The blurb about Montana focused on the Grizzlies’ defensive line as the weakness of UM.

That in itself is a spark for a long dialogue about all the reasons the Griz have been searching for how to return to dominance. For a two-decade span, Montana had never a worry with its defensive front.

Entering the fall of 2020, the narrative surrounding the Griz defensive line centered upon the lack of flash or award-winning statistics. But the opinion that Montana cannot win a national championship because of it’s defensive front is a shortsighted, uneducated one at best.

When told about the article referencing the “weakness”, gregarious Griz defensive line coach Barry Sacks exclaimed, “Send me the link. I will print that out and put it in every one of their lockers.”

Much of the misperception of the Montana defensive front stems from the scheme UM operates under godfather defensive coordinator Kent Baer, he of 44 years as a Division I defensive coordinator, does not put a high priority on putting defensive linemen in statistic-producing mismatches.

Secondly, it does not account the physical and cultural gains Montana has made since its last game of consequence, a 17-10 loss to Big Sky Conference rival Weber State in December of 2019.

Alex Gubner is no longer an upstart freshman. Neither is Eli Alford, a former transfer from Air Force Prep who got extra time to acclimate to the program and put on mass.

Elder statesman Justin Belknap has been waiting for his final hurrah since January of 2020. Fellow 24-year-old end Joe Babros is fully healthy. And Jacob McGourin has put on 30 pounds, giving him the physical stature of very few of his FCS contemporaries.

In other words, the Griz defensive line is locked and loaded for the 2021 season even if most of the expected contributors don’t have much of a reputation outside the Montana locker room…yet.

“We don’t listen to the outside noise but we want our whole defense to fly around as a whole and be the best we can be,” said Alford, a 6-foot-1, 290-pound defensive tackle who’s uncle, Tony Alford, is an assistant at Ohio State. “The way we run things, we work our butts off to make things happen for other guys on the field. We are not a group that needs a lot of credit. We just want to do what we need to do to help this team win. Period.

“We don’t compare ourselves to others. We just want to be the best we can be,” Gubner added.

“But we know what people are talking about.”

From Mike Murphy to Kroy Biermann with Lance Spencer, Dustin Dlouhy, Alan Saenz, Craig Mettler and Jace Palmer in between, Montana head coach Bobby Hauck had teams flush with defensive line talent and depth during his first tenure at UM between 2003 and 2009.

Since Hauck returned before the 2018 season, the Griz front has been a work in progress. The late Jesse Sims was a stalwart in the middle, a tough bruiser who sacrificed statistics to wrestle offensive linemen while 2019 Buck Buchanan Award winner Dante Olson ran free at inside linebacker.

Other than Sims, the Griz defensive front has by and large been made up of young, inexperienced players recruited by Hauck’s staff. Entering Montana’s 2021 season opener at Washington on Saturday night in Seattle, the Griz front has grown in age and stature.

In fact, the unit is bookended by a pair of old dogs in Belknap and Babros who come from the FBS ranks — Babros transferred to Montana before the 2019 season from North Carolina State while Belknap joined the team in January of 2020 as a graduate transfer after spending four years at Arizona —  and also features some of the up-and-coming talents in the Big Sky in Gubner, Alford and McGourin.

“We absolutely have the desire to show people what we can really do this year,” Gubner said with a smile.

Gubner, a 6-foot-3, 294-pounder out of Chaminade Prep (the same high school that gifted UM with unforgettable All-Big Sky shooting guard Michael Oguine in men’s hoops), flashed immediately in his first spring ball as a Griz in 2019. He secured the starting nose tackle position as a redshirt freshman because of a penchant for playing with a high motor and running to the football.

He also had one of the atypical statistical finishes of any big man in the middle of a defense. Because of Montana’s high-pressure, zone-blitzing scheme, Gubner often dropped into coverage. And he took full advantage, leading the Grizzlies with four interceptions, one of the top totals in the Big Sky.

“You have to be quick and you have to have that enthusiasm to run to the ball,” Gubner said. “Everyone on our d-line is quick and athletic compared to other d-lines and we are chasing to the ball, with all the backers and safeties.

Alford, a 6-foot-1, 290-pounder out of Park City, Utah, made frequent appearances on Montana’s social media as one of the off-season’s top performers in the weight room. That helped him move from end to tackle, where he will be in a constant rotation with Gubner, according to Hauck.

“I think it will be those two back and forth all season long and whoever plays best each Saturday will start the next week,” Hauck said.

“For the most part, our front seven on defense is strong. And Eli is one of the strongest guys on the team. Gub is not too far behind. We are kind of back where that is the case, which is how it should be.”

Babros, a 6-foot-4, 230-pounder from Mission Viejo, California, is sort of the forgotten man on Montana’s d-line. The former Saddleback Junior College standout redshirted at NC State in 2018 before transferring to Montana. He battled a shoulder injury yet still appeared in 12 games, notching 17 tackles, a sack and a clutch interception against Idaho to help seal a Griz win. Now he’s fully healthy.

“He brings wisdom because he’s older than me (laughs),” Belknap said. “I know Gub and Eli said I was the old man but we are both 24 and he’s a couple months older than me. I love playing on the line with Joe. He’s someone who has also transferred in, an older guy and we have similar mentalities as far as we are both crazy as hell.”

“Health is the key, no way around it, for him and everybody else,” Hauck added. “Injuries happen.  Sometimes, you get a bad break. Joe is a good player. He’s got good athletic ability. He has good speed, good instincts and he plays hard.”

Belknap, a 6-foot-2, 245-pounder who Sacks calls “the Tasmanian Devil”, is as intense a practice player as has played at Montana since the first glory days under Hauck. Belknap grew up outside of Las Vegas and went to high school around the same time Hauck’s daughters and football-;were in high school. He said he always dreamed of playing for Hauck when Hauck was the head coach at UNLV.

Instead, Belknap walked on at Arizona. By his redshirt sophomore season in 2017, he was a full-time starter, rolling up 23 tackles, four tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. In 2018, he suffered a freakish foot injury that almost cost him his career. He made it back to the rotation in 2019 but was not able to crack the rotation as heavily.

He was granted a medical following the 2019 season, giving him the ability to transfer to Montana for a sixth season.

“Every time we step out here and put the pads on, we try to take each other’s heads off,,” Belknap said. “We practice like Montana football players. So every time we get out here, we just love practicing regardless of if there is a game coming up.

“I thought it might be over for me so every time I take the field, I treat it like it’s my last.”

And then there is McGourin, the 6-foot-5, 265-pound man child from Cheney, Washington who’s dad played for the rival EWU Eagles. McGourin flashed as a true freshman in 2019, notching sacks against Eastern Washington and UC Davis while still maintaining his redshirt. He might’ve benefited from the elongated off-season as much as any player on the Griz roster.

“Jacob personifies that a little bit,” Hauck said. “Jacob, a younger guy who didn’t just sit around. He worked and it paid off. Jacob looks good.”

The improvements of the aforementioned means that R.J. Nelson, a part-time starter as a redshirt freshman in 2018, is running with the third string, as is DeAri Todd, a 6-foot-2, 277-pound bull who transferred from Michigan State in the off-season. And few are talking about the departure of Braydon Deming, a two-year contributor out of Billings who transferred to Illinois State in the off-season.

Montana’s defensive scheme caters to the inside linebackers and strong safety piling up the glut of the tackles. The blitzing, high-pressure attack also puts a variety of players, most of them not defensive linemen, in the best position to pile up sacks.

Yet to assume that statistics equal success is not adequate when it comes to the Griz defensive line.

“It’s certainly a tough guy position and you are in the mix every play,” Hauck said before a particularly physical fall camp practice in August. “I think it’s hard to play as hard as it’s required around here to play the whole game so you have to have depth. With that group, we don’t necessarily think we have starters. We have a two-deep group.”

“Generally speaking, your defense is as good as your front. And we like our front.”

Montana and Washington kick off from Husky Stadium in Seattle at 6 p.m. on Saturday night.

The Griz have entrenched starters at quarterback with senior Dalton Sneed, inside linebacker with Buck Buchanan finalist senior Dante Olson and on the defensive line with senior Jesse Sims, who will wear Montana’s iconic No. 37 one more season. It will be hard to displace sophomore safety Robby Hauck or senior tight end Colin Bingham or senior Rover Josh Sandry or junior wide receiver Sammy Akem in the Griz starting lineup.

Senior wide receiver Jerry Louie-McGee and sophomore burner Gabe Sulser are sure to see plenty of touches on offense. And returning offensive tackles junior Conlan Beaver and sophomore Colton Keintz surely have advantages over any challenger.

But Montana head coach Bobby Hauck has long taken pride in cultivating internal competition on his roster. The Griz opened fall camp with their first practice at Dornblaser Field on Tuesday afternoon with temperatures soaring above 90 degrees.

When asked what position battles he was most eager to watch, Hauck said, “All of them.”

“I think when we were good around here, we had good depth,” said Hauck, who won seven straight Big Sky Conference titles at Montana during his first stint at his alma mater between 2003 and 2009. “Our groups beyond our starters were good players. We didn’t go seven years without an injury. So we are going to develop depth and they will all compete for playing time. That goes across the board.”

Here are the top five position battles to watch for the Grizzlies this month.

5. Safety next to Hauck

In defensive coordinator Kent Baer’s hybrid odd-man front defense, the Grizzlies most often play with three safeties on the field. It’s unlikely that anyone will beat out Robby Hauck, a 5-foot-9, 170-pound tackling machine who runs the alley as well as any player in the Big Sky.

It’s also unlikely that Sandry, a 6-foot-1, 210-pounder out of Big Fork, will relinquish his stronghold on UM’s hybrid rover position, although former Arizona transfer Gavin Robertson, down 14 pounds to 208 this off-season, will push Sandry.

The third safety spot is wide open. Robertson is expected to compete with upstart redshirt freshman Nash Fouch, who added 11 pounds to get up to 203 on his 6-foot-3 frame. Gavin Crow, up 14 pounds to 216 after playing cornerback last season, is back at safety and will push for time in the rotation as well. Sophomore Michael McGinnis (6-3, 208) has been a special teams standout and a rapidly improving player overall who could also factor into the mix.

Fouch put himself in a favorable position after a great spring in which he showed his versatility and penchant for contact. The former 3-star recruit came to Montana from Woodinville, Washington as one of the most highly touted recruits in Hauck’s first class. After piling up 80 tackles and 12 interceptions to go along with 130 catches for 1,702 yards and 23 touchdowns in his decorated prep career, he chose Montana over offers from Montana State, Eastern Washington, Idaho, Northern Iowa, Cornell and Air Force.

Crow, a redshirt junior from Kennewick, Washington who played a season of high school football in Japan, has 13 career tackles as a Grizzly.

4. Cornerback

Among that group are twins Bryson and Braydon Deming, from Billings.

Bryson, a tight end, and Braydon, a defensive end, have been two of the bright spots in the Grizzlies’ youth brigade so far in 2018.

With starting tight end Colin Bingham out, Bryson will start for the first time this weekend against Sac State in the Big Sky Conference opener for both teams.

Braydon has 1.5 tackles for loss through three games, second among Montana defensive linemen.

“It’s quite a few things … getting off blocks, playing with great pad level, being violent when they play, and then chasing the ball, [even if] it’s up in Tacoma. Chase the ball to Tacoma,” Sacks said. “We’re going to chase the ball with a purpose. Not chase the ball because coach told me to chase the ball, chase the ball as if you’re going to make a difference in the football game.”

For a veteran defensive line, that effort could be the difference between living up to their potential — and blowing way past it.

To Sacks, and Montana head coach Bobby Hauck, the problem isn’t physicality, talent or skill. It’s just the simple act of pursuing every play.

Andrew Houghton is a freelance journalist living in Missoula. Photos by Jason Bacaj. All Rights Reserved. 

R.J. NELSON —  defensive end — Hillsboro High School — Hillsboro, Oregon

The Numbers: Nelson, an athletic 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, piled up 48 tackles, 30 of them solo, 12 tackles for loss, eight sacks, six quarterback hurries, three fumble recoveries, and a forced fumble as junior. His senior season stats were not available. He missed a portion of the season with a knee injury in late October.

Accolades: Nelson was an all-league selection as a junior and an all-state selection as a senior.

Film: R.J. Nelson highlights

Coach Stitt on R.J. Nelson: “………..”

Story on Nelson’s commitment: Oregon DE Nelson is Montana’s first out-of-state commit

R.J. Nelson on Montana: “Once I went on my unofficial visit, I had my mind set on Montana. Going on my official visit really sealed the deal for me. The coaching staff are really great and the atmosphere, the fan base is something I’m looking forward to playing for.”

Even with bleachers and sidelines vacant, its public address system silent and its JumboTron screen dark, Washington-Grizzly is one of the main stops on any official or unofficial visit for UM football recruits. That weekend it did its part in landing commitment from nine of the 11 recruits who had yet to pledge allegiance to a school.

A pretty good rate of success for any weekend to be sure. But if there was a way to give those recruits the full WSG experience? What if they could sit in the stands and watch the team run out of the tunnel? Or feel the electricity that runs through the stadium late in the fourth quarter of a close game in Missoula?

Turns out there is, and Montana has adjusted its recruiting strategy to take advantage of it.

Photos by Brooks Nuanez and contributed. All Right Reserved. 

Not wanting to take the same chance with his hopes of playing in the NFL, Chris made the decision to further his football career at the place he felt would give him the best shot. Weeks after taking his official visit to Montana, Favoroso called Bob Stitt and committed to play for the Grizzlies.

“The end goal for me is to go to the NFL and I want to go to a college that put me in the best position to do that,” Favoroso said Saturday night after becoming the 14th commit of the Grizzlies’ 2017 class.