Where Does Eli Gillman Belong Among Big Sky, FCS Greats?

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Transcendent talents, by their very nature, are difficult to come by. Not very often do us spectators get the knowledge in the midst of it that we are watching something that will stand the test of time. For Montana Grizzlies followers and those FCS fans in the know, however, they’ve been acutely aware of exactly what they’ve bore witness to over the last several years with running back Eli Gillman. He reached superstar status long ago for a UM program that has been built on the back of big name after big name.

Now, as his final season ticks on (in dynamite fashion), the question of just where he will find his place among the best to ever do it extends far beyond the reaches of Montana. Gillman has entered all-time status in both his conference and the subdivision as a whole.

When you think of the greatest players to ever don an FCS uniform, you probably think of Randy Moss. Kurt Warner. The man who has an award named after him that Gillman himself won as a freshman, Jerry Rice. Those guys, rightfully, are at the forefront and not just for what they did after college. And whatever professional future is in store for Gillman, his numbers right now simply cannot be overstated enough.

As it stands right now, Gillman sits atop nearly every major Montana rushing mark. His 4,361 career rushing yards and 60 rushing touchdowns are both program bests. So too are the astonishing 275 single game yards he racked up on the ground in last week’s impressive 62-22 blowout win over UC Davis. For all the ultra talented running backs Montana has seen come through its doors throughout the years, for Gillman to be now above all of them is truly a remarkable feat.

His career numbers are better than FCS greats at the position like Brian Westbrook (Villanova) and the great Walter Payton (Jackson State). As far as the Big Sky milestones go, Gillman is currently seven touchdowns shy of Cooper Kupp’s (Eastern Washington) career mark of 73. He has surpassed Charles Roberts’ (Sacramento State) conference record of 56 career rushing scores a few weeks ago. With at least seven games still sitting in front of him (and likely more with the playoffs), it seems to be a matter of “when” not “if” Gillman shatters the rest of the records.

A running back has not won the coveted Walter Payton Award since Colgate’s Jamal Branch did it way back in 2003. A non-quarterback has not taken the award home since Kupp in 2015. Gillman legitimately has that goal in his crosshairs if he can keep up this pace. Just five games into this season he has 813 all-purpose yards and 13 total scores.

While all of that is sensational in its own right, the true uniqueness of Gillman’s accomplishments and his overall career is something that can’t be measured on the stat sheet. It is the day and age in which he’s done it all. For a college athlete of his caliber to remain in one place for the duration of his playing days in the modern era of the transfer portal and NIL… especially at an FCS school… is unheard of.

Gillman could have gone almost anywhere the last few offseasons and chose to remain with the Grizzlies and his doing so ultimately made this legacy possible. He is already firmly on the Mount Rushmore of UM greats and will surely find himself alongside guys like the aforementioned Kupp for the Big Sky Conference when all is said and done. Whether he should mentioned in the same breath as the Walter Paytons and Jerry Rices of the world is still up for debate and probably can’t truly be determined until he’s done playing football altogether.

All of that aside, though, there is no denying that Gillman is one of the best to ever do it at the level he’s doing it at. His #10 will forever be etched into Grizzlies lore whether this final season of his ends with a Walter Payton Award or not. Whether it ends with a ring or not. Gillman is a once-in-a-lifetime type of player and fans right now are all witness to a greatness that may not be seen again in the FCS for a long, long time.

Gillman’s historic senior season continues on Saturday as Montana hosts Northern Colorado for its homecoming game. The contest will kick off at 4:00 PM (ET) and can be streamed on ESPN+.

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