MOSCOW, Idaho –Idaho football players earned fifteen All-Big Sky honors, including seven first-team honorees, two second team winners and six who received honorable mention recognition. The teams are voted on by Big Sky Conference head football coaches.  

Junior offensive tackle Ayden Knapik, senior defensive end Keyshawn James-Newby, sophomore defensive tackle Dallas Afalava, sophomore linebacker Jaxton Eck, senior defensive back Tommy McCormick, sophomore cornerback Andrew Marshall and sophomore defensive back and special teams player Dwayne McDougle all earned first team honors.

Sophomore receiver Jordan Dwyer and senior tight end Mike Martinez earned second team recognition while freshman receiver Mark Hamper, junior offensive lineman Nate Azzopardi, junior defensive end Malakai Williams, junior linebacker Isiah King, freshman linebacker Zach Johnson all earned honorable mention recognition, which means they received at least three votes from around the league. Marshall added kick returner honorable mention recognition to his first-team defensive back honors.

Idaho's 15 honors are the second most of any team, behind undefeated Big Sky champion Montana State.

Knapik is the anchor of the left side of the Idaho offensive line that saw noticeable improvement from last season to this season. The Idaho offense is averaging more yards per game than last season, despite a bevy of injuries in the running back room. The Vandals are giving up nearly a sack less per game (1.58 compared to 2.46 SPG) than last season.

The most dominant unit for the Vandals is the defensive line, led by James-Newby. He leads the Big Sky Conference with 9.0 sacks so far this season, despite missing most of the Weber State game, much of the Albany game and the entire Idaho State game. He had 2.5 sacks against Oregon and 3.0 sacks against Wyoming. James-Newby is a finalist for FCS defensive player of the year, the Buck Buchanan Award.

The other first-teamer on the defensive line is Dallas Afalava, the true sophomore has been key to the Vandal run stop while also getting after the quarterback. He has five sacks, seven tackles for loss and eight QB hurries. The Vandals are the top sack team in the Big Sky.

Eck earned All-Big Sky honors at linebacker where he led the Vandals in tackles with 110 total tackles this season. He had double-digit tackles each of the last four games, including a career-high 15 against Idaho State.

McCormick is Idaho's second-leading tackler with 97 total tackles on the season, but he also has a team-high three interceptions and four pass breakups. His leadership and big play ability has shone time and again, like a key goal line stop at Wyoming.

Marshall has been outstanding on defense and special teams. He has 42 total tackles this season with three pass breakups. He has slowed down some of the best receivers in the Big Sky. He is the only cornerback on the first-team list. On the return game, he is one of just a few players to have a punt return touchdown and a kick return touchdown this season. He earned honorable mention recognition as a kick returner.

McDougle stepped into the starting lineup at safety midway through the season, but he has been a dominant player on special teams throughout the season. He has 51 total tackles this year.

Receiver Jordan Dwyer received second team honors at receiver but has first-team stats. He has 60 catches on the season for 837 yards and a team-high eight touchdowns. He did all this while catching passes from three different starting quarterbacks because of injuries.

Mike Martinez is the lone senior on the offensive side of the ball, he has been a dominant blocker at the tight end position while also being productive pass catcher, especially in the red zone. He has caught nine passes for 85 yads and a pair of touchdowns.

Hamper is one of the biggest deep threats in the Big Sky, averaging 20.93 yards per catch. He has 41 catches for 858 yards and five touchdowns on the year.

Junior captain Azzopardi has not allowed a sack all year and is the vocal leader, not only of the offensive line, but the entire Idaho team.

Junior captain Williams has 5.5 sacks and 31 total tackles. He three has qb hurrries.

King has 42 total tackles this season with an interception and 2.5 TFLs this season.

Johnson closes out the honorable mention honors. The redshirt freshman has 76 total tackles, 4.5 TFLs and a sack so far this season.

The Vandals finished the regular season with a 9-3 record and earned the eight seed and a first-round bye in the FCS Championship. The Vandals take the field against the winner of the ninth-seeded Richmond and Lehigh on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 6 p.m.

Tickets are available at govandals.com/tickets.