Three Griz named to NFF’s Hampshire Honors Society
4/13/2022 1:02:00 PM | Football
The Montana football program continued its legacy of placing its highest achieving student-athletes into the National Football Foundation's Hampshire Honors Society, with three former players joining the class of 2022, the NFF announced Wednesday.
Outgoing seniors Justin Belknap, Dylan Cook, and Kevin Macias were welcomed into the Society, which recognizes players from all divisions of college football who maintained a cumulative 3.2 GPA throughout their careers while excelling on the field of play.
Montana has now placed 36 former student-athletes into the Society since its inception in 2007, with a total of 1,559 players from 313 schools qualifying for membership in 2022, the second-most honorees in program history. Now in its 16th year, the Society has now honored a total of 14,640 student-athletes.
Nominated by their respective schools, members of the NFF Hampshire Honor Society must have:
• Completed their final year of playing eligibility in Fall 2021;
- Graduated players, who have remaining eligibility but will not return to collegiate play (e.g. declared for NFL Draft or retired from football), may also be nominated.
• Attained a minimum undergraduate cumulative GPA of 3.2 (4.0 scale);
• Met all NCAA/NAIA-mandated progress towards degree requirements; and
• Been starters or significant contributors throughout the 2021 season.
Belknap came to Montana in 2020 as a graduate transfer and started 15 games for the Griz in the 2021 calendar year. He was the co-recipient of the team's Sims-Miller Award which honors the Grizzlies' outstanding defensive lineman with a career total of 42 tackles, 7.5 TFLs, and a pick-six. The Las Vegas native graduated from Montana with a degree in Communications Studies and a cumulative 3.62 GPA.
Cook was one of the top tackles in the Big Sky as a senior. The Butte native earned fourth-team All-Big Sky honors from Phil Steele magazine and finished his career making 23 starts and 27 total appearances in two seasons with the Griz. He was also a semifinalist for the National Football Foundation's William V. Campbell Trophy, known as the "Academic Heisman" award, after earning a degree from UM in sociology and a master's in public administration with a 3.33 GPA.
Macias was named second-team All-Big Sky by Phil Steele Magazine and third-team All-American by HERO Sports following one of the best kicking seasons in UM history in 2021. He led the Big Sky in made field goals and scoring, and posted the second-most field goals per game in the FCS (1.77) with 23 made kicks on 27 attempts (.852). His field goal percentage of 85.2% is the best percentage in program history (minimum 25 attempts), and he was just three made field goals shy of breaking the school record for most in a season. The Arizona native also went 42/42 on PAT attempts to finish his senior season with 111 total points. He closed his senior year with a school-record string of 19-straight made field goals, with a career-long 51-yarder at JMU – one of the 10-longest field goals in Montana history. He also slotted five field goals in a game against Montana State (5/5), and hit nine field goals of 35-yards or longer. He graduated from Montana with a 3.48 GPA in sociology.
Outgoing seniors Justin Belknap, Dylan Cook, and Kevin Macias were welcomed into the Society, which recognizes players from all divisions of college football who maintained a cumulative 3.2 GPA throughout their careers while excelling on the field of play.
Montana has now placed 36 former student-athletes into the Society since its inception in 2007, with a total of 1,559 players from 313 schools qualifying for membership in 2022, the second-most honorees in program history. Now in its 16th year, the Society has now honored a total of 14,640 student-athletes.
Nominated by their respective schools, members of the NFF Hampshire Honor Society must have:
• Completed their final year of playing eligibility in Fall 2021;
- Graduated players, who have remaining eligibility but will not return to collegiate play (e.g. declared for NFL Draft or retired from football), may also be nominated.
• Attained a minimum undergraduate cumulative GPA of 3.2 (4.0 scale);
• Met all NCAA/NAIA-mandated progress towards degree requirements; and
• Been starters or significant contributors throughout the 2021 season.
Belknap came to Montana in 2020 as a graduate transfer and started 15 games for the Griz in the 2021 calendar year. He was the co-recipient of the team's Sims-Miller Award which honors the Grizzlies' outstanding defensive lineman with a career total of 42 tackles, 7.5 TFLs, and a pick-six. The Las Vegas native graduated from Montana with a degree in Communications Studies and a cumulative 3.62 GPA.
Cook was one of the top tackles in the Big Sky as a senior. The Butte native earned fourth-team All-Big Sky honors from Phil Steele magazine and finished his career making 23 starts and 27 total appearances in two seasons with the Griz. He was also a semifinalist for the National Football Foundation's William V. Campbell Trophy, known as the "Academic Heisman" award, after earning a degree from UM in sociology and a master's in public administration with a 3.33 GPA.
Macias was named second-team All-Big Sky by Phil Steele Magazine and third-team All-American by HERO Sports following one of the best kicking seasons in UM history in 2021. He led the Big Sky in made field goals and scoring, and posted the second-most field goals per game in the FCS (1.77) with 23 made kicks on 27 attempts (.852). His field goal percentage of 85.2% is the best percentage in program history (minimum 25 attempts), and he was just three made field goals shy of breaking the school record for most in a season. The Arizona native also went 42/42 on PAT attempts to finish his senior season with 111 total points. He closed his senior year with a school-record string of 19-straight made field goals, with a career-long 51-yarder at JMU – one of the 10-longest field goals in Montana history. He also slotted five field goals in a game against Montana State (5/5), and hit nine field goals of 35-yards or longer. He graduated from Montana with a 3.48 GPA in sociology.
Players Mentioned
Thursday, June 11
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Monday, March 30
