The opening of fall camp is less than a month away for the 13 teams in the Big Sky Conference. The season officially begins on August 26 when Portland State plays at BYU and August 27 when Cal Poly hosts Colgate.
The league will host the Big Sky Kickoff, its annual football media conference in Park City, Utah, on July 16 through July 18. There, the Big Sky will unveil the league’s preseason all-league team voted on by the league’s media as well as the preseason polls as voted on by both the media and coaches. In anticipation of those lists, Skyline Sports will give a look at how we voted. First up, we will start with the top offensive talent in the Big Sky.
EWU quarterback Gage Gubrud pictured here during EWU’s FCS playoff quarterfinal win over Richmond/ by Jason Bacaj
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year — Gage Gubrud, quarterback, Eastern Washington — At this time last year, hardly anyone outside of Eastern Washington’s program knew anything about Gubrud, at the time a third-year sophomore who had spent most of his career backing up various standout quarterbacks like Vernon Adams and Jordan West. Many around the Big Sky figured EWU’s quarterback battle would be between West, a strong-armed pocket passer who threw 30 touchdowns in 2015, and Reilly Hennessey, a former Washington Player of the Year who started a few games down the stretch that same season.
But Gubrud’s mobility and explosive ability helped him win the job. In his first career start, Gubrud threw for 474 yards and five touchdowns while also ripping off a game-sealing 30-yard touchdown run in Eastern’s 45-42 upset of Pac 12 Washington State.
By the end of one of the most impressive breakout seasons in college football history, Gubrud had thrown for 5,160 yards and 48 touchdowns while rushing for a team-high 606 yards and five more touchdowns during EWU’s 12-2 season. His passing yardage total is an all-time FCS record while his 5,766 yards of total offense ranks second in FCS history behind only Steve McNair’s legendary senior season at Alcorn State in 1994. Gubrud’s 412 yards of total offense per game would have ranked seventh among teams in the Big Sky, ahead of UC Davis, Weber State, North Dakota, Southern Utah, Sacramento State, Montana State and Idaho State.
Gubrud shared the Big Sky’s Offensive MVP with teammate and favorite pass catcher Cooper Kupp, a third-round pick by the Los Angeles Rams in last spring’s NFL Draft. Gubrud also finished as the runner-up for the Walter Payton Award.
EWU quarterback Gabe Gubrud / by Brooks Nuanez
Despite all his record setting, Gubrud enters his second year as the starter at EWU with plenty of question marks. How will the Eastern offense look with revered head coach Beau Baldwin now the offensive coordinator at Cal and offensive coordinator Troy Taylor now the OC at Utah? Will Gubrud’s production take a hit with the departure of wide receivers Kupp, Kendrick Bourne (49ers) and Shaq Hill (Houston Texans) to the NFL? All remains to be seen. But Gubrud’s tremendous debut season is enough to give him the nod as the league’s preseason Offensive Player of the Year over Cal Poly fullback Joe Protheroe, Northern Arizona wide receiver Emmanuel Butler, NAU quarterback Case Cookus and North Dakota running back John Santiago.
PRESEASON ALL-BIG SKY OFFENSE
Quarterback — Gage Gubrud, Eastern Washington — Cookus, a 6-foot-5 sophomore with a strong arm and fluid throwing motion, will have a legitimate shot at becoming the Big Sky’s best gunslinger if he can stay healthy. But the 2015 FCS Freshman of the Year missed most of last season after suffering a season-ending shoulder injury before conference play began.
It remains to be seen what Eastern’s offense looks like under first-year head coach Aaron Best but EWU has consistently produced the league’s most prolific passing offense for the last 20 years regardless of who is calling the plays.
UND running back John Santiago /by Brooks Nuanez
Running back — John Santiago, North Dakota — Santiago’s production took a hit in his second year after his record-setting rookie season in 2015. Yet the strong, explosive 5-foot-9, 180-pounder became just the sixth player in league history to earn first-team All-Big Sky accolades as a freshman and sophomore.
Behind an offensive line that featured three all-league seniors in 2015, Santiago rushed for a conference rookie record 1,459 yards and 16 touchdowns. Last season with defenses keying heavily on him and classmate Brady Oliveira emerging to ease his workload, Santiago rushed for 983 yards and seven touchdowns for the Big Sky champions.
Oliveira, the thunder to Santiago’s lightning, split carries evenly with Santiago last season — he had 168 to Santiago’s 183 — and Oliveira managed to pile up 897 yards and scored 10 touchdowns. With the addition of Minnesota transfer James Johannesson, a 6-foot-1, 230-pound bruiser who earned North Dakota Gatorade Player of the Year honors twice at Fargo South High, Santiago’s carries might take a hit again. But his talent is still enough to assume he’ll produce at a high level.
Running back — Jeremy Calhoun, Montana — Oliveira, NAU’s Joe Logan, Northern Colorado’s Trae Riek and Cal Poly’s Kyle Lewis all have arguments to take the second running back spot on this list. But Calhoun has as much pure talent as any back in the league, bar none. With elevated opportunities in his junior year, his numbers could grab some major attention.
Montana head coach Bob Stitt’s spread air raid offense does not cater to a huge number of carries for UM’s running backs. But Calhoun made the most of his chances last season, rushing for 555 yards and nine touchdowns on just 77 carries. In his career, Calhoun has rushed for 846 yards and 18 touchdowns on just 177 touches. If Montana wants to return to the playoffs, the Griz might be well suited to ensure the 6-foot, 203-pounder from Long Beach is more involved.
Former Cal Poly quarterback Chris Brown runs the option with returning fullback Joe Protheroe
Fullback — Joe Protheroe, Cal Poly — Protheroe is the no-brainer pick of the league, a dynamic offensive weapon in a position usually reserved for short-yardage power fullbacks.
Last season, Protheroe was a model of power and toughness as the catalyst of Cal Poly’s triple option offense. The 6-foot, 225-pounder rushed for a Big Sky-leading 1,334 yards and 13 touchdowns on a bruising 242 carries, also the top mark in the league. In his career, Protheroe has 2,297 yards and 21 touchdowns. He is seeking his third straight first-team All-Big Sky honor for the Mustangs, who led the FCS in rushing with 343.5 yards per game.
Wide receiver — Emmanuel Butler, Northern Arizona — Like Santiago, a monster freshman season (64 catches, 1,208 yards, 15 touchdowns) resulted in elevated attention paid to NAU’s intimidating receiver.
The 6-foot-4, 220-pounder is, at least in terms of physical superiority, the dominant offensive player in the Big Sky entering his junior season. Despite the extra attention paid to him by defenses and the season-ending injury suffered by Cookus, the former prep tight end still managed 69 catches for 1,003 yards and nine touchdowns last fall. Those numbers are sure to jump if he and his classmate quarterback can both stay healthy.
Wide receiver — Keelan Doss, UC Davis — Doss showed his promise by averaging 14.8 yards per catch and scoring two touchdowns as a true freshman in 2014. He missed all of 2015 due to an injury but bounced back to be a standout on Davis’ otherwise pedestrian offense last season.
The 6-foot-3, 206-pounder earned second-team All-Big Sky honors by catching 66 passes for 911 yards and 10 touchdowns, all Top 5 marks in the league. Davis has a new head coach in Dan Hawkins and will need to find a replacement for three-year starter Ben Scott at quarterback but Doss’ ability to stretch the field should make him one of the league’s top outside threats once again.
EWU wide receiver Nic Sblendorio/by Brooks Nuanez
Wide receiver — Nic Sblendorio, Eastern Washington — Sblendorio has been waiting his turn behind a trio of NFL-caliber wide receivers ever since arriving in Cheney. It seems 2017, his senior season, will be his turn to shine.
The 6-foot, 190-pounder has put up respectable numbers — 79 catches for 1,078 yards and six touchdowns over the last three campaigns, including 33 grabs for 401 yards and three scores last season — despite being a distant fourth option behind the All-American triad of Cooper Kupp, Kendrick Bourne and Shaq Hill. Kupp, a four-time All-American and the greatest wide receiver in FCS history, was a third-round draft pick by the Los Angeles Rams. Bourne (San Francisco 49ers) and Hill (Houston Texans) will participate in NFL training camps later this month.
Many question marks surround the EWU program — namely, what will the Eagles’ consistently prolific offense look like without former head coach Beau Baldwin (OC at Cal) calling the plays — but with Gubrud back in the fold and a stockpile of talent because of Baldwin’s excellent recruiting ability, Eastern is sure to throw the ball all over the field again. And Sblendorio looks like the next in line to get plenty of targets.
Tight end — Andrew Vollert, Weber State — The former San Jose State transfer is one of six players in the league that earned All-American honors last season. Vollert was the Big Sky’s Newcomer of the Year and a first-team all-conference selection after catching 62 passes for 840 yards and seven touchdowns.
The 6-foot-5, 250-pounder, who spent the 2015 season at San Francisco City College, also played in three games for the SJSU basketball team in 2014-15. He enters his final season as the undisputed top tight end in the Big Sky.
Montana running back Jeremy Calhoun runs behind UM’s offensive line/by Brooks Nuanez
Offensive tackle — David Reese, Montana — Montana’s offensive line has received scrutiny in recent years after a run of dominance through the league for most of the first decade of the 21st century. But Reese has been a stalwart who has steadily improved over his career, culminating in a season filled with importance for both Reese and the Griz as a whole.
The 6-foot-7, 298-pounder enters his fourth year as a starter after earning third-team All-Big Sky honors for UM’s 6-5 team last season. The Happy Valley, Oregon native started 24 games at right tackle in 2014 and 2015 before moving to left tackle as a junior. If he can cap his career with an all-conference campaign, he will get a look to play on Sundays just like many of the standout Grizzly offensive tackles that came before him.
Offensive tackle — Randin Crecelius, Portland State — Crecelius had the unimaginably unenviable task of replacing All-Big Sky left tackle Kyle Smith last season. Smith was arguably one of the Big Sky’s top NFL prospects entering his junior year.
Smith’s was the second unexpected death of a PSU player last off-season. Just a few months earlier, standout outside linebacker A.J. Schlatter died of complications from tonsil surgery.
Crecelius, an All-Big Sky selection at guard his sophomore season in 2015, stepped into Smith’s spot and performed admirably. Himself an NFL prospect, the 6-foot-5, 305-pounder from Lake Stevens, Washington earned third-team All-Big Sky honors during PSU’s disappointing 3-8 season.
Offensive guard — Tyler Shank, Northern Arizona — What Shank lacks in pure size — the senior is 6-3, 285 pounds — he makes up for with quickness and great pass blocking fundamentals.
Northern Arizona’s spread offense employs both run-pass option and West Coast pro-style elements when it’s operating at its full efficiency. Interior offensive linemen must be able to play at varying tempos, zone block effectively on RPO plays and protect the passer when Cookus looks for his speedy receivers with downfield throws.
With Montana State’s J.P. Flynn (49ers), Portland State’s Cam Keizur (Atlanta Falcons) and Weber State’s Cameron Young no longer in the league, Shank is the most decorated offensive guard after earning second-team honors last fall.
UND junior guard Demon Taylor/ UND athletics
Offensive guard — Demon Taylor, North Dakota — Taylor’s breakout sophomore year puts him alongside Shank as the most decorated returning guard in the Big Sky. Unlike Shank, Taylor’s skill set is built on power.
The 6-4, 310-pounder from St. Louis earned third-team All-Big Sky honors at guard after helping pave the way for an offense that amassed more than 2,500 rushing yards for the second straight year. Santiago, Oliveira and Johannesson will all benefit from the holes plowed open by Taylor next fall.
Center — Joey Kuperman, Cal Poly — The center is often called the quarterback of the offensive line and that remains true with triple-option attacks. Kuperman, the Big Sky’s first-team center a year ago, has transformed into exactly that in a short period of time.
Stephen Sippel carved out a reputation as one of the league’s most physical interior offensive linemen in his three years as Cal Poly’s center. The 6-1, 295-pound Kuperman started one game at left guard in 2014 and earned honorable mention All-Big Sky honors at right guard his sophomore year in 2015. Last season, Kuperman guided an offensive line that helped Cal Poly lead the country in rushing once again on the way to a berth in the FCS playoffs.
Place kicker — Griffin Roehler, Northern Arizona — As a true freshman, the in-state product ascended to the top of the list for Big Sky kickers with a near-perfect rookie season.
The 5-11, 205-pounder hit 13 of his 16 field goal attempts an all but one of his 45 point-after touchdown tries. He scored 83 points total to earn first-team All-Big Sky honors in his first Division I season.
North Dakota kicker Reid Taubenheim, a second-team All-Big Sky selection last season, returns for his senior year. Montana State’s Luke Daly showed elite leg strength during spring football in Bozeman after missing last season with a torn ACL and legal troubles and could be a dark horse candidate for the Big Sky’s best kicker. But for now, Roehler’s one efficient year is enough to give him the preseason nod.
Kick returner — John Santiago, North Dakota — The former wide receiver recruit proved he could play running back at the Division I level, earning second-team All-American honors as a true freshman. Entering his junior year, he has developed into one of the top kick returners in the country as well.
Last fall, he averaged nearly 28 yards per kick return to earn second-team All-American honors. He held roughly the same average returning kicks his true freshman year.
Photos by Brooks Nuanez or attributed. All Rights Reserved.
