by Jerry Louie-McGee (Coeur d’Alene/Cherokee )went from being a walk-on wide receiver to being Montana’s breakout star in 2016 and was named a finalist for the STATS FCS Jerry Rice Award for the nation’s top freshman performer.
STATS announced Monday that Louie-McGee finished No. 7 in national voting for the Rice Award, but received the highest finish of any Big Sky Conference finalist despite a knee injury that forced him to miss three games.
Louie-McGee received a total of 121 overall points and seven first-place votes for the Rice Award, the most of three Big Sky players on the finalist list.
Running back Joe Logan of Northern Arizona and defensive back Torrey Hunt of North Dakota tied at No. 15 on the list. Taking home the Jerry Rice Award was running back A.J. Hines from Duquesne with 333 points, edging out South Dakota State linebacker Christian Rozeboom by a single point.
Louie-McGee broke a pair of records in his inaugural season in maroon and silver, finishing the year as UM’s leading receiver 651 total yards. Against Cal Poly he smashed Josh Paffhausen’s record for receptions in a game and tied the Big Sky Conference record with 21 grabs.
He also broke Joe Douglass’ 1996 record for average receptions in a game with 9.1 and finished the year with 73 total receptions, good enough to land at No. 6 on UM’s all-time season receptions list.
Though a known quantity to the Montana coaching staff, Louie-McGee became a household name around Griz nation after an electric 81-yard punt return for a touchdown at Northern Iowa that earned him Big Sky Special Teams Player of the Week accolades.
One week later, he broke Montana’s record for receptions in a game at Cal Poly, totaling 155 yards and two touchdowns on 21 receptions while also returning kicks for 114 yards to give him 275 all-purpose yards, earning him the STATS FCS National Freshman Player of the Week award.
A national panel of over 150 sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries voted on the Rice Award, which had 23 finalists from 12 FCS conferences. The Jerry Rice Award voting reflected the regular season and was conducted before the start of the FCS playoffs.
Final voting for the STATS FCS Jerry Rice Award
1. A.J. Hines, RB, Duquesne: 30-20-18-20-9-333
2. Christian Rozeboom, LB, South Dakota State: 22-28-17-13-7-332
3. Nathan Stewart, WR, Sam Houston State: 25-14-23-15-15-295
4. Tyrie Adams, QB, Western Carolina: 20-12-15-5-14-217
5. Marlon Bridges, S, Jacksonville State: 19-15-10-9-13-216
6. Chase Fourcade, QB, Nicholls: 10-13-11-7-9-158
7. Jerry Louie-McGee, WR, Montana: 7-5-8-14-14-121
8. Sully Laiche, DL, Nicholls: 3-10-13-7-8-116
9. Shane Simpson, RB, Towson: 5-11-6-7-3-104
10. Stephen Calvert, QB, Liberty: 1-4-4-3-9-48
11. Steven Newbold, WR, Tennessee State: 3-2-2-6-4-45
12. Gee Stanley, LB, Robert Morris: 1-2-4-5-8-43
13. Jordan Bentley, RB, Alabama A&M: 2-1-3-8-3-42
14. Jaylan Foster, DB, Gardner-Webb: 1-2-3-6-4-38
15.(Tie) Joe Logan, RB, Northern Arizona: 1-4-3-1-5-37
15.(Tie) Torrey Hunt, DB, North Dakota: 2-2-4-2-3-37
17. Prince Smith, Jr., CB, New Hampshire: 0-3-1-6-6-33
18.(Tie) Alex Probert, K, Liberty: 0-3-1-4-6-29
18.(Tie) Ryan Stanley, QB, Florida A&M: 1-2-4-0-4-29
20. Corey Parker, S, William & Mary: 2-1-2-2-4-28
21. Pop Lacey, S, New Hampshire: 0-1-3-2-6-23
22. Max Roberts, LB, Fordham: 1-1-1-0-1-13
23. Elijah Burress, QB, Campbell: 0-0-0-1-1-3
A first-place vote was worth five points, a second-place vote four points, a third-place vote three points, a fourth-place vote two points and a fifth-place vote one point.
