of those passes, sophomore quarterback Jake Maier, was named the conference's newcomer of the year. He finished second in the FCS in completion percentage (68.6) and third in passing yards (3,669).
Weber State senior cornerback Taron Johnson, the only unanimous selection to the Big Sky's defensive first team, was named the conference's defensive player of the year after helping lead the Wildcats to a share of the league title.
Dual-threat Troy Andersen, who plays both running back and linebacker for Montana State, earned freshman of the year honors. He rushed for 515 yards and had six total touchdowns on offense, while on defense he had nine tackles and a sack.
Northern Arizona quarterback Case Cookus and Weber State tight end Andrew Vollert were named to the first team for the second time, while North Dakota running back John Santiago and Southern Utah outside linebacker Michael Needham earned their third career first-team selections.
The conference's coach of the year will be announced Wednesday.
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BIG SKY POSTSEASON AWARDS=
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Keelan Doss, WR, UC Davis
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Taron Johnson, CB, Weber State
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Troy Andersen, RB/LB, Montana State
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Jake Maier, QB, UC Davis
FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
QB - Case Cookus, Northern Arizona, So.
RB - John Santiago, North Dakota, Jr.
RB - James Madison, Idaho State, Jr.
FB - Jared Mohamed, Cal Poly, Sr.
WR - Keelan Doss, UC Davis, Jr.
WR - Elijah Marks, Northern Arizona, Sr.
WR - Mitch Gueller, Idaho State, So.
TE - Andrew Vollert, Weber State, Sr.
OT - Iosua Opeta, Weber State, Jr.
OT - David Reese, Montana, Sr.
OG - Skyler Phillips, Idaho State, Sr.
OG - Tyler Shank, Northern Arizona, Sr.
C - Zach Larsen, Southern Utah, So.
FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
DT - McKay Murphy, Weber State, Sr.
DT - Anu Pole'o, Southern Utah, Sr.
DE - Ben Sorenson, Sacramento State, Sr.
DE - George Obinna, Sacramento State, Jr.
OLB - Michael Needham, Southern Utah, Sr.
OLB - Mac Bignell - Montana State, Sr.
ILB - Mario Jenkins, Idaho State, Sr.
ILB - LeGrand Toia, Weber State, Jr.
CB - Taron Johnson, Weber State, Sr.
CB - Jarmaine Doubs, Southern Utah, Sr.
S - Wes Sutton, Northern Arizona, Jr.
S - Mister Harriel, Sacramento State, Jr.
FIRST TEAM SPECIAL TEAMS
PK - Trey Tuttle, Weber State, Fr.
KR - Rashid Shaheed, Weber State, Fr.
P - Jordan Dascalo, Eastern Washington, Sr.
SPEC - Brady May, Weber State, Jr.
