Griz look sharp in first football srimmage
3/23/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Fifth-year University of Montana head football coach Bobby Hauck said that he was "impressed with the physical play that we had on both sides of the football," after his 2007 team conducted an 84-play, situational, controlled scrimmage, its first of spring drills, Friday afternoon in UM's Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
"I thought that we played a physical brand of football on offense and defense, and I liked the way we responded to different situations, especially for this time of year, and we were somewhat in game form," said Hauck, who sports an overall record of 41-13 at UM.
Game-form is almost an understatement, as the Griz offense racked up 487 total yards, while the defense had six sacks by six different players.
The quarterbacks were a combined 23-of-33-0 (69.7%) for 306 yards, while the running backs rushed 51 times for 181 yards and three touchdowns.
Junior signal-caller Cole Bergquist completed 7-of-10 passes for 117 yards, while redshirt freshman quarterback Andrew Selle was 10-of-15 for 93 yards. They were followed by sophomore Clint Stapp (4-of-5 for 82 yards) and freshman Jeff Larson (2-of-3 for 14 yards).
When asked about the play of his quarterbacks, Hauck said, "I thought that Cole (Bergquist) looked solid, and that all of our quarterbacks had their moments when they got an opportunity to play."
Three receivers had three catches apiece: redshirt freshman Tony Kazmierczak had three grabs for 50 yards, sophomore Marc Mariani had three catches for 28 yards , and redshirt freshman tight end Robert Overton had 3 receptions for 17 yards. Senior wide-out Eric Allen had 2 grabs for a scrimmage-high 85 yards.
Senior wide receivers Ryan Bagley and Craig Chambers did not participate in the scrimmage because of injuries.
Hauck also praised the play of the running backs, saying , "we've got a good core of running backs, not doubt about that, and they all showed that at one time or another today."
Senior halfback Reggie Bradshaw had scrimmage-bests of 12 carries for 51 yards and a touchdown. He was followed by junior Greg Coleman (8 rushes for 40 yards and a TD), and sophomore Thomas Brooks-Fletcher, who picked up 37 yards on 6 carries and scored once.
Senior halfback Lex Hilliard, a two-time first team All-Big Sky Conference selection in 2004 and 2005, did not participate in the scrimmage as a precauionary measure, as he recovers from an injury he suffered early last year in fall camp.
On defense, senior linebacker Muckie Foreman had a game-high 6 tackles. Junior linebacker Tyler Corwin, sophomore safety Brandon Fisher, redshirt freshman cornerback Jeremy Pate, sophomore safety Erik Stoll, and senior corner Jimmy Wilson all had 4 tackles each.
Senior end Kroy Biermann, and finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award last season, constantly applied pressure on the quarterbacks, and had one sack and several hurries.
The Griz will take a week off during UM's annual spring break and return to action on Monday, April 2, when they will have a team meeting and conduct team conditioning drills. Montana has practices scheduled on April 3rd, 5th, 9th, 10th, and 12th.
UM's final scrimmage in Missoula will be Friday afternoon, April 6th at approximately 3:45 p.m. in Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
The Grizzlies' annual spring game will be Saturday, April 14 at 11:00 a.m. at Billings' Wendy's Field at Daylis Stadium.
"I thought that we played a physical brand of football on offense and defense, and I liked the way we responded to different situations, especially for this time of year, and we were somewhat in game form," said Hauck, who sports an overall record of 41-13 at UM.
Game-form is almost an understatement, as the Griz offense racked up 487 total yards, while the defense had six sacks by six different players.
The quarterbacks were a combined 23-of-33-0 (69.7%) for 306 yards, while the running backs rushed 51 times for 181 yards and three touchdowns.
Junior signal-caller Cole Bergquist completed 7-of-10 passes for 117 yards, while redshirt freshman quarterback Andrew Selle was 10-of-15 for 93 yards. They were followed by sophomore Clint Stapp (4-of-5 for 82 yards) and freshman Jeff Larson (2-of-3 for 14 yards).
When asked about the play of his quarterbacks, Hauck said, "I thought that Cole (Bergquist) looked solid, and that all of our quarterbacks had their moments when they got an opportunity to play."
Three receivers had three catches apiece: redshirt freshman Tony Kazmierczak had three grabs for 50 yards, sophomore Marc Mariani had three catches for 28 yards , and redshirt freshman tight end Robert Overton had 3 receptions for 17 yards. Senior wide-out Eric Allen had 2 grabs for a scrimmage-high 85 yards.
Senior wide receivers Ryan Bagley and Craig Chambers did not participate in the scrimmage because of injuries.
Hauck also praised the play of the running backs, saying , "we've got a good core of running backs, not doubt about that, and they all showed that at one time or another today."
Senior halfback Reggie Bradshaw had scrimmage-bests of 12 carries for 51 yards and a touchdown. He was followed by junior Greg Coleman (8 rushes for 40 yards and a TD), and sophomore Thomas Brooks-Fletcher, who picked up 37 yards on 6 carries and scored once.
Senior halfback Lex Hilliard, a two-time first team All-Big Sky Conference selection in 2004 and 2005, did not participate in the scrimmage as a precauionary measure, as he recovers from an injury he suffered early last year in fall camp.
On defense, senior linebacker Muckie Foreman had a game-high 6 tackles. Junior linebacker Tyler Corwin, sophomore safety Brandon Fisher, redshirt freshman cornerback Jeremy Pate, sophomore safety Erik Stoll, and senior corner Jimmy Wilson all had 4 tackles each.
Senior end Kroy Biermann, and finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award last season, constantly applied pressure on the quarterbacks, and had one sack and several hurries.
The Griz will take a week off during UM's annual spring break and return to action on Monday, April 2, when they will have a team meeting and conduct team conditioning drills. Montana has practices scheduled on April 3rd, 5th, 9th, 10th, and 12th.
UM's final scrimmage in Missoula will be Friday afternoon, April 6th at approximately 3:45 p.m. in Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
The Grizzlies' annual spring game will be Saturday, April 14 at 11:00 a.m. at Billings' Wendy's Field at Daylis Stadium.
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