Holmes in top three for Defensive Player of the Year

Montana Grizzly defensive end Tyrone Holmes is one step closer to being named the STATS FCS Defensive Player of the Year.

The senior from Eagle Point, Oregon, was one of the top three vote getters in the final balloting for the prize formerly known as the Buck Buchanan Award it was announced on Monday.

While the winner of the Defensive Player of the Year award won't be announced until January, what is known is that person will be from the Big Sky Conference.

All of the top vote getters hail from Big Sky teams, with Southern Utah defensive end James Cowser and Portland State free safety Patrick Onwuasor rounding out the top three, out of 25 finalists.

Each has been invited to the national awards banquet and presentation, where the winner of the award will be announced Jan. 8 in Frisco, Texas - the night before the FCS national championship game.

"Tyrone definitely deserves to be in the final three. He's been a dominating figure all season long, and his play is a direct result of all the hard work that he's put in during his career. We couldn't be more proud of him," said Montana head coach Bob Stitt.

"To have the top three defensive players in the country is a huge statement about the quality of football in the Big Sky as well."

Holmes, from Eagle Point, Oregon, has the Griz (8-4) moving toward a second-round playoff game at North Dakota State on Saturday. Explosive off the edge, the FCS leader in sacks had three more in the Grizzlies' first-round win over South Dakota State on Saturday, giving him 17 for the season as well as 23 tackles for loss.

While following in a long line of outstanding Montana defensive ends - he could become Montana's 11th first-team All-American at the position since 1987 - the 6-4, 250-pound Holmes ranks third on the team with 82 tackles (31 solo) and has nine quarterback hurries as well as a pair of forced fumbles. He was selected to the all-Big Sky first team.

In the FCS first round playoff game against South Dakota State, Holmes passed Tim Bush to move into second on Montana's all-time sack list with a career total of 33.5 sacks, and has the most sacks of any player in the nation with 17 this season.

Holmes also moved into a tie with Bush for second place on Montana's all-time tackle-for-loss list with 48.5 to his name.

A national panel of 150 sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries voted for the STATS FCS Defensive Player of the Year, selecting a top five among 25 finalists. Their voting reflected the regular season and was conducted before the start of the playoffs.

The results for fourth through 25th place were as follows:
4. Noah Spence, Eastern Kentucky: 17-13-18-14-8-227
5. Deiondre' Hall, Northern Iowa: 13-17-12-8-10-195
6. Deon King, Norfolk State: 11-11-8-9-6-147
7. Javon Hargrave, South Carolina State: 7-11-4-8-4-111
8. DeAndre Houston-Carson, William & Mary: 5-3-8-7-8-83
9. Victor Ochi, Stony Brook: 7-5-2-4-7-76
10. Stephen Hodge, Fordham: 4-5-5-7-6-75
11. Christian Kuntz, Duquesne: 3-4-6-7-6-69
12. Don Cherry, Villanova: 3-4-7-4-6-66
13. Jermaine Hough, Jacksonville State: 3-1-9-5-2-58
14. Myke Tavarres, Incarnate Word: 2-7-0-4-9-55
15. P.J. Hall, Sam Houston State: 4-2-4-3-0-46
16. Dee Delaney, The Citadel: 2-3-1-4-9-42
17. Keionta Davis, Chattanooga: 1-3-3-4-7-41
18. Darnell Sankey, Sacramento State: 0-0-4-10-7-39
19. John Hugunin, Drake: 2-2-3-2-6-37
20. Kourtney Berry, Alabama State: 2-1-4-3-2-34
21. Tyler Drake, Penn: 1-2-2-2-6-29
22. Chima Uzowihe, Liberty: 1-2-0-3-3-22
23.(T) O.J. Mau, Gardner-Webb: 0-2-0-1-1-11
23.(T) Derek Rivers, Youngstown State: 0-1-0-2-3-11
25. Harlan Miller, SE Louisiana: 0-0-1-1-4-9

A first-place vote was worth five points, a second-place vote four points, a third-place vote three points, a fourth-place vote two points and a fifth-place vote one point.

University of Montana Athletics

Holmes in top three for Defensive Player of the Year

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