Montana announces 2006 football recruiting class
2/1/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
The University of Montana??s football team tried a new look during the 2005 season when its usually dominant and balanced offense was replaced by a smothering defense and a power-based running game.
After the talent-rich 2006 recruiting class of 15 players officially announced their intentions Wednesday, next year??s squad might blend the best of both styles.
Montana head coach Bobby Hauck said the team??s recruiting philosophy was a simple one:
??We??re The University of Montana so we??re going to start looking at young athletes from the state of Montana. That??s where we??re going to look first,?? Hauck said. ??We want to recruit every athlete out of the state of Montana that we feel can help us win a championship. Then, we go elsewhere to supplement that class.
??We also want to recruit height and speed. Those are two things you can??t teach. We can put weight on them and we can develop skill but we can??t make them grow taller and we can??t make them much faster. We want big-framed young men who can run and are fast for their position. Then we want to develop them and build them up when they get here.??
Montana??s most impressive recruits for 2006 may have come from outside the state, however. With four transfers from Division I-A schools, the Griz locked up a potentially devastating foursome of skill players at the quarterback, running back, wide receiver and cornerback positions who, with their experience, might seamlessly fill the holes that plagued UM last season.
With their high school prospects, the Griz believe they have wrapped up the best in-state players at those same three offensive skill positions, in addition to eight athletes from Montana, Washington, Colorado and California who represent the next generation of great UM linemen.
The I-A transfers are the most likely to have an immediate impact, however, and not only because they are talented enough to be recruited by bigger schools. The transfers also bring experience and, because all of them will enroll early, they will have sufficient time to mesh with the team.
??With all four of these transfer players, their ability to be here for winter conditioning and spring ball enhances their ability to get on the field and be contributors next fall,?? Hauck said. ??It??s not like transfers who come in August and take half a season or more to get into the flow of the team and the scheme. For these guys it??s a great benefit for both to our team and for them as individuals to be here this winter.??
The crowning jewel of the Grizzlies?? transfer class might be redshirt sophomore Craig Chambers, a speedy 6-foot-5 receiver from the University of Washington. Chambers was rated as one of the nation??s top receiving prospects when he graduated from Washington??s Jackson High School in 2002, and finished as the Huskies?? second-leading receiver during both of his seasons on the field in Seattle.
Chambers?? playing time dropped early in 2005, but he became one of the Huskies?? main options late in the season. Most of his 573 yards and team-leading six touchdowns came when he started six of UW??s final nine games.
Possessing a rare mix of athleticism and height, players of Chambers?? ability rarely slip to the I-AA level and he should make an immediate impact with his natural abilities. With three years experience in a Division I-A program, including his redshirt season, Chambers will likely also provide leadership to a young Grizzly receiving corps that graduated its lone upperclassman in Jon Talmage.
??Over the last two years, he was Washington??s leading receiver,?? Hauck said. ??And he??s got the ability to go downfield and go up and get the ball. He??s got a real knack for being able to use his body to screen defenders to get at the football. He provides us another weapon on the outside - and a veteran leader at that position.??
The Grizzlies?? quarterback transfer, 6-foot-5 senior Josh Swogger from Washington State, could also provide immediate help at a position that was seen as a weakness for UM in 2005. The Vienna, Ohio native was named the Cougars?? starting quarterback at the start of the 2004 season and racked up 1,283 yards and 13 touchdowns in the team??s first six games before breaking his foot and watching from the sidelines for the rest of year. Swogger held an impressive quarterback rating of roughly 118 prior to his injury.
Swogger only saw action in three games for the Cougars in 2005, however, and attempted just 18 passes. He should, nonetheless, add an even stiffer element of competition to a crowded quarterback position for the Grizzlies that includes two other new faces as well as two starters from last year in Cole Bergquist and Jason Washington.
??When we were watching his video, we were very excited about the way he threw the ball down the field very accurately,?? Hauck said. ??He does a nice job of understanding schemes and defenses. He??s got a great chance to come in and be our starting quarterback next year.??
Running back Reggie Bradshaw from the University of Louisville is somewhat of the wildcard in UM??s transfer class. Though his height of just 6 feet and weight of 215 pounds doesn??t fit the prototype of recent Griz runners, Bradshaw??s former coaches at UL touted him as perhaps the fastest player on a team that was regarded as one of the best in the nation in 2005. The UL website listed his 40-yard dash time at a blistering 4.38 seconds.
After redshirting his first year out of Centennial High School in British Columbia, Bradshaw appeared as a special-teams dynamo in 11 of the Cardinals?? 13 games in 2004. The freshman saw limited time behind a veteran stable of runners, however, and tallied just 116 yards rushing and a single touchdown. The 2005 season saw Bradshaw get squeezed out of even more playing time, as classmate Michael Bush developed into one of the top rushers in the country.
Montana is hoping that Bradshaw can both supply enough speed in the backfield to prevent teams from stacking the line against junior running back Lex Hilliard, and fill the role of rock-solid backup that was vacated by graduating senior JR Waller.
The Grizzlies?? lone defensive transfer is Dramayne McElroy, a 5-foot-11 and 170 pound cornerback who comes from Arizona and Rancho Cucamonga Junior College. Hauck warns that McElroy has some scholastic hurdles to clear during the spring semester, but the speedy corner should provide some much-needed depth to the Grizzly secondary. The UA website lists McElroy??s 40-yard sprint time as 4.5 seconds and lists him as second on the Wildcats?? depth chart though he played limited minutes.
The seven players that comprise the homegrown portion of Montana??s high school recruiting class hail from every corner of the state and seemingly fill every position on the field.
??It was a bit of a unique year in the state of Montana,?? Hauck said. ??There were more prospects at small schools than there were at the AA schools. Of the seven kids we signed out of the state this year, five of them were small school guys. Only two of them were from AA. We had an interesting time going out and recruiting these guys.??
One of those AA recruits, Billings West senior Andrew Selle, will join UM??s logjam at the quarterback position. Selle, who led his school to the state??s AA championship in his senior season, was a prize recruit for the Griz and could challenge immediately for the starting job.
The 6-foot-2 and 205 pound Selle completed roughly 60 percent of his attempts this season for 2,915 yards, 25 touchdowns and just 9 interceptions. The performance was an unexpected step up from his spectacular junior season that had already attracted recruiters from around the Big Sky Conference.
??[Selle??s] been a late bloomer. He??s not a guy that lit it up for four years of high school, but he keeps getting better and better,?? Hauck said. ??He really didn??t start playing until he was a freshman in high school. He was at our camp this summer and just lit it up. We were targeting him from the moment we saw him last season through camp. When he committed to us and signed it was a big deal for us. We think he??s going to be the next in a line of great quarterbacks from the state of Montana.??
Powell County High School??s Carson Bender, a 6-foot-3 and 245 pound defensive end, was also considered one of the state??s top prospects after his senior season. Known for the speed that he carries with his large frame, Bender??s abilities to go around or through blockers make him an ideal candidate for defensive end on the I-AA level.
??We??ve had him in summer camp the last two years. He??s a big, physical kid who runs and plays extremely hard,?? Hauck said. ??He??s just a big, powerful guy and he can do a lot of good things for us. We??re really excited about him.??
Anthony Kazmierczak, a wide receiver from Thompson Falls, is a 6-foot-2 and 200 pound pure athlete who also runs the 400 meters in track and plays basketball for the Ponies. He was considered the cream of an otherwise thin crop of in-state receivers.
??He??s an explosive athlete. He runs and jumps and can go up and get the ball,?? Hauck said. ??He??s got great hands and he??s a great athlete. He??s by far what we thought was the best receiver in the state of Montana.??
Alex Verlanic is one of a two-part embodiment of just how unusual this year??s recruiting class was. A defensive tackle for Drummond??s eight-man football team, the 6-foot-3 and 230 pound Verlanic grew up on a ranch in the Flint Creek Valley and has had little formal weight-training. Hauck cites his innate strength and strong showings against the state??s big-school players as proof, however, that he can make the tough transition to I-AA football.
??He??s a young man that we really think is going to blossom as his time here at UM progresses,?? Hauck said. ??He??s really a unique guy; he??s a natural leader. People flock to him. He??s engaging and he brings a lot to the football team aside from his athletic ability.??
Chase Reynolds, a 5-foot-11 and 190 pound running back also from Drummond, is the second part of the unusual duo that helps comprise this year??s recruiting class. Like Bradshaw, Reynolds lack the stereotypical size of past UM rushers, but the Grizzly staff has been impressed by his power and natural ability at the position in past camps.
??It??s a little bit unique that we??d take one man off of an eight-man football team, let alone two off of the same team,?? Hauck said. ??He??s a kid who scored almost every time he touched the ball when we watched him on tape. He tackles well and he could be a great special-teams player. He could play defense, too, if he ever slides to that side of the ball, but we like him as a running back. We got to evaluate him against the big school kids in the state last summer and he went through them just like he went through the small school kids during the season, so we??re excited about him.??
Frenchtown??s Steve Pfahler is another Montana recruit who could have an immediate impact on the Grizzly offense. As a 6-foot-5 and 215 pound tight end who runs a 40 yard dash in 4.6 seconds, Pfahler seems born to play his position. Also, his father Tim played basketball for UM, so it seems he was born to be a Grizzly as well.
??He??s a big-framed, athletic kid who can run around and get the ball,?? Hauck said. ??He??s a terrific basketball player and he??s exactly what we??re looking for at his position.??
Brad Sternberg, a 6-foot-3 and 245 pound offensive lineman from Helena, seems to be the wild card of the in-state recruits. Sternberg missed most of his senior season with a knee injury, but has been coveted by the Grizzly brass for the past couple of years.
??He??s a tremendous prospect and he??ll be an inside player on the offensive line,?? Hauck said. ??He can do a lot, a lot of good things in there.??
When focusing on out-of-state recruits, the Montana coaches focused more on potential and size than filling holes at any specific position. The haul from around the country included likely anchors for both lines from Washington, as well as two off-the-charts athletes from California and Colorado who have yet to be assigned positions.
??[The out-of-state recruits] are all big-framed, running athletes and they??ll provide depth where we need it,?? Hauck said.
Tyler Hobbs from West Valley High School in Spokane was recruited as a defensive end and is the smaller of the two from Washington. At 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, Hobbs is respected as one of the best football and basketball players on the state??s 4A level. He picked UM??s football scholarship over Wyoming??s as well as other Big Sky teams. He was also recruited for basketball by many Division II and III teams.
The Washington native likely to put time in on the offensive line is 6-foot-6 and 260 pound earthmover Demetrick White from Columbia River. White is also a respected basketball player in his home state and his all-around athletic ability, along with his size, made him one of the top recruits at his position in the Northwest.
??He??s one of those guys who fall into the category with some of the great tackles that have been recruited out of high schools here,?? Hauck said. ??Hopefully he blossoms into one of those players like Scott Gragg. He??s got that type of body with a great frame that has a chance to go anywhere.??
Severin Campbell from Golden, Colo., is listed currently as simply an athlete, but that is not because he does not have a true position. The Grizzly coaches simply want to see which of many positions the 6-foot-4 and 210 pound Campbell would feel more natural at, Hauck said.
??He??s got an older brother at Colorado State who we recruited and another brother at Miami who started in the Peach Bowl this year as a sophomore. Obviously, Severin comes from good stock,?? Hauck said. ??He??s a great looking kid who runs, jumps and hits. He can play a lot of different positions and we??ll probably look at him out at linebacker first, but he can do a lot of things.??
Robert Overton is also listed as an athlete, but will likely find his place on one of the lines or at tight end because of his 6-foot-7 and 230 pound frame. The Hayward, Calif., native was one of the premier tight end recruits out of California and was recruited by multiple I-A schools before his stock slipped during his senior season and UM was able to sneak him out of the state.
??I definitely feel like he was missed,?? Hauck said. ??He??s just a real big athlete. He can play tight end, he can play defensive end, he can play on the offensive line or anywhere on any line. He ran a [4.67 second 40-yard dash] or something like that at the Nike combine and he can just really go for a big guy.??
Hauck admitted that the extensive driving and flying around the country, required for successful recruiting, took its toll on the coaching staff, but added that he was proud of the players that were brought in.
??We didn??t have a lot of scholarships available so it??s a relatively small class but I think it??s a quality group,?? Hauck said. ??From the transfer kids that are here to the high school kids that we recruited. We filled the needs that we had and we also recruited some top-notch athletes who have great potential.??
Complete signing day coverage
After the talent-rich 2006 recruiting class of 15 players officially announced their intentions Wednesday, next year??s squad might blend the best of both styles.
Montana head coach Bobby Hauck said the team??s recruiting philosophy was a simple one:
??We??re The University of Montana so we??re going to start looking at young athletes from the state of Montana. That??s where we??re going to look first,?? Hauck said. ??We want to recruit every athlete out of the state of Montana that we feel can help us win a championship. Then, we go elsewhere to supplement that class.
??We also want to recruit height and speed. Those are two things you can??t teach. We can put weight on them and we can develop skill but we can??t make them grow taller and we can??t make them much faster. We want big-framed young men who can run and are fast for their position. Then we want to develop them and build them up when they get here.??
Montana??s most impressive recruits for 2006 may have come from outside the state, however. With four transfers from Division I-A schools, the Griz locked up a potentially devastating foursome of skill players at the quarterback, running back, wide receiver and cornerback positions who, with their experience, might seamlessly fill the holes that plagued UM last season.
With their high school prospects, the Griz believe they have wrapped up the best in-state players at those same three offensive skill positions, in addition to eight athletes from Montana, Washington, Colorado and California who represent the next generation of great UM linemen.
The I-A transfers are the most likely to have an immediate impact, however, and not only because they are talented enough to be recruited by bigger schools. The transfers also bring experience and, because all of them will enroll early, they will have sufficient time to mesh with the team.
??With all four of these transfer players, their ability to be here for winter conditioning and spring ball enhances their ability to get on the field and be contributors next fall,?? Hauck said. ??It??s not like transfers who come in August and take half a season or more to get into the flow of the team and the scheme. For these guys it??s a great benefit for both to our team and for them as individuals to be here this winter.??
The crowning jewel of the Grizzlies?? transfer class might be redshirt sophomore Craig Chambers, a speedy 6-foot-5 receiver from the University of Washington. Chambers was rated as one of the nation??s top receiving prospects when he graduated from Washington??s Jackson High School in 2002, and finished as the Huskies?? second-leading receiver during both of his seasons on the field in Seattle.
Chambers?? playing time dropped early in 2005, but he became one of the Huskies?? main options late in the season. Most of his 573 yards and team-leading six touchdowns came when he started six of UW??s final nine games.
Possessing a rare mix of athleticism and height, players of Chambers?? ability rarely slip to the I-AA level and he should make an immediate impact with his natural abilities. With three years experience in a Division I-A program, including his redshirt season, Chambers will likely also provide leadership to a young Grizzly receiving corps that graduated its lone upperclassman in Jon Talmage.
??Over the last two years, he was Washington??s leading receiver,?? Hauck said. ??And he??s got the ability to go downfield and go up and get the ball. He??s got a real knack for being able to use his body to screen defenders to get at the football. He provides us another weapon on the outside - and a veteran leader at that position.??
The Grizzlies?? quarterback transfer, 6-foot-5 senior Josh Swogger from Washington State, could also provide immediate help at a position that was seen as a weakness for UM in 2005. The Vienna, Ohio native was named the Cougars?? starting quarterback at the start of the 2004 season and racked up 1,283 yards and 13 touchdowns in the team??s first six games before breaking his foot and watching from the sidelines for the rest of year. Swogger held an impressive quarterback rating of roughly 118 prior to his injury.
Swogger only saw action in three games for the Cougars in 2005, however, and attempted just 18 passes. He should, nonetheless, add an even stiffer element of competition to a crowded quarterback position for the Grizzlies that includes two other new faces as well as two starters from last year in Cole Bergquist and Jason Washington.
??When we were watching his video, we were very excited about the way he threw the ball down the field very accurately,?? Hauck said. ??He does a nice job of understanding schemes and defenses. He??s got a great chance to come in and be our starting quarterback next year.??
Running back Reggie Bradshaw from the University of Louisville is somewhat of the wildcard in UM??s transfer class. Though his height of just 6 feet and weight of 215 pounds doesn??t fit the prototype of recent Griz runners, Bradshaw??s former coaches at UL touted him as perhaps the fastest player on a team that was regarded as one of the best in the nation in 2005. The UL website listed his 40-yard dash time at a blistering 4.38 seconds.
After redshirting his first year out of Centennial High School in British Columbia, Bradshaw appeared as a special-teams dynamo in 11 of the Cardinals?? 13 games in 2004. The freshman saw limited time behind a veteran stable of runners, however, and tallied just 116 yards rushing and a single touchdown. The 2005 season saw Bradshaw get squeezed out of even more playing time, as classmate Michael Bush developed into one of the top rushers in the country.
Montana is hoping that Bradshaw can both supply enough speed in the backfield to prevent teams from stacking the line against junior running back Lex Hilliard, and fill the role of rock-solid backup that was vacated by graduating senior JR Waller.
The Grizzlies?? lone defensive transfer is Dramayne McElroy, a 5-foot-11 and 170 pound cornerback who comes from Arizona and Rancho Cucamonga Junior College. Hauck warns that McElroy has some scholastic hurdles to clear during the spring semester, but the speedy corner should provide some much-needed depth to the Grizzly secondary. The UA website lists McElroy??s 40-yard sprint time as 4.5 seconds and lists him as second on the Wildcats?? depth chart though he played limited minutes.
The seven players that comprise the homegrown portion of Montana??s high school recruiting class hail from every corner of the state and seemingly fill every position on the field.
??It was a bit of a unique year in the state of Montana,?? Hauck said. ??There were more prospects at small schools than there were at the AA schools. Of the seven kids we signed out of the state this year, five of them were small school guys. Only two of them were from AA. We had an interesting time going out and recruiting these guys.??
One of those AA recruits, Billings West senior Andrew Selle, will join UM??s logjam at the quarterback position. Selle, who led his school to the state??s AA championship in his senior season, was a prize recruit for the Griz and could challenge immediately for the starting job.
The 6-foot-2 and 205 pound Selle completed roughly 60 percent of his attempts this season for 2,915 yards, 25 touchdowns and just 9 interceptions. The performance was an unexpected step up from his spectacular junior season that had already attracted recruiters from around the Big Sky Conference.
??[Selle??s] been a late bloomer. He??s not a guy that lit it up for four years of high school, but he keeps getting better and better,?? Hauck said. ??He really didn??t start playing until he was a freshman in high school. He was at our camp this summer and just lit it up. We were targeting him from the moment we saw him last season through camp. When he committed to us and signed it was a big deal for us. We think he??s going to be the next in a line of great quarterbacks from the state of Montana.??
Powell County High School??s Carson Bender, a 6-foot-3 and 245 pound defensive end, was also considered one of the state??s top prospects after his senior season. Known for the speed that he carries with his large frame, Bender??s abilities to go around or through blockers make him an ideal candidate for defensive end on the I-AA level.
??We??ve had him in summer camp the last two years. He??s a big, physical kid who runs and plays extremely hard,?? Hauck said. ??He??s just a big, powerful guy and he can do a lot of good things for us. We??re really excited about him.??
Anthony Kazmierczak, a wide receiver from Thompson Falls, is a 6-foot-2 and 200 pound pure athlete who also runs the 400 meters in track and plays basketball for the Ponies. He was considered the cream of an otherwise thin crop of in-state receivers.
??He??s an explosive athlete. He runs and jumps and can go up and get the ball,?? Hauck said. ??He??s got great hands and he??s a great athlete. He??s by far what we thought was the best receiver in the state of Montana.??
Alex Verlanic is one of a two-part embodiment of just how unusual this year??s recruiting class was. A defensive tackle for Drummond??s eight-man football team, the 6-foot-3 and 230 pound Verlanic grew up on a ranch in the Flint Creek Valley and has had little formal weight-training. Hauck cites his innate strength and strong showings against the state??s big-school players as proof, however, that he can make the tough transition to I-AA football.
??He??s a young man that we really think is going to blossom as his time here at UM progresses,?? Hauck said. ??He??s really a unique guy; he??s a natural leader. People flock to him. He??s engaging and he brings a lot to the football team aside from his athletic ability.??
Chase Reynolds, a 5-foot-11 and 190 pound running back also from Drummond, is the second part of the unusual duo that helps comprise this year??s recruiting class. Like Bradshaw, Reynolds lack the stereotypical size of past UM rushers, but the Grizzly staff has been impressed by his power and natural ability at the position in past camps.
??It??s a little bit unique that we??d take one man off of an eight-man football team, let alone two off of the same team,?? Hauck said. ??He??s a kid who scored almost every time he touched the ball when we watched him on tape. He tackles well and he could be a great special-teams player. He could play defense, too, if he ever slides to that side of the ball, but we like him as a running back. We got to evaluate him against the big school kids in the state last summer and he went through them just like he went through the small school kids during the season, so we??re excited about him.??
Frenchtown??s Steve Pfahler is another Montana recruit who could have an immediate impact on the Grizzly offense. As a 6-foot-5 and 215 pound tight end who runs a 40 yard dash in 4.6 seconds, Pfahler seems born to play his position. Also, his father Tim played basketball for UM, so it seems he was born to be a Grizzly as well.
??He??s a big-framed, athletic kid who can run around and get the ball,?? Hauck said. ??He??s a terrific basketball player and he??s exactly what we??re looking for at his position.??
Brad Sternberg, a 6-foot-3 and 245 pound offensive lineman from Helena, seems to be the wild card of the in-state recruits. Sternberg missed most of his senior season with a knee injury, but has been coveted by the Grizzly brass for the past couple of years.
??He??s a tremendous prospect and he??ll be an inside player on the offensive line,?? Hauck said. ??He can do a lot, a lot of good things in there.??
When focusing on out-of-state recruits, the Montana coaches focused more on potential and size than filling holes at any specific position. The haul from around the country included likely anchors for both lines from Washington, as well as two off-the-charts athletes from California and Colorado who have yet to be assigned positions.
??[The out-of-state recruits] are all big-framed, running athletes and they??ll provide depth where we need it,?? Hauck said.
Tyler Hobbs from West Valley High School in Spokane was recruited as a defensive end and is the smaller of the two from Washington. At 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, Hobbs is respected as one of the best football and basketball players on the state??s 4A level. He picked UM??s football scholarship over Wyoming??s as well as other Big Sky teams. He was also recruited for basketball by many Division II and III teams.
The Washington native likely to put time in on the offensive line is 6-foot-6 and 260 pound earthmover Demetrick White from Columbia River. White is also a respected basketball player in his home state and his all-around athletic ability, along with his size, made him one of the top recruits at his position in the Northwest.
??He??s one of those guys who fall into the category with some of the great tackles that have been recruited out of high schools here,?? Hauck said. ??Hopefully he blossoms into one of those players like Scott Gragg. He??s got that type of body with a great frame that has a chance to go anywhere.??
Severin Campbell from Golden, Colo., is listed currently as simply an athlete, but that is not because he does not have a true position. The Grizzly coaches simply want to see which of many positions the 6-foot-4 and 210 pound Campbell would feel more natural at, Hauck said.
??He??s got an older brother at Colorado State who we recruited and another brother at Miami who started in the Peach Bowl this year as a sophomore. Obviously, Severin comes from good stock,?? Hauck said. ??He??s a great looking kid who runs, jumps and hits. He can play a lot of different positions and we??ll probably look at him out at linebacker first, but he can do a lot of things.??
Robert Overton is also listed as an athlete, but will likely find his place on one of the lines or at tight end because of his 6-foot-7 and 230 pound frame. The Hayward, Calif., native was one of the premier tight end recruits out of California and was recruited by multiple I-A schools before his stock slipped during his senior season and UM was able to sneak him out of the state.
??I definitely feel like he was missed,?? Hauck said. ??He??s just a real big athlete. He can play tight end, he can play defensive end, he can play on the offensive line or anywhere on any line. He ran a [4.67 second 40-yard dash] or something like that at the Nike combine and he can just really go for a big guy.??
Hauck admitted that the extensive driving and flying around the country, required for successful recruiting, took its toll on the coaching staff, but added that he was proud of the players that were brought in.
??We didn??t have a lot of scholarships available so it??s a relatively small class but I think it??s a quality group,?? Hauck said. ??From the transfer kids that are here to the high school kids that we recruited. We filled the needs that we had and we also recruited some top-notch athletes who have great potential.??
Complete signing day coverage
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Friday, May 01
Griz Football Spring Practice - 3/2/26
Monday, March 30
Griz Football Spring Preview Press Conference
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