Morrison named Big Sky Player of the Week

It takes a lot of nerves to do what Ty Morrison did on Saturday.

With momentum inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium finally seized by the Grizzlies late in the fourth quarter, Montana found itself down two scores – nine points to be exact – with just over four minutes to play.

Cool, calm and collected, Morrison stepped up and gave the Griz a chance to win the FCS Game of the Week, drilling his first field goal attempt of the season from 42-yards out to cut the North Dakota lead to six points, 23-17.

One defensive stop and a dramatic Brooks Davis touchdown catch to tie the game later, he did it again. Delivering the game winning PAT with ice in his veins to seal Montana's 24-23 victory in a top 25 showdown against the Fighting Hawks.

When the pressure was highest, the senior came through when his team needed him most.

Those two clutch kicks and solid all-around day with his foot have led Morrison to Big Sky Special Teams Player of the Week honors for the second time in his career, the league announced Monday.

Morrison single handedly scored six of Montana's 24 points in the win with that fateful field goal and a perfect three-for-three performance in PATs. He added nine punts for 355 yards (an average of just under 40 yards per attempt) with two dropped inside the 20 and 1 touchback to his haul, as well as five kickoffs for 317 yards and three touchbacks.

In his second year as a Grizzly, Morrison has quietly cemented himself as one of the best to do it in maroon and silver. With 112 points scored he's on the cusp of entering the UM record books for career points, his punting average of 42.4 yards per attempt currently puts him top five all-time at UM, and his field goal percentage of 75 percent is currently a top six all-time mark.

With 12 points in two games, he's currently top 10 in the Big Sky in scoring by kick but is tied for second in the league in made PATs at 9-for-9 to date. In fact, at 57-for-58 he's only missed one PAT attempt in his career – his very first kick ever inside of Washington-Grizzly Stadium in week one of last year.

OTHER ACCOLADES: Receiver Brooks Davis received an honorable mention for the Stats Perform FCS Freshman of the Week on Monday. Davis caught two touchdown passes, including the one that proved to be the game winner, to lead the Griz in the win over UND.

Making just his second appearance for UM, he made the most out of five catches with 98 yards and two TDs, with a long catch of 30 yards and 13 more yards after catch. With 1:35 left on the clock, he hauled in a 28 yards pass from Keali'i Ah Yat to tie the game 23-23, with the ensuing PAT leading to the Montana win.

Morrison, Davis, and the Grizzlies return to action on Saturday for their third-straight home game and second-straight against a team from the Missouri Valley as UM hosts Indiana State at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.

University of Montana Athletics

Players Mentioned

Keali'i Ah Yat

Brooks Davis

Ty Morrison

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