Seven NAU Football Players Honored with All-Big Sky Recognition

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (November 26, 2019) – Seven members of the Northern Arizona University football team were selected to the All-Big Sky Football Teams, which were announced by conference officials on Tuesday.
 
Earning first-team all-conference honors were senior offensive lineman Cole Habib, senior defensive back Khalil Dorsey, place kicker Luis Aguilar and punter DJ Arnson.
 
Lumberjacks named to the All-Big Sky second team were senior quarterback Case Cookus, sophomore wide receiver Brandon Porter and senior running back Joe Logan, who was selected as an all-purpose player.
 
Habib anchored an offensive line that formed the front wall in front of the nation's top-rated passing attack this year – and allowed only 18 sacks.  Habib started a total of 39 games in his career, including the last 34 straight in which he was active.
 
Dorsey, a four-time All-Big Sky and two-time All-Big Sky first team choice, has been a perennial playmaker in the NAU secondary for the last four seasons.  The senior cornerback ranked second in the conference this season with 12 pass break ups and fourth on the squad with 68 tackles.  He also forced a pair of fumbles and recorded seven or more stops in six contests.  He closed out his career with eight interceptions and 41 pass break ups.
 
Arnson, a two-time All-Big Sky selection, earned first-team recognition for the first time in his career following a junior campaign that saw him lead the Big Sky and rank third among FCS leaders with an average of 45.8 yards on 57 punts.  The two-time Big Sky All-Academic winner also booted 16 kicks over 50 yards and placed 19 inside the 20-yard line. 
 
Arnson is on the watch list for the Ray Guy Award, which is presented annually to the top punter in FCS football.
 
Aguilar enjoyed a breakout 2019 season which saw him lead the Big Sky in field goals per game (1.83) and rank second with a make percentage of 88.0 percent.  He made 22-of-25 attempts on the season – with only one miss from under 50 yards.  He nailed kicks from 57 and 54 yards this season – the blast from 57-yards out was the longest field goal made by any FCS player in 2019. 
 
Aguilar was also perfect on all 52 of his extra-point attempts and led the conference with a total of 61 kickoff that went for touchbacks.  He is on the watch list for the Fred Mitchell Award, which honors the top kicker in NCAA FCS, Division II, Division III, NAIA and NJCAA college football.
 
Cookus was named second team all-conference following the most prolific passing season in NAU history.  The senior signal caller broke the Lumberjacks' single-season mark for passing yards with 4,114 and tossed 31 touchdowns.  He was just the 10^th player in league history to reach 4,000 passing yards in a season.

In addition, Cookus became NAU's all-time leader and just the fourth player in Big Sky Conference history to post over 12,000 career aerial yards – with his total of 12,082.  His 105 career touchdown passes rank as the most on NAU annals and he is only the second player in Big Sky history to record 100 or more TD tosses.
 
In 2019, Cookus threw for over 300 yards in nine times and threw at least two touchdown passes in nine games.
 
He was among the national and Big Sky leaders in nearly every passing category including topping the FCS in passing yards (4,114) and passing yards per game (342.8).  He paced the conference and ranked sixth nationally with 31 touchdown passes and ranked second in the league in passing efficiency (150.5).
 
Cookus is a two-time All-Big Sky selection is among the candidates for the Walter Payton Award (offensive) and the FCS Performer of the Year (all positions) – both of which honor the top player in the FCS.
 
Porter enjoyed one of the best receiving performances ever by a Lumberjack in 2019.  The sophomore was the top aerial target for the 'Jacks as he ranked among national leaders and led the Big Sky in both receiving yards (1,198/5^th in FCS) and receiving touchdowns (10/19^th in FCS).  He also hauled in a total of 85 catches –which set a new single-season standard in the NAU record book.
 
Porter posted 100 or more receiving yards in six different games this season and scored multiple touchdowns in four contests.
 
Logan was a dual-threat all season for the 'Jacks on the offensive side of the ball.  Showing a nose for the end zone all season, Logan ripped off a total of 20 touchdowns – 14 rushing, 6 receiving – to rank fifth nationally and second among Big Sky leaders.  He closed out his NAU career as the program's fifth all-time leading scorer with 228 points.
 
The senior amassed 860 rushing yards and added another 497 receiving on 40 catches.  Logan tabbed 100 or more rushing yards in three of the final four games in 2019 and recorded a pair of 100-yard or more receiving efforts.
 
Logan scored multiple touchdowns in six games this past season and registered at least three a total of five times.
 
The Big Sky All-Conference team and individual award winners were selected by all 13 head football coaches.  Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own players.
 
2019 Big Sky Football All-Conference
Offensive Player of the Year: Kevin Thomson, QB, Sacramento State
Co-Defensive Players of the Year: Dante Olson, LB, Montana; Jonah Williams, DE, Weber State
Newcomer of the Year: Marcus Knight, RB, Montana
Freshman of the Year: Nick Eaton, LB, UC Davis
 
* - Unanimous All-First Team Selection
$ - Two-Time All-Big Sky First Team Selection
% - Three-Time All-Big Sky First Team Selection
 
First Team All-Big Sky

FIRST TEAM OFFENSE	Player	Year	School
Quarterback	Kevin Thomson	Junior	Sacramento State
Wide Receiver	Samori Toure	Junior	Montana
Wide Receiver	J.J. Koski	Senior	Cal Poly
Wide Receiver	Pierre Williams	Sophomore	Sacramento State
Running Back	Josh Davis$	Sophomore	Weber State
Running Back	Elijah Dotson$	Junior	Sacramento State
Offensive Line	Zach Larsen*%	Senior	Southern Utah
Offensive Line	Mitch Brott	Senior	Montana State
Offensive Line	Wyatt Ming	Senior	Sacramento State
Offensive Line	Spencer Blackburn	Senior	Eastern Washington
Offensive Line	Chris Schlichting	Senior	Eastern Washington
Offensive Line	Ty Whitworth	Junior	Weber State
Offensive Line	Cole Habib	Senior	Northern Arizona
Tight End	Charlie Taumoepeau$	Senior	Portland State
Fullback	Clay Moss	Junior	Weber State
All-Purpose	Travis Jonsen	Senior	Montana State
Kicker	Luis Aguilar	Junior	Northern Arizona
Punt Returner	Jerry Louie-McGee*	Senior	Montana
Kick Returner	Nick Romano	Freshman	Idaho
FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
Tackle	Jared Schiess	Junior	Weber State
Tackle	Dariyn Choates	Senior	Sacramento State
End	George Obinna$	Senior	Sacramento State
End	Jonah Williams$	Senior	Weber State
Outside Linebacker	Troy Andersen$	Junior	Montana State
Outside Linebacker	Christian Ellis	Junior	Idaho
Inside Linebacker	Dante Olson*$	Senior	Montana
Inside Linebacker	Jace Lewis	Junior	Montana
Inside Linebacker	Josh Hill	Senior	Montana State
Defensive Back	Daron Bland	Junior	Sacramento State
Defensive Back	Brayden Konkol	Senior	Montana State
Defensive Back	Devon King	Sophomore	UC Davis
Defensive Back	Khalil Dorsey$	Senior	Northern Arizona
Defensive Back	Anthony Adams	Sophomore	Portland State
Punter	DJ Arnson	Junior	Northern Arizona
Special Teams	Emmanuel Daigbe	Junior	Portland State
SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
Quarterback	Case Cookus	Senior	Northern Arizona
Wide Receiver	Jeff Cotton	Senior	Idaho
Wide Receiver	Brandon Porter	Sophomore	Northern Arizona
Wide Receiver	Samuel Akem	Junior	Montana
Running Back	Ulonzo Gilliam	Sophomore	UC Davis
Running Back	Antoine Custer Jr.	Senior	Eastern Washington
Offensive Line	Nick Bianco	Seniors	Sacramento State
Offensive Line	Conlan Beaver	Junior	Montana
Offensive Line	Noah Johnson	Senior	Idaho
Offensive Line	Cy Sirmon	Senior	Montana
Offensive Line	Lewis Kidd	Junior	Montana State
Offensive Line	Tyler Whisenhunt	Senior	Cal Poly
Offensive Line	Tristen Taylor	Senior	Eastern Washington
Tight End	Marshel Martin	Freshman	Sacramento State
Tight End	Wes Preece	Senior	UC Davis
Fullback	Duy Tran-Sampson	Sophomore	Cal Poly
All-Purpose	Joe Logan	Senior	Northern Arizona
Kicker	Trey Tuttle	Junior	Weber State
Punt Returner	Cutrell Haywood	Sophomore	Idaho
Kick Returner	Wille Fairman	Senior	Northern Colorado
SECOND TEAM DEFENSE
Tackle	Derek Marks	Senior	Montana State
Tackle	Jesse Sims	Senior	Montana
End	Bryce Sterk	Senior	Montana State
End	Adam Rodriguez	Senior	Weber State
Outside Linebacker	Marcus Bruce	Senior	Sacramento State
Outside Linebacker	Nick Eaton	Freshman	UC Davis
Outside Linebacker	Auston Tesch	Senior	Weber State
Inside Linebacker	Marcus Hawkins	Junior	Sacramento State
Inside Linebacker	Tre Walker	Sophomore	Idaho
Defensive Back	Michael Walker	Senior	Northern Colorado
Defensive Back	Adkin Aguirre	Seniors	Idaho State
Defensive Back	Eddie Heckard	Freshman	Weber State
Defensive Back	Caelan Barnes	Senior	Sacramento State
Defensive Back	Robby Hauck	Sophomore	Montana
Punter	Doug Lloyd	Senior	Weber State
THIRD TEAM OFFENSE
Quarterback	Eric Barriere	Junior	Eastern Washington
Wide Receiver	Emmanuel Daigbe	Junior	Portland State
Wide Receiver	Kevin Kassis	Senior	Montana State
Wide Receiver	Andrew Boston	Sophomore	Eastern Washington
Running Back	Marcus Knight	Sophomore	Montana
Running Back	Milo Hall	Senior	Northern Colorado
Running Back	Kevin Smith	Junior	Weber State
Offensive Line	Dallen Collins	Senior	Idaho State
Offensive Line	Angel Villanueva	Senior	Montana
Offensive Line	Kaleb Levao	Senior	Eastern Washington
Offensive Line	Braxton Jones	Sophomore	Southern Utah
Offensive Line	Ben Bos	Junior	Weber State
Offensive Line	Garrett Stauffer	Senior	Portland State
Offensive Line	Taylor Tuiasosopo	Junior	Montana State
Tight End	Jayce Gilder	Senior	Eastern Washington
Kicker	Cody Williams	Sophomore	Portland State
Kick Returner	Judd Cockett	Junior	Southern Utah
THIRD TEAM DEFENSE
Tackle	Elijah Chambers	Junior	Sacramento State
Tackle	Chase Benson	Junior	Montana State
End	George Tarlas	Sophomore	Weber State
End	Jim Townsend	Senior	Eastern Washington
Outside Linebacker	Amandre Williams	Junior	Montana State
Outside Linebacker	Luke Holloway	Senior	Idaho State
Inside Linebacker	Kody Graves	Senior	Idaho State
Inside Linebacker	Matt Shotwell	Junior	Cal Poly
Defensive Back	Lloyd Hightower	Senior	Idaho
Defensive Back	Josh Sandry	Senior	Montana
Defensive Back	Preston Smith	Junior	Weber State
Defensive Back	Dehonta Hayes	Senior	Eastern Washington
Defensive Back	Carlton Johnson	Freshman	Southern Utah
Punter	Daniel Whelan	Junior	UC Davis

 
Honorable Mention:
Quarterback: Dalton Sneed, Montana; Jake Maier, UC Davis; Mason Petrino, Idaho; Jacob Knipp, Northern Colorado.
 
Wide Receiver: Mitch Gueller, Idaho State; Tanner Conner, Idaho State; Lance Lawson, Southern Utah; Jayson Williams II, Eastern Washington; Khris Vaughn, UC Davis; Willie Fairman, Northern Colorado
 
Running Back: B.J. Perkinson, Sacramento State
 
Offensive Line: Jordan Ford, UC Davis
 
Kicker: Seth Harrison, Eastern Washington
 
Tackle: Bryce Rodgers, UC Davis; Dylan Ledbetter, Eastern Washington; Kenton Bartlett, Portland State; Anthony Del Toro, Portland State
 
End: Shawn Richard, Portland State; Josiah Erickson, Sacramento State; Myles Cecil, Cal Poly
 
Outside Linebacker: Alex Sims, Southern Utah
 
Inside Linebacker: Luke Nelson, Northern Colorado
 
Defensive Back: Kitu Humphrey, Cal Poly; Jerone Jackson, Northern Colorado; AJ Stanley, Southern Utah; Carter Nichols, Cal Poly
 
Punter: Jered Padmos, Montana State; Cade Coffey, Idaho