Oct. 8, 2012

OGDEN, UTAH - The Big Sky Conference has selected junior linebacker Brock Coyle as the ROOT SPORTS football Defensive Co-Player of the Week for games played on Friday, Oct. 5 and Saturday, Oct. 6, the league announced today.

Coyle shared the award with Sacramento State linebacker Jeff Badger. Other league players recognized were Portland State quarterback Kieran McDonagh, who was the Offensive Player of the Week, and Eastern Washington's Shaquille Hill, is the Special Teams Player of the Week.

A 6-2, 240-pound junior from Bozeman, Mont., Coyle tallied a team-high 11 tackles with a sack, a fumble recovery and two pass breakups in Montana's 40-17 win over Northern Colorado. He picked up a fumble and returned it 23 yards to set up a Grizzly touchdown. Montana allowed 62 rush yards, forced five turnovers, and amassed four sacks in the win at NC. This is Coyle's first player of the week award.

Badger, a 5-11, 225-pound senior from Windsor, Calif., recorded a game-high 12 tackles and had an interception and a sack in the Hornets' 27-22 road win over Southern Utah. McDonagh, a 6-foot-1, 240-pound freshman from Vancouver, Wash., threw for 280 yards, rushed for 66 and accounted for six touchdowns in Portland State's 77-10 victory over Idaho State. Hill, a 5-10, 180-pound freshman from Stockton, Calif., returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown to spark EWU's 55-17 victory over North Dakota.

Montana's other nominees for player of the week were halfbacks Peter Nguyen (on offense) and Caleb Walden in the special teams area.

Nguyen, a 5-8, 182-pound senior from Seattle, Wash., had 15 carries for 159 yards and a touchdown. In the second half Nguyen, who is UM's offensive team captain, had eight carries for 138 yards, averaging 17.3 yards per rush, and scored a TD. He also had two punts return for 19 yards and two pass receptions.

A 5-9, 198-pound senior from Boise, Idaho, Walden, the Grizzlies' co-captain for special teams, intercepted a pass by Northern Colorado's punter and returned it 18 yards for a touchdown and scored Montana's first points of the game.