MISSOULA — Junior Bergen’s last performance in Missoula on the football field was one for the ages.
And after the electric dynamo from the Magic City helped tie an NCAA record for punt return touchdowns in a career with a pair of game-breaking touchdowns to lift the Montana Grizzlies to a first-round playoff victory against Tennessee State, TSU’s head coach made sure to give Bergen his flowers.
Before Eddie George sat at the podium for his post-game press conference at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, the former Tennessee Titans’ running back and now-former Tennessee State head coach (George became the head coach at FBS Bowling Green this off-season), the hulking former Heisman Trophy winner said he expected Bergen to be playing on Sundays in the NFL someday soon.
For that to come to fruition, especially for a 5-foot-9, 184-pounder who had good but not great offensive production over the last four years outside of the kicking game, Bergen would have to light up his Pro Day to keep his chances alive.
Thursday in Bergen’s actual final athletic performance as a Grizzly, the explosive, confident superstar showed exactly why he’s considered the top punt returning prospect in this upcoming draft.
Bergen opened eyes by pounding out 17 repetitions at 225 pounds on the bench press. He also kept his pro dreams alive by running 4.52 seconds in his best 40-yard dash. And he showed his explosiveness by notching a 36.5-inch vertical jump, a 10-foot broad jump while also recording competitive times in the pro shuttle (4.22 seconds) and the L-drill (7.0 seconds).
“This was a stressful process for sure, but it was awesome to get out here one last time with all the guys and compete,” Bergen said. “I put out a good couple of months of preparation and I was ready to cut it loose.”
He and six other Grizzlies — fellow wide receivers Keelan White and Aaron Fontes, offensive tackle Brandon Casey, defensive end Hayden Harris, running back Nick Ostmo and safety Ryder Meyer — worked out for a group of scouts and front office personnel from 13 NFL teams and all eight Canadian Footall League teams.
The Billings Senior product and three-time All-American will still have to overcome questions about his size, durability and offensive upside if he’s going to get on a 53-man NFL roster or a practice squad. It’s unlikely he gets drafted. But he certainly kept his dreams of receiving an NFL phone call as an undrafted free agent alive.
“I’m super blessed,” Bergen said. “I just wanted to go out and take full advantage of this opportunity.”
Bergen trained at X3 in Fort Meyers, Florida with training Jordan Llewellyn. He concentrated on everything from starting fast out of the blocks for the sprints to honing his shuttle work to sculpting his upper body for the bench press.
“This was a roller coast because years in the past, you are training for football and this year, you are training for drills, shuttles, 40s, stuff you don’t really work on before this process,” Bergen said. “But it was a good challenge to adapt to something new. Challenge yourself, push yourself, and I had a lot of good guys net to me to help me get better overall.”
Bergen became a superstar for the Griz during his four seasons in Missoula thanks to his ability to send the Washington-Griz faithful into bedlam with his jaw-dropping return ability. Of his eight punt returns for touchdowns, five came in the playoffs, including a signature punt return score against North Dakota State that helped boost the Griz into the 2023 national championship game.
He finished his career with 4,468 all-purpose yards. He also scored 26 total touchdowns. He had 1,760 yards receiving, which many Griz faithful wished was a higher total. He’ll likely have to prove he can make an NFL roster as a wide receiver in addition to as a punt returner.
“As a kid, I would fake sick and skip class and watch ‘Path to the Draft’ so it’s been a dream of mine for quite some time to be in this position,” Bergen said. “I’m just grateful a lot of teams came out and were able to come watch. And I was grateful these guys were out here too and we got to compete one more time.”
Last year’s Griz seniors went out with a win at home, but ran into a brick wall in the second round of the playoffs against two-time defending national champion South Dakota State. That 35-18 loss in the rematch of the 2023 national title game put a swift end to any illusions Montana might made a magical run for the second year in a row.
Several other Griz on Thursday showed out well enough that their football careers will likely continue beyond their time at Montana.
White, a shifty and smooth wide receiver who caught 161 passes for 1,862 yards and 14 touchdowns in his UM career, is a former walk-on who hails from Vancouver, British Columbia. The CFL requires half their rosters to be native Canadian, meaning White is an almost sure-fire draft pick in the CFL draft the last weekend of this month. He aided that notion by running 4.60 in his 40, notching a time of 4.10 seconds in the pro-shuttle and 6.78 seconds in the L-drill. He also leapt nine feet, nine inches in the broad jump.
“It’s been a long three months of work so it’s good to see that hard work pay off here,” White said. “And now it’s on to football. I had fun. It’s important to have fun with it. I think it went pretty well for me and I’m happy with all my marks.”
Harris, a 6-foot-5, 257-pound defensive end who was UM’s Defensive MVP last eyar, was born in Seattle but his mother hails from Regina, Saskatchewan, giving him Candian Citizenship. He rolled up 21.5 tackles for loss the last two seasons after transferring to Montana from UCLA>
Thursday, Harris pumped out 25 reps on the bench and ran 4.81 seconds in the 40. He also broad jumped 9-07, hit 4.51 seconds in the pro shuttle and had a time of 7.40 seconds in the L-drill.
“It was so cool to be able to compete out here one more time wth the guys,” Harris said. “I think the training paid off and I’m excited for the future.”
Ostmo also had a standout day, hitting 25 reps on the bench press and running 4.57 seconds in the 40. He also broad jumped 9’11” and had a 34-inch vertical. His pro shuttle time was 4.27 seconds and his L-drill came in at 7.12 seconds.
“I wanted to rely on my training and what I’ve done the last 12 weeks to get me through the day,” Ostmo said. “I was expecting to run high to mid-4.5s, so I was happy with the 40. For the bench, I knew I would be low to mid-20s and the adrenaline and the rest I had the last few days boosted me up. And the broad jump, that was my best ever, so that was exciting.
“There was a competitive aspect too. I’ve been around these guys for five years and we are always trying to make each other better and be better than each other in a friendly way, while still wishing they do really well. We pushed each other today.”
Ryder Meyer, an All-Big Sky safety last year, had to withdraw from the workout after pulling his hamstring on his second 40-yard dash of the day. Cole Grossman, an All-American tight end in 2021` and 2022 before a rash of injuries derailed his career, was expected to work ut out but could not go because of a torn ACL suffered against SDSU. He hopes to have a pro tryout this summer when he’s back to full strength.
Photos by Brooks Nuanez – All Rights Reserved.
