Three Grizzlies earn All-America honors from the Associated Press

Grizzly stars Alex Gubner, Junior Bergen, and Braxton Hill were all named to one of three Football Championship Subdivision All-America teams by the Associated Press on Tuesday.

Gubner, the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year, was named to the first team defensive line, Bergen was named to the second team as an all-purpose player, and Hill was named to the third team as a linebacker.

The Associated Press team is the first in a series of postseason All-America lists that will be announced in the coming weeks.

Gubner may not have posted gaudy statistics as an interior D-Lineman, but he was the straw that stirred the defensive drink for the Grizzlies this season and was voted the Big Sky Defensive MVP unanimously by coaches around the league.

He is now a four-time All-American, a three-time all-conference honoree and a two-time first-team All-Big Sky selection, the most recent of which was also unanimous.

In his 51 games as a starter for the Grizzlies he's totaled 161 tackles, 10.5 sacks, and 28 TFLs – currently the 17th-most in program history. He also logged 4 interceptions his freshman year.

He's been the cog in Montana's defensive wheel this season, a defense that has allowed less than 100 yards on the ground per game (97.2) by opponents – the least in the Big Sky and a top-nine ranking nationally. UM's scoring defense has also been exemplary, allowing opponents to average just 15.8 yards per game against it, the fewest in the conference and the fourth fewest in the FCS.

Gubner is the first Grizzly D-tackle to ever be named the league's Defensive MVP, but Montana has a long history with the award. Gubner is now the 14th Grizzly to be named DPOY since Ron Rosenberg in 1974. A rare occurrence with generally few statistics, only seven interior defensive linemen (tackle/nose guard) have ever been named Defensive MVP by the conference.

Bergen, a junior out of Billings, set a new Montana school record against Furman with his fourth career punt return for a touchdown, still with a season of eligibility remaining.

He is second in the Big Sky this season in both kickoff and punt returns, averaging 28.9 yards per kickoff and 15.7 yards per punt return. He's also No. 6 in the conference in receiving yards with 707 to date and four touchdown catches.

He recently passed the 1,000-yard receiving mark with 1.030 in his career on 77 catches and has scored 14 total touchdowns.

Bergen was a first-team All-Big Sky pick at both punt returner and wide receiver. He was named preseason All-America for special teams by Athlon Sports and was a two-time second-team All-American as a sophomore punt returner.

Hill, a senior out of Anaconda, was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award this year and a first-team All-Big Sky linebacker as Montana's leading tackler.

He logged the second-most tackles overall in the Big Sky this season with 106 total stops, a total of just over eight per game. With 209 tackles in his career, he's just five stops shy of entering Montana's top-40 all-time leaders in that category.

2023 Associated Press FCS All-America Teams

FIRST TEAM (offense)
Quarterback — Mark Gronowski, fourth-year, South Dakota State.

Running backs — Jaden Shirden, fourth-year, Monmouth; Isaiah Davis, fourth-year, South Dakota State.

Offensive linemen — Garret Greenfield, sixth-year, South Dakota State; Noah Atagi, sixth-year, Weber State; Mason McCormick, sixth-year, South Dakota State; Jacob Johanning, fifh-year, Furman; Marcus Wehr, fourth-year, Montana State.

Tight end — Cam Grandy, fifth-year, Illinois State.

Wide receivers — Ty James, fifth-year, Mercer; Dymere Miller, fourth-year, Monmouth; Jalen Coker, fifth-year, Holy Cross.

All-purpose player —Dylan Laube, fifth-year, New Hampshire.

Kicker — Matthew Cook, fifth-year, Northern Iowa.

FIRST TEAM (defense)
Linemen — Terrell Allen, fourth-year, Tennessee State; Jay Person, sixth-year, Chattanooga; Anton Juncaj, fourth-year, Albany (N.Y.); Alex Gubner, sixth-year, Montana.

Linebackers — Dylan Kelly, fifth-year, Albany (N.Y.); Brock Mogensen, sixth-year, South Dakota; Jacob Dobbs, fifth-year, Holy Cross.

Defensive backs — PJ Jules, fifth-year, Southern Illinois; Cole Wisniewski, fourth-year, North Dakota State; Lance Wise Jr., fifth-year, Mercer; Marcus Harris, fourth-year, Idaho; Sheldon Arnold II, fourth-year, East Tennessee State.

Punter — Aidan Laros, third-year, Tennessee Martin.

SECOND TEAM (offense)
Quarterback — Max Brosmer, fifth-year, New Hampshire.

Running backs — Sam Franklin, third-year, Tennessee Martin; Jamar Curtis, second-year, Lafayette.

Offensive linemen — Luke Newman, fourth-year, Holy Cross; Charles Grant, fourth-year, William & Mary; Rush Reimer, fourth-year, Montana State; Mark Barthelemy, sixth-year, Nicholls State; Gavin Olson, fifth-year, Tennessee Martin.

Tight end — Carter Runyon, third-year, Towson.

Wide receivers — Brandon Porter, sixth-year, Incarnate Word; Hayden Hatten, fifth-year, Idaho; Chedon James, second-year, Idaho State.

All-purpose player — Junior Bergen, third-year, Montana.

Kicker — Ricardo Chavez, fourth-year, Idaho.

SECOND TEAM (defense)
Linemen — Ty French, fourth-year, Gardner-Webb; David Walker, fourth-year, Central Arkansas; Finn Claypool, third-year, Drake; Daylan Dotson, fourth-year, Tennessee Martin.

Linebackers — Billy Shaeffer, sixth-year, Lafayette; Winston Reid, seventh-year, Weber State; Micah Davey, third-year, McNeese State.

Defensive backs — Aamir Hall, fourth-year, Albany (N.Y.); Caleb Curtain, third-year, Elon; Blake Ruffin, third-year, Eastern Illinois; Tyler Morton, third-year, Nicholls State; Kenny Gallop, Jr., third-year, Howard.

Punter — Grant Burkett, fifth-year, Missouri State.

THIRD TEAM (offense)
Quarterback — Matthew Sluka, fourth-year, Holy Cross.

Running backs — Lan Larison, fourth-year, UC Davis; Jordan Fuller, third-year, Holy Cross.

Offensive linemen — John Allen, fourth-year, SE Louisiana; Josiah Ezirim, fifth-year, Eastern Kentucky; Jake Kubas, sixth-year, North Dakota State; Ryan Coll, fifth-year, Richmond; Seth Osborne, sixth-year, St. Francis, Pa.

Tight end — Cole Rusk, third-year, Murray State.

Wide receivers — Raylen Sharpe, third-year, Missouri State; Efton Chism III, fourth-year, Eastern Washington; Kasey Hawthorne, third-year, Howard.

All-purpose player — Sean Chambers, sixth-year, Montana State.

Kicker — Kyle Ramsey, fifth-year, Abilene Christian.

THIRD TEAM (defense)
Linemen — Eric O'Neill, third-year, Long Island; Brendan Webb, sixth-year, South Dakota; Khristian Boyd, sixth-year, Northern Iowa; Brody Grebe, third-year, Montana State.

Linebackers — Amir Abdullah, fourth-year, Illinois State; Braxton Hill, fifth-year, Montana; Noah Martin, fourth-year, Samford.

Defensive backs — Myles Harden, fourth-year, South Dakota; Saiku White, third-year, Lafayette; Max Epps, third-year, Texas A&M-Commerce; Travis Blackshear, sixth-year, Furman; Kaleb Lyons, second-year, Morehead State.

Punter — Aaron Trusler, third-year, Richmond.

University of Montana Athletics

Three Grizzlies earn All-America honors from the Associated Press

Players Mentioned

Junior Bergen

Alex Gubner

Braxton Hill

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