Northern Arizona football was picked to finish fifth in the 2013 Big Sky
Media and Coaches’ Preseason Polls, which were released Monday at the
Big Sky Conference Summer Kickoff.
Northern Arizona finished 8-3 last season.
Montana
State received 31 of 48 first-place votes in the media poll and 8 of 13
in the coaches poll to rank as the preseason favorite. Eastern
Washington, Montana and Cal Poly ranked second through fourth in both
polls, followed by NAU.
Six NAU players were voted onto the
All-Big Sky Preseason Team -- senior running back Zach Bauman of
chandler, junior tight end P.J. Rickert of Gilbert, senior defensive
lineman Tim Wilkinson of Las Vegas, senior safety Lucky Dozier of
Sacramento, senior cornerback Anders Battle of Phoenix and senior punter
Andy Wilder of Scottsdale.
Bauman enters the season 119 yards
short of NAU's career rushing record and ranks 11th among Big Sky career
leaders, while Rickert had 27 receptions for 272 yards last season.
Wilkinson
had 6.5 sacks and 37 tackles, Dozier recorded four interceptions and 57
tackles, and Battle had a team-high 64 tackles and one interception.
Wilder led the nation in punting with a 46.3-yard average.
The six NAU selections were the most of any Big Sky team. Montana State was next with four.
1. Montana State (31)............................ 596
2. Eastern Washington (12)................... 566
3. Montana (3)....................................... 492
4. Cal Poly (1)........................................ 466
5. Northern Arizona............................... 457
6. Sacramento St. (1)............................ 374
7. North Dakota .................................... 309
8. Northern Colorado ............................ 239
9. Southern Utah .................................. 228
10. Portland State ................................. 212
11. UC Davis...........................................191
12. Weber State ................................... 164
13. Idaho State........................................74
1. Montana State (8)............................... 140
2. Eastern Washington (3)...................... 130
3. Montana (2)........................................ 111
4. Cal Poly............................................... 109
5. Northern Arizona................................. 104
6. Sacramento State................................. 88
7. North Dakota........................................ 66
8. Northern Colorado ............................... 63
9. Southern Utah ..................................... 57
10. Portland State ................................... 49
11. Weber State ...................................... 48
12. UC Davis............................................ 37
13. Idaho State........................................ 12
Offensive MVP – DeNarius McGhee, Sr., QB, Montana State
Defensive MVP – Jordan Tripp, Sr., LB, Montana
OFFENSE
QB - DeNarius McGee, Sr., Montana State
RB - Zach Bauman, Sr., Northern Arizona
RB - Cody Kirk, Sr., Montana State
FB - Dalton Turay, Jr., UC Davis
OG - Tyler Worthley, Sr., Sacramento State
OG - Gavin Farr, Sr., Southern Utah
C - Mitch Gaulke, Sr., Portland State
OT - Danny Kistler, Sr., Montana
OT - Giovanni Sani, Sr., Cal Poly
WR - Greg Hardin, Sr., North Dakota
WR - Tanner Bleskin, Sr., Montana State
WR - Morris Norrise, Sr., Sacramento State
WR - Fatu Moala, Sr., Southern Utah
TE - R.J. Rickert, Jr., Northern Arizona
K - Colton Cook, Sr., Southern Utah
Ret. - Greg Hardin, Sr., North Dakota
DEFENSE
DE - Zack Wagenmann, Jr., Montana
DE - Brad Daly, Sr., Montana State
DT - Sullivan Grosz, Sr., Cal Poly
DT - Tim Wilkinson, Sr., Northern Arizona
OLB - Jordan Tripp, Sr., Montana
OLB - Trevor Spence, Sr., Idaho State
ILB - Ronnie Hamlin, Sr., Eastern Washington
ILB - Clarence Bumpas, Sr., Northern Colorado
ILB - Anthony Morales, Sr., Weber State
CB - Anders Battle, Sr., Northern Arizona
CB - T.J. Lee III, Sr., Eastern Washington
S - Lucky Dozier, Sr., Northern Arizona
S - Allen Brown, Sr., Eastern Washington
P - Andy Wilder, Sr., Northern Arizona
Special Teams – Chris Judge, Sr., Cal Poly
