Gillman, Ah Yat named to Payton Award watch list, Wing on Buchanan list
7/14/2026 9:31:00 AM | Football
MISSOULA – One day after all three earned preseason All-America honors, Grizzly offensive standouts Eli Gillman and Keali'i Ah Yat landed on the Walter Payton Award watch list, and linebacker Peyton Wing was named to the Buck Buchanan Award watch list by Stats Perform.
Gillman, the reigning Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year, and Ah Yat, a 2025 Payton Award finalist, were two of 30 players nationwide named to the watch list for the award given annually to the top offensive player in the subdivision – widely regarded as the Heisman of the FCS.
Wing, a two-time all-conference linebacker, was one of 30 players named to the Buchanan Award watch list – the award for the defensive player of the year in the FCS, now in its 32nd year.
Stats Perform placed Gillman and Wing on its first-team preseason All-America list Monday, while Ah Yat earned a second-team selection.
The Walter Payton Award was first presented in 1987 and the Buck Buchanan Award in 1995. Additional players may be added to the watch lists before a national media panel selects the winner from a group of finalists after the regular season.
Stats Perform also presents the Jerry Rice Award (FCS Freshman Player of the Year), the Eddie Robinson Award (FCS Coach of the Year), the HBCU National Player of the Year and the Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Montana has a long history of success in the national awards. The Griz have produced 14 Payton Award finalists, with Dave Dickenson winning in 1995. Sixteen Grizzlies have been Buchanan Award finalists, with three winners: Kroy Biermann, Tyrone Holmes and Dante Olson. Five Grizzlies have been Jerry Rice Award finalists, including Gillman, who won in 2023. Four UM players have been Doris Robinson Award finalists, with Dillon Botner winning in 2025. Six Grizzly coaches have been Eddie Robinson Award finalists, including 2000 winner Joe Glenn.
Gillman enters his senior season on the cusp of becoming Montana's all-time leading rusher. He starts the year with 3,677 rushing yards, fourth on UM's all-time list, needing just 394 more to pass Hall of Famers Yohance Humphrey, Chase Reynolds and Lex Hilliard and claim the top spot in the Grizzly record books.
With 49 rushing TDs he starts the year third in program history behind Hilliard (50) and Reynolds (52), but with 53 total TDs he's second on that all-time list behind Reynolds' career mark of 59. With 318 total points scored Gillman is fifth among UM's all-time scorers and needs 95 more points to pass Dan Carpenter's one-time Big Sky record of 413 to top the UM points scored list.
Ah Yat enters his junior season already standing as one of the most prolific quarterbacks in Montana history after a breakout sophomore campaign. His 5,462 career passing yards rank 11th in program history with two seasons left to play. His career completion percentage of 66.4 (463 of 697) ranks third in program history, and his 41 career touchdown passes rank in the top 10.
Ah Yat is now 17-4 as a starter, needing 11 more wins to crack UM's top five all-time in quarterback victories. He also needs 12 more wins to match his father Brian's career total of 29, with Dave Dickenson holding the program record at 33.
Wing is Montana's leading returning tackler and the Big Sky's second-leading returning interception getter heading into 2026. He is expected to be one of the top linebackers in the league after earning all-conference honors for a second consecutive season in 2025. That year, Montana finished plus-14 in turnover differential, fueled by an FCS top three total of 25 takeaways that included 21 interceptions – the most for the Griz since 2009 – with Wing accounting for four.
As a junior in 2025 he recorded 78 tackles, third on the team, and 8.5 tackles for loss, second on the squad. He earned second-team All-America honors from Sports Illustrated, an All-America honorable mention from the Associated Press, a first-team All-Big Sky selection at linebacker and Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week honors after recording three sacks at Sacramento State.
New Griz football season ticket packages are on sale now at GrizTix.com or GoGriz.com/tickets. Home single-game tickets are set to go on sale to the public in the coming week.
2026 Walter Payton Award Preseason Watch List
* - past finalist
Quarterbacks
*Keali'i Ah Yat, Montana, R-Jr., 6-1, 200 (Big Sky Conference)
*Andrew Body, Alabama State, R-Sr., 6-0, 205 (Southwestern Athletic Conference)
*Beau Brungard, Youngstown State, Sr., 6-0, 215 (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
*Devin Farrell, Rhode Island, R-Sr., 6-0, 195 (CAA Football)
*Collin Hurst, West Georgia, Jr., 5-10, 190 (United Athletic Conference)
*Justin Lamson, Montana State, Sr., 6-2, 210 (Big Sky Conference)
Chase Mason, South Dakota State, Gr., 6-4, 240 (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
*Chris Parson, Austin Peay, R-Jr., 5-11, 224 (United Athletic Conference)
Ty Pennington, Northern Arizona, Sr., 6-2, 210 (Big Sky Conference)
Dante Reno, Yale, Jr., 6-2, 205 (Ivy League)
*DJ Williams, Southern Illinois, Sr., 6-3, 218 (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
Running Backs
Dason Brooks, Idaho State, R-Sr., 5-11, 228 (Big Sky Conference)
Ness Davis, Duquesne, R-Jr., 5-11, 200 (NEC Football)
Victor Dawson, Illinois State, Sr., 5-11, 220 (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
MJ Flowers, Tennessee Tech, R-Sr., 6-1, 220 (Southern Conference)
Eli Gillman, Montana, R-Sr., 6-0, 213 (Big Sky Conference)
Carson Gresock, Gardner-Webb, R-Sr., 5-11, 215 (Ohio Valley Conference)
Tylan Hines, Tarleton State, Sr., 5-7, 180 (United Athletic Conference)
Adam Jones, Montana State, Jr., 6-1, 200 (Big Sky Conference)
Ja'briel Mace, Villanova, Jr., 5-9, 175 (Patriot League)
Charles Pierre Jr., South Dakota, R-Sr., 5-10, 210 (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
*Luke Yoder, Lehigh, Sr., 5-11, 205 (Patriot League)
Wide Receivers
*Marquis Buchanan, Rhode Island, R-Sr., 6-4, 190 (CAA Football)
Taco Dowler, Montana State, Sr., 5-9, 190 (Big Sky Conference)
Samuel Gbatu Jr., UC Davis, Sr., 5-10, 185 (Big Sky Conference)
Gavin Lochow, Dayton, Sr., 6-0, 185 (Pioneer Football League)
Sam Milligan, Bucknell, Sr., 6-3, 220 (Patriot League)
Bugs Mortimer, Stephen F. Austin, R-Sr., 5-10, 177 (Southland Conference)
Chance Peterson, North Carolina Central, R-Jr., 5-8, 155 (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference)
Brayden Smith, Mercer, Jr., 5-10, 185 (Southern Conference)
2026 Buck Buchanan Award Preseason Watch List
* - past finalist
Defensive Linemen
Camden Byrd, Richmond, R-Sr., 6-3, 245 (Patriot League)
Andrew Huff, Lamar, Sr., 6-2, 230 (Southland Conference)
Mirko Jaksic, Dayton, R-Jr., 6-2, 284 (Pioneer Football League)
Lance Rucker, North Dakota, Sr., 6-3, 230 (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
*Joshua Stoneking, Furman, R-Jr., 6-3, 258 (Southern Conference)
Michael Wells, Youngstown State, Sr., 6-3, 250 (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
Linebackers
Brodie Carroll, Elon, R-Jr., 6-1, 240 (CAA Football)
Jake Dalmado, Southeastern Louisiana, Sr., 6-0, 215 (Southland Conference)
Mikey D'Amato, Cal Poly, Sr., 6-0, 230 (Big Sky Conference)
Rohan Davy, Rhode Island, Jr., 5-10, 205 (CAA Football)
*Eli Ennis, Stephen F. Austin, R-Sr., 6-2, 220 (Southland Conference)
Anthony Ferrelli, Stony Brook, R-Sr., 6-0, 225 (CAA Football)
Jordan Franklin, South Carolina State, R-Jr., 6-2, 205 (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference)
Cullen McShane, South Dakota State, Jr., 6-2, 230 (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
*Tye Niekamp, Illinois State, Sr., 6-3, 240 (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
Kaden Smith, Eastern Kentucky, Jr., 6-2, 222 (United Athletic Conference)
Peyton Wing, Montana, Sr., 6-0, 229 (Big Sky Conference)
Steve Zayachkowsky, Charleston Southern, Sr., 5-10, 215 (Ohio Valley Conference)
Defensive Backs
Rex Connors, UC Davis, Sr., 6-1, 220 (Big Sky Conference)
*Caden Dowler, Montana State, Sr., 6-0, 205 (Big Sky Conference)
Damien Henderson, Harvard, Sr., 6-0, 180 (Ivy League)
Christopher Jean, Central Connecticut State, R-Jr., 5-10, 180 (NEC Football)
Jaylon Jenkins, Eastern Washington, R-Jr., 6-1, 192 (Big Sky Conference)
Jaeden Jones, Monmouth, Jr., 6-0, 190 (CAA Football)
*Abu Kamara, Yale, Sr., 6-1, 208 (Ivy League)
Ken Moore Jr., Western Carolina, R-Sr., 5-10, 160 (Southern Conference)
Nick Peltekian, Lehigh, 5th Year, 6-0, 215 (Patriot League)
Dylan Rowsey, Murray State, Sr., 6-1, 195 (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
Ta'Shaun Sims, Alabama State, Jr., 6-0, 188 (Southwestern Athletic Conference)
Trey Watkins, LIU, R-Sr., 6-0, 184 (NEC Football)
Gillman, the reigning Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year, and Ah Yat, a 2025 Payton Award finalist, were two of 30 players nationwide named to the watch list for the award given annually to the top offensive player in the subdivision – widely regarded as the Heisman of the FCS.
Wing, a two-time all-conference linebacker, was one of 30 players named to the Buchanan Award watch list – the award for the defensive player of the year in the FCS, now in its 32nd year.
Stats Perform placed Gillman and Wing on its first-team preseason All-America list Monday, while Ah Yat earned a second-team selection.
The Walter Payton Award was first presented in 1987 and the Buck Buchanan Award in 1995. Additional players may be added to the watch lists before a national media panel selects the winner from a group of finalists after the regular season.
Stats Perform also presents the Jerry Rice Award (FCS Freshman Player of the Year), the Eddie Robinson Award (FCS Coach of the Year), the HBCU National Player of the Year and the Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Montana has a long history of success in the national awards. The Griz have produced 14 Payton Award finalists, with Dave Dickenson winning in 1995. Sixteen Grizzlies have been Buchanan Award finalists, with three winners: Kroy Biermann, Tyrone Holmes and Dante Olson. Five Grizzlies have been Jerry Rice Award finalists, including Gillman, who won in 2023. Four UM players have been Doris Robinson Award finalists, with Dillon Botner winning in 2025. Six Grizzly coaches have been Eddie Robinson Award finalists, including 2000 winner Joe Glenn.
Gillman enters his senior season on the cusp of becoming Montana's all-time leading rusher. He starts the year with 3,677 rushing yards, fourth on UM's all-time list, needing just 394 more to pass Hall of Famers Yohance Humphrey, Chase Reynolds and Lex Hilliard and claim the top spot in the Grizzly record books.
With 49 rushing TDs he starts the year third in program history behind Hilliard (50) and Reynolds (52), but with 53 total TDs he's second on that all-time list behind Reynolds' career mark of 59. With 318 total points scored Gillman is fifth among UM's all-time scorers and needs 95 more points to pass Dan Carpenter's one-time Big Sky record of 413 to top the UM points scored list.
Ah Yat enters his junior season already standing as one of the most prolific quarterbacks in Montana history after a breakout sophomore campaign. His 5,462 career passing yards rank 11th in program history with two seasons left to play. His career completion percentage of 66.4 (463 of 697) ranks third in program history, and his 41 career touchdown passes rank in the top 10.
Ah Yat is now 17-4 as a starter, needing 11 more wins to crack UM's top five all-time in quarterback victories. He also needs 12 more wins to match his father Brian's career total of 29, with Dave Dickenson holding the program record at 33.
Wing is Montana's leading returning tackler and the Big Sky's second-leading returning interception getter heading into 2026. He is expected to be one of the top linebackers in the league after earning all-conference honors for a second consecutive season in 2025. That year, Montana finished plus-14 in turnover differential, fueled by an FCS top three total of 25 takeaways that included 21 interceptions – the most for the Griz since 2009 – with Wing accounting for four.
As a junior in 2025 he recorded 78 tackles, third on the team, and 8.5 tackles for loss, second on the squad. He earned second-team All-America honors from Sports Illustrated, an All-America honorable mention from the Associated Press, a first-team All-Big Sky selection at linebacker and Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week honors after recording three sacks at Sacramento State.
New Griz football season ticket packages are on sale now at GrizTix.com or GoGriz.com/tickets. Home single-game tickets are set to go on sale to the public in the coming week.
2026 Walter Payton Award Preseason Watch List
* - past finalist
Quarterbacks
*Keali'i Ah Yat, Montana, R-Jr., 6-1, 200 (Big Sky Conference)
*Andrew Body, Alabama State, R-Sr., 6-0, 205 (Southwestern Athletic Conference)
*Beau Brungard, Youngstown State, Sr., 6-0, 215 (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
*Devin Farrell, Rhode Island, R-Sr., 6-0, 195 (CAA Football)
*Collin Hurst, West Georgia, Jr., 5-10, 190 (United Athletic Conference)
*Justin Lamson, Montana State, Sr., 6-2, 210 (Big Sky Conference)
Chase Mason, South Dakota State, Gr., 6-4, 240 (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
*Chris Parson, Austin Peay, R-Jr., 5-11, 224 (United Athletic Conference)
Ty Pennington, Northern Arizona, Sr., 6-2, 210 (Big Sky Conference)
Dante Reno, Yale, Jr., 6-2, 205 (Ivy League)
*DJ Williams, Southern Illinois, Sr., 6-3, 218 (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
Running Backs
Dason Brooks, Idaho State, R-Sr., 5-11, 228 (Big Sky Conference)
Ness Davis, Duquesne, R-Jr., 5-11, 200 (NEC Football)
Victor Dawson, Illinois State, Sr., 5-11, 220 (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
MJ Flowers, Tennessee Tech, R-Sr., 6-1, 220 (Southern Conference)
Eli Gillman, Montana, R-Sr., 6-0, 213 (Big Sky Conference)
Carson Gresock, Gardner-Webb, R-Sr., 5-11, 215 (Ohio Valley Conference)
Tylan Hines, Tarleton State, Sr., 5-7, 180 (United Athletic Conference)
Adam Jones, Montana State, Jr., 6-1, 200 (Big Sky Conference)
Ja'briel Mace, Villanova, Jr., 5-9, 175 (Patriot League)
Charles Pierre Jr., South Dakota, R-Sr., 5-10, 210 (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
*Luke Yoder, Lehigh, Sr., 5-11, 205 (Patriot League)
Wide Receivers
*Marquis Buchanan, Rhode Island, R-Sr., 6-4, 190 (CAA Football)
Taco Dowler, Montana State, Sr., 5-9, 190 (Big Sky Conference)
Samuel Gbatu Jr., UC Davis, Sr., 5-10, 185 (Big Sky Conference)
Gavin Lochow, Dayton, Sr., 6-0, 185 (Pioneer Football League)
Sam Milligan, Bucknell, Sr., 6-3, 220 (Patriot League)
Bugs Mortimer, Stephen F. Austin, R-Sr., 5-10, 177 (Southland Conference)
Chance Peterson, North Carolina Central, R-Jr., 5-8, 155 (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference)
Brayden Smith, Mercer, Jr., 5-10, 185 (Southern Conference)
2026 Buck Buchanan Award Preseason Watch List
* - past finalist
Defensive Linemen
Camden Byrd, Richmond, R-Sr., 6-3, 245 (Patriot League)
Andrew Huff, Lamar, Sr., 6-2, 230 (Southland Conference)
Mirko Jaksic, Dayton, R-Jr., 6-2, 284 (Pioneer Football League)
Lance Rucker, North Dakota, Sr., 6-3, 230 (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
*Joshua Stoneking, Furman, R-Jr., 6-3, 258 (Southern Conference)
Michael Wells, Youngstown State, Sr., 6-3, 250 (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
Linebackers
Brodie Carroll, Elon, R-Jr., 6-1, 240 (CAA Football)
Jake Dalmado, Southeastern Louisiana, Sr., 6-0, 215 (Southland Conference)
Mikey D'Amato, Cal Poly, Sr., 6-0, 230 (Big Sky Conference)
Rohan Davy, Rhode Island, Jr., 5-10, 205 (CAA Football)
*Eli Ennis, Stephen F. Austin, R-Sr., 6-2, 220 (Southland Conference)
Anthony Ferrelli, Stony Brook, R-Sr., 6-0, 225 (CAA Football)
Jordan Franklin, South Carolina State, R-Jr., 6-2, 205 (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference)
Cullen McShane, South Dakota State, Jr., 6-2, 230 (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
*Tye Niekamp, Illinois State, Sr., 6-3, 240 (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
Kaden Smith, Eastern Kentucky, Jr., 6-2, 222 (United Athletic Conference)
Peyton Wing, Montana, Sr., 6-0, 229 (Big Sky Conference)
Steve Zayachkowsky, Charleston Southern, Sr., 5-10, 215 (Ohio Valley Conference)
Defensive Backs
Rex Connors, UC Davis, Sr., 6-1, 220 (Big Sky Conference)
*Caden Dowler, Montana State, Sr., 6-0, 205 (Big Sky Conference)
Damien Henderson, Harvard, Sr., 6-0, 180 (Ivy League)
Christopher Jean, Central Connecticut State, R-Jr., 5-10, 180 (NEC Football)
Jaylon Jenkins, Eastern Washington, R-Jr., 6-1, 192 (Big Sky Conference)
Jaeden Jones, Monmouth, Jr., 6-0, 190 (CAA Football)
*Abu Kamara, Yale, Sr., 6-1, 208 (Ivy League)
Ken Moore Jr., Western Carolina, R-Sr., 5-10, 160 (Southern Conference)
Nick Peltekian, Lehigh, 5th Year, 6-0, 215 (Patriot League)
Dylan Rowsey, Murray State, Sr., 6-1, 195 (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
Ta'Shaun Sims, Alabama State, Jr., 6-0, 188 (Southwestern Athletic Conference)
Trey Watkins, LIU, R-Sr., 6-0, 184 (NEC Football)
Players Mentioned
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