MISSOULA – Playing as the son of the head coach can be tricky. But Robby Hauck proved he deserved every snap he took with the Montana Grizzlies this year. The safety finished in seventh place in voting for the Jerry Rice Award, given to the best freshman in all of the FCS.
Hauck redshirted at Northern Arizona last season. As soon as his dad, Bobby, took the head coaching job at Montana again, Robby immediately transferred to live out a childhood dream of playing for the Grizzlies.
He started from Day 1 at free safety and played a lot like his legendary uncle Tim. Hauck finished second on the team with 95 tackles. He also broke up four passes in coverage, and was picked honorable mention all-Big Sky Conference.
Voters chose to give the Rice Award to Weber State running back Josh Davis by a wide margin after he rushed for more than 1,300 yards this season.
The Rice Award results: (1st place votes-2nd place-3rd place-4th place-5th place-final total)
1. Josh Davis, RB, Weber State: 71-29-15-7-3-533
2. Jon Copeland, QB, Incarnate Word: 29-34-15-13-16-368
3. Quay Holmes, RB, ETSU: 8-25-29-18-9-272
4. Adrian Hope, LB, Furman: 16-14-25-19-11-268
5. Juwon Farri, RB, Monmouth: 7-9-7-20-14-146
6. Christian Benford, CB, Villanova: 2-8-7-17-13-110
7. Robby Hauck, S, Montana: 1-3-5-18-10-78
8. Jack Cook, QB, Dayton: 3-4-9-5-8-76
9. Ulonzo Gilliam, RB, UC Davis: 2-7-4-8-3-69
10. Andrew Edgar, WR, Illinois State: 0-4-8-8-8-60
11. Caleb Snead, WR, Campbell: 3-4-2-6-10-59
12. Ty Brock, QB, Sam Houston State: 4-0-7-3-8-55
13. Jareem Westcott, RB, Stetson: 0-4-6-0-10-44
14. Malik Hamm, DE, Lafayette: 2-1-4-2-6-36
15. Bailey Fisher, QB, Tennessee Tech: 1-2-1-6-5-33
16. Xavier Smith, WR, Florida A&M: 1-2-2-1-6-27
17. Noah Larson, LB, North Dakota: 1-0-4-1-7-26
18. Julius Chestnut, RB, Sacred Heart: 2-1-1-0-1-18
19. Mohammed Diakite, CB, Penn: 0-1-2-1-3-15
20. Skyler Perry, QB, Arkansas-Pine Bluff: 0-0-0-0-2-2
