O’Connell, Hauck, Ford, and Bergen earn Team MVP Honors

O’Connell, Hauck, Ford, and Bergen earn Team MVP Honors

12/17/2021 12:51:00 PM | Football

By: Montana Sports Information

Four Grizzlies earned one of three team MVP honors after the 2021 season as voted on by the UM players and staff, Montana head coach Bobby Hauck announced Friday.

Buck Buchanan Award finalist Patrick O'Connell was named the 2021 recipient of the prestigious Steve Carlson Most Valuable Player Award, which is voted on by the players at the end of the year and dates back to 1977.

O'Connell, a linebacker, was also voted one of three Defensive MVPs by the UM coaching staff, along with safety Robby Hauck and cornerback Justin Ford – all juniors and all on track to break school records.

Another Grizzly with a bright future was voted as the team's Offensive MVP in true freshman Junior Bergan, who lined up at receiver, running back, and punt returner this season and made a major impact at all three positions in his first year at UM.

O'Connell led the Big Sky in sacks in 2021 with a total of 14, currently the third-most in the FCS and a big reason why Montana's defense ranked among the best in the country all season.

The native of Kalispell finished the year with 105 tackles, which comes in as the sixth-most in the Big Sky and puts him among the top-25 tacklers in the nation.

In addition to being a finalist for the FCS Defensive Player of the Year, he has recently been honored with a place on the Associated Press and HERO Sports FCS All-America teams as well. In November, he was also one of two recipients of the Doug Betters Golden Helmet Award, given to the team's hardest hitter.

O'Connell will travel to Frisco, Texas, on Jan. 7 for the Stats Perform Awards Banquet to see if he will become Montana's second-consecutive Buchanan Award winner after Dante Olson won in 2019.

Hauck was also named a team Defensive MVP after posting his second-straight season with over 125 tackles, missing his 2019 career-high by a single stop at 128.

He is poised to shatter the all-time tackles record at Montana, currently sitting at No. 3 on the list with 364 tackles. Hauck is chasing Olson's school record of 398 stops with a season of eligibility remaining. He's also on track to break EWU's Ronnie Hamlin's Big Sky record of 473 tackles.

The junior was named the team's co-recipient of the Golden Helmet Award for the second time in his career and was named an Academic All-American for the second time as well earlier in the week.

Ford led all divisions of college football in interceptions in 2021 with a total of nine. Over the course of eight games, he tallied a pick in each to go on one of football's most unprobeable streaks. He brought his season total to nine with a pick-six against Eastern Washington, one of his three defensive scores on the year with a pair of interception returns and a fumble return against Montana State.

He's finished the year tied for the third-most single-season INTs in UM history and the most-ever by a Grizzly cornerback.

The native of Concord, N.C., was Montana's eighth-leading tackler in 2021 with 41 total stops. He also registered a pair of TFLs, one sack, 11 pass breakups, 20 pass deflections, and a forced fumble.

Ford was also recently named to the FCS Athletic Directors Association's and the Associated Press' FCS All-America teams, as well as the HERO Sports FCS All-America team.

Bergen stepped up in a big way for the Griz in his inaugural season at UM, slotting in at three different positions as injury cover and excelling at each.

As a running back, the freshman out of Senior High in Billings carried the ball 118 times for 493 yards and four TDs to make him the No. 14 rusher in the Big Sky Conference after not even starting the year on the running back depth chart.

At receiver, his primary position, he totaled 21 catches for 230 yards and one big touchdown on the second play of the game against Montana State.

He also lined up at punt returner for the final three games of the year for the Griz and hauled in eight attempts for 140 total yards, all of this putting him at No. 15 in the Big Sky in all-purpose yards with an average of 71.9 yards per game.

The remainder of Montana's team and position awards were handed out at the annual awards banquet, held the Sunday following the conclusion of the regular season at the DoubleTree Hotel in Missoula. In total, 16 different Grizzlies were honored for their 2021 performances in maroon and silver at the banquet.

2021 Grizzly Football Awards

Steve Carlson Team MVP Award
The Steve Carlson award is given to the team's most valuable player in memory of the former Grizzly football player who died in 1977.
• Patrick O'Connell

Offensive MVP
• Junior Bergen

Defensive MVP
• Patrick O'Connell
• Robby Hauck
• Justin Ford

Defensive Scout Team Player of the Year
• Alex Hurlburt

Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year
• Daniel Britt

Hauck Family Special Teams Player of the Year Award
• Trevin Gradney
• Malik Flowers
• Matthew O'Donoghue

Terry Dillon Award
Honoring the outstanding back or receiver – was established in 1964 following the accidental death of former Grizzly Terry Dillon.
• Mitch Roberts
• Samuel Akem

Tony Barbour Award
Given in memory of a loyal Grizzly Fan. It is presented annually to a UM player "who best exemplifies outstanding practice habits and makes an unselfish contribution to the betterment of the Grizzly Football Team."
• Jace Lewis

Paul Weskamp Award
Established in memory of Paul Weskamp, a tackle on Ed Chinske's 1954 Grizzly Team. The award honors UM's outstanding offensive lineman and was established by citizens of Ronan.
• Conlan Beaver

Sims-Miller Award
The Sims-Miller Award is given in memory of two great Grizzly defensive linemen the world lost too soon in vehicle accidents. Jesse Sims, from Stevensville, lettered for UM from 2016-19 and carried on Montana's legacy #37 jersey tradition. Larry Miller was a two-time All-American on UM's 1969 and 1970 Big Sky Champion teams, and was also a conference champion wrestler. The award honors the team's outstanding defensive lineman.
• Joe Babros
• Justin Belknap

Doug Betters Golden Helmet Award
Honors the best tackler and hardest hitter on the team. It was set up on a nation-wide basis by Coca-Cola in 1967.
• Robby Hauck
• Patrick O'Connell

Pat Norwood Award
Pat Norwood was a four-year starter at offensive tackle for the Grizzlies (1979-82) from Billings who died of cancer in 1983. This award is given to the most inspirational player, who oftentimes had to overcome an injury.
• Cam Humphrey
• Gavin Robertson