Electrifying Montana Grizzly Football Star Earns Weekly Honor

Savor the game-changing effects of carrying the football only two times and amassing 124 yards doing it.

Yet, it might have been a three-yard run hurdling the defender that gave the fans the biggest thrill. Those plays and several more contributed up to a phenomenal performance for an extremely gifted sophomore.

University of Montana Football Sports Information Director Eric Taber tells us that following his best day rushing in an already prolific career, Montana running back Eli Gillman was named the Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week today (Monday) after ran for 175 yards and a touchdown in the 46-35 Griz win over Western Carolina this past Saturday. Surprisingly, it was his first weekly honor from the Big Sky.

That career-high 175 yards was achieved in only 14 carries, bringing his average gain to 12.5 yards every time he touched the ball! That included his 66-yard touchdown burst to give the Griz a much-needed lift, trailing 17-0 to the Catamounts at that point in the second quarter.

Eli is now the leading rusher in the Big Sky with 456 yards and six touchdowns, an average of 114 per game to pace the conference. Gillman also rocketed into the Montana record books after his career-high day against Western Carolina, now ranked No. 20 in Grizzly history in career rushing yards with 1,489… as a sophomore! He’s now also No. 13 on UM’s all-time leaders list for rushing touchdowns with 19 in his career.

Conference play begins Saturday at Eastern Washington. Our radio and online broadcast begins at 4:00 p.m. with the two-hour pregame show. Get the most complete and thorough game day coverage on NewsTalk KGVO, FM 98.3/AM 1290.

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