Former Grizzlies Trevin Gradney and Hayden Harris were again recognized for their work on the football field and in the classroom with a place on the College Sports Communicators 2024 Academic All-America teams, CSC announced on Tuesday.

The pair were two of eight Grizzlies named Academic All-District in early January, and as such, advanced on to the All-America ballot where they were voted Second Team Academic All-America.

Gradney and Harris were also two of just four players from the Big Sky Conference and 15 FCS Players named to the D-I teams. It brings Montana's all-time total of Academic All-Americans to 38, a conference best.

Their recognition also marks the first time two Grizzlies have earned Academic All-American honors in the same year in over a decade. The last pair to earn the distinction were Bobby Alt and Bryan Waldhauser in 2011.

Gradney, an All-America cornerback from Billings, was a semifinalist for the "Academic Heisman" – the William V. Campbell Trophy his senior season with a 3.80 GPA, an undergraduate degree in marketing and his MBA from the UM College of Business.

He led the Grizzlies and was tied for third in the Big Sky in total passes defended this season with 11, racking up 10 breakups and one interception. He was a three-time all-conference honoree and a three-time Academic All-Big Sky pick.

Harris earned his MBA at Montana while carrying a 3.82 GPA after earning his bachelor's degree in political science from UCLA. Now one of the top 10 prospects in the upcoming CFL Draft, he led the team, finished top three in the Big Sky, and top 15 in the FCS in both sacks and tackles for loss. Despite only playing two years at UM, he was second-team All-Big Sky as a senior and entered the program's top 30 list of all-time leaders in TFLs with 21.5 to his name.

The 6-foot-5, 255-pound end earned second-team all-conference honors and was named both the team's Defensive MVP and the recipient of the Sims-Miller Award for outstanding D-lineman following a stellar senior season.

Colorado receiver and cornerback Travis Hunter was named the D-I Academic All-American Team Member of the Year. In 2024, Hunter became just the second defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy in the award's history and the second from Colorado. The honor capped a season in which he was named the AP Player of the Year and Walter Camp Player of the Year and won both the Bednarik (defense) and Biletnikoff (receiver) awards. He was also named to the Walter Camp All-America first team on both offense and defense — a first in the 135-year existence of the oldest All-America team in the nation.

Nine members of the Academic All-America D-I football teams boast a perfect 4.0 grade-point average in their undergraduate or graduate work. The 25 members on the first team have an average GPA of 3.82, with both teams holding a collective average GPA of 3.80.

2024 Academic All-America Football Team - NCAA Division-I

FIRST TEAM
Pos.	Name	School	Yr.	GPA	Major
QB	Tommy Mellott	Montana State University	Sr.	4.00	Financial Engineering
WR	Elic Ayomanor (2)	Stanford University	So.	3.96	Computer Science
WR	Ricky White III	UNLV	Sr.	3.58	Human Services
RB	Tahj Brooks	Texas Tech	Sr.	3.56	Sports Management (U) / Sports Comm. (G)
RB	Raheim Sanders	University of South Carolina	Sr.	3.88	Non-Degree Seeking
TE	Anthony Torres	The University of Toledo	Sr.	3.83 / 3.93	Business Administration (G)
OL	Seth McLaughlin (1)	The Ohio State University	Gr.	4.00 / 3.89	Human Development & Family Sciences
OL	RIley Adcock	Mercer University	Gr.	3.94 / 3.94	Civil Engineering
OL	Jake Majors (2)	University of Texas	Sr.	3.64	Management
OL	Donovan Jackson	The Ohio State University	Sr.	3.68	Sport Industry
OL	Easton Kilty	Kansas State University	Sr.	4.00	Communication Studies
DB	Travis Hunter (1)	University of Colorado	Jr.	3.79	Anthropology
DB	Beau Freyler (1)	Iowa State University	Sr.	3.90	Kinesiology
DB	Tanner Wall	Brigham Young University	Jr.	3.89	Finance
DB	Jalen Catalon	UNLV	Sr.	3.52	Sociology
DL	Brody Grebe (1)	Montana State University	Sr.	3.93	Mechanical Engineering
DL	Ejike Adele	Dartmouth College	Sr.	3.74	Biology
DL	Kyle Kennard	University of South Carolina	Sr.	3.64	Services Management
DL	Patrick Passalacqua	Columbia University	Sr.	3.83	Industrial Engineering & Operations Research
LB	Jack Kiser	University of Notre Dame	Gr.	3.82 / 3.97	Business Analytics (U) / Accounting (G)
LB	Andon Thomas	United States Military Academy	Jr.	3.98	Chemical Engineering
LB	Jackson Woodard (1)	UNLV	Sr.	3.81	Kinesiology
K	Bert Auburn (2)	University of Texas	Sr.	3.57	Finance
P	Riley Riethman	U.S. Naval Academy	Sr.	3.93	Aerospace Engineering
ST	Julian Ashby (1)	Vanderbilt University	Gr.	3.96/3.90	Mechanical Engineering (G)


SECOND TEAM
Pos.	Name	School	Yr.	GPA	Major
QB	Brady Cook	University of Missouri	Gr.	3.89 / 3.88	Business Administration
WR	Cooper Barkate	Harvard University	Jr.	3.57	Economics
WR	Darius Cooper	Tarleton State University	Sr.	3.62	Kinesiology, Exercise & Allied Health Professions
RB	Quinshon Judkins	The Ohio State University	Jr.	3.64	Human Development & Family Sciences
RB	Mason Sheron	Davidson College	Jr.	3.90	Biology
TE	Jared Casey	University of Kansas	Sr.	3.91	Sport Management
OL	Reid Williams	University of Tennessee at Chattanooga	Jr.	3.97/3.97	Engineering Management
OL	Ashton Beers	University of Minnesota	So.	3.88	Mechanical Engineering
OL	Logan Zschernitz	Northern Illinois University	Sr.	4.00	Sports Management
OL	Luke Kandra	University of Cincinnati	Sr.	3.60 / 3.65	Business Administration (G)
OL	Bruno Fina	Duke University	Gr.	3.75	Business Economics (U) / Mgmt. Studies (G)
DB	Trevin Gradney	University of Montana	Sr.	3.80	Marketing (U) / Business Administration (G)
DB	Craig Woodson	California	Sr.	3.55	Film & Media
DB	Maxen Hook (2)	The University of Toledo	Sr.	3.74 / 3.73	Leadership (G)
DB	Jonathan McGill	SMU	Gr.	3.50 / 4.00	Liberal Studies
DL	Eli Mostaert	North Dakota State University	Gr.	3.65 / 3.92	Business Administration
DL	Hayden Harris	University of Montana	Sr.	3.82	Political Science (U) / Business Administration (G)
DL	Brendan Mott	Kansas State	Sr.	3.63	Finance
DL	Aaron Graves	University of Iowa	Jr.	4.00	Sport & Recreation Management
LB	Adam Bock	South Dakota State University	Gr.	383 / 3.85	Mechanical Engineering
LB	Carson Schwesinger	UCLA	Jr.	3.72	Bioengineering
LB	Jacob Dobbs (1)	James Madison University	Sr.	3.70 / 4.00	Cyber Intelligence
LB	Logan Kopp	North Dakota State University	Jr.	3.74	Mechanical Engineering
LB	Marco Notarainni	Boise State University	Jr.	3.95	Business
K	Ritse Vaes	Abilene Christian University	Gr.	3.76	Strength, Conditioning and Human Performance
P	Avery Book	The University of Akron	Gr.	4.00 / 4.00	Applied Politics
P	Juan Velarde	North Carolina Central University	Gr.	3.97 / 4.00	Business Administration (G)
ST	Henry Freer	Georgia Tech	Sr.	3.84 / 3.75	Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

CSC Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year: Travis Hunter, University of Colorado
(1) – Academic All-America® first-team selection in 2023
(2) – Academic All-America® second-team selection in 2023

Gradney and Harris named Academic All-Americans

2024 Academic All-America Football Team - NCAA Division-I

Players Mentioned

Trevin Gradney

Hayden Harris

University of Montana Athletics

Gradney and Harris named Academic All-Americans

2024 Academic All-America Football Team - NCAA Division-I

Players Mentioned

Trevin Gradney

Hayden Harris

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