Griz football begins fall camp August 9
8/7/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
The defending Big Sky Conference champion University of Montana Grizzlies take the first step towards another league crown, as they begin fall football drills on Wednesday, August 9.
Freshman and transfers reported today, Monday, August 7, while the veterans will check Tuesday and all of the players will undergo physicals, academic orientation, and a couple of team meetings on August 8.
The team will have a solo practice the first five days of camp and begin two-a-day drills on Monday, August 14. The team goes through two-a-day sessions every other day, with the final double practice day slated for Friday, August 25.
The Griz will hold two scrimmages in fall camp. The first scrim is slated for Saturday August 19, at around 10:10 a.m. The final scrimmage is set for morning on Thursday, August 24, while the annual ??Great Griz Encounter,?? at which the team is introduced to the public, begins at 5:30 p.m. that day in Caras Park.
??We are excited about our off-season conditioning and the the strides that we made in spring drills,?? said fourth-year Griz Head Coach Bobby Hauck. ??Now it??s time to roll up our sleeves, get to work, and get ready for Iowa. We expect our players to report in great condition, to hit the ground running and be ready to play.??
Fall camp practice sessions are held on UM??s South Campus Fields by UM??s Dornblaser Field track complex and soccer fields, while both scrimmages will be at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Beginning on Thursday, August 24, the team returns to campus and practice at Riverbowl Field.
A perennial Big Sky preseason favorite, the Grizzlies are tabbed as the favorite by the media and Big Sky Conference coaches to win the 2006 league crown. Montana has won or shared eight Big Sky championships in a row and garnered league titles 11 out of the past 13 seasons. The Griz have also registered a record 13 Division I-AA playoff appearances in a row.
??We are pleased with the respect we received from the (conference) media and coaches by being the preseason pick to win the conference title, and now we need to take a one-game-at-atime approach and try to win each game, which of course is never easy,?? Hauck said.
Montana??s storied history of success is just one of the reasons that the Grizzlies enter the season more optimistic than ever. Another key is the return of 15 starters and 45 lettermen from an 8-4 team that ended the 2005 season ranked 11th in USA Today/ESPN??s final poll and 12th in The Sports Network??s season-ending poll.
Two more reasons are the return of Walter Payton Award candidate Lex Hilliard at running back and Buck Buchanan Award nominee Mike Murphy at defensive end. The Griz also added three quality I-A transfers, and along with those 15 starters and 45 lettermen, high hopes and expectations abound for Hauck, who owns a 29-11 career record at UM.
??Our expectations are always to compete for, and win, the Big Sky Conference championship,?? Hauck said -- ??this season is no different.??
Offensively, Josh Swogger, a 6-5, 237-pound senior transfer from Washington State, had an outstanding spring and begins fall camp as the starter. Sophomore Cole Bergquist (6-2, 192) was 5-3 as a starter. Last year Bergquist passed for 1,275 yards and eight touchdowns.
Hilliard (6-1, 228) was a unanimous first team All-Big Sky selection for the second season in a row and a finalist for the Walter Payton Award, when he rushed for 1,322 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Junior Cody Balogh (6-7, 300) started all 12 games last season and is the incumbent at left tackle, while senior center Jeff Marshall (6-5, 285) had 11 starts. Marshall, who was a second team all-league pick last season, is coming off an injury but should be ready to play this season.
Juniors Eric Allen (6-3, 208) and Ryan Bagley (6-4, 210) are returning starters. Bagley had a team-high 50 catches for 499 yards and two touchdowns in 2005, while Allen had 14 grabs for 106 yards. Sophomore Mike Ferriter (6-1, 201) was the team??s third-leading receiver a year ago.
On defense, Murphy (6-3, 240) had a team-high eight sacks last season, despite playing the last half of the year with a broken thumb, while senior Dustin Dlouhy (6-2, 235) is a 2006 ??honors candidate?? this year, along with junior Kroy Biermann (6-3, 230).
All-American defensive tackle Alan Saenz graduated, but senior Kerry Mullan (6-3, 290) started in 10 games, and sophomores Craig Mettler (6-4, 250) and Jesse Carlson (6-3, 255) had starts a year ago and are experienced despite their youth. Junior Kelly Kain (6-4, 288) was playing well last season and missed the final eight games with an injury, but is okay now.
At linebacker emotional leader and team captain Shane MacIntyre has graduated, but juniors Tyler Joyce (12 starts), Kyle Ryan (10 starts), and Loren Utterback (two starts) are returning starters. Weakside linebacker Joyce (6-5, 227) had a team-leading 83 tackles last season, while middle linebacker Ryan (6-3, 225) was second on the squad with 76 stops, and both players were honorable mention all-league selections.
Tuff Harris (6-0, 197, Sr.) and junior Jimmy Wilson (5-11, 184) are returning starters, and both were honorable mention all-league picks a year ago. Junior Torrey Thomas (6-0, 190) started all 12 contests last year. Senior Matt Lebsock (5-11, 186) and junior Van Cooper Jr. (6-2, 200) have considerable experience. Torrey was an honorable mention All-Big Sky pick last season.
At punter, senior Tyson Johnson was a second team all-league last season and ranked 17th in the country, averaging 41.03 yards a punt. Junior kicker Dan Carpenter has been a second team All-Big Sky pick the past two seasons. Last year he made 14-of-21 field goal attempts, including a career-long 50-yarder at Northern Arizona.
Freshman and transfers reported today, Monday, August 7, while the veterans will check Tuesday and all of the players will undergo physicals, academic orientation, and a couple of team meetings on August 8.
The team will have a solo practice the first five days of camp and begin two-a-day drills on Monday, August 14. The team goes through two-a-day sessions every other day, with the final double practice day slated for Friday, August 25.
The Griz will hold two scrimmages in fall camp. The first scrim is slated for Saturday August 19, at around 10:10 a.m. The final scrimmage is set for morning on Thursday, August 24, while the annual ??Great Griz Encounter,?? at which the team is introduced to the public, begins at 5:30 p.m. that day in Caras Park.
??We are excited about our off-season conditioning and the the strides that we made in spring drills,?? said fourth-year Griz Head Coach Bobby Hauck. ??Now it??s time to roll up our sleeves, get to work, and get ready for Iowa. We expect our players to report in great condition, to hit the ground running and be ready to play.??
Fall camp practice sessions are held on UM??s South Campus Fields by UM??s Dornblaser Field track complex and soccer fields, while both scrimmages will be at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Beginning on Thursday, August 24, the team returns to campus and practice at Riverbowl Field.
A perennial Big Sky preseason favorite, the Grizzlies are tabbed as the favorite by the media and Big Sky Conference coaches to win the 2006 league crown. Montana has won or shared eight Big Sky championships in a row and garnered league titles 11 out of the past 13 seasons. The Griz have also registered a record 13 Division I-AA playoff appearances in a row.
??We are pleased with the respect we received from the (conference) media and coaches by being the preseason pick to win the conference title, and now we need to take a one-game-at-atime approach and try to win each game, which of course is never easy,?? Hauck said.
Montana??s storied history of success is just one of the reasons that the Grizzlies enter the season more optimistic than ever. Another key is the return of 15 starters and 45 lettermen from an 8-4 team that ended the 2005 season ranked 11th in USA Today/ESPN??s final poll and 12th in The Sports Network??s season-ending poll.
Two more reasons are the return of Walter Payton Award candidate Lex Hilliard at running back and Buck Buchanan Award nominee Mike Murphy at defensive end. The Griz also added three quality I-A transfers, and along with those 15 starters and 45 lettermen, high hopes and expectations abound for Hauck, who owns a 29-11 career record at UM.
??Our expectations are always to compete for, and win, the Big Sky Conference championship,?? Hauck said -- ??this season is no different.??
Offensively, Josh Swogger, a 6-5, 237-pound senior transfer from Washington State, had an outstanding spring and begins fall camp as the starter. Sophomore Cole Bergquist (6-2, 192) was 5-3 as a starter. Last year Bergquist passed for 1,275 yards and eight touchdowns.
Hilliard (6-1, 228) was a unanimous first team All-Big Sky selection for the second season in a row and a finalist for the Walter Payton Award, when he rushed for 1,322 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Junior Cody Balogh (6-7, 300) started all 12 games last season and is the incumbent at left tackle, while senior center Jeff Marshall (6-5, 285) had 11 starts. Marshall, who was a second team all-league pick last season, is coming off an injury but should be ready to play this season.
Juniors Eric Allen (6-3, 208) and Ryan Bagley (6-4, 210) are returning starters. Bagley had a team-high 50 catches for 499 yards and two touchdowns in 2005, while Allen had 14 grabs for 106 yards. Sophomore Mike Ferriter (6-1, 201) was the team??s third-leading receiver a year ago.
On defense, Murphy (6-3, 240) had a team-high eight sacks last season, despite playing the last half of the year with a broken thumb, while senior Dustin Dlouhy (6-2, 235) is a 2006 ??honors candidate?? this year, along with junior Kroy Biermann (6-3, 230).
All-American defensive tackle Alan Saenz graduated, but senior Kerry Mullan (6-3, 290) started in 10 games, and sophomores Craig Mettler (6-4, 250) and Jesse Carlson (6-3, 255) had starts a year ago and are experienced despite their youth. Junior Kelly Kain (6-4, 288) was playing well last season and missed the final eight games with an injury, but is okay now.
At linebacker emotional leader and team captain Shane MacIntyre has graduated, but juniors Tyler Joyce (12 starts), Kyle Ryan (10 starts), and Loren Utterback (two starts) are returning starters. Weakside linebacker Joyce (6-5, 227) had a team-leading 83 tackles last season, while middle linebacker Ryan (6-3, 225) was second on the squad with 76 stops, and both players were honorable mention all-league selections.
Tuff Harris (6-0, 197, Sr.) and junior Jimmy Wilson (5-11, 184) are returning starters, and both were honorable mention all-league picks a year ago. Junior Torrey Thomas (6-0, 190) started all 12 contests last year. Senior Matt Lebsock (5-11, 186) and junior Van Cooper Jr. (6-2, 200) have considerable experience. Torrey was an honorable mention All-Big Sky pick last season.
At punter, senior Tyson Johnson was a second team all-league last season and ranked 17th in the country, averaging 41.03 yards a punt. Junior kicker Dan Carpenter has been a second team All-Big Sky pick the past two seasons. Last year he made 14-of-21 field goal attempts, including a career-long 50-yarder at Northern Arizona.
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