Montana State's Brody Grebe, Helena High grad Keyshawn James-Newby finalists for Buck Buchanan Award

MISSOULA — Montana State senior Brody Grebe is a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, which annually recognizes the FCS national defensive player of the year.

The 35 finalists were announced Tuesday.

Grebe, the Big Sky Conference’s preseason defensive MVP, has 28 tackles, including 16 solo, on the season. The 6-foot-2, 248-pound defensive end from Melstone also has 7.5 tackles for loss, six sacks, a forced fumble and three pass break-ups.

Grebe wears Montana State’s legacy No. 41.

The Bobcats finished the regular season 12-0 and won the outright Big Sky championship. They are the No. 1 overall seed for the FCS playoffs and will play their first playoff game against Tennessee Martin or New Hampshire on Dec. 7.

Idaho’s Keyshawn James-Newby and UC Davis’ David Meyer are also finalists for the Buck Buchanan Award.

James-Newby is a Helena High School graduate who played his first two collegiate seasons at Montana Tech, where he was a first-team All-Frontier Conference player. This season at Idaho, James-Newby, a 6-2, 240-pound defensive end, has 54 tackles (30 solo), 13.5 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.

The Vandals (9-3) are the No. 8 seed in the FCS playoffs and will play either Lehigh or Richmond on Dec. 7.

Meyer, a 6-1, 230-pound linebacker, has 104 tackles (63 solo) this season for the Aggies. He also added 6.5 tackles for loss and four interceptions for Davis, which is the No. 5 seed for the FCS playoffs. The Aggies will play Illinois State or Southeast Missouri in a second-round game on Dec. 7.