MISSOULA, Montana — As Kellen Detrick stood on the Washington-Grizzly Stadium field, December just a few days old, the Havre Blue Pony turned stalwart platoon leader for the Griz defensive line could feel his time is waning.
Even if Montana does what it wants, hopes and expects to do — win four games in a row and claim the school’s first national championship since 2001 — the twilight of Detrick’s career has begun.
These final days of football would be bittersweet for the fifth-year senior no matter how his final season turned out. But the fact that he’s playing his best football by a leaps and bounds down the stretch for the No. 3 Grizzlies entering Saturday’s second-round playoff game makes these final days that much more poignant.
“One thing about the playoffs is it kinda hits you on the chin,” Detrick said in an interview on Nuanez Now on 102.9 FM ESPN Missoula. “You know you are on borrowed time now. There’s no guaranteed games besides this game. We are looking forward to it and I’m super excited to be a part of it and do it with this group.”
After enduring a career filled with setbacks and stunted progress, Detrick has exploded the second half of his senior season. He’s gone from an afterthought to a contributor, a contributor to a leader of his position group and finally, a leader of the Montana football team.
The Griz host No. 14 South Dakota State, the team that has ousted UM from the playoffs each of the last two seasons. Detrick has finally developed to the point that he’ll be called up on heavily to help slow down SDSU’s resurgent offense. The Jackrabbits were the No. 2 team in the country for seven weeks thanks in part to a season-opening Big Sky sweep of Sac State (20-3 in Brookings) and Montana State (30-24 in double overtime in Bozeman).
But when Chase Mason and a handful of other starters suffered injuries, SDSU spiraled. Mason and four other starters returned last week to boost SDSU to a 41-3 win over New Hampshire to set up Saturday’s rubber match in Missoula.
The Griz fronts will certainly play a role in a game against a rough-and-tumble Missouri Valley Football Conference squad. And Detrick will help lead the charge for a Griz defensive line anchored by its seniors.
“He’s a great leader in our group and he makes the group go,” UM senior Hunter Peck, a first-team All-Big Sky selection after transferring from Carroll College, said earlier this week. “He brings the energy every single day and he’s been pivotal to our success this year.”
Detrick played in just 12 games before this season over the last four years. He was buried on the depth chart, even when he was healthy, but injuries set back two of his first threes easons with the Griz. Then last year, disaster struck. He suffered a season-ending injury before the season began and didn’t play a snap.
He could’ve walked away from football like a collection of the other in-state players who could’ve been fifth-year seniors on this year’s Griz team. Instead the former 3-star recruit has used 2025 to take his game to a new level.
So far this season, he’s rolled up 32 tackles and seven tackles behind the line of scrimmage. He’s shown increased power in his get off the line and improvement in his first step. His strength at the point of attack and his tenacity have turned him into a key contributor for a Griz team that ranked second in the league in rush defense.
Detrick exploded for three of Montana’s eight sacks in a 29-25 win over Eastern Washington. And he enters the first weekend in December with four total sacks.
“He had a willingness to improve,” Montana head coach Bobby Hauck said when asked what helped Detrick reach this point of his career and be playing at this level. “He had not been a very productive player. But he’s played his best football his last half of his last season, which certainly means he’s working at it.
“He’s trying hard and he’s all in.”
Detrick’s father, Kino, was a defensive lineman at Montana State-Northern, which is what originally led him to Havre. Growing up on the Hi-Line, Detrick remembers looking up to his dad and looking up to Marc Mariani, one of the greatest Blue Ponies turned Grizzlies of all time.
“Growing up, it was my dream to the caliber of a guy like Marc to represent from Havre and for Havre,” Detrick said. “Being from Havre means a lot to me. I love Havre. And being a Griz from Havre that can be a guy people look up to, I hope, is a dream come true.”
Mariani was a star for Hauck’s Griz in the mid-2000s before playing seven seasons in the NFL. By the time Detrick reached high school, he was a three-sport athlete like Mariani. He was a first-team All-State selection in football and basketball in 2019 and 2020. He played outside linebacker, defensive end, tight end and fullback, a diversity of skill that helped him earn offers from Montana, Washington State, Nevada, Air Force, Montana State, Northern Arizona, and Northern Colorado.
Yet dings, dents and a lack of opportunity combined with an absence of production kept Detrick out of the rotation. And last year, he was unavailable all together.
This year, he’s let it rip. And it’s helped him blossom into a player who’s reaping the rewards of his own determination and perseverance.
“I think I finally started to stop thinking so much and stop worrying so much and just going and playing ball,” Detrick said. “Honestly, it means so much to be to come alive at the tail end of the season. What I like more though is playing with these guys and being a part of this team.”
One of the highlights of Detrick’s senior season came when Montana hosted Cal Poly on homecoming. That afternoon, the Griz wore their throwback copper and gold jerseys during a game where UM paid homage to its 1995 national championship team. Detrick had the honor of serving as Montana’s game captain.
Now he can feel it. The fall has turned into winter. The playoffs are back in Missoula. The end is near for Detrick and the 24 other Montana seniors. He wants to embrace his final weeks as a Griz.
“We don’t have enough time for me to talk about what it’s meant for me to be a Griz,” Detrick said. “I can’t even find the words to tell you what it means to me. I’ve been so blessed to be on five great teams here. And this team here, for my senior year, is a very special team. It’s been a blessing and it’s been a dream come true.”
