Aggies land 13 players on Big Sky all-conference team
Larison, Williams, Kennedy, Connors, Bains, Meyer make first team
No. 5 UC Davis had 13 players named to the Big Sky All-Conference team as part of the Big Sky’s postseason awards, with six named first team, five going to the second team and two earning honorable mention.
Lan Larison (unanimous), tight end Winston Williams, defensive lineman Zach Kennedy, defensive back Kavir Bains, linebacker David Meyer and defensive back Rex Connors (unanimous) were all named to the first team.
On the second team were quarterback Miles Hastings, defensive lineman Evan Bearden, offensive lineman Eli Simonson, linebacker Porter Connors and kicker Hunter Ridley.
Offensive lineman Ernesto Nava and defensive lineman Princeton Toki earned honorable mention.
FIRST TEAM AGGIES
Larison, a Walter Payton Award finalist, was a two-time Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week honoree and was named the Big Sky Conference Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. Larison leads all running backs in the nation in both receiving yards (755) and receiving touchdowns (six) and he leads the nation in total all-purpose yards (2,132) and all-purpose yards per game (177.7).
Williams was a force all season, finishing with career highs in every receiving category with 235 yards and six touchdowns on 31 receptions, leading all tight ends in the conference and finishing just one score behind Dartmouth’s Chris Corbo for most receiving touchdowns by a tight end in the nation.
Defensively, Kennedy was an inspirational leader for the Aggies all season, racking up 25 total tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks, two pass break-ups, five quarterback hurries, one forced fumble and one blocked kick. The Aggie edge defender played nearly every snap defensively, and his quarterback hurry against then-No. 5 Idaho on a possible game-tying two-point conversion forced a bad throw by the Vandal quarterback to seal that early season win for the Aggies.
Coming in 28th in the country in passes defended, Bains has been all over the field creating plays for the Aggie defense. The senior defensive back finished with 66 total tackles (47 solo), second on the team for defensive backs, had a team-high 10 pass break-ups and made 8.5 tackles for loss.
He also snagged a pair of interceptions, forced and recovered a fumble and blocked a kick. Bains is only the third Aggie since 2019 to have at least 10 pass break-ups in a season.
Meyer, a Buck Buchanan Award finalist, finished with 104 total tackles, 63 solo tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, four interceptions, one pass break-up, one quarterback hurry and one win-preserving pick six. His 63 solo tackles ties a single season program record as he led the team in interceptions, tackles and solo tackles.
Nationally, Meyer is ranked ninth in the nation in solo tackles per game at 5.3 and 28th in total tackles per game at 8.7. His 63 solo tackles ranks him fourth in the nation and his 104 total tackles ranks him second in the Big Sky Conference.
Impressively, despite playing in only nine games, Rex Connors racked up 91 total tackles, 61 solo tackles (two shy of the single-season program record), 3.0 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, two interceptions and five pass break-ups. He ends the regular season ranked first in the nation in solo tackles per game (6.8) and 10th in total tackles per game (10.1), sitting first in the Big Sky in both categories.
SECOND TEAM AGGIES
Another Walter Payton Award finalist, Hastings finished as one of the nation's most prolific passers. He finished with single-season program records of 3,745 passing yards and 32 touchdowns, with 69.5 percent accuracy.
Hastings ended the regular season ranked second in the country in passing yards, passing touchdowns, passing yards per game and completions per game (25.3). He finished first in the conference in passing touchdowns, passing yards, passing yards per game, total offense and completions per game.
Simonson, for the second-straight season, made every start at left tackle and played every offensive snap across 12 games. He was a key part of a line that blocked for the third-best passing offense in the nation.
Playing on the other side from Kennedy, Bearden had a career year, racking up 27 total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, one quarterback hurry and one pass break-up.
Porter Connors, much like his brother Rex, was everywhere as he finished just behind his brother on the team with 72 total tackles. He had 33 solo tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, one sack and three interceptions. The Aggie linebacker also recovered a fumble at California in the season opener, scoring the first touchdown of the 2024 season when he took that loose ball into the end zone at Memorial Stadium.
Arguably one of the most accurate kickers in the country, Ridley finished third in the conference in field goal percentage (88.9) and field goals per game (1.3). He was sixth in the country in field goal percentage, going 16-for-18 on the season, including hitting three big field goals at Eastern Washington in the Aggies' historic victory on the red turf of Roos Field.
Ridley also tied a program record with four kicks made in a single game, going 4-for-4 against Utah Tech. He also, at one point, was a perfect 12-for-12 across seven games.
HONORABLE MENTION
Playing on the other side of the line from Simonson, Nava joined his teammate in playing every offensive snap, giving UC Davis a right and left tackle tandem that never changed throughout the season.
Teams who tried to run up the middle this season were met by Toki, who finished the season helping the Aggie defense hold Montana and Montana State to season lows in rushing. He also broke up a pass in the Aggie win at Sacramento State. Toki ended the year with 13 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and nine solo tackles.
2024 BIG SKY POSTSEASON AWARDS
Big Sky Football Individual Awards
Offensive Player of the Year: Tommy Mellott, Montana State
Defensive Player of the Year: Brody Grebe, Montana State
Newcomer of the Year: Ty Pennington, Northern Arizona
Freshman of the Year: Adam Jones, Montana State
Coach of the Year: Brent Vigen, Montana State
First Team All-Big Sky Offense
QB: Tommy Mellott, Montana State
RB: LAN LARISON, UC DAVIS*
RB: Scottre Humphrey, Montana State
FB: Rohan Jones, Montana State
WR: Efton Chism III, Eastern Washington
WR: Jeff Weimer, Idaho State
WR: Christian Fredericksen, Idaho State
TE: Bryzai White, Northern Arizona*
TE: WINSTON WILLIAMS, UC DAVIS
OL: Marcus Wehr, Montana State*
OL: Jackson Slater, Sacramento State*
OL: Conner Moore, Montana State
OL: Brandon Casey, Montana
OL: Wyatt Hansen, Eastern Washington
OL: Ayden Knapik, Idaho
AP: Michael Wortham, Eastern Washington
First Team All-Big Sky Defense
DL: Brody Grebe, Montana State*
DL: Keyshawn James-Newby, Idaho
DL: Elijah Ponder, Cal Poly
DL: Dallas Afalava, Idaho
DL: ZACH KENNEDY, UC DAVIS
LB: McCade O'Reilly, Montana State
LB: DAVID MEYER, UC DAVIS
LB: Jaxton Eck, Idaho
LB: Tommy Ellis, Northern Arizona
LB: Will Leota, Sacramento State
DB: REX CONNORS, UC DAVIS*
DB: Alex McLaughlin, Northern Arizona*
DB: Tommy McCormick, Idaho
DB: Andrew Marshall, Idaho
DB: KAVIR BAINS, UC DAVIS
DB: Rylan Ortt, Montana State
First Team All-Big Sky Specialists
KR: Junior Bergen, Montana
PR: Taco Dowler, Montana State
K: Gabe Panikowski, Idaho State
P: Hunter Green, Northern Colorado
ST: Dwayne McDougle, Idaho
Second Team All-Big Sky Offense
QB: MILES HASTINGS, UC DAVIS
RB: Damon Bankston, Weber State
RB: Eli Gillman, Montana
FB: Austin York, Eastern Washington
WR: Jacob Sharp, Weber State
WR: Jared Gipson, Sacramento State
WR: Keelan White, Montana
WR: Jordan Dwyer, Idaho
TE: Mike Martinez, Idaho
TE: Tanner Beaman, Portland State
OL: Jonny Bottorff, Northern Arizona
OL: Titan Fleischmann, Montana State
OL: Stryker Rashid, Idaho State
OL: ELI SIMONSON, UC DAVIS
OL: Gavin Ortega, Weber State
OL: Cole Sain, Montana State
AP: Dante Chachere, Portland State
Second Team All-Big Sky Defense
DL: Kemari Munier-Bailey, Weber State
DL: Hayden Harris, Montana
DL: Matt Brown, Eastern Washington
DL: Paul Brott, Montana State
DL: EVAN BEARDEN, UC DAVIS
LB: Riley Wilson, Montana
LB: Peyton Wing, Portland State
LB: PORTER CONNORS, UC DAVIS
LB: Ryan Tirrell, Montana
LB: Danny Uluilakepa, Montana State
DB: Andrew Powdrell, Montana State
DB: DJ VanHook, Northern Arizona
DB: Zach Lewis, Northern Arizona
DB: Trevin Gradney, Montana
DB: Mason Rivera, Cal Poly
DB: Derek Ganter Jr., Eastern Washington
Second Team All-Big Sky Specialists
KR: Michael Wortham, Eastern Washington
PR: Junior Bergen, Montana
K: HUNTER RIDLEY, UC DAVIS
P: Brendan Hall, Montana State
ST: TJ Rausch, Montana
Honorable Mention Offense (at least 3 votes)
QB: Dante Chachere, Portland State
RB: Adam Jones, Montana State
RB: Elijah Tau-Tolliver, Sacramento State
WR: Giancarlo Woods, Cal Poly
WR: Mark Hamper, Idaho
WR: Junior Bergen, Montana
TE: Jett Carpenter, Eastern Washington
OL: Nate Azzopardi, Idaho
OL: Jack Seelye, Eastern Washington
OL: Billy Lutui, Portland State
OL: ERNESTO NAVA, UC DAVIS
OL: Luke Dahlgren, Eastern Washington
OL: Journey Grimsrud, Montana
OL: Richard Estrella, Portland State
Honorable Mention Defense (at least 3 votes)
DL: Micah Carreon, Northern Arizona
DL: PRINCETON TOKI, UC DAVIS
DL: Ethan Rodriguez, Cal Poly
DL: Malakai Williams, Idaho
DL: Kenneth Eiden IV, Montana State
DL: Brayden Wilson, Weber State
LB: Garrett Beck, Weber State
LB: Isiah King, Idaho
LB: Ammon Allen, Northern Arizona
LB: Zach Johnson, Idaho
LB: Brandon Wong, Northern Arizona
DB: Jaxon Lee, Montana
DB: Tyreese Shakir, Portland State
DB: DaJean Wells, Eastern Washington
DB: Cam Chapa, Northern Colorado
Honorable Mention Specialists (at least 3 votes)
KR: Andrew Marshall, Idaho
PR: Isaiah Eastman, Northern Arizona
K: Zach Schreiner, Sacramento State
K: Mathias Uribe, Portland State
P: Ben D’Aquila, Northern Arizona
ST: Jeremy Justice, Cal Poly
ST: Sean Farfan, Northern Arizona
* Unanimous first-team selection
Reach Bob Dunning at bobdunning@thewaryone.com
This team is the real deal! And so is the coverage from Bob. Might the coverage from Bob be helping the team? It's not hurting.
Thanks for your thorough coverage of Aggie athletics.