All-Big Sky Conference: Eastern Washington nose tackle Jay-Tee Tiuli named Defensive Player of the Year

Nov. 20, 2018 Updated Tue., Nov. 20, 2018 at 8:40 p.m.

By Ryan Collingwood ryanc@spokesman.com (509) 459-5473

Eastern Washington’s smothering defense was a big reason the Eagles earned a share of the Big Sky Conference title.

Jay-Tee Tiuli was a big reason EWU yielded only 16.8 points a game in conference play.

The 6-foot-4, 315-pound nose tackle was named the Big Sky’s Defensive Player of the Year on Tuesday, becoming the first EWU player to earn the honor since linebacker J.C. Sherritt in 2010.

“It’s hard to do, but it’s well-earned,” EWU coach Aaron Best said. “He’s a player we count on – he’s our bell cow. It shows his versatility in not only stopping the run but getting to the quarterback.”

Tiuli, who often fought through double-teams at the line of scrimmage, had 29 tackles, 6.5 tackles for a loss and four sacks during the season.

The Federal Way, Washington, product was a first-team all-Big Sky selection in 2016, but missed 2017 with a shoulder injury.

“I’m thankful, I appreciate it,” Tiuli said of the honor. “But I feel like there’s a lot more to work on.”

UC Davis quarterback Jake Maier (Offensive Player of the Year), Montana quarterback Dalton Sneed (Newcomer of the Year) and Weber State running back Josh Davis (Freshman of the Year) also headline the all-conference selections.

EWU (9-2) had 21 players earn All-Big Sky distinction, including four on the first team – Tiuli, defensive end and Cheney High product Keenan Williams, wide receiver Nsimba Webster and kicker/punter Roldan Alcobendas.

Williams, who missed two games earlier in this season with an injury, had 26 tackles, five tackles for a loss and a sack.

Webster hauled in 60 passes for 1,021 yards and six touchdowns for an offense that ranks second in the FCS (553.2 yards per game).

A first-team kicker and punter, Alcobendas was 13 for 13 on field goals and hit all 54 of his extra-point attempts during the regular season. His punts averaged just less than 46 yards an attempt, with 16 of his 37 inside the 20-yard line.

Idaho, which finished its season 4-7, had eight players recognized, three on the first team – linebacker Kaden Elliss, offensive tackle Noah Johnson and punter Cade Coffey.

EWU earned a No. 3 seed and a first-round bye in the FCS playoffs, and will host either Nicholls State (8-3) or San Diego (9-2) on Dec. 1 at 2 p.m. at Roos Field.

2018 Big Sky Football All-Conference Team
FIRST-TEAM OFFENSE
Position	Player	Year	School
Wide Receiver	Keelan Doss	Senior	UC Davis
Wide Receiver	Mitch Gueller	Junior	Idaho State
Wide Receiver	Nsimba Webster	Senior	Eastern Washington
Tackle	Iosua Opeta	Senior	Weber State
Tackle	Brian Fineanganofo	Senior	Idaho State
Guard	Noah Johnson	Junior	Idaho
Guard	Ty Whitworth	Sophomore	Weber State
Center	Zach Larsen	Junior	Southern Utah
Tight End	Charlie Taumoepeau	Junior	Portland State
Quarterback	Jake Maier	Junior	UC Davis
Quarterback	Troy Andersen	Sophomore	Montana State
Running Back	Elijah Dotson	Sophomore	Sacramento State
Running Back	Josh Davis	Freshman	Weber State
Fullback	Joe Protheroe	Senior	Cal Poly
Kicker	Roldan Alcobendas	Senior	Eastern Washington
Returner	Rashid Shaheed	Sophomore	Weber State

FIRST-TEAM DEFENSE
Position	Player	Year	School
Tackle	Jay-Tee Tiuli	Senior	Eastern Washington
Tackle	Filipe Satake	Senior	Weber State
End	Jonah Williams	Junior	Weber State
End	Adam Rodriguez	Junior	Weber State
End	Keenan Williams	Senior	Eastern Washington
Outside Linebacker	Kaden Elliss	Senior	Idaho
Outside Linebacker	Landon Stice	Senior	Weber State
Inside Linebacker	LeGrand Toia	Senior	Weber State
Inside Linebacker	Dante Olson	Junior	Montana
Cornerback	Keilan Benjamin	Senior	Weber State
Cornerback	Khalil Dorsey	Junior	Northern Arizona
Safety	Jordan Preator	Senior	Weber State
Safety	Jawian Harrison	Senior	Weber State
Punter	Roldan Alcobendas	Senior	Eastern Washington
Punter	Cade Coffey	Sophomore	Idaho
Special Teams	Brady May	Senior	Weber State

SECOND-TEAM OFFENSE
Position	Player	Year	School
Wide Receiver	Alex Wesley	Senior	Northern Colorado
Wide Receiver	Samuel Akem	Sophomore	Montana
Wide Receiver	Emmanuel Butler	Senior	Northern Arizona
Wide Receiver	Michael Dean	Junior	Idaho State
Tackle	Chris Schlichting	Junior	Eastern Washington
Tackle	Mitch Brott	Junior	Montana State
Guard	Kaleb Levao	Senior	Eastern Washington
Guard	Tyler Whisenhunt	Junior	Cal Poly
Center	Spencer Blackburn	Senior	Eastern Washington
Tight End	Wes Preece	Junior	UC Davis
Quarterback	Tanner Gueller	Senior	Idaho State
Running Back	James Madison	Senior	Idaho State
Running Back	Sam McPherson	Senior	Eastern Washington
Fullback	Brady May	Senior	Weber State
Kicker	Trey Tuttle	Sophomore	Weber State
Returner	Jerry Louie-McGee	Junior	Montana
SECOND-TEAM DEFENSE
Position	Player	Year	School
Tackle	Tucker Yates	Senior	Montana State
Tackle	DJ Henderson	Senior	Idaho
End	Tyron Fa’anono	Senior	Montana State
End	Mitchell Johnson	Freshman	Eastern Washington
Outside Linebacker	Mason Moe	Senior	UC Davis
Outside Linebacker	Bryce Sterk	Junior	Montana State
Inside Linebacker	Josh Buss	Senior	Montana
Inside Linebacker	Ketner Kupp	Senior	Eastern Washington
Cornerback	Josh Lewis	Senior	Eastern Washington
Cornerback	Vince White	Senior	UC Davis
Safety	Kam’ron Johnson	Senior	Northern Arizona
Safety	Wes Sutton	Senior	Northern Arizona
Punter	Doug Lloyd	Junior	Weber State
Special Teams	Jace Lewis	Sophomore	Montana

THIRD-TEAM OFFENSE
Position	Player	Year	School
Wide Receiver	Jared Harrell	Sophomore	UC Davis
Wide Receiver	David Ungerer	Senior	Idaho
Wide Receiver	J.J. Koski	Junior	Cal Poly
Tackle	Marquez Tucker	Senior	Southern Utah
Tackle	Josh Brown	Senior	Portland State
Tackle	Beau Byus	Senior	Eastern Washington
Guard	Jack Hunter	Senior	Eastern Washington
Guard	Korbin Sorenson	Sophomore	Portland State
Center	Harry Whitson	Senior	Cal Poly
Tight End	Theron Verna	Senior	Northern Colorado
Quarterback	Eric Barriere	Sophomore	Eastern Washington
Running Back	Ulonzo Gilliam	Freshman	UC Davis
Running Back	Isaiah Saunders	Senior	Idaho
Fullback	Henderson Belk	Senior	Eastern Washington
Kicker	Alex Vega	Senior	Cal Poly
Kicker	Cody Williams	Freshman	Portland State
Returner	Judd Cockett	Sophomore	Southern Utah

THIRD-TEAM DEFENSE
Position	Player	Year	School
Tackle	Kenton Bartlett	Junior	Portland State
Tackle	Jalen Goss	Junior	Northern Arizona
End	Jesse Sims	Junior	Montana
End	Keifer Morris	Senior	Northern Colorado
Outside Linebacker	Paea Moala	Senior	Idaho State
Outside Linebacker	Auston Tesch	Junior	Weber State
Inside Linebacker	Christian Elliss	Sophomore	Idaho
Inside Linebacker	Kody Graves	Junior	Idaho State
Inside Linebacker	Chinedu Ahanonu	Senior	Southern Utah
Cornerback	Parker Preator	Senior	Weber State
Cornerback	Maurice Davison	Senior	Northern Arizona
Safety	Mitch Fettig	Senior	Eastern Washington
Safety	Isaiah Olave	Senior	UC Davis
Punter	DJ Arnson	Senior	Northern Arizona
Special Teams	Curtis Billen	Senior	Eastern Washington
Special Teams	Andy Whittier	Senior	Idaho State

Honorable Mention

Wide receiver: Jerry Louie-McGee, Montana; Darryl Denby, Weber State

Tackle: Zach Shallcross, Cal Poly; Jamison Pruitt, Northern Arizona; Taylor Tappin, Sacramento State

Guard: Malik Noshi, Northern Arizona; Zach Wilkinson, Northern Colorado

Center: Dallen Collins, Idaho State; Ben Bos, Weber State

Tight end: Austin Campbell, Idaho State; McCoy Hill, Southern Utah

Quarterback: Dalton Sneed, Montana

Running back: Antoine Custer, Eastern Washington; Ty Flanagan, Idaho State; Isaiah Ifanse, Montana State; Cory Young, Northern Arizona; Tehran Thomas, UC Davis

Fullback: Justice Littrell, Northern Colorado

Placekicker: Tim Semenza, Montana

Return specialist: David Ungerer, Idaho; Namane Modise, UC Davis

Special-teams player: Marcel Myers, Northern Arizona

Tackle: Dylan Ledbetter, Eastern Washington; Treven Aloi, Idaho State; Kainoa Fuiava; Idaho State; David Shaw, Montana; Semise Kofe, Portland State

End: Reggie Tilleman, Montana, Aaron Andrews, Northern Arizona; Larry Ross, Portland State

Outside linebacker: Taylor Nelson, Southern Utah

Inside linebacker: Matt Shotwell, Cal Poly; Grant Collins, Montana State; Henry Stelzner, Northern Colorado

Cornerback: Dominic Frasch, Cal Poly; D’londo Tucker, Eastern Washington; Greg Filer, Montana State

Safety: Nzuzi Webster, Eastern Washington; Adkin Aguirre, Idaho State; Robby Hauck, Montana; Jahque Alleyne, Montana State; Brayden Konkol, Montana State; Sherand Boyd, Northern Colorado

Punter: Daniel Whelan, UC Davis

All-Big Sky Conference: Eastern Washington nose tackle Jay-Tee Tiuli named Defensive Player of the Year

'We're going to be physical': Mike Wortham highlights efficient return game for Eastern Washington

'He lets his play do the talking': Cornerback Cage Schenck key piece of Eastern Washington's experienced defensive backfield

Can Eastern Washington football thrive with a defensive approach?