Eli Gillman

Eli Gillman is an American college football running back for the Montana Grizzlies. He won the 2023 Jerry Rice Award.

High school career

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. 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.

College career

Gillman had the most rushing yards by a freshman in the University of Montana's history and won the Jerry Rice Award. He also had the longest touchdown run in the program's history.
As a sophomore he racked up 175 yards and a touchdown in a win over Western Carolina. For the season he had more than 1,000 yards rushing and 15 rushing touchdowns.
In September 2025 he had 198 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns from 15 carries against Central Michigan. In October 2025 he rushed for 123 yards and two touchdowns against Cal Poly.