Missoula, Montana — The Montana Grizzlies conduct their respective interviews with the media following practices on Tuesdays and Wednesday throughout the season.
If you want to talk to a Griz wide receiver, you better schedule a different time or be willing to wait.
It’s not that the Montana pass catchers are brash or selfish, like the stereotype goes for wide outs these days. Rather, it’s because they are some of the hardest working guys on the Griz football team. They will stay for several extra practice periods after each session is over working on the jugs machine, running routes and mastering their respective crafts.
“We preach that extra work always,” Montana junior wide receiver Keelan White said. “We always want to get that extra work in and get better every day.”
No one has worked harder than White. And that hard work is paying off in full during the junior’s recent rip through the FCS playoffs.
“Keelan, specifically, he has worked hard,” Montana head coach Bobby Hauck said last week as his team prepares for the FCS national championship game against South Dakota State.
“He’s gotten more strength and he’s gotten more explosive, which leads itself to concluding that he’s done a good job in the weight room. Concepts in football, he’s grown that way, too. And his hands are terrific. He’s a smooth catcher of the football.”
All those attributes have been on full display during White’s breakout junior season, particularly over Montana’s torrid run this last month-plus. Not bad for a walk-on from another country.
White first joined Montana as a hidden gem from North Vancouver, British Columbia. Montana offensive coordinator Brent Pease, who spent 2018 until 2022 coaching wide receivers, got a tip from former Griz quarterback Dave Dickenson to check out the kid from up north. Dickenson, one of the great Grizzlies of all time, is the head coach of the Calgary Stampeders.
Dickenson knew about White because White’s father played in the CFL, which is how Keelan himself got into football.
My dad played in the CFL (Canadian Football League). He played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the BC Lions,” White told the Missoulian last season. “He kind of put me in a bunch of sports at a young age. I was playing hockey, soccer, lacrosse, football, all that and then over the course of the years I kind of slowly fell more and more in love with football and I came to a point where I was like, ‘Yeah, I want to play football,’ so I dropped every other sport and continued to play football.
White has played a big part in UM’s surge back to the forefront of the national FCS landscape. From his 50 catches for 779 yards and four touchdowns to his unforgettable snare of fellow receiver Junior Bergen’s two-point conversion heave to boost Montana to a 31-29 double overtime victory over NDSU on December 16, White’s latest chapter of his career has played out like a storybook.
“Seeing the guys who have been here before me and being able to put my head down and work the way I have been to create this situation for myself, it’s been awesome,” White said after the NDSU win.
Montana’s wide receivers have been pivotal during UM’s 10-game winning streak, a surge that has the Grizzlies in the national championship game for the first time since 2009. The trio of White, Bergen and Aaron Fontes have led the way, while Sawyer Racanelli has played a less flashy but equally as pivotal role. White, Bergen and Fontes have combined for 146 catches, 2,086 yards and 14 touchdowns so far this season.
That production has confirmed the nickname that they self-anointed for themselves during fall camp as an accurate moniker. After Pease took over calling the offense and former tight ends coach Bryce Erickson moved to coach wide receivers, the group started calling themselves “The Waffle House.”
“I love this group,” White said. “We have a great group of guys in the receiver room, super good chemistry. Our identity, we call ourselves the ‘Waffle House’ because Waffle House is open 24/7 (laughs) We took that identity in and made it our own thing.”
White in particular has been a dynamo. Despite all Bergen’s fanfare and some of Fontes’ ridiculous highlight reel plays, White is the one that leads the team in receiving yards. And he’s been particularly stellar down the stretch, starting with his 97-yard touchdown in a 34-7 win over Sacramento State that serves as the longest reception in Griz football history and continuing throughout this post season.
What’s been the biggest key to White’s acclimation to the Griz and Big Sky Conference football after growing up playing Canadian rules pig skin?
“Eleven men on the field, not twelve,” Hauck quipped.
“But honestly, maybe the most improvement he’s made is what he can do with the ball after the catch. I don’t think that was a strength for him but I think it is now. As a whole, he’s improved and that’s been good for our team.
The speedy, smooth 6-foot-2, 185-pound junior has hauled in 12 passes for 219 yards and a pair of touchdowns. White’s first post-season touchdown was a 55-yarder in the middle of a whiteout snow storm to help Montana break the game open on the way to a 49-19 second round win over Delaware.
“It was hard to see in the snow but I threw my hands up there and (quarterback) Cliff (McDowell) hit me right in the hands, perfect throw,” White said. “I went down the sideline and scored. It was a great effort by everybody.”
That long score was part of a four-catch, 88-yard outing by White. The following week, he caught five passes for 91 yards. And his 12-yard touchdown catch in overtime proved to be the game-winning score in Montana’s 35-28 overtime triumph over No. 7 Furman in the quarterfinals.
“This opportunity is great,” White said. “I’m grateful. I’m thankful we have put this thing into motion. We just can’t get complacent. We have to keep going.”
To keep going, the Griz will have to topple the defending champs. South Dakota State is the reigning national champions and have won 28 games in a row.
White and the Griz aren’t listening to any of that. They are focusing on the task at hand Sunday in Frisco, Texas.
“We talk all the time about how we can’t let the outside noise get to us,” White said. “We have to do our thing and trust our coaching and go out and execute every Saturday.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez, Skyline Sports. All Rights Reserved.
