Five Griz named to preseason All-Big Sky team

SPOKANE, Wash. – The Montana Grizzlies had five players named to the Big Sky's preseason all-conference team, the league announced Monday from the annual football kickoff in Spokane.

The big men up front were well-represented, with one O-lineman and one D-lineman making the team, along with a linebacker and two special teams standouts on the 38-man list.

Returning first-team all-conference guard Hunter Mayginnes earned a spot on the preseason all-league offensive line, and fellow returning first-team tackle Alex Gubner was named to the D-line.

Senior Levi Janacaro of Missoula – UM's leading returning tackler this season – earned a place on the preseason all-conference as a linebacker, the second pick for the Grizzly defense.

Junior Bergen and Trevin Gradney – a pair of Billings natives and returning All-Big Sky picks – complete Montana's preseason honorees for special teams.

Voting for the preseason all-conference team was conducted among the league's media members and sports information directors.

Mayginnes was a first-team all-conference selection and a fourth-team All-America pick by Phil Steele as a junior in 2022 after starting at guard for his second-straight season. He enters 2023 having also been named Montana's co-Offensive MVP and the winner of the team's Paul Weskamp Award for outstanding offensive lineman.

One of the most athletic defenders in the league, Gubner was Montana's co-Defensive MVP as a junior and earned All-Big Sky honors for a second-straight season. Set to be a likely four-year starter, he enters his senior campaign; he's earned a place on the league's preseason team for a second-straight year. He'll start the season with 127 career tackles, 7.5 sacks, and, memorably, four interceptions from his freshman season.

Janacaro enters the season as the next to wear Montana's legacy number 37 jersey after a breakout year as a backup linebacker in 2022 when he earned an all-conference honorable mention. He'll start his senior campaign as one of the top-eight returning tacklers in the Big Sky and the returning leader in stops for the Griz.

Bergen cemented himself as one of the most explosive and versatile players in the league after a second-straight season seeing action in the return, receiving, and running games. Already named to the Athlon Sports preseason All-America team, he was named third-team All-Big Sky as an all-purpose player in 2022 and earned All-America honors from HERO Sports, Stats Perform, and Phil Steele Magazine.

A stalwart on UM's coverage units, Gradney enters his junior season, having played in every game for the Griz in the last two years. As a redshirt freshman in 2021, he was named first-team All-Big Sky.

Montana opens the 2023 season on Sept. 2 against the Butler Bulldogs out of Indianapolis in a first-time matchup.

Season tickets and mini-plan packages are on sale now at GrizTix.com, with single-game tickets for all games except MSU on sale to the general public starting July 25.

Media Preseason All-Conference Team
Offensive MVP: Hayden Hatten, WR, Idaho
Defensive MVP: Winston Reid, LB, Weber State

Offensive Team
QB: Gevani McCoy, Idaho
RB: Anthony Woods, Idaho
RB: Marcus Fulcher, Sacramento State
FB: Derryk Snell, Montana State
WR: Hayden Hatten, Idaho
WR: Efton Chism III, Eastern Washington
WR: Jermaine Jackson, Idaho
TE: Marshel Martin, Sacramento State
TE: Blake Gobel, Eastern Washington
OL: Noah Atagi, Weber State
OL: Hunter Mayginnes, Montana
OL: Rush Reimer, Montana State
OL: Jackson Slater, Sacramento State
OL: JT Reed, Montana State
OL: Jake Parks, UC Davis
AP: Sean Chambers, Montana State

Defensive Team
DL: Alex Gubner, Montana
DL: Sebastian Valdez, Montana State
DL: Brody Grebe, Montana State
DL: Zach Kennedy, UC Davis
DL: Eloi Kwete, Northern Arizona
LB: Winston Reid, Weber State
LB: Armon Bailey, Sacramento State
LB: David Hoage, Northern Colorado
LB: Levi Janacaro, Montana
LB: David Meyer, Cal Poly
DB: Rex Connors, UC Davis
DB: Maxwell Anderson, Weber State
DB: Marcus Harris, Idaho
DB: Caleb Nelson, Sacramento State
DB: Marlon Jones Jr., Eastern Washington
DB: Jordan Knapke, Northern Colorado

Special Teams
K: Ricardo Chavez, Idaho
P: Nick Kokich, Eastern Washington
KR: Abraham Williams, Weber State
PR: Junior Bergen, Montana
ST: Trevin Gradney, Montana
LS: Tommy Sullivan, Montana State

University of Montana Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Junior Bergen

Trevin Gradney

Alex Gubner

Levi Janacaro

Hunter Mayginnes

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