Montana LB Olson named Walter Camp All-American
Record-breaking Montana linebacker Dante Olson has added another All-American accolade to his resume after leading the nation in tackles during the regular season.
Olson was the only defensive player from the Big Sky Conference and just the fourth overall player from the league to be named to the Walter Camp Foundation’s FCS All-American team on Friday. Only 14 offensive players and 13 defensive players from the Football Championship Subdivision earned a place on the team.
On Tuesday Olson was also named a First-Team All-American by the Associated Press, the first national accolade for the Buchanan Award Finalist this season.
The Medford, Oregon, native earned first-team Big Sky honors this season, and won UM’s Steve Carlson team MVP award in addition to defensive MVP honors at the Grizzlies’ post-season awards banquet in November.
His tally of 151 total tackles on the season shattered Kendrick Van Ackeren’s UM school record of 130 tackles, and was just 26 shy of breaking the Big Sky Conference record, despite not playing in a single post-season game.
Olson posted double-digit tackles in nine of Montana’s 11 games this season, including a single-game high of 24 at Cal Poly, 19 against Portland State, 18 against Montana State, and 16 against Drake. His 24 against the Mustangs are the second-most in UM school history behind Tim Hauck’s 25 tackles posted against Fresno State in 1989.
In addition to his 151 tackles, Olson also tallied 11 tackles for loss, six sacks, three forced fumbles, two interceptions, five quarterback hurries and three pass breakups in his breakout season.
Olson was named the STATS FCS national Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 8 and was named the ROOT Sports Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week three times as well.
In January he will travel to Frisco, Texas, for the STATS FCS national awards banquet ahead of the national championship game, where he will learn if he has become Montana’s third Buchanan Award winner in program history.
He is the 23rd Grizzly to earn Walter Camp All-America honors. The last Grizzlies to make the prestigious team were Tyrone Holmes in 2015 and Zack Wagenmann in 2014. Other Grizzly legends to be recognized by the Walter Camp Foundation include Trumaine Johnson (the only Grizzly in the modern era to be named to the team twice), Marc Mariani, Vince Huntsberger, and Dave Dickenson.
The team was selected by FCS head coaches and sports information directors and was certified by the accounting and auditing firm, Marcum LLP.
In all, players from 10 different conferences and 23 institutions are represented on the 2018 Walter Camp FCS All-America team. The Big Sky and the Colonial Athletic Association each have the most honorees with four, while the Missouri Valley Conference, Ohio Valley Conference, Southern Conference, and Pioneer League all had three honorees.
FCS semifinalist North Dakota State, Southeast Missouri State, Samford, and Towson all had two honorees.
Walter Camp, “The Father of American football,” first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp – a former Yale University athlete and football coach – is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting an All-American team annually.
2018 Walter Camp FCS All-America Team
Offense
WR Michael Brandy, San Diego 5-11 190 Jr. LaMirada, CA
WR Kelvin McKnight, Samford 5-8 186 Sr. Bradenton, FL
TE Donald Parham, Stetson 6-8 204 Sr. Lakeland, FL
OL Iosua Opeta, Weber State 6-4 3-5 Sr. Stansbury Park, UT
OL B.J. Autry, Jacksonville State 6-5 340 Sr. Eight Mile, AL
OL Matt Kauffman, Towson 6-5 309 Sr. York, PA
OL Zack Johnson, North Dakota State 6-4 331 Sr. Apple Valley, MN
OL Drew Forbes, SE Missouri St. 6-5 305 Sr. Bonne Terre, MO
OL Mario Farinella, Delaware 6-2 300 Sr. Bloomfield, NJ
C Zach Larsen, Southern Utah 6-1 305 Jr. Draper, UT
QB Devlin Hodges, Samford 6-1 210 Sr. Kimberly, AL
RB Joe Protheroe, Cal Poly 5-11 230 Sr. Concord, CA
RB Ryan Fulse, Wagner 5-11 185 Sr. Fort Meade, FL
PK Aidan O’Neill, Towson 6-1 199 Jr. New Paltz, NY
Defense
DL Darryl Johnson, North Carolina A&T 6-5 232 R-Jr. Kingsland, GA
DL Isaiah Mack, Chattanooga 6-3 305 Sr. Tunnel Hill, GA
DL Derick Roberson, Sam Houston St. 6-4 250 R-Sr. San Antonio, TX
DL Darin Greenfield, South Dakota 6-3 240 Jr. Sheldon, IA
LB B.J. Blunt, McNeese State 6-1 220 Sr. New Orleans, LA
LB Zach Hall, SE Missouri State 6-0 230 Jr. Louisville, KY
LB Dante Olson, Montana 6-3 237 R-Sr. Medford, OR
DB Isiah Swann, Dartmouth 6-0 190 Jr. Queen Creek, AZ
DB Jimmy Moreland, James Madison 5-11 175 R-Sr. Royal Palm Beach, FL
DB Robbie Grimsley, North Dakota State 6-0 194 Sr. Hutchinson, MN
DB Will Warner, Drake 6-3 201 Jr. Pella, IA
P Chris Faddoul, Florida A&M 6-1 184 Soph. Wesley Chapel, FL
KR Jean Constant, Bryant 5-9 177 R-Jr. Delray Beach, FL