MARSHALL – The Southwest Minnesota State University football program announced its 2017 awards at the program’s annual team banquet held on Saturday night. The members of the SMSU team selected eight individual awards with senior wide receiver Nate Huot (Dawson) earning the program’s most valuable player award.

Senior lineman Austin Hilgert (Bloomington) was named the team’s Offensive Player of the Year, junior linebacker Alex Ney (Rochester) was named Defensive Player of the Year, while freshman Skyler Crew (Urbandale, Iowa) was named the squad’s Special Teams Player of the Year.

Huot also earned the program’s “True Mustang Award”. The award is presented to the student-athlete who embodies the ideals of SMSU football on the field, in the classroom and in the community.

Senior offensive lineman Drake Zabloudil (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) earned the “Ben Bundy Award”, recognizing the team’s top offensive lineman.

Three Mustangs were recognized for their roles with the SMSU scout teams. The Defensive Scout Player of the Year award went to junior defensive back Tahjee Smith (New Orleans, Louisiana), freshman running back Trey Sachs (Elkhorn, Nebraska) earned Offensive Scout Player of the Year, while freshman Isaiah Nelson (Hutchinson) was named Scout Special Teams Player of the Year.

Huot, a 6-foot-2, 219-pound native of Dawson, earned All-NSIC accolades for the fourth straight season. A first team honoree this season, he was named honorable mention All-NSIC South the past three seasons. Huot led the NSIC this season in both receptions (85) and yards (949), while finishing with six touchdowns. In his final collegiate game at Concordia-St. Paul, he tied a school single-game record with 19 receptions. The 19 catches are tied for the most in Division II this season.

Huot closed his career setting both the NSIC and school record for career receptions with 269. His 3,304 career receiving yards ranks second in team history, while his 30 receiving touchdowns ranks third in team history. He also finished eighth in program history in all-purpose yards (3,946) and ninth in points scored (182).

Hilgert, a 6-foot-4, 285-pound native of Bloomington, was an anchor on the Mustang offensive line for four seasons and was named second team All-NSIC South this season. He played in 39 career games with 38 starts, while helping block for one of the most prolific offensive teams in the NSIC during his career. An All-NSIC South honorable mention honoree in 2015, Hilgert helped protect for an SMSU offense this season that ranked second in the conference in passing yards and eighth in total offense, despite having three different starting quarterbacks during the season.

Ney, a 6-foot-1, 232-pound native of Rochester, ranked second in the NSIC with 120 tackles-the most by an SMSU player since the 1983 season-and the seventh highest in SMSU single-season history. He also tied for the NSIC lead in forced fumbles with five and closed the season with two fumble recoveries. Ney recorded 15 or more tackles in four games, including a career-high 20 versus St. Cloud State. Ney, who has played in all 33 games in his career, also finished third on the team with seven tackles for loss.

Crew, a 6-foot-1, 183-pound native of Urbandale, Iowa, finished second on the team in scoring with 41 points. He made 6 of 11 field goal attempts with a long of 37 yards. He made three field goals at MSU Moorhead and two at Wayne State. He also connected on 21 of 24 PATs.

Zabloudil, a 6-foot-5, 313-pound native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was a three-year letter winner and two-year starter on the offensive line. He played in all 33 games during his career and helped an offense that ranked second in the conference in passing yards and eighth in total offense in 2017.

Southwest Minnesota State finished the season 2-9 overall.

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