As a freshman at Monmouth, Patrick Hayden had a unique introduction to Griz football.
“It’s actually really funny you bring up that game when we played Montana in 2019, because I was actually the scout team player of the week for Dante Olson that week,” Hayden told Colter Nuanez on 102.9 ESPN Radio. “I was about 220 when I first got to college, and I just remember our film room watching that dude fly around.”
Five years later and more than 50 pounds heavier, Hayden is with the Grizzlies now, and when he takes the field on August 31 against Missouri State, he won’t be flying around the field like the legendary linebacker Olson.
Instead, the defensive tackle transfer from Monmouth will be at the center of Montana’s defense, attempting to replace another Griz icon, Alex Gubner, the 2023 Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year.
“I kind of put those expectations on myself to just try and be that type of player, be that dominant type of player that had so much success here,” Hayden said. “And I know that I can do it. I know that I can be that guy, you know, I just have to put in the work.”
Our Elevated Expectations series generally spotlights players who have been on the roster for at least a year. But the changing nature of college football means that the term applies to transfers as well. This off season, the Griz brought in a class of defensive transfers who certainly have plenty of expectations placed upon them as Montana tries to get back to the national championship game.
Those projected to have elevated roles include Hayden, a grad transfer DT who had offers from several FBS schools when he entered the portal after last season.
Instead, he chose the challenge of filling Gubner’s shoes and the reward of a potential playoff run.
“I knew I didn’t want to go to the FBS just to say that I played in the FBS,” Hayden said. “It was my last year of football, my last year of eligibility. I just wanted to make it special, do something special. I remember watching the Montana-North Dakota State game, watching the national championship. Alex Gubner was leaving, and they gave me the opportunity to come in and compete and replace that guy. I didn’t really think there was any better opportunity in the entire country.”
The Griz have made a habit of bringing in transfers on the defensive line, from Joe Babros (NC State) and Justin Belknap (Arizona) in 2020 to Hayden Harris (UCLA) just last year.
This season, Hayden is joined by Andres Lehrmann, a 6-5 defensive end transfer from Youngstown State who also had FBS offers in the portal after recording 4.5 TFLs for the Penguins last year.
“On our defensive line, we play a lot of dudes,” Montana head coach Bobby Hauck said. “I think we’ve got good depth. I think those guys will play well. I know Andres Lehrmann’s done a really nice job knowing what he’s doing and being real consistent, which is a great place to start.”
The Griz also grabbed linebacker Vai Kaho, who played in 41 games over four seasons at San Diego State, cornerback Kenzel Lawler, who played in 14 games at Utah, and safety/nickelback Chrishawn Gordon, who played in 28 games at Fresno State.
“You know, his coaches at Fresno really liked him,” Hauck said about Gordon. “They were kind of sad to see him go, and those are guys that we have long-term relationships with, working with them and knowing them. So we got good intel on him out of the Fresno guys, and he’s pretty much exactly what we thought.”
As Hauck alluded to, the Griz rotate heavily at every position on defense, so all or none of the five might start.
But they’ll certainly be needed to play big roles on the Grizzlies’ notoriously intimidating defense – and expectations don’t get much more elevated than that.
“The expectations are absolutely to win,” Hayden said. “We talk about it every single day. That’s all we talk about. We have to take one day at a time through camp, and that’s the only way you can do it. You have to be a hard and tough football team. … I mean, as long as we keep going at it like we are right now, we’re going to do great things, and we’re going to win.”
