Adam Jones earned Stats Perform FCS National Player of the Week Honors for his efforst vs. UM
Photo by: Dean Hendrickson
Bobcats Reel In Big Sky and Stats Perform National Honors
11/25/2024 1:12:00 PM | Football
Adam Jones, Rylan Ortt, Brent Vigen reap rewards from rewarding weekend win
Adam Jones Freshman of the Week: Stats Perform FCS National Awards (Week 13) | Opta Analyst
Adam Jones Named Jerry Rice Finalist: FCS Football: 2024 Jerry Rice Award Finalists | Opta Analyst
Brent Vigen Named Eddie Robinson Finalist: FCS Football: 2024 Eddie Robinson Award Finalists | Opta Analyst
BOZEMAN, Montana – Montana State freshman Adam Jones ended the 2024 regular season as he began it, landing Stats Perform FCS National Freshman of the Week honors for his 197-yard rushing effort in the Bobcats 34-11 win over the Grizzlies on Saturday. Jones was among three in the MSU football program to reap rewards from Saturday's big rivalry win.
Jones also earned Big Sky Conference Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors, while safety Rylan Ortt was named Co-Defensive Player of the Week. In addition, Jones became one of 25 finalists for the Stats Perform Jerry Rice National Freshman of the Year and MSU coach Brent Vigen was named one of 15 finalists for the Stats Perform Eddie Robinson FCS National Coach of the Year Award.
Jones' honor bookends his freshman season. He was named Big Sky Player of the Week and Stats Perform National FCS Freshman of the Week after Montana State season-opening win at FBS New Mexico, when his fourth quarter 93-yard run sparked the Cats to a comeback win. Against the Grizzlies, Missoula Sentinel product's 88-yard run and two touchdowns in the game's final 17 minutes helped the Bobcats seal the win. Jones' 88-yard run is tied for the second-longest in Bobcat Stadium history, and his 197 rushing yards was fourth-most by a Bobcat in the Cat-Griz game. His 928 yards this season is second on MSU's all-time freshman rushing list.
Ortt, like Jones a Missoula Sentinel grad, led a stifling Bobcat defense on Saturday with a game-high 11 tackles. The Bobcats allowed UM just 234 total yards, 205 yards a game below its previous season average, and 11 points, 25 points below the season average. The senior captain also logged a half-tackle-for-loss and a quarterback hurry.
After leading the Bobcats to the only 12-0 regular season in Big Sky Conference history, Vigen becomes a finalist for the Stats Perform national coach of the year award for the second time (joining a similar nomination in 2021). He is 44-9 as Montana State's head coach, the best start to any career in Big Sky or Bobcat history, and 29-3 in Big Sky games. He was named league co-coach of the year after the 2021 campaign, when he led the Cats to the FCS National Championship Game for the first time since 1984. Saturday's win against the Grizzlies gave MSU its first outright Big Sky Championship since 1984, although a win later vacated by UM in 2011 left Montana State as outright champions after the fact.
The Eddie Robinson and Jerry Rice Awards, along with awards including the Walter Payton National Offensive Player of the Year and the Buck Buchanan National Defensive Player of the Year, are presented at the Stats Perform awards banquet on Jan. 4 in Frisco, Texas.
#GoCatsGo
Adam Jones Named Jerry Rice Finalist: FCS Football: 2024 Jerry Rice Award Finalists | Opta Analyst
Brent Vigen Named Eddie Robinson Finalist: FCS Football: 2024 Eddie Robinson Award Finalists | Opta Analyst
BOZEMAN, Montana – Montana State freshman Adam Jones ended the 2024 regular season as he began it, landing Stats Perform FCS National Freshman of the Week honors for his 197-yard rushing effort in the Bobcats 34-11 win over the Grizzlies on Saturday. Jones was among three in the MSU football program to reap rewards from Saturday's big rivalry win.
Jones also earned Big Sky Conference Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors, while safety Rylan Ortt was named Co-Defensive Player of the Week. In addition, Jones became one of 25 finalists for the Stats Perform Jerry Rice National Freshman of the Year and MSU coach Brent Vigen was named one of 15 finalists for the Stats Perform Eddie Robinson FCS National Coach of the Year Award.
Jones' honor bookends his freshman season. He was named Big Sky Player of the Week and Stats Perform National FCS Freshman of the Week after Montana State season-opening win at FBS New Mexico, when his fourth quarter 93-yard run sparked the Cats to a comeback win. Against the Grizzlies, Missoula Sentinel product's 88-yard run and two touchdowns in the game's final 17 minutes helped the Bobcats seal the win. Jones' 88-yard run is tied for the second-longest in Bobcat Stadium history, and his 197 rushing yards was fourth-most by a Bobcat in the Cat-Griz game. His 928 yards this season is second on MSU's all-time freshman rushing list.
Ortt, like Jones a Missoula Sentinel grad, led a stifling Bobcat defense on Saturday with a game-high 11 tackles. The Bobcats allowed UM just 234 total yards, 205 yards a game below its previous season average, and 11 points, 25 points below the season average. The senior captain also logged a half-tackle-for-loss and a quarterback hurry.
After leading the Bobcats to the only 12-0 regular season in Big Sky Conference history, Vigen becomes a finalist for the Stats Perform national coach of the year award for the second time (joining a similar nomination in 2021). He is 44-9 as Montana State's head coach, the best start to any career in Big Sky or Bobcat history, and 29-3 in Big Sky games. He was named league co-coach of the year after the 2021 campaign, when he led the Cats to the FCS National Championship Game for the first time since 1984. Saturday's win against the Grizzlies gave MSU its first outright Big Sky Championship since 1984, although a win later vacated by UM in 2011 left Montana State as outright champions after the fact.
The Eddie Robinson and Jerry Rice Awards, along with awards including the Walter Payton National Offensive Player of the Year and the Buck Buchanan National Defensive Player of the Year, are presented at the Stats Perform awards banquet on Jan. 4 in Frisco, Texas.
#GoCatsGo
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