Editor’s Note: This story is the part of a short series on the Montana football program despite the cancellation of spring football practices across the Big Sky Conference. The Griz conducted seven football practices before the rest of spring ball was called off. All quotes in this article come from an exclusive interview of Montana third-year head coach Bobby Hauck.
Bobby Hauck isn’t one to enjoy extended time off from work. So when the Montana Grizzlies found out that the second half of their scheduled spring football practices would not take place, Hauck started feeling what a great many have felt as the world tries to navigate a new normal due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has shocked the globe.
“I’m holding up great but I’m starting to get a little stir crazy,” Hauck said in an interview earlier this month. “We know each other well enough to know that none of us are real good at sitting around. It’s ok for a couple of days and then you start pacing. I’m driving my wife crazy.”
The improvements from Hauck’s first season back at his alma mater in 2018 to last season’s 10-win campaign were significant for Montana. The 2019 Griz resembled the teams Hauck led during his first stint at UM from 2003 until 2009, particularly with a defense that played with high effort and consistently ran to the football.
Spring football is a time to begin transitioning from graduated stars and start analyzing rising potential contributors. The Grizzlies first and foremost must find a replacement for their outstanding man in the middle of their defense.
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Montana must replace Dante Olson, the 2019 Buck Buchanan Award winner and the leading tackler in the history of UM football despite only starting for two full seasons at inside linebacker. Olson set and reset the program’s single-season tackle record, including rolling up 179 total tackles as a senior in 2019.
“The perception of how to replace a player like that is the key and when you pull a National Player of the Year, probably should’ve been a two-time Player of the Year off the board, that’s a big gap in the middle of your defense and you are not going to just plug another kid into that spot and think the production will be equaled,” Hauck said. “The kids at the other positions need to step up their game and be more productive. That’s how you do it.”
UM is also searching for replacements for captain nose tackle Jesse Sims, All-Big Sky Conference offensive linemen center Cy Sirmon and guard Angel Villanueva and a new starter at quarterback.
Dalton Sneed, the 2018 Big Sky Newcomer of the Year and a two-time all-league pick, signed a contract last month with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. The battle to replace Sneed as Montana’s quarterback got underway during a few chilly practices in March but will have to stay on hold indefinitely as the college football world decides if and when the 2020 season, starting with fall camp, will begin.
“We really lost Dalton for the year at Sac State, he was never the same again and obliviously missed three weeks with that ankle injury but had he stayed healthy, I don’t know what would’ve happened but I know what I think could’ve happened,” Hauck said. “I really, really like what’s going on with the offense. Trying to replace your starting quarterback is always a big job but that happens in college football.
“This is not the NFL where we can have a guy in place for 10 or 12 years. Our other guys will step up and I’m excited to see their progress.”
Montana returns a collection of talented players from a team that advanced to the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs last season, including the All-American wide receiver duo of Samori Toure and Samuel Akem. UM also returns three offensive tackles with starting experience, including senior left tackle Conlan Beaver, a three-year starter who earned second-team All-Big Sky honors last season.
Marcus Knight, the league’s Newcomer of the Year after setting Montana’s single-season record with 25 total touchdowns, is back, as is power back Nick Ostmo, UM’s second-leading rusher last season.
Defensively, a talented and athletic front seven spearheaded by senior linebacker Jace Lewis (131 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks in 2019) returns. Team sack leader Patrick O’Connell will try to take the next step off the edge while the defensive line should be deep and imposing.
UM’s backed returns All-Big Sky safety Robby Hauck, a junior who rolled up 129 tackles and five tackles for loss last season. But the rest of the secondary will be a primary position group to analyze entering the 2020 season.
Here’s a look at the players Skyline Sports were most intrigued to watch during spring drills, players that will need to have good off-seasons to help Montana continue driving forward as a national FCS force during Hauck’s third season back at the helm.
GRIZ TO WATCH – OFFENSE
Kris Brown, quarterback, redshirt freshman
Over the last two seasons as Sneed’s backup, Griz senior Cam Humphrey has thrown for 1,002 yards and eight touchdowns. The former Boise State and Saddleback Community College standout led Montana to victories over Eastern Washington (34-17) and at Portland State (38-23). He also started the Idaho game but gave way to a hobble but hungry Sneed as Montana raced to a 42-17 comeback win.
Against PSU, Humphrey looked more than capable. He completed 21-of-28 passes for 335 yards and four touchdowns. Toure, a Portland native on a mission to thwart a team that did not recruit him out of high school, caught seven passes for 140 yards and three scores.
Hauck readily states Humphrey is the front-runner in UM’s quarterback competition entering the summer.
“The summer stuff is going to be really important this year, more important than ever because of our current situation,” Hauck said. “Cam is the front-runner. And he should be. If he wasn’t, he would’ve failed and we would’ve failed him in terms of his preparation because he has more experience.
“The other guys, Robbie (Patterson) and Kris, have to have a good summer and we will see how it goes during training camp in terms of the quarterback.”
Although Humphrey has a leg up and the Griz brought in Patterson, an athletic dual-threat who also played at Saddleback CC, the scuttle from within the program has been very complimentary of Brown’s natural talents. One source close to an offensive UM coach said that those within the program think Brown has the best pure arm talent of any quarterback on the roster.
Those who have watched Brown practice can attest that his decision making is raw but his ability to spin the pigskin is impressive. The 6-foot-4, 205-pounder who prepped at Bozeman High School earned Class AA first-team all-state honors during his second season starting for the Hawks’ varsity. While operating the scout team, he showed the ability to make all the throws last fall.
Brown grew up in Southern California. His older brother, Kamden Brown, was a standout quarterback at Charter Oak Academy in Covina, California. There, Kamden Brown’s go-to receiver was Dareon Nash,a former Griz who came to Montana as a wide receiver before starting the last two seasons at cornerback. Kamden Brown came to Montana State as a preferred walk-on.
The Brown family liked the Gallatin Valley so much, they moved to Bozeman before Kris’s junior year. During two years as Bozeman High’s starting quarterback, Brown threw for 5,621 yards and 44 touchdowns. Bozeman went 10-0 during Brown’s senior year before getting upset in the semifinals of the Class AA playoffs.
On the first day of the early signing period in December of 2018, Hauck called Brown “just a gem”, praising his upside and talent.
Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of Kris Brown playing for the Griz is that not only did his brother play for the Bobcats; Montana State head coach Jeff Choate’s son was a player at Bozeman High during Brown’s time so Choate, as a father, watched more games Brown played in that any other quarterback in the state of Montana. Yet Choate did not offer Brown a scholarship.
Montana State won 11 games last season and advanced to the semifinals of the FCS playoffs for the first time in 35 years. Yet the Bobcats have never found continuity or standout play at quarterback in Choate’s four seasons as head coach.
If Choate is right, then Hauck has another Montana prospect quarterback who will either switch positions or sit the bench.
If Hauck is right, Brown could be the Grizzlies’ quarterback of the future even if Humphrey is the quarterback of the present for now.
Keelan White, wide receiver, RS freshman
Montana’s wide receiver group has been stacked for several years. Much of that credit goes to former head coach Bob Stitt and former wide receivers coach/passing game coordinator for recruiting and developing talents like Toure, Akem and Jerry Louie-McGee, who ended his career last year and leaves UM with more catches than any Griz ever.
While Toure lit up the league on the way to All-American honors — his 87 catches went for a UM single-season record 1,495 yards and he scored 13 touchdowns — and Akem earned All-Big Sky honors despite missing the last month of the season with a foot injury, many younger pass catchers were stuck on the depth chart.
When it wasn’t UM’s fearsome outside duo making grabes, it was Louie-McGee 965 catches, 530 yards) or breakout pass catcher Mitch Roberts (37 catches, 420 yards) Knight also got involved in the passing game with 34 catches and UM’s tight end trio of Colin Bingham, Bryson Deming and Matt Rensvold combined to snare 40 receptions.
Speedy sophomore Gabe Sulser only played half of last season. Converted quarterback Garrett Graves, who was slated to play safety this spring, even got in on the action with four catches.
With all those proven or budding players in front of him, it seemed impossible that White, a walk-on from Canada, would ever get into a game as a rookie. But he played in three last season, preserving his redshirt status but still managing to make his first catch as a Griz against Idaho.
The 6-foot-2, 185-pound White is a smooth, polished receiver who runs fluid routes and moves well in space. The North Vancouver, British Columbia native prepped at Handsworth Academy before walking on to UM. He came to Missoula thanks to a suggestion from former Griz Hall of Fame quarterback Dave Dickenson to Montana wide receivers coach Brent Pease.
Since joining the Griz, White has received plenty of internal praise from coaches and teammates alike even if he’s still waiting for his breakout performance in front of the Montana fan base.
During his prep career, White was one of 100 players in the running to be named to the Canadian Junior National Team at the IFAF World Junior Championships. He also represented British Columbia for Team Canada at the 2018 and 2019 International Bowls in Arlington, Texas.
If White can continue to develop and Sulser continues struggling with his health, White could be part of Montana’s wide receiver rotation more quickly than most expected.
Malik Flowers, wide receiver, junior
It doesn’t take long watching Malik Flowers field kickoffs to realize his is one of the best open-field runners and one of the fastest players on the Montana roster and in the entire Big Sky Conference.
As a redshirt freshman in 2018, Flowers earned Freshman All-American and third-team All-Big Sky honors as a kick returner. He was the Montana Hauck Family Special Teams Player of the Year internally for the Griz. He led the Big SKy and ranked 12th in the nation by averaging 27.6 yards per kick return, including a 95-yard return for a touchdown against Western Illinois.
Last season, he was even better, piling up 879 kick return yards on 32 total returns, averaging 27.5 yards per try. He had a 100-yard kick return for a touchdown in UM’s 47-27 win over Monmouth during the non-conference. He also took a one-hop kick off, scooped it, recovered after nearly stumbling and raced 81 yards for a touchdown in UM’s 73-28 route of Southeastern Louisiana in the second round of the FCS playoffs.
While Flowers is certainly one of Montana’s most explosive players, he has hardly seen the field as an offensive weapon. He has four tackles on special teams, exactly four times more than his one offensive touch. He had one catch for three years last season.
Flowers’ straight-line speed is undeniable. During his high school career at A.B. Miller High School in Fontana, California, he was the four-time CBL champion in the 110-meter hurdles. But he has not been able to master Montana’s offense or leapfrog any of the other talented pass catchers in front of him on the depth chart.
In a position group as flush in talent as any in the entire Big Sky Conference, Flowers is among the most gifted. If he can translate those gifts into production, that could add yet another weapon to Montana’s already impressive arsenal.
Interior offensive linemen
Sirmon was one of the most underrated players in the entire Big Sky Conference last season. The Wenatchee, Washington native came to UM as a linebacker before spending parts of his career as a defensive end, a defensive tackle, an offensive guard and, finally, an all-league center as a fifth-year senior.
Sirmon’s football IQ and his ability to diagnose defenses before the snap was a crucial element as Montana did not miss a beat even when Sneed went down with an ankle injury in a 49-22 loss at Sacramento State.
Villanueva was a redshirt freshman starter on an offensive line that featured four other seniors back in 2016. He fell out of favor and could not keep healthy during Hauck’s first season in 2018. But he rededicated himself to his training, losing more than 40 pounds to earn his starting spot at left guard again. Even though he battled with a troublesome shoulder all last season, he was still an all-league selection.
Although Montana returns Beaver along with senior Dylan Cook (6-foot-6, 295) and junior Colton Keintz (6-foot-8, 304 pounds) at the tackle spots, the battle on the interior will be crucial.
Bruising offensive guard Moses Mallory (6-3, 350), a former junior college transfer who emerged as one of the more physical offensive linemen in the conference, has an inside track to start. The battle of the other two interior spots will be crucial
“Offensive linemen are hard to come by and they take time to develop,” Hauck said. “We need those guys to hold the tide back and help us achieve.
“When you look at the numbers nationally for what we produced last year on offense, it’s a credit to the offensive line because we didn’t have the most ability, certainly up front.
“I have a lot of admiration for those guys who played for us the last two years on the offensive line because they had to fight tooth and nail to break even and that’s what they did. I’m fired up about the way they performed and I hope it continues.”
Senior Kordell Pillans (6-6, 333), a native of Alaska who like Mallory transferred in from the Arizona junior college ranks, was a starter for part of last season. Sophomore Tyler Ganoung (6-5, 320) also saw significant time in the rotation. They are the front-runners to replace Villanueva at left guard, although former Air Force Prep transfer Cody Kanouse (6-6, 318) and sophomore Gerrit Bloemendaal (6-3, 296) will also compete.
At center, the departure of promising players like Cole Sain and Conor Quick leaves junior Skyler Martin (6-5, 284) as the only player with any real experience at the position. Perhaps some of UM’s other players rotate to move inside. Perhaps a few learn to play center. Or maybe Montana brings in transfers to bolster depth.
Either way, finding a top five along the offensive line and finding the eight linemen that will travel will be a crucial factor for Montana’s offense.
Cole Grossman, tight end, redshirt freshman
Ever since he chose Montana over several Mountain West offers, the rangy and athletic Grossman has been a hot prospect among followers of Griz football.
At Skyview High in Vancouver, Washington across the bridge from Portland, Oregon, Grossman played a hybrid wing tight end/slot receiver position that allowed him to pile up big numbers. He earned a 3-star recruiting rating and had offers from Wyoming, Hawaii, Portland State, Eastern Washington and the Griz.
He ultimately chose Montana and grey-shirted in the fall of 2018. In the spring of 2019, the 6-foot-4 former standout basketball player reemerged weighing about 215 pounds and playing on the edge of the Griz defense.
After an off-season that saw him take most of the first-team repetitions with the Griz defense at the REB outside linebacker/edge position, Grossman redshirted last season.
Now Grossman is back on offense. Bingham graduated, meaning Deming will have to fill even more heavily UM’s in-line power tight end role. If Rensvold bounces back from a knee injury that cost him most of last season and redshirt freshman Joey Elwell continues showing promise as an H-Back, there’s no reason to think that the Griz will move away from the three tight end sets that they have had so much success with this season.
While Rensvold is a smooth athlete with great jumping ability and soft hands, Grossman would add an element of explosiveness to the group. Based on his high school film, he is comfortable playing out of the slot and running a variety of routes over the field. His potential as a wing/slot tight end is high and could add yet another wrinkle to UM’s already stacked offense.
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Photos by Brooks Nuanez or attributed. All Rights Reserved.
