Days before they line up on opposite sidelines inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium, Montana Grizzly Reggie Tilleman and Montana State Bobcat Jered Padmos garnered prestigious academic honors. The pair was named to the Google Cloud Academic All-District 7 first team, according to a College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) release on Thursday.
To be considered for the honor, student-athletes must be at least a sophomore in classification, while holding a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 or better. They must also be starters or important reserves for their respective football programs.
Padmos, a former Jefferson Panther standout, holds a 3.81 cumulative grade point average while majoring in elementary education at Montana State. He currently ranks 23rd in the FCS with a 41.8 yard-per-punt average, while only 15 of his 50 punts in 2018 have been returned. Padmos has also landed 15 of his punts inside the opponents’ 20-yard line.
Padmos has also sent 11 of his punts at least 50 yards downfield.
Tilleman, a Genesee, Idaho native, joined Padmos as a first-team selection in District 7. The Grizzlies’ team captain maintains a 3.90 grade point average while pursuing his MBA. A magna cum laude graduate of Montana’s college of business last spring, Tilleman is a two-time academic all-Big Sky selection and was named the 2017 recipient of the Tony Barbour Award, given to the UM player that “best exemplifies Grizzly football.”
Tilleman has played in 26 career games, tallying 52 total tackles, 7.5 tackles-for-loss, 2.5 sacks and a pass deflection. Earlier this fall he was named one of only three semifinalists from the Big Sky Conference for the William V. Campbell Trophy, which recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation.
Twelve Big Sky Conference players were selected to District 7 (Rocky Mountain) and District 8 (Pacific Coast) first-team honors.
Fourteen student-athletes from the Frontier Conference were named to the NAIA District 4 first team, including Rocky Mountain College players Max Gray and Billy Williams. Gray holds a 3.73 grade point average in English education, while Williams is a business administration major with the same GPA. Fellow Battlin’ Bear Chase Bertelsen carries a 3.60 grade point average in health and human performance.
Montana Western’s Jason Ferris, a natural horsemanship major, has a 3.51 grade point average, while Carroll College’s Drew Melton, who led the NAIA in pass break-ups this fall, boasts a 3.88 grade point average with a major of finance.
All first-team all-district honorees will be advance to the Google Cloud Academic all-America ballot. First- and second-team Academic all-America honorees will be announced in early December.
To view the complete list of Google Cloud Academic first-team all-district recipients, which consist of athletes in NCAA Division I, Division II and Division III, as well as the NAIA, please click here.
