Big Sky Conference

Weber’s stout secondary encounters explosive Griz offense

on

MISSOULA — When asked about Montana’s ability to stretch the field offensively, Weber State head coach Jay Hill responded with definitive confidence. When asked about going up against Weber’s highly physical style in the secondary, Griz junior wide receiver Keenan Curran responded with absolute assuredness.

On Saturday in Ogden, Utah, No. 24 Montana and previously consistently ranked Weber State will square off in a battle of two teams with 3-1 Big Sky Conference records.

In Hill’s fourth season, the Wildcats have built a reputation as a ferociously physical and talented team defensively, one that does not delineate from its man-free coverage principles and dares teams to try to deal with their constantly harassment.

“Oh yeah, we will absolutely continue to play man,” Hill said on the T&T show on ESPN radio in Missoula on Monday. “We did it two years ago against Montana ( a 24-21 Weber State win in Missoula) and we didn’t give up hardly anything down the field.

Weber State fourth-year head coach Jay Hill during the Montana State game/ by Brooks Nuanez

“We are going to do what we do. If they catch a ball or two down the field, that’s not going to be what wins the game for them. They will have to consistently get the ball down the field. And we like their wideouts. They have some talent on the outside. But we like the matchups. This game is fun for us and it should be fun for Montana. It’s going to be a battle, strength against strength.”

In Montana head coach Bob Stitt’s third season at the helm, the Griz have assembled arguably the conference’s deepest and most talented corps of wide receivers. The talents of players like Curran, sophomores Justin Calhoun and Jerry Louie-McGee, and redshirt freshmen Samori Toure and Samuel Akem have only helped accelerate the development of talented redshirt freshman quarterback Gresch Jensen, who will make his fifth start on Saturday.

“We love it,” Curran said Monday when asked what he thought of Weber’s high-pressure style in the secondary. “To be the best you have to beat the best. They are statistically the No. 1 defense in the conference. I love that matchup. I love the competition that comes from going against a good defense. When it’s all said and done, we will get a little bit more respect out of this game.”

The Wildcats (5-2 overall) have elite players at all three levels of their defense. Senior defensive tackle McKay Murphy is an All-American candidate and leads the Big Sky with 11.5 tackles for loss. Junior linebackers LeGrand Toia and Landon Stice are two of the most active and quick-twitch linebackers in the league.

“They have great athletes, they are physical which should make them fun to go against,” UM senior center Cooper Sprunk said. “Their front four are good technically and they have good hands. It will be a great competition this week.”

Weber State’s defense tackles Montana State quarterback Chris Murray earlier this season

But the foundation of Weber’s defensive success — the Wildcats lead the league in scoring defense (16.0 points per game), total defense (314.3 yards per game), rushing defense (126.1 ypg) and passing defense (188.1 ypg) while allowing just 14 first downs per contest — is built upon WSU’s secondary.

Senior cornerback Taron Johnson was a second-team All-Big Sky selection last season and an honorable mention all-conference pick as a sophomore. He entered his senior year with 33 pass breakups, the most in WSU history and he has seven more this season. The 5-foot-11, 180-pounder from Sacramento is considered a fringe NFL prospect, particularly if he runs well at his pro day next spring. In his

Opposite Johnson is fellow senior cornerback Xequille Harry, one of the league’s fastest players. As a freshman in 2014, Harry qualified for the Big Sky Championships in the 100 meters by running a personal-best of 10.74 seconds. In his second year as a starter, Harry leads WSU with two interceptions. He also leads the league by averaging 18.8 yards per return on 16 tries, including an 84-yard touchdown in Weber’s 41-3 drubbing of UC Davis earlier this season.

“They are very athletic on the back end,” Stitt said in his weekly press conference on Monday. “They are tough on you. They can play some man. They do a bunch of different things depending on who they are playing…They are good. They are very good.”

Rangy 6-foot-3 sophomore free safety Trey Hoskins and senior strong safety Jordan Preator, a former transfer from BYU bolster the corners.

“These guys, from what I’ve seen on film, one of the best defensive backfields I’ve seen in my playing time here,” said Curran, who is a fourth-year junior. “A lot of experience, a lot of older guys. That’s something you have to prepare for going into this week. With our younger guys, getting them ready to go up against veteran DBs and the physicality they play with is key. We have to match that physicality.”

Weber State senior cornerback Taron Johnson at the Big Sky kickoff earlier this season

Montana will counter with a diverse passing game spurred on by the aforementioned quintet, a group that also boasts the physical presence of the H-receiver trio of seniors Josh Horner and Makena Simis and sophomore Colin Bingham. Those eight have helped Jensen’s rapid acceleration since he took over for fallen senior Reese Phillips in the second quarter of UM’s final non-conference game against Savannah State in September.

During conference, Jensen has had his hiccups, throwing five interceptions including a crucial pick in the middle of an unthinkably fast 14-point swing that erased UM’s two-score lead in what became a 48-41 home loss to Eastern Washington, Montana’s only Big Sky defeat this fall.

But the Auburn, Washington native has also been spectacular. He is throwing for 357 yards per game in conference play. He threw for 360 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for a fifth in UM’s 39-31 win at Idaho State. The following week, he shook off two early interceptions to throw for a career-best 423 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-17 win over North Dakota. Montana took its bye last week with a 5-2 overall record and matchups against Weber State, first-place Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado and at rival Montana State remaining.

Stitt said the Griz offense used its bye week sharpening specifics like its red-zone and goal line offensive sets and simply getting Jensen more reps against different defensive looks. Stitt said he was not worried about Jensen losing any momentum because of the week off after a hot start that saw him throw for 1,425 yards and 10 touchdowns in his first month as the starting quarterback. Jensen agrees.

Montana redshirt freshman quarterback Gresch Jensen

“We used this off week to rest our bodies and get back healthy,” the newly anointed candidate for the Jerry Rice Award, given to the top freshman in the FCS, said before Wednesday’s practice. “Coming back refreshed, yesterday (Monday), we felt great. It was good for us, good timing for us to get back as a team and keep it rolling.

“I keep trusting my guys and it should be a good matchup for those guys on the outside and inside. We will see what the o-line has to do, run the ball, keep going after them.”

Montana’s much-maligned defense has continued to make incremental improvements, yet still seem consistently vulnerable. The Griz are currently allowing 509 yards per game in league play, including a league-worst 339 passing yards per contest. Part of that number is skewed due to the fact that EWU All-American quarterback Gage Gubrud threw for a school record 549 yards in the Eagles’ win at Washington-Grizzly Stadium .

Weber State runs a ball control offense — WSU’s 34:01 game average in time of possession leads the league — and that attack has an array of weapons. Junior running back Treshawn Garrett is one of the league’s best blends of speed and power; he is averaging 5.8 yards per carry. Senior quarterback Stefan Cantwell (201 passing yards per game, 9 TDS) is one of the league’s steadiest signal callers. Redshirt freshman Rashid Shaheed (26.3 yards per catch) might be the league’s fastest wide receiver. And senior tight end Andrew Vollert (30 catches, 329 yards, 3 TDs), a former two-sport star who also played basketball at San Jose State before transfer, is one of the Big Sky’s top NFL prospects.

“This kind of football is what linebackers and defensive line love, smash mouth football, who’s a bigger man,” UM junior All-Big Sky outside linebacker Josh Buss said.

UM will have to combat Weber’s balanced offense without Justin Strong. The senior was arrested and jailed after a fight in Pullman, Washington early last Saturday morning. He has been suspended by the Montana athletic department for the Weber State and Northern Arizona games the next two weeks.

Weber State senior quarterback Stefan Cantwell

“We look at their personnel, their play-makers on defense and seeing that suspension, I guess that’s something we know but it’s not something we too much focus on,” Cantwell said. “There is still going to be another good player to take the spot. But we definitely take that into consideration with the new personnel coming in, lack of experience, certain things, so when opportunities arise hitting the middle of the field or going where they are misaligned on defense is something we are going to be looking for.”

While Cantwell admitted Strong’s absence could play a factor, he largely deflected the idea of rising up for a premier game. He said the Wildcats meet every Sunday to discuss the big picture and what the upcoming contest means in the scope of the season. Weber State will need three wins in four games to better last season’s 7-5 mark, a campaign that ended with a 48-14 loss to Chattanooga in the first round of the FCS playoffs.

For Montana, the talking points remain the same. Stitt’s tenet of preparing for scheme, not team has permeated his roster. UM too will certainly need to split its final four games and perhaps need wins in three of its last four to qualify for the 24-team post-season field. That quest begins Saturday at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.

“On paper, it’s a great matchup that draws a lot of attention but like we always say, we prepare for a scheme, not a team,” Curran said. “Obviously, they are good, they bring a lot of things to the table. We have to figure out what we can do schematically to go against their scheme and beat their scheme.

“They have a great defense. Whatever their ranking is in the Top 25 vs. ours, that doesn’t change the fact that on Saturday, we have to beat the coverage they are going to come out in or whatever defense they come out in. You put a little thought into it but I’m hyped every Saturday to play football and I know the rest of my guys are too.”

Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.

About Colter Nuanez

Colter Nuanez is the co-founder and senior writer for Skyline Sports. After spending six years in the newspaper industry with stops at the Missoulian, the Ellensburg Daily Record and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the former Washington Newspaper Association Sportswriter of the Year and University of Montana Journalism School graduate ('09) has cultivated a deep passion for sports journalism during his 13-year career covering the Big Sky Conference. In August of 2014, Colter and brother Brooks merged their passions of writing and art to found Skyline Sports.

Recommended for you