Editor’s Note: Nick Puckett is a senior journalism student at the University of Montana. He will be contributing content from satire (like this) to commentary to features to Skyline Sports throughout the 2017 Griz football season.
On the first day of practice, Montana Grizzly kicker Tim Semenza tackled a tackling dummy.
That’s essentially all the Twitter buzz was about Tuesday as the Griz opened up fall camp. The football program received a remote-controlled tackling dummy as a gift from donors, and players went John Henry on it to test out the mighty “robot’s” strength to kick off the third camp under head coach Bob Stitt.
The dummy swerved around the field like R2D2 and measured about six inches shorter than the 5-foot-7 Semenza. As it charged toward him, the slight sophomore lowered his shoulder and plowed through the thing, and it wobbled upright like an inflatable clown bopper. The video blew up online.
TIM SEMENZA TAKES OUT THE ROBOT
There was no challenge in it. The use of the dummy was appropriate and pretty standard. But the hype was contagious.
Montana kicker Tim Semenza/ Jason Bacaj
Leading into the first day of Griz camp, fans grew impatient. This year’s team is rickety. They enter the preseason unranked for the first time since 1991. The offense is in search of a new quarterback for the first time since Stitt took over. The defense is in search of any realm of consistency under second-year coordinator Jason Semore. Caleb Lyons, a receiver, retired for having suffered too many concussions. The cloud of senior middle linebacker Connor Strahm’s DUI hangs over the program like the smoke flooding the Missoula Valley. Many believe it’s a make or break season if Stitt wants a contract renewal.
Despite so many unanswered questions, Semenza’s hit became the most talked about thing on Day 1. So I checked out the specs on this new bot to see what the fuss was about.
The MVP-DRIVE mobile football tackling dummy is mastered by UM director of football operations Colin Bonnicksen and cost $8,250. Its primary function is to simulate an opposing player, and it can travel at a top speed of about 15 mph.
Bonnicksen operates the bot with controls similar to ones used for toy cars. With a battery pack and drone technology, the dummy successfully imitates a member of a football team. It was designed to make practice safer. Regardless, it’s a fun toy.
“We’re still figuring out the best way to use it,” Bonnicksen said. But the Griz found a couple uses for it Tuesday.
Robert Luke, a 318-pound senior offensive lineman, wanted to test his improved speed on the bot. The man the rest of the Grizzlies call “Thighs” for good reason challenged it to a race.
“I scouted it out a little bit. I’ve seen a video on it, some coach running against it. I thought, ‘if that coach can beat it, then I might have a chance’,” he said.
Luke blew it off the line and out of the water in another Twitter showcase (click). Then Semenza showed how the dummy can be used to teach kickers how to tackle. A remarkable piece of machinery.
A second mobile dummy is on the way, so as the season progresses coaches will find more effective uses for the robots and the questions surrounding the team will grow louder. For now, it’s a shiny new object garnering the Grizzlies plenty of online attention.
Robots can be dangerous things to mess with. The feat was so impressive, Nick Puckett of Skyline Sports, had to talk with Semenza about his triumph and learned more about this robotic dummy.
Nick Puckett: Tim, did your fear of robots ever get in the way of you trying to tackle the dummy?
Semenza: Yeah, a little bit. I mean, you’ve got to have some fear of robots, and when I saw it coming at me, it kind of just kicked into instinct right there and I took it into third gear and went after it. You got to do what you got to do.
NP: Is this part of (special teams) coach Travis Niekamp’s philosophy for the specialists to be a little hard and loose and hit a little harder?
Montana special teams coach Travis Niekamp, pictured here last season with linebacker Connor Strahm/ by Jason Bacaj
TS: Yeah. We definitely — I mean, myself, I had a missed tackle last year in the opening game, and we’ve been working on that, and it’s just a way for us to get involved with the team. Get us into drills like that where everyone can get excited, everyone can see us do something we don’t usually do. I think it’s a really, really good team bonding thing.
NP: Would you say this tackling dummy is about the size of the guy’s you’re looking to take down this year?
TS: I’d say it’s a little smaller. It went down a little easier, for sure. Hopefully they go down as easy as it did. It definitely has some size to it, it’s definitely heavy. I still think there’s going to be some bigger guys out there.
NP: Is that going to translate into the season? Are you looking to put the hurt on some people?
TS: I hope so. Hopefully we don’t even have to worry about it, hopefully we put the ball in the end zone. I trust that my guys on special teams know what they’re doing and I know they can get a guy down within the 20 or even closer. But if we have to do it, I’ll do the best I can to try and get it down.
NP: Now that the video is all over the internet, you’ve got some opposing specialists going to single you out, No. 89, and maybe come after you. You nervous about that at all?
TS: No, I got three older brothers. I’ll take a hit a little bit. I’ll be fine, I think we’ll be alright.
NP: Does this thing have a name?
TS: The robot?
NP: Yeah the tackling robot.
Montana sophomore kicker Tim Semenza/ by Jason Bacaj
TS: It’s called the MVP or something —
NP: But do you guys call it anything?
TS: Oh, no. We haven’t coming up with anything yet. We’ve got to come up with a good name for sure. Like, uh, what was the thing from Iron Man?
Semore, UM’s second-year defensive coordinator, dubbed the dummy T-1000 on Twitter.
NP: I have no idea.
TS: Oh, I’m nerdy like that.
NP: When you communicate with the robot, do you use a series of beeping noises like R2D2, or is it like C3PO and it can speak English?
TS: It’s speaking English right now. That’s why I was so mad at it. It was talking some smack to me right before the play.
NP: What was it saying?
TS: It was like “Aye, I’m going to juke you out on the inside and everyone’s going to laugh when you fly right through it.” And I can’t let that happen.”
Nick is a from Castle Rock, Colorado. He is formerly the sports editor and covers Griz football for the Montana Kaimin. He began freelancing for Skyline Sports in August of 2017. He can be reached at nicholas.puckett
Photos by Jason Bacaj and Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
