MISSOULA — For the first month of the season, Jason Semore likened Chris Favoroso trying to acclimate to Montana’s defensive line to taking a difficult math test.
Now that Favoroso has nine games as a Griz under his belt, the defensive end is getting closer each Saturday to acing his exam.
The 6-foot-3, 245-pound sophomore came to Missoula from Arizona Western junior college to help boost a defensive line that lost All-Big Sky Conference ends Caleb Kidder and Ryan Johnson. Favoroso won a starting spot opposite honors candidate senior Tucker Schye out of fall camp but struggled mightily to master the defensive scheme and individual technique initially.
“When he got here, he was like a freshman in high school in terms of his technique and stuff,” said Semore, Montana’s second-year defensive coordinator. “His technique was terrible. His football knowledge was bad. The game was moving really slow for him. Now he knows what it’s like to play Division I football. He’s out there competing his butt off every week now.”
Favoroso lost his starting spot to redshirt freshman Randy Rodriguez before UM’s conference opener against Eastern Washington. He re-entered the lineup three weeks later in Montana’s 39-31 win over Idaho State, notching a sack.
“I’ve never been more comfortable than I am right now with the defense,” said Favoroso, who added another tackle for loss in that ISU win. “It started to click around Portland State, Idaho State. Idaho State was my first really big game I had.”
Since breaking into the starting lineup for a second time, Favoroso has been a menace to opposing offensive lines. He has four sacks over the last four weeks, including two in UM’s pivotal 17-15 win over No. 9 Northern Arizona last week.
“I’m very happy with Chris Favoroso,” Semore said. “He has come a long way in terms of his pass rush. “Just his get off, his technique as far as his hands in his pass rush. He’s more comfortable in the defense now. He’s not out there playing like he’s taking a math test. Experience for him has been huge.”
So far this season, Favoroso has 9.5 tackles for loss and five sacks. His sack total is tied for sixth in the Big Sky while his tackles for loss total is tied for ninth.
“He’s been great and I’m really proud of how he’s come along,” UM head coach Bob Stitt said on Wednesday. “He was maybe a little bit undisciplined early, a little overaggressive which would hurt him and hurt the defense but he has become a heck of a player. He’s taking on his role very seriously, getting his job done and coming up big. I couldn’t be more proud of Chris.”
Favoroso has had a long path to his standout second half for the Griz. The prep All-American 220-pound wrestler earned national recognition on the mat as one of the top high school grapplers in the Southeast during his time at Jensen Beach High in Port St. Lucie, Florida. The two-time state wrestling champion also earned All-Area Defensive Player of the Year honors as a senior defensive end in 2015. He was ranked one of the top 63 prospects in South Florida as a senior after tallying a state-best 31 sacks his final campaign.
He initially signed with Appalachian State to play in the FBS. After redshirting in 2015, he transferred to Arizona Western. There, he earned All-WSFL first team and All-ACCAC honors at defensive end. He was named NJCAA National Defensive Player of the Week once and helped lead his team to the junior college national championship game.
Favoroso came to UM with designs on starting right away. He declined to comment on whether losing his spot to Rodriguez motivated him, but his reemergence has been a key for a Griz team that has won four of five to move to 6-3 and back into the FCS playoff picture.
“That’s who we strive to be as a defense at Montana,” UM third-year defensive line coach Brian Hendricks said. “We want everyone to play at a high level. We don’t compare to each other. It’s not Randy Rodriguez versus Chris Favoroso or one starting over the other. We have two reliable, great players with those two guys so if they keep individually improving, that makes us better as a defense.
“I think him getting more comfortable is a part of his improvement. That’s what you expect out of a junior college kid at first. We all have the same goals, we all try to improve at the same things and that’s a how you become a good defensive line and a good team.”
Montana’s 83 tackles for loss lead the Big Sky. The Griz have 33 sacks, second to just Sacramento State in the league. Tucker Schye leads the league with 13.5 tackles for loss and his 6.5 sacks ranks third to Sac State’s George Obinna and Ben Sorensen, who have eight each. Josh Buss (12.5) and James Banks (12) are the other players on the Griz with more TFLs than Favoroso.
UM notched eight sacks against Northern Arizona. The Griz will need to continue pressuring the passer if the team is to earn essential wins against Northern Colorado and at Montana State in the final two weeks of the regular season.
“I feel like we were in full stride right now,” Favoroso said. “Every defensive linemen we have is a dude and every player we have can make plays.
Photos by Brooks Nuanez and Jason Bacaj. All Rights Reserved.
