Editor’s note: Per Montana athletic department policy, freshmen are not available for interviews during the week.
MISSOULA — Cole Bergquist is quite literally the only man to walk in Gresch Jensen’s shoes in the modern generation.
When Dave Dickenson won the starting quarterback job as a sophomore at the University of Montana in 1993, it began a trend of multi-year starters under center. But not Dickenson or Brian Ah Yat or Drew Miller or John Edwards or Craig Ochs or Jordan Johnson did what Bergquist did in 2005 or what Jensen is doing now. None of Montana’s long lineage of successful modern-day quarterbacks started in the Big Sky Conference as freshmen.
Jensen just completed his third start after taking over for senior Reese Phillips, who suffered a season-ending injury last month. Jensen is almost halfway to the number of starts Bergquist (7) notched his redshirt freshman season more than a decade ago.
AP Photo/James Snook – Montana quarterback Cole Bergquist rolls out to avoid a sack from the Bobcats Saturday, Nov. 22. The players have the option to purchase the throwback jerseys they wore during the game.
“I remember back to those games when I was a teenager and you just don’t know anything compared to what you will become,” said Bergquist who started the second half of the 2005 season and all of the 2007 and 2008 campaigns, winning three Big Sky championships along the way. “The difference between junior, senior year and where (Jensen) is now is crazy.
“When I’m watching football teams across the country and they have a freshman quarterback, for someone who has been in that position like me, it’s absolutely amazing if they can have any sort of success.”
Bergquist himself had success early. In his first career start against Idaho State in place of uninspiring Bowling Green transfer Jason Washington in October of 2005, The San Clemente, California native threw for 178 yards and two touchdowns to lead UM to a 32-10 road win. The following week, Bergquist threw for 246 yards and two touchdowns but Montana fell 34-20 at home to Eastern Washington.
UM would win four straight down the stretch only to fall 16-6 at rival Montana State in Bozeman, Montana’s second straight loss in Bozeman. The Griz lost in the first round of the 2005 playoffs as well as the ups and downs of an offense directed by a freshman played out. Bergquist finished that rookie year with 1,275 yards, eight touchdowns and six interceptions.
Former Montana head coach Bobby Hauck/ contributed
In 2006, Montana head coach Bobby Hauck and offensive coordinator Rob Phenicie brought in Washington State transfer Josh Swogger to start over Bergquist. The 6-foot-5 was anointed the starter before spring ball even began. He threw for 2,685 yards and 17 touchdowns to lead UM to 12 straight wins before a 19-17 loss to UMass in the semifinals of the 2006 FCS playoffs.
Bergquist reassumed Montana’s starting job under center in 2007 and led Montana on a pair of memorable runs. As a junior, the 6-foot-2, 215-pounder threw for 2,623 yards and 20 touchdowns and rushed for 379 and two more scores as the Griz ripped off 11 straight wins to take the No. 3 seed into the FCS playoffs. UM lost 23-22 at home to Wofford to oust one of Montana’s most talented teams abruptly.
In 2008, Bergquist earned FCS All-American honors by throwing for 3,165 yards and 28 touchdowns and rushing for 356 yards and eight more scores. He guided Montana to a 14-2 record that peaked with his three-touchdown performance in UM’s 35-27 upset of No. 1 James Madison in Harrisonburg, Virginia and ended with a 24-7 loss the following week to Richmond in the FCS national championship game.
RELATED: Cole Bergquist 2008 highlights
Gresch Jensen scores a rushing touchdown on the first possession of his career last month/ by Jason Bacaj
Jensen finds himself in a similar situation, at least in terms of the personnel that surrounds him. Bergquist’s first few starts, he threw to classmates like Ryan Bagley, Matt Troxel and Mike Ferriter. Jensen threw touchdown passes last week to sophomore Justin Calhoun and classmate Samuel Akem. His four top pass catchers against Idaho State were freshmen or sophomores.
If only comparing similar cases, Jensen’s start is already the best in recent memory for a Griz freshman quarterback. When Phillips suffered a dislocated ankle in the second quarter of UM’s 56-3 win over Savannah State, Jensen calmly came off the bench to throw for 178 yards and three touchdowns.
In his first career start against defending Big Sky champion Eastern Washington, Jensen threw for 358 yards and two touchdowns in a 48-41 loss. In his first road start at Portland State, Jensen threw for 284 yards and a touchdown in a 45-33 win that helped UM snap a four-game conference road losing streak.
“I thought he has managed the game very well,” UM quarterbacks coach Andrew Selle said. “He still missed some throws and got some happy feet in the pocket. You could see some un-comfort level on some things. But he came up and made some big throws there in the third quarter. He got a good feel for the game and got us the win.”
Last week against Idaho State, Jensen found his stride and appeared dominant at times, throwing for 360 yards and four touchdowns and rushing for 23 more yards, including a few crucial scrambles and a go-ahead touchdown run early. He is already approaching Bergquist’s totals and it’s just now October. Jensen has 1,207 yards passing and 10 touchdowns, two more than Bergquist threw in 2005.
“Gresch has great control of the offense,” said Ferriter, now in his third year as UM’s wide receivers coach after an All-Big Sky career as a receiver that ended with Bergquist in 2008. “We just try to get open as much as we can because we know he will find us.”
Montana redshirt freshman quarterback Gresch Jensen/ by Jason Bacaj
Against Idaho State, UM head coach Bob Stitt and Selle noticed early on that the Bengals were playing press coverage and giving Montana potential passing plays over the top. When the coaches made the adjustment, Jensen executed.
Sophomore Jerry Louie-McGee aided the first bomb with a diving catch for a 33-yard gain. Jensen would then fire a 35-yard touchdown strike to Calhoun to cut the ISU lead to 21-19. He found redshirt freshman Samori Toure for a 71-yard catch and run on a beautifully thrown deep out play that set up his four-yard touchdown toss to Akem to cut the ISU lead to 28-26.
“You can try to stretch the field and take shots and a lot of times, it’s 10 yards out of bounds or 10 yards over their heads but not with Gresch,” Stitt said. “I don’t think you can teach a quarterback to throw the deep ball. They either have it or they don’t have it. Gresch does a great job with it.
Near the end of the third quarter, Jensen hit Calhoun with a perfectly thrown back-shoulder fade for a 46-yard gain. Five run plays later, Alijah Lee scored a go-ahead touchdown and Montana never looked back in the 39-31 win.
“I think he’s an absolute stud,” Bergquist said leading up to the Idaho State game. “I’ve only seen one game, haven’t seen him in practice, haven’t heard much about him but his mechanics are on point, his decision making is good. I think he has a very quarterback-friendly coach who is going to put him in the right position.
“It’s a bummer we are playing with a backup quarterback but it is going to pay dividends in two or three years when we have a guy with two years experience. I remember being there. He’s way ahead of where I was. It will be well worth it.”
Photos by Jason Bacaj and Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
