Senior tackle John Weidenaar etched his name in Bobcat football history Saturday, setting a school record for consecutive games started, and he did so again Tuesday. Weidenaar and tight end Beau Sandland each landed First Team All-Big Sky honors, the league announced.
Weidenaar started all 49 of his games at Montana State, and helped anchor a Bobcat offensive line that paved the way for one of the FCS’ top five offenses. Montana State averaged a Big Sky-leading 519.8 yards and 41.9 points a game in 2015. Sandland transferred to MSU from Miami in 2014 and redshirted, playing as a senior this fall. He led Big Sky tight ends with 71.6 receiving yards per conference game.
Weidenaar and Sandland were two of 11 Bobcats honored by the league on Tuesday. Seven of those 11 call the offensive side of the ball home. Quarterback Dakota Prukop and defensive tackle Taylor Sheridan each earned second team honors. Prukop finished the regular season third in the FCS in total offense with 347.5 yards per game, throwing 28 touchdown passes and rushing for 11 more. Sheridan logged 10 tackles for loss, among the most for league interior linemen, forcing two fumbles and blocking three kicks.
Offensive guard JP Flynn, receiver Mitchell Herbert and running back Chad Newell each earned Third Team All-Big Sky honors. Flynn started every game at left guard for MSU this year. Newell rushed for 831 yards, and his 13 touchdowns was second-most among league running backs. Herbert caught 42 passes for 562 yards and eight touchdowns.
Center Joel Horn, kicker Luke Daly and special teams player Logan Jones each earned honorable mention honors. Linebacker Mac Bignell also made the honorable mention list, sharing the Big Sky lead in tackles-for-loss (1.69 per game) and fumbles forced (0.38 per game) in conference games.
MONTANA STATE ALL-BIG SKY CHOICES
First Team: OT John Weidenaar (sr., Manhattan, MT), TE Beau Sandland (sr., Simi Valley, CA)
Second Team: QB Dakota Prukop (jr., Austin, TX), DT Taylor Sheridan (sr., Littleton, CO)
Third Team: WR Mitchell Herbert (so., Eugene, OR), OG JP Flynn (jr., Bettendorf, IA), RB Chad Newell (jr., Billings, MT)
Honorable Mention: C Joel Horn (sr., Kalispell, MT), LB Mac Bignell (so., Drummond, MT), K Luke Daly (so., Billings, MT), ST Logan Jones (fr., Kalispell, MT)
