News

With the FCS regular season officially in the books it’s time to recognize the best of the best from the most powerful conference in the country (that’s right, I said it).

I always look forward to the opportunity to weigh in on the postseason awards for the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Unfortunately, it never gets any easier.

This league is LOADED with great players, so the struggle of figuring out who is most deserving of all-conference honors is very real.

With that, here is my official 2018 MVFC Postseason Ballot (keep in mind, I am not allowed to vote for anyone from the University of South Dakota):

Quarterback

Easton Stick – NDSU | Taryn Christion – SDSU

Running Back

James Robinson – Illinois St. | Ja’Quan Keys – Indiana St. | Tevin McCaster – YSU | Bruce Anderson – NDSU

Full Back

Brock Robbins – NDSU | Tim McCloyn – Illinois St.

Offensive Line

Tanner Volson – NDSU | Evan Greeneway – SDSU | Drew Himmelman – Illinois St. | Dillon Radunz – NDSU | Wyatt Wozniak – Indiana St. | Zack Johnson – NDSU | Gabe Megginson – Illinois St. | Tate Leavitt – Indiana St. | Gavin Wiggins – YSU | Cal Twait – UNI

Tight End

Briley Moore – UNI | Ben Ellefson – NDSU

Wide Receiver

Cade Johnson – SDSU | Darrius Shepherd – NDSU | Spencer Schnell – Illinois St. | Raphael Leonard – SIU | Tyler Currie – MSU | Isaiah LeSure – WIU

Defensive Line

Rickey Neal – UNI | Greg Menard – NDSU | Anthony Knighton – SIU | Khalen Saunders – WIU | Savon Smith – YSU | Cole Karcz – NDSU | Ryan Earith – SDSU | Shereif Bynum – YSU

Linebacker

Jabril Cox – NDSU | Pete Swenson – WIU | Christian Rozeboom – SDSU | Duncan Ferch – UNI | Armand Dellovade – YSU | Quentin Moon – WIU | Jonas Griffith – Indiana St. | Angelo Garbutt – MSU

Defensive Back

Jordan Brown – SDSU | Luther Kirk – Illinois St. | Robbie Grimsley – NDSU | Jeremy Chinn – SIU | Xavior Williams – UNI | Devin Taylor – Illinois St. | Justin Fitzpatrick – WIU | Chrispin Lee – YSU | James Hendricks – NDSU | Xavier Rowe – WIU

Placekicker

Austin Errthum – UNI | Jerry Nunez – Indiana St.

Punter

Brady Hale – SDSU | Garret Wegner – NDSU

Return Specialist

Darrius Shepherd – NDSU | Steve McShane – WIU

Deep Snapper

Paul Monaco – Illinois St. | Ross Kennelly – NDSU

Offensive Player of the Year

Easton Stick - NDSU

Defensive Player of the Year

Jabril Cox – NDSU

All-Newcomer Team (Offense)

Ryan Boyle – Indiana St. | Pierre Strong, Jr. – SDSU | Andrew Edgar – Illinois St. | Isaiah Edwards – Indiana St. | Dante Hendrix – Indiana St. | Dakota Caton – Indiana St. | Gabe Megginson – Illinois St. | Deion McShane – UNI | Brady Davis – Illinois St. | Tate Leavitt – Indiana St.

All-Newcomer Team (Defense)

Chris Kolarevic – UNI | Spencer Waege – NDSU | Krockett Krolikowski – SDSU | Jason Lewan – Illinois St. | LaCale London – WIU | Matt McClellan – Missouri St. | Romeo McKnight – Illinois St. | John Ridgeway – Illinois St. | Denzel Bonner – Indiana St. | Luke Giegling – SIU

Newcomer of the Year

Ryan Boyle – Indiana St.

Freshman of the Year

Pierre Strong, Jr. – SDSU

Coach of the Year

Curt Mallory – Indiana St.

This, of course is just one media member’s opinion. Stay tuned in the coming days for the official MVFC postseseason announcements. The league’s top awards will be announced today (Nov. 21), followed by All-Conference selections (Nov. 26), All-Newcomer (Nov. 27) and All-Academic (Nov. 28).