Jul. 16—With college football camps set to open in two weeks and the first games only a month later, preseason awards lists and teams are trickling out — and Jaylon Jenkins keeps appearing on them.
This week the Eastern Washington redshirt junior safety was named a second-team FCS preseason All-America selection by Stats Perform. Teammate Isaiah Perez, a senior defensive tackle and team captain, was named to the third team.
As a whole, the Big Sky Conference's 13 teams earned 11 Stats Perform first-team selections, five on the second team and seven more on the third. No Idaho players were among those chosen.
Jenkins, a first-team All-Big Sky selection after the 2025 season when he intercepted five passes and made 52 tackles, was also named to the Buck Buchanan Award preseason watch list. That award is given annually to honor the national defensive player of the year in FCS college football.
Four other Big Sky players are also among the 30 on that watch list: defensive backs Caden Dowler (Montana State) and Rex Connors (UC Davis), as well as linebackers Mikey D'Amato (Cal Poly) and Peyton Wing (Montana).
Two Eastern Washington players have won the Buck Buchanan Award: Linebacker J.C. Sherritt did so in 2010, and defensive lineman Greg Peach did in 2008. Eastern is one of six programs with two winners. Only Cal Poly, with three, has produced more than that since the award's inauguration in 1995.
The Walter Payton Award watch list — an award given annually to the FCS' best offensive player — was also released this week, and it includes eight from the Big Sky: quarterbacks Keali'i Ah Yat (Montana), Justin Lamson (MSU) and Ty Pennington (Northern Arizona); running backs Dason Brooks (Idaho State), Eli Gillman (Montana) and Adam Jones (MSU); and wide receivers Taco Dowler (MSU) and Samuel Gbatu Jr. (UC Davis).
With four selections since it was first given in 1987, Eastern Washington has more Walter Payton Award winners than any other FCS program.
The Eagles and Vandals will open preseason camp on July 29.
Like they did last year, the Eagles will host a scrimmage at ONE Spokane Stadium on Aug. 13 that is free to attend. The scrimmage will begin at 6 p.m. with an autograph session to follow.
Eastern Washington will play its first game this season against Pennington and the Lumberjacks in Flagstaff, Arizona, on Aug. 29. Idaho will host Cal Poly in Moscow for its season opener on Aug. 28.
Single game tickets are now available for Eastern Washington and Idaho.
Two Vandals, one Eagles athlete to join Big Sky HoF
Eight people will be added to the Big Sky Conference Hall of Fame later this month as part of the league's football kickoff weekend at Northern Quest Resort & Casino in Airway Heights.
This year's class includes football coach Dennis Erickson (Idaho and Montana State), volleyball coach Pam Parks (Eastern Washington) and track and field athlete Jackie Ross Mattox (Idaho). The others are: Frank Hawkins (Nevada), Eric Heins (Northern Arizona), Amber Henry (Weber State), Michael Ray Richardson (Montana) and Willie Sojourner, (Weber State).
Tickets for the Hall of Fame Gala, on July 25, are sold out.
This is the league's fifth class of inductees and will increase the Big Sky Hall of Fame's membership to 54.
The Big Sky preseason football polls will be released during the kickoff weekend at Northern Quest.
