Gradney and Harris named Academic All-Americans - University of Montana Athletics
Former Grizzlies Trevin Gradney and Hayden Harris were again recognized for their work on the football field and in the classroom with a place on the College...
By: Montana Sports Information
Former Grizzlies Trevin Gradney and Hayden Harris were again recognized for their work on the football field and in the classroom with a place on the College Sports Communicators 2024 Academic All-America teams, CSC announced on Tuesday.
The pair were two of eight Grizzlies named Academic All-District in early January, and as such, advanced on to the All-America ballot where they were voted Second Team Academic All-America.
Gradney and Harris were also two of just four players from the Big Sky Conference and 15 FCS Players named to the D-I teams. It brings Montana's all-time total of Academic All-Americans to 38, a conference best.
Their recognition also marks the first time two Grizzlies have earned Academic All-American honors in the same year in over a decade. The last pair to earn the distinction were Bobby Alt and Bryan Waldhauser in 2011.
Gradney, an All-America cornerback from Billings, was a semifinalist for the "Academic Heisman" – the William V. Campbell Trophy his senior season with a 3.80 GPA, an undergraduate degree in marketing and his MBA from the UM College of Business.
He led the Grizzlies and was tied for third in the Big Sky in total passes defended this season with 11, racking up 10 breakups and one interception. He was a three-time all-conference honoree and a three-time Academic All-Big Sky pick.
Harris earned his MBA at Montana while carrying a 3.82 GPA after earning his bachelor's degree in political science from UCLA. Now one of the top 10 prospects in the upcoming CFL Draft, he led the team, finished top three in the Big Sky, and top 15 in the FCS in both sacks and tackles for loss. Despite only playing two years at UM, he was second-team All-Big Sky as a senior and entered the program's top 30 list of all-time leaders in TFLs with 21.5 to his name.
The 6-foot-5, 255-pound end earned second-team all-conference honors and was named both the team's Defensive MVP and the recipient of the Sims-Miller Award for outstanding D-lineman following a stellar senior season.
Colorado receiver and cornerback Travis Hunter was named the D-I Academic All-American Team Member of the Year. In 2024, Hunter became just the second defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy in the award's history and the second from Colorado. The honor capped a season in which he was named the AP Player of the Year and Walter Camp Player of the Year and won both the Bednarik (defense) and Biletnikoff (receiver) awards. He was also named to the Walter Camp All-America first team on both offense and defense — a first in the 135-year existence of the oldest All-America team in the nation.
Nine members of the Academic All-America D-I football teams boast a perfect 4.0 grade-point average in their undergraduate or graduate work. The 25 members on the first team have an average GPA of 3.82, with both teams holding a collective average GPA of 3.80.
Former Grizzlies Trevin Gradney and Hayden Harris were again recognized for their work on the football field and in the classroom with a place on the College Sports Communicators 2024 Academic All-America teams, CSC announced on Tuesday.
The pair were two of eight Grizzlies named Academic All-District in early January, and as such, advanced on to the All-America ballot where they were voted Second Team Academic All-America.
Gradney and Harris were also two of just four players from the Big Sky Conference and 15 FCS Players named to the D-I teams. It brings Montana's all-time total of Academic All-Americans to 38, a conference best.
Their recognition also marks the first time two Grizzlies have earned Academic All-American honors in the same year in over a decade. The last pair to earn the distinction were Bobby Alt and Bryan Waldhauser in 2011.
Gradney, an All-America cornerback from Billings, was a semifinalist for the "Academic Heisman" – the William V. Campbell Trophy his senior season with a 3.80 GPA, an undergraduate degree in marketing and his MBA from the UM College of Business.
He led the Grizzlies and was tied for third in the Big Sky in total passes defended this season with 11, racking up 10 breakups and one interception. He was a three-time all-conference honoree and a three-time Academic All-Big Sky pick.
Harris earned his MBA at Montana while carrying a 3.82 GPA after earning his bachelor's degree in political science from UCLA. Now one of the top 10 prospects in the upcoming CFL Draft, he led the team, finished top three in the Big Sky, and top 15 in the FCS in both sacks and tackles for loss. Despite only playing two years at UM, he was second-team All-Big Sky as a senior and entered the program's top 30 list of all-time leaders in TFLs with 21.5 to his name.
The 6-foot-5, 255-pound end earned second-team all-conference honors and was named both the team's Defensive MVP and the recipient of the Sims-Miller Award for outstanding D-lineman following a stellar senior season.
Colorado receiver and cornerback Travis Hunter was named the D-I Academic All-American Team Member of the Year. In 2024, Hunter became just the second defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy in the award's history and the second from Colorado. The honor capped a season in which he was named the AP Player of the Year and Walter Camp Player of the Year and won both the Bednarik (defense) and Biletnikoff (receiver) awards. He was also named to the Walter Camp All-America first team on both offense and defense — a first in the 135-year existence of the oldest All-America team in the nation.
Nine members of the Academic All-America D-I football teams boast a perfect 4.0 grade-point average in their undergraduate or graduate work. The 25 members on the first team have an average GPA of 3.82, with both teams holding a collective average GPA of 3.80.
