Eli Gillman
| No. 10 – Montana Grizzlies | |
|---|---|
| Position | Running back |
| Class |  Senior |
| Personal information | |
| Born | November 17, 2003[1] |
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Listed weight | 213 lb (97 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Dassel-Cokato (Cokato, Minnesota) |
| College |
|
| Awards and highlights | |
| |
| Stats at ESPN | |
Eli Gillman (born November 17, 2003)[1] is an American college football running back for the Montana Grizzlies. He won the 2023 Jerry Rice Award.
Early life
Gillman attended Dassel-Cokato Senior High in Cokato, Minnesota. As a senior, he had 43 touchdowns and ran for more than 1,900 yards, leading Dassel Cokato High to its first state championship.[2] Gillman committed to play college football at the University of Montana over offers from Central Michigan, Northern Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Georgetown, and Dartmouth.[2]
College career
Gillman had the most rushing yards by a freshman in the University of Montana's history and won the Jerry Rice Award.[3] He also had the longest touchdown run in the program's history.[4]
As a sophomore, he racked up 175 yards and a touchdown in a win over Western Carolina.[5] For the season he had more than 1,000 yards rushing and 15 rushing touchdowns.[6]
In September 2025, he had 198 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns from 15 carries against Central Washington.[7] In October 2025 he rushed for 123 yards and two touchdowns against Cal Poly.[8]
Statistics
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 2022 | Montana | 2 | 0 | 8 | 65 | 8.1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 |
| 2023 | Montana | 15 | 14 | 194 | 968 | 5.0 | 12 | 19 | 140 | 7.4 | 0 |
| 2024 | Montana | 14 | 9 | 167 | 1,104 | 6.6 | 15 | 18 | 176 | 9.8 | 2 |
| 2025 | Montana | 12 | 12 | 192 | 1,261 | 6.6 | 17 | 26 | 165 | 6.3 | 2 |
| Career | 43 | 35 | 561 | 3,398 | 6.1 | 45 | 64 | 486 | 7.6 | 4 | |
Personal life
Gillman's mother is Dawn Gillman, who is a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives.[9]
References
- 1 2 @dawn_gillman (November 17, 2025). "@eli_gillman Happy 22nd Birthday today son! Keep shining Gods light to those around you and have a great week getting ready to beat the Cats! Go Griz !" (Tweet). Retrieved May 12, 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter).
- 1 2 "Eli Gillman - Football". University of Montana Athletics.
- ↑ "Montana running back Eli Gillman wins Jerry Rice Award". MontanaSports.com (MTSPX). December 6, 2023.
- ↑ "Montana Grizzlies running back Eli Gillman puts together a freshman season for the ages". 30 December 2023.
- ↑ "Montana running back Eli Gillman takes Big Sky Conference offensive player of the week honors". MontanaSports.com (MTSPX). September 23, 2024.
- ↑ "Eli Gillman - Montana Grizzlies Running Back". ESPN.
- ↑ "Eli Gillman runs wild as No. 6 Montana pulls away from Central Washington". MontanaSports.com (MTSPX). September 7, 2025. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
- ↑ https://www.espn.com/college-football/recap?gameId=401767079
- ↑ La Vaque, David (December 30, 2020). "Football mom Dawn Gillman has built a movement for kids to play sports". The Minnesota Star Tribune. Retrieved May 12, 2026.