DAVIS, Calif. -- A total of six UC Davis student-athletes made the All-Big Sky Conference first team, another seven earned second-team honors, while defensive lineman Chubba Maae garnered a share of Freshman of the Year as the league rolled out its 2021 spring football honors Wednesday morning.

Offensive linemen Nick Amoah and Connor Pettek joined tight end McCallan Castles, cornerback Jordan Perryman, defensive tackle Bryce Rodgers and punter Daniel Whelan on the Big Sky's top squad. Maae, offensive lineman Jordan Ford, defensive end Luka Nixon, linebackers Connor Airey and Cole Hansen, running back Lan Larison and punt returner Isaiah Thomas made the second team. 

Rodgers, Ford and Whelan are repeat honorees for UC Davis. Whelan made the All-Big Sky third team in 2019, while Ford and Rodgers each snared honorable mention that year. Whelan also took home honorable mention as a sophomore in 2018.

The representation of the Aggies' offensive line comes with little surprise, given the team's No. 2 conference standing in rushing offense (226.4 yards per game), plus its No. 3 rank in total offense (454.6 ypg), scoring offense (33.2 ppg) and passing efficiency (149.2). Maae's Co-Freshman of the Year comes after a season in which he recorded 12 tackles, including a tackle for loss in the season-opening upset of Idaho.

Statistically, Airey (38) and Hansen (33) respectively finished 13th and tied for 18th among the Big Sky tackles leaders. Hansen also led UC Davis with 7.5 tackles for losses of 21 yards, while Airey added a pair of pass breakups and an interception. Whelan had the highest punting average (47.9) of any league player with more than one game played, and would have ranked among the national FCS leaders had he attempted one more punt: his 17 in five games puts him just shy of the minimum of 3.6 per game to qualify. Thomas posted eight punt returns for a 10.13 average, ranking 12th nationally. He also had interceptions against Idaho and Cal Poly on defense. 

Larison took over the role of starting running back after junior Ulonzo Gilliam, Jr. went down with injury, responding with 327 yards, a 5.8 average and four touchdowns. He ranked fifth among Big Sky qualifiers with 65.4 yards per game. (Gilliam averaged 103.0 yards per game but did not meet the minimum number of games played.) 

Castles ranked second on the team with 194 receiving yards, third with 12 catches and tied Carson Crawford for the team lead of three receiving touchdowns. Perryman logged 16 tackles with a pair of PBUs and a forced fumble. Nixon was right behind Perryman on the tackles chart with 14, including 4.0 TFLs and 3.0 sacks for 20 yards.

UC Davis went 3-2 in the abbreviated spring season, finishing 13th in the final Stats Perform regular-season media poll and 12th in the coaches' rankings. The Aggies will launch their 2021 fall slate at Tulsa on September 2.

2021 SPRING ALL-BIG SKY CONFERENCE
Offensive Player of the Year: Eric Barriere, QB, Eastern Washington
Defensive Player of the Year: Conner Mortensen, LB, Weber State
Newcomer of the Year: Tyler Vander Waal, QB, Idaho State
Co-Freshman of the Year: Chubba Maae, DT, UC Davis & Dontae McMillan, RB, Weber State

FIRST TEAM (UC Davis honorees only)
Nick Amoah (Jr., Offensive Line)
McCallan Castles (So., Tight End)
Jordan Perryman (Jr., Defensive Back)
Connor Pettek (Jr., Offensive Line)
Bryce Rodgers (Sr., Defensive Tackle)
Daniel Whelan (Sr., Punter)

SECOND TEAM (UC Davis honorees only)
Connor Airey (Sr., Outside Linebacker)
Jordan Ford (So., Offensive Line)
Cole Hansen (Jr., Inside Linebacker)
Lan Larison (Fr., Running Back)
Chubba Maae (Fr., Defensive Tackle)
Luka Nixon (Jr., Defensive End)
Isaiah Thomas (Sr., Punt Returner)

[Note: credit C.K. Hicks, Bill Payne, Becca Libby and Alyssa Ito for title-graphic photography.]

ABOUT UC DAVIS:
Centrally located between San Francisco and Lake Tahoe, over 700 student-athletes across 25 teams enjoy an unrivaled undergraduate experience at the fifth-ranked public school in the country.

Ranked annually in the nation's top 10 in diversity and students' social mobility, UC Davis and its innovative Aggie EVO system helps student-athletes develop passions, connect with a comprehensive network of alums and industry leaders, gain real-world experience and thrive as a young professional following a successful launch to full-time employment or graduate school.