MISSOULA — It seems like the simplest of premises yet one that the Grizzlies struggled quite often the last few seasons. Leading up to Montana’s homecoming game against North Dakota two weeks ago, the Griz got back to basics.
Second-year defensive coordinator Jason Semore’s high-pressure, blitzing, exotic scheme puts pressure on opponents from all angles with frequency. The aggressive defense leads to massive tackle for loss and sack numbers. Montana currently leads the Big Sky Conference with 60 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, two more than Northern Arizona and five more than Sacramento State. UM’s 22 sacks are second to Sac State’s 27.
But the Grizzlies are also giving up 509 yards of total offense per conference game during a 3-1 conference start. Montana’s 338.2 passing yards against during league play is dead last among the 13 teams in the Big Sky.
In the week leading up to the UND game, Semore and Montana’s coaching staff declared to the Griz players to prepare themselves for a physical week of practice. Montana hit heavily in an effort to improve its biggest deficiency so far: missed tackles.
Montana defensive coordinator Jason Semore/by Brooks Nuanez
“Tackling is where we have improved the most, especially tackling in space because we commit guys to the box,” Semore said before a practice during Montana’s bye week last week. “It’s a little different approach than last year. We were trying to take reps off of guys in practice. This year, we have challenged the guys.
“We have been tackling full speed in practice. It’s going to hurt and I know these guys are banged up. But we gotta do it. I knew we would tackle well this week (against North Dakota) because the guys really pushed themselves in practice. It was not a good week to be on scout team.
“Our guys put bodies on the ground, ran their feet, played with violent arms and stuff. We have grown a lot in that way. We are missing less and less tackles every week. We have to continue to do that.”
Montana gave up just 68 yards rushing to Eastern Washington. But the Eagles scored 42 second-half points behind a school-record 549 passing yards from junior Gage Gubrud in a 48-41 victory in Missoula.
In UM’s lone conference loss, the Eagles wore down the hosts with 96 offensive plays and an up-tempo pace that left Griz visibly gassed. Trailing 27-13 late in the third quarter, Guburd threw a 32-yard touchdown to Dre Dorton. Montana redshirt freshman quarterback Gresch Jensen threw an interception on UM’s next offensive play. The fatigued defense took the field only to see Gubrud throw a short screen pass to running back Sam McPherson, who stumbled, regained his footing, then made Montana linebackers Connor Strahm and Josh Buss, two of UM’s surest tacklers, miss in open space on his way to a 50-yard game-tying touchdown.
“Tackling is a quest so you are always trying to improve on it,” UM linebackers coach Travis Niekamp said last week. “It’s like being a hitter in baseball. You are always trying to find a way to improve it.
Eastern Washington junior running back Sam McPherson jukes Montana junior linebacker Josh Buss on his way to a 50-yard touchdown in EWU’s 48-41 win over Montana on Saturday/ by Jason Bacaj
“There are going to be some nights where you are in the zone and you can tackle everybody and there’s some nights where it gets harder. Just like in baseball as far as guys seeing the ball and it’s big and juicy, sometimes, those running backs are big and juicy and you can go smoke them.”
UM has since won three straight but the defensive struggles have not gone away. Behind a 134-yard rushing effort from quarterback Josh Kraght, Portland State rushed for 295 yards and averaged 6.4 yards per carry in a 45-33 loss to the Griz in Portland. The following week in Pocatello, Idaho State rushed for 231 yards, a total reduced to 165 net thanks to six Montana sacks. But running backs James Madison and Ty Flanagan combine for 145 yards on 30 carries and ISU piled up 532 yards in a 39-31 loss.
“We’ve definitely had some tackling circuits in practice but most of it had to do with lack of focus against Idaho State,” UM senior Myles McKee-Osibodu said. “I don’t think it was anything fundamental-wise, like we don’t have guys who can tackle. We have great players on defense so it was maybe a little bit of a pitfall.”
Last week against a battered and beaten North Dakota team, Montana’s tackling improved. The Griz held UND to 155 yards on 36 rushes, but 56 of those game on Josh Johannesson’s 56-yard touchdown run when Montana mostly had its backup defenders in the game. The All-Big Sky running back duo of John Santiago and Brady Oliveira combined for just 59 yards on 24 carries.
“The defensive coaches have done a great job,” UM head coach Bob Stitt said last week. “I sat in some meetings with them and just from an outside looking in perspective, an offensive guy looking at defensive guys, the head coach talking to the defensive staff, we had guys in the right positions at the right times. For example, at Idaho State. But fundamentally, technique-wise, we were not very good. That’s what caused us to not be successful.
Montana redshirt freshman defensive end Randy Rodriguez breaks down for a tackle on a ball carrier earlier this season/ by Brooks Nuanez
“We wanted to get back to working on those fundamentals. We got back to tackling in practice. Sometimes, you are afraid to tackle because you don’t want to get guys banged up but we got after it with the scout team and it really helped. We have to continue to get better because it’s not just about the scheme. You have to go out and execute with sound fundamentals and technique.”
Montana’s improved tackling will be challenging against Weber State’s steady, consistent offensive attack on Saturday in Ogden. Senior quarterback Stefan Cantwell is one of the toughest signal callers in the Big Sky. Tight end Andrew Vollert is one of the best pass catchers across the middle in the FCS. Treshawn Garrett leads a talented stable of running backs. And freshman Rashid Shaheed (26.3 yards per catch) might be the fastest receiver in the entire Big Sky. The Griz might have slow down the Wildcats without hard-hitting senior safety Justin Strong, who was arrested and books after a fight in Pullman, Washington on Saturday.
“They are very talented,” Semore said. “They have recruited well the last couple of years. They are very similar in terms of what they want to do offensively to North Dakota. Multiple tight ends on the field. Multiple personnel groupings. The quarterback can hurt you with his feet. It’s more of the bootleg waggle stuff compared to Idaho State where you are defending concepts.
“We have to do a great job of limiting explosive pass plays and we have to do a great job of stopping the run. They have some guys who can go. No. 8, the freshman kid (Shaheed) is a very impressive guy. He’s hurt some teams with vertical balls. They are not scared to throw the ball if you plus the box…It just comes down to execution. We just have to find ways to get negative plays, get off the field and tackle well, just like we’ve been working on.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez and Jason Bacaj. All rights reserved.
