MISSOULA, Montana — The Montana Grizzlies return 18 players with starting experience, including at every single offensive position, although all 11 might not start in 2019.
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
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Hauck talked openly about Montana’s talent deficiencies at cornerback entering last season. To remedy those issues, the Griz coaching staff flipped wide receivers Justin Calhoun, Dareon Nash and Kobey Eaton to defense.
Calhoun and Nash return as starters but are sure to be pushed by transfers Mykal Tolliver (Hawaii) and Raeshawn Roland (College of the Canyons), along with former San Jose State transfer Kadeem Hemphill. Hauck has also said on multiple occasions, including before Tuesday’s practice, that true freshmen Corbin Walker and Trevin Gradney are the most game ready rookies.
Calhoun, a senior who caught 80 passes for 1,210 yards and 10 touchdowns his first two seasons at UM, was solid on the defensive perimeter last season. He notched 56 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, an interception and seven pass breakups.
Nash, a 6-foot-2, 190-pounder who actually switched to corner during the 2017 season, showed flashes of his substantial potential last season. He snared both his interceptions against Drake, returning one for a touchdown. He finished with 24 tackles and seven pass breakups.
The 6-foot, 175-pound Tolliver missed last season at Hawaii with an injury. The former 3-star recruit out of St. John Bosco Prep finished his time on the Big Island with five career tackles.
The 5-foot-11, 160-pound Roland joins UM as a preferred walk-on. He was a junior college All-American last season after notching four interceptions.
Both transfers had to see the Montana training staff for some extra attention for what appeared to be adverse affects from the summer heat during Monday’s opening practice.
Hemphill, a 6-foot, 190-pounder from Chicago, transferred to Montana before last season but did not join the team until January. His bio on the UM website does not list any statistics or playing history.
The 5-foot-11, 165-pound Walker is one of the most highly regarded players in Montana’s most recent recruiting class. The Hazen Senior High (Renton, Washington) product was a two-time first-team North Puget Sound League wide receiver and defensive back, earning 2018 NPSL Offensive Player of the Year honors as a senior. The two-time letterman in both basketball and track earned a three-star recruiting rating. He chose UM over offers from Air Force, Montana State, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, Eastern Washington and Northern Arizona.
Gradney, who’s father played at Montana State, was a first-team all-state cornerback at Billings West last fall after leading his team to the state championship. He snared nine interceptions to go with 87 tackles, 24 pass breakups and four forced fumbles as a senior. He also was a state placer in all three sprints and the long relay at the Class AA state track & field championships last spring.
After putting together a solid spring, fourth-year junior Josh Egbo suffered a tear to his left ACL that kept him out of summer workouts. Monday, he was at UM’s practice wearing a heavy brace but moving around on his own.
3. Interior defensive line
Montana’s defensive front did much more eating up blocks than making individual players last season, a priority in Baer’s scheme. Players like Sims, David Shaw and Reggie Tilleman occupied blockers, allowing Olson to obliterate Montana’s single-season tackles record. The prowling inside linebacker totaled a staggering 151 tackles last fall.
The 6-foot-4, 280-pound Sims, surely one of the most impressive athletes in the weight room in the entire league, has played defensive tackle for most of his career. His ideal spot, particularly if he has aspirations of playing professionally, will be as a strong end in an odd-man front scheme.
If sophomores Braydon Deming or Eli Alford or redshirt freshman Alex Gubner can emerge as steady contributors on the interior of UM’s defensive front, Sims could move to end.
Deming showed flashes of his substantial promise, notching two of the seven sacks recorded by a Griz defensive linemen last season. The 6-foot-4, 258-pounder played end and tackle last season, finishing with 20 total tackles and four tackles for loss. During his standout career at Billings West, he was a first-team all-state outside linebacker and tight end and the 2016 Class AA shot put champion.
The 6-foot-1, 285-pound Alford played in 11 games a true freshman last season for the Griz after transferring from Air Force Prep last season. The Park City, Utah native once had offers from Air Force, Utah and Utah State. He had four tackles in limited action in 2018.
Gubner, a 6-foot-3, 285-pounder who plays with a high motor and a mean streak, worked his way onto the No. 1 defense during spring drills. The redshirt freshman out of Chaminade Prep — the same school that gifted the UM men’s basketball team with All-Big Sky guard Michael Oguine — rolled up 10 sacks, 16 tackles for loss and 70 tackles his senior year.
2. Running back
As a redshirt freshman transfer from San Diego State, Adam Eastwood used his field vision, patience and familiarity with Hauck’s demanding coaching style to stay atop the running backs depth chart. Jeremy Calhoun’s legal problems and injury issues helped Eastwood have little internal competition last fall.
With Calhoun and Alijah Lee gone to graduation, the battle for carries out of the Griz backfield is going to be fierce even with Eastwood returning. The 6-foot, 210-pounder rushed for 514 yards and nine touchdowns, all of which were overshadowed by his heartbreaking and unforgettable goal line fumble with eight seconds to play in Montana’s 29-22 loss to Montana State.
That brutal memory aside, Eastwood has shown a high aptitude for the game even if his style is not flashy. That will give him an advantage over athletic, slashing junior college running back Marcus Knight along with speedy redshirt freshman Drew Turner.
Tuesday, redshirt freshman quarterback Garrett Graves also took some handoffs at running back.
The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Knight is the most explosive of the backs in the competition. He was a first-team all-state California Junior College selection at Citrus las season after rushing for 912 yards on 130 carries. He averaged seven yards per carry and scored eight touchdowns. At St. Margarets High in San Juan Capistrano, California, Knight rushed for 1,240 yards and 17 touchdowns while catching 46 passes for 608 yards and three TDs.
Turner, a former Montana Class AA state champion in the 400 meters, showed that exact blend of speed and toughness during a breakout performance in spring ball. The 6-foot, 218-pounder rushed for 3,466 yrads and 46 touchdowns in his record-setting career at Glacier High.
Graves, Montana’s Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year last season, could play several positions (quarterback, running back, tight end, outside linebacker, inside linebacker, safety and maybe even defensive end) at the Division I level. During his career at Lincoln County High in Eureka, Graves did it all, earning four letters each in football, wrestling and track. He led the Lions to consecutive Class B state titles and went undefeated for two straight seasons wrestling at 182 pounds.
After throwing 42 touchdowns and snaring six interceptions, many wondered if Graves would play offense or defense at Montana. He spent his first season playing quarterback and started Tuesday’s practice out with the QBs. But he earned seven carries at running back last year and got several at the spot during the first day of fall camp.
1. Defensive end/edge
Montana had an uncharacteristically tough time getting to the quarterback off the edge last season. Jed Nagler, a converted wide receiver in his first college season playing defense, got the only sack by a UM edge player last season
In 2018, R.J. Nelson (6-4, 240) started seven games at UM’s hybrid end/outside linebacker spot, registering 22 tackles and two tackles for loss. Shayne Cochran started the final two games of his Griz career at the spot. Nagler also saw time there, totaling 10 tackles before a knee injury ended his season in November.
Montana brought in three transfers expected to push for time on the edge: junior Mason Vinyard from Washington State, junior Joe Babros from N.C. State and graduate transfer Ryder Rice of Rocky Mountain College in Billings.
Vinyard is a 6-foot-5, 240-pounder originally from San Diego who turned heads on Monday just by the sight of his athletic build and significant length. The former 3-star recruit was rated as the No. 25 prep tight end in the country during his senior year at Helix High. He ran a sub-11 seconds in the 100 meters that final prep year as well. At Washington State, he played in three games.
Babros, a 6-foot-4, 243-pounder originally from Mission Viejo, California, was a standout at Saddleback College two years ago before transferring to NC State. There, he played for former UM assistant Dave Doeren, who is in his seventh season guiding the Wolfpack. Babros did not play, prompting his transfer.
The 6-foot-6, 215-pound Rice will be a fascinating case study after transferring up from the NAIA to Division I FCS for his final year. The Savage, Montana native was a first-team All-Frontier Conference selection each of the last two seasons and a second-team All-American last fall. He led the Frontier Conference in sacks (12.5) and tackles for loss (17). His sack total ranked No. 6 in the NAIA.
As a sophomore, he had 9.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and blocked three kicks.
If one of the three transfers can provide production, Montana’s pass rush will improve. If multiple prove they can play while also pushing Nelson and Nagler, the Griz could have newfound depth on the edge.
Like so many other positions in the second season of Hauck’s second stint, the Griz have more options than a year ago.
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