SPOKANE, Wash. (July 21, 2024) – The Northern Arizona University football team is well represented on the Preseason All-Big Sky Team as three Lumberjacks in
Jonny Bottorff,
Tommy Ellis and
Alex McLaughlin were honored this afternoon as part of the 2024 Big Sky Conference Football Kickoff being held in Spokane, Wash., this weekend.
Along with the announcement of the preseason team, NAU was picked to finish seventh by the coaches and ninth by the media in the Big Sky Preseason Polls. Montana was picked to finish first in both polls. In the coaches poll, the Lumberjacks were picked to finish ahead of Eastern Washington, Portland State, Idaho State, Northern Colorado and Cal Poly, all teams NAU will face this year with the exception of PSU. The Lumberjacks were predicted to finish seventh and eighth in the polls last season and finished fourth in the conference standings.
Bottorff, a redshirt junior offensive lineman who hails from Quincy, Ill., is in his second year with the Lumberjacks after transferring in from Missouri Western. After being voted team captain before stepping onto the field, Bottorff went on to start all 11 games at center last season before earning second team All-Big Sky Offense honors and was voted as one of NAU's team captains again this season.
Ellis is a senior linebacker who played in all 11 games and ranked second on the team in total tackles. He had at least four tackles in nine games last season, including tying a career-high 10 at Montana State. In a ranked road victory over Weber State, Ellis, also a team captain, came up with his first career interception that he returned for seven yards.
McLaughlin had a breakout freshman season that saw him be named to the Jerry Rice Award Watchlist along with being named a Freshman All-American by FCS Stats Perform and the FCS Bluebloods. The sophomore was named to the second team All-Big Sky Defense team after starting all 10 games he played in, leading the team with 71 total tackles and four interceptions. His four interceptions were the second-most in the conference in 2023. The Chandler, Ariz., native had two double-digit tackle games including 10 in his debut at Arizona and a career-high 11 against Portland State.
Head coach
Brian Wright, Bottorff, and defensive lineman
Daniel Robledo have been on hand in Spokane over the weekend participating in the 2024 Big Sky Conference Football Kickoff. The trio will be live on ESPN+ and select Scripps stations on Monday morning starting at 9:30 a.m. at the kickoff to discuss the upcoming season.
The results of the Big Sky Preseason Polls and All-Conference Teams can be found below.
Coaches Poll
| Rank |
Team (1st) |
Votes |
| 1 |
Montana (10) |
120 |
| 2 |
Montana State (1) |
110 |
| 3 |
Idaho |
95 |
| 4 |
UC Davis (1) |
88 |
| 5 |
Sacramento State |
82 |
| 6 |
Weber State |
74 |
| 7 |
Northern Arizona |
55 |
| 8 |
Eastern Washington |
47 |
| 9 |
Portland State |
45 |
| 10 |
Idaho State |
31 |
| 11 |
Northern Colorado |
23 |
| 12 |
Cal Poly |
22 |
Media Poll
| Rank |
Team (1st) |
Votes |
| 1 |
Montana (26) |
442 |
| 2 |
Montana State (9) |
414 |
| 3 |
Idaho (2) |
342 |
| 4 |
UC Davis (1) |
332 |
| 5 |
Sacramento State |
324 |
| 6 |
Eastern Washington |
240 |
| 7 |
Weber State |
234 |
| 8 |
Idaho State |
174 |
| 9 |
Northern Arizona |
172 |
| 10 |
Portland State |
169 |
| 11 |
Cal Poly |
74 |
| 12 |
Northern Colorado |
47 |
Preseason All-Conference Team
| Pos. |
Player (School) |
| QB |
Tommy Mellott, Montana State |
| RB |
Lan Larison, UC Davis* |
| RB |
Eli Gillman, Montana |
| FB |
Rohan Jones, Montana State |
| WR |
Efton Chism III, Eastern Washington* |
| WR |
Junior Bergen, Montana |
| WR |
Jared Gipson, Sacramento State |
| TE |
Coleman Kuntz, Sacramento State* |
| TE |
Jake Cox, Idaho |
| OL |
Brandon Casey, Montana* |
| OL |
Marcus Wehr, Montana State |
| OL |
Jackson Slater, Sacramento State |
| OL |
Justus Perkins, Montana State |
| OL |
Jonny Bottorff, Northern Arizona |
| OL |
Nathan Mejia, Sacramento State |
|
|
| DL |
Brody Grebe, Montana State* |
| DL |
Elijah Ponder, Cal Poly |
| DL |
Brayden Wilson, Weber State |
| DL |
Zach Kennedy, UC Davis |
| DL |
Dallas Afalava, Idaho |
| DL |
Keyshawn James-Newby, Idaho |
| LB |
Riley Wilson, Montana* |
| LB |
Will Leota, Sacramento State |
| LB |
Michael Montgomery, Portland State |
| LB |
Danny Uluilakepa, Montana State |
| LB |
Tommy Ellis, Northern Arizona |
| DB |
Rex Connors, UC Davis* |
| DB |
Trevin Gradney, Montana |
| DB |
Alex McLaughlin, Northern Arizona |
| DB |
Calvin Pitcher, Idaho State |
| DB |
Tommy McCormick, Idaho |
| DB |
Rylan Ortt, Montana State |
|
|
| K |
Hunter Ridley, UC Davis |
| P |
Brendan Hall, Montana State |
| KR |
Abraham Williams, Idaho |
| PR |
Junior Bergen, Montana |
| LS |
Tommy Sullivan, Montana State |
| ST |
Isiah Childs, Montana |
| AP |
Junior Bergen, Montana |
|
|
| OMVP |
Lan Larison, UC Davis |
| DMVP |
Brody Grebe, Montana State |
* - received most votes in position group
