Glacier Grad Finalist for FCS Defensive Award
Patrick O'Connell has been catalyst for Grizzly defense with his Big Sky leading 13 sacks
By Montana Sports Information
The 2021 Montana Grizzly defense has been good. VERY good. And one of the primary catalysts for the success of this year’s D – one of the biggest bricks in the wall, if you will – has been junior linebacker Patrick O’Connell.
With a Big Sky-best 13 sacks and a top-15 FCS total in three different defensive categories, O’Connell has been nearly unstoppable, wreaking havoc in opposing backfields and helping Montana build the third-best rush defense in the nation.
As such, the first team All-Big Sky selection from Kalispell has been invited to the 2021 Stats Perform FCS Awards Banquet as one of the top-three finalists for the Buck Buchanan Award, presented annually to the subdivision’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Once again, this year’s FCS Awards Banquet will be held in Frisco, Texas, on Jan. 7, the eve of the FCS National Championship game.
Along with O’Connell, Montana State’s Troy Andersen and Florida A&M’s Isaiah Land were invited to Frisco as the top-three votegetters for the Buchanan Award, now in its 27th year.
The 2021 winner, selected by a 50-member, national media panel after the regular season, will be announced at the banquet in Texas, with a broadcast of the festivities to begin airing the next day, Jan. 8, on Bally Sports Regional Networks.
Grizzly cornerback Justin Ford, who has more interceptions this season than any other player in all levels of college football, narrowly missed out on a trip to Frisco, finishing fourth in the voting, giving the Grizzlies two of the top-five defensive players in FCS football.
In a number that could have been much higher with the pressure he’s put on quarterbacks, O’Connell has totaled 13 sacks this season – the highest total in the Big Sky Conference and currently the third-most in the FCS.
Similarly, his 20.5 TFLs are also the second-most in the Big Sky and the fifth-most in the FCS, and his forced fumble total of four is a top-15 total in the FCS as well. The Glacier High product has also posted 99 total tackles this season, recovered a fumble for a touchdown, and tallied six QB hurries.
He was named the Big Sky defensive player of the week after he put up 11 tackles and 1.5 sacks, both game highs, in the win over Montana State.
O’Connell and the Grizzlies will have the chance to work their way toward traveling to Frisco as a team on Friday when Montana travels to James Madison in the FCS quarterfinal round.
Montana linebacker Dante Olson won the Buchanan Award in the last full season of FCS football to be played, traveling to Frisco and returning to Missoula after a dominant 2019 season. Former Grizzlies Kroy Biermann and Tyrone Holmes have also won the Buchanan Award.
