Associated Press tabs Olson and Toure All-Americans

The Montana Grizzlies continued to reap the individual reward for helping the team pick up its first 10-win season since 2013, with the Associated Press naming Dante Olson and Samori Toure to its FCS All-American list, the organization announced Tuesday.

After leading the FCS in tackles for two-straight seasons, Olson repeated as a first-team AP All-American after breaking the Big Sky record for tackles in a season with 179. In just two seasons as a starter, Olson became Montana's all-time leader in tackles with 397 stops.

Olson was also named the Big Sky co-Defensive Player of the Year, a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, a CoSIDA Academic All-American, and earned a place on the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team as well.

The Buck Buchanan Award finalist is the first Grizzly since Jordan Tripp in 2012-13 to earn back-to-back All-America recognition from the Associated Press. He will find out if he is the winner of the Buchanan Award on January 10 at the STATS FCS Awards Banquet in Frisco, Texas, on the eve of the National Championship game.

Toure, a Portland, Ore. native, was named to the AP's third-team All-America list after setting a pair of Montana school records the breaking an FCS Playoff record for most receiving yards in a game set by NFL Hall of Famer Randy Moss in 1996.

Boosted by 303 receiving yards against Southeastern Louisiana, the junior caught a school-record 87 catches for 1,495 yards this season – the second-most total yardage in the FCS and the most in the Big Sky. His 87 catches in a season broke the great Joe Douglass' 1996 record of 82 grabs, and his 1,495 yards broke Marc Mariani's 2009 single-season school record of 1,479 yards.

Toure had arguably the best two months of any player in FCS history, catching 10 TD passes for 905 yards in UM's six games in November and December.

Olson and Toure were two of 14 players from the Big Sky Conference selected to one of three AP All-America Teams.

Defending national champion North Dakota State placed two players on the first-team and five players overall on the three teams.

The team, released Tuesday and presented by Regions Bank, was selected by a panel of 11 members of the media who cover the Football Championship Subdivision.

2019 ASSOCIATED PRESS ALL-AMERICA TEAMS

FIRST TEAM

OFFENSE

Quarterback — Case Cookus, senior, Northern Arizona.

Running backs — Pete Guerriero, junior, Monmouth; James Robinson, senior, Illinois State.

Offensive linemen — Drew Himmelman, junior, Illinois State; Dillon Radunz, junior, North Dakota State; Blake Jeresaty, junior, Wofford; Spencer Blackburn, senior, Eastern Washington; PJ Burkhalter, junior, Nicholls State.

Tight end — Adam Trautman, senior, Dayton.

Wide receivers — Juwan Green, senior, Albany; Cade Johnson, junior, South Dakota State.

All-purpose player — Chris Rowland, senior, Tennessee State.

Kicker — Luis Aguilar, junior, Northern Arizona.

DEFENSE

Linemen — Derrek Tuszka, senior, North Dakota State; Ron'Dell Carter, senior, James Madison; Sully Laiche, senior, Nicholls State; Aaron Patrick, senior, Eastern Kentucky.

Linebackers — Dante Olson, senior, Montana; Willie Eubanks III, junior, The Citadel; Zach Hall, senior, Southeast Missouri State.

Secondary — Kordell Jackson, junior, Austin Peay; Brandon Easterling, junior, Dayton; Greg Liggs Jr., senior, Elon; Anthony Adams, sophomore, Portland State.

Punter — Alex Pechin, senior, Bucknell.

SECOND TEAM

OFFENSE

Quarterback — Trey Lance, redshirt freshman, North Dakota State.

Running backs — Alex Ramsey, junior, VMI; Jah-Maine Martin, junior, North Carolina A&T.

Offensive linemen — Liam Fornadel, junior, James Madison; Marcus Pettiford, senior, North Carolina A&T; Kyle Murphy, senior, Rhode Island; Kyle Anderton, senior, Austin Peay; Zack Johnson, senior, North Dakota State.

Tight end — Charlie Taumoepeau, ,senior Portland State.

Wide receivers — Aaron Parker, senior, Rhode Island; DeAngelo Wilson, junior, Austin Peay.

All-purpose player — Earnest Edwards, senior, Maine.

Kicker — Grayson Atkins, junior, Furman.

DEFENSE

Linemen — John Daka, senior, James Madison; Bryce Sterk, senior, Montana State; Elerson Smith, junior, Northern Iowa; Eli Mencer, senior, Albany.

Linebackers — Bryson Armstrong, junior, Kennesaw State; Christian Rozeboom, senior, South Dakota State; Dimitri Holloway, senior, James Madison.

Secondary — Artevius Smith, senior, East Tennessee State; Jeremy Chinn, senior, Southern Illinois; Joseph McWilliams, senior, Grambling State; Isiah Swann, senior, Dartmouth.

Punter — Matt McRobert, junior, Sam Houston State.

THIRD TEAM

OFFENSE

Quarterback — Kevin Thomson, junior, Sacramento State.

Running backs — Julius Chestnut, sophomore, Sacred Heart; Pierre Strong, sophomore, South Dakota State.

Offensive linemen — Zach Larsen, senior, Southern Utah; Alex Taylor, senior, South Carolina State; AJ Farris, senior, Monmouth; Deiter Eislen, senior, Yale; Mitch Brott, senior, Montana State.

Tight end — Dalton Kincaid, sophomore, San Diego.

Wide receivers — Samori Toure, junior, Montana; Jeff Cotton, senior, Idaho.

All-purpose player — Troy Andersen, junior, Montana State.

Kicker — Ethan Ratke, junior, James Madison.

DEFENSE

Linemen — George Obinna, senior, Sacramento State; Mason Bennett, senior, North Dakota; Nick Salley, senior, Charleston Southern; Nick Wheeler, senior, Colgate.

Linebackers — Keith Woetzel, senior, Lehigh; Jabril Cox, junior, North Dakota State; Cam Gill, senior, Wagner.

Secondary — Adam Smith, senior, James Madison; Omar Brown, freshman, Northern Iowa; Luther Kirk, senior, Illinois State; Fernando Jordan, sophomore, Southeastern Louisiana.

Punter — Chris Faddoul, junior, Florida A&M.

University of Montana Athletics

Associated Press tabs Olson and Toure All-Americans

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