Griz begin fall football drills Aug. 11
8/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
The University of Montana Grizzlies have their first practice of 2008 fall camp on Tuesday, August 11th. Players report the day before on Monday, when they are issued equipment and attend team and position meetings.
The Griz are in an unfamiliar role this season, as they are in a rebuilding mode and need to replace 14 starters and several record-setting players who graduated.
Montana, which returns 10 starters, seven on offense and three on defense, is the defending Big Sky Conference champions, and has won 10 league titles in a row, has a record 15 NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoff appearances in a row, and has 22 straight winning seasons.
??As a football team we made a lot of progress during spring ball, which was much-needed,?? said sixth-year UM head coach Bobby Hauck, who sports a 52-14 overall mark and a Big Sky record of 32-5. ??We??re not where we have been the last couple of years at this point in time; it??s really going to be a race against the clock for us to try to get ready for Sept. 6th and Cal Poly.
UM has 46 lettermen from its 11-1 team of 2007 that was 8-0 en route to its second Big Sky crown in a row. The Griz have won 16 straight league games. Montana ended up 10th in the final Sports Network poll.
??The position on our team that has a lot of experience back is the offensive line,?? Hauck said. ??That is really the only spot that we have a good nucleus of veteran players coming back. That??s a good place to start. We do have a returning starter at quarterback (Cole Bergquist), and returning starters on the offensive line, and hopefully with those key components back we can have another good year offensively.
??The defense has to be completely retooled,?? Hauck continued. ??We can start with (strong safety) Colt Anderson, who has been an all-conference performer for us the past two years, and build from there. We have guys who have played at defensive tackle in Jesse Carlson and Craig Mettler, and they??re going to have be leaders for us on the D-line.
??At defensive end Mike Stadnyk is a guy who is now a fifth-year senior and has made a lot of good plays in his career, but he has had some injury problems, and it is imperative for us to have success on defense for Mike to have a big year,?? Hauck said.
??When you look at our secondary and at linebacker there are not a lot of recognizable names there,?? Hauck continued. ??In eight of our 11 positions on defense not too many of the names on our depth chart are going to look familiar. That is a real concern for me and for our staff.
??Special teams are a key component on any football team and have been a real strength for us,?? Hauck said. ??Frankly we??re back to where we were when (kicker) Dan Carpenter and (punter) Tyson Johnson were coming in the door and we had a lot of unknowns at those two positions.
OFFENSIVE OVERVIEW
In 2007 Montana was ranked 23rd in total offense at 415.3 yards a game and was 24th in scoring offense at 31.4 points per contest.
The Grizzlies lost halfback Lex Hilliard and two of their top wide receivers in school history to graduation. Hilliard ended his career with a school-record 50 rushing touchdowns, while Ryan Bagley and Eric Allen are ranked 13th and 21st all-time in receiving yards. Also gone is tackle Cody Balogh, who started in 41 games in a row.
The offensive line returns several veteran starters in senior tackle Brent Russum and senior center J.D. Quinn, both first team All-Big Sky selections last year, while senior guard Colin Dow was a second team pick, and senior guard Dan Carter was honorable mention.
Also back is senior quarterback Cole Bergquist who started all 12 games last season and a second team all-league pick. Senior wide receiver Mike Ferriter, who was UM??s most consistent receiver a year ago is back, as are a handful of upperclassmen with some valuable game experience, but most have more potential than playing time.
The tandem at tight end are juniors Dan Beaudin and Steve Pfahler, who have shared the starting job over the past two seasons. Both were honorable mention all-league picks last year.
QUARTERBACK: Bergquist is now 17-4 as a starter and was a second team All-Big Sky pick last season. Sophomore Andrew Selle is a very promising young signal-caller and had an outstanding spring.
Bergquist passed for 2,623 yards and 20 touchdowns and completed 60.9% of his throws last season, while Selle played in six games and threw for 175 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Jeff Larson also had a solid spring.
RUNNING BACK: Hilliard rushed for 1,132 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2007. Sophomore Chase Reynolds looked good this past spring and should challenge junior Brooks-Fletcher for a starting role. Senior Andrew Schmidt is a hard-charger and special teams standout, and junior Brandon Utterback is vying for playing time.
OFFENSIVE LINE: The O-line should once again be a strength for the Griz. Russum started all 12 games at right tackle a year ago, while seniors Colin Dow, J.D. Quinn, and Dan Carter and junior Terran Hillesland had all of the starts at both guard spots and center and are also back.
Juniors Chris Dyk and Levi Horn were battling for the starting job at left tackle, vacated by the durable Balogh.
Sophomore Alex Verlanic was moved from defense and could help out as well. All five prep signees come into fall camp with good size.
WIDE RECEIVER: Allen and Bagley accounted for 78 catches and 13 touchdowns last season, but Ferriter hauled in a team-high 49 passes a year ago. Junior Marc Mariani has tremendous potential, and senior Rob Schulte and junior Tyler Palmer appear to be ready for break-out seasons.
TIGHT END: Beaudin and Pfahler make this a strong position, and sophomore Robert Overton will also contribute.
FULLBACK: Junior Kevin Klaboe was an all-league pick at fullback the past two seasons. Noah McWilliams and sophomore Nick Lebsock were moved to fullback prior to the start of fall camp and may also see action.
DEFENSIVE OVERVIEW
Montana has had one of the nation??s best defenses the past two seasons and was ranked second nationally in scoring defense in 2007, allowing 14.8 points a game. Over the past two seasons, the Grizzly defense led the Big Sky in nearly every defensive category.
Last season, UM was ranked among the national leaders in several categories: rushing defense (21st, giving up 125.4 yards a game), was 32nd in total defense (338.8 ypg), and was 23rd in turnover margin (+.83 a game). Two seasons ago, the Griz were ranked ninth in the country in total defense (266.4 yards a game).
The defense lost eight starters, and all eight of those players received all-league recognition in 2007.
Lost to graduation are first-team all-conference players Kroy Biermann, linebacker Loren Utterback, as well as linebacker Tyler Joyce, cornerback Chris Clark, and free safety Torrey Thomas, who were second team picks. Biermann was the Big Sky??s defensive MVP and UM??s first-ever winner of the Buck Buchanan Award.
All three starting linebackers: Joyce, Kyle Ryan, and Utterback, are gone, as well as quality back-ups Muckie Foreman and Alex Hawthorne.
Two-time first team all-conference pick Colt Anderson is back at strong safety and is a 2008 Buck Buchanan Award candidate. The other two starters back are senior tackle Craig Mettler, a second team All-Big Sky pick, and senior end Mike Stadnyk, an honorable mention selection.
DEFENSIVE END: Biermann, who had the second most sacks (32) in school history and was second in the nation in that category last season with 1.25 a game, will be impossible to replace. But Stadnyk, a second round draft pick of the Canadian Football League, is braced to have a banner senior season. Junior Jace Palmer had quite a few reps last season as well. Depth will be provided by junior George Mercer, sophomore Severin Campbell, and redshirt freshman Ryan Featherston.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE: Mettler has started the last 23 games in a row and was UM??s ninth leading tackler last year with 46 stops. Senior Jesse Carlson is a veteran and played in 11 games a year ago. Senior Paul LaMantia has seen a lot of action, and up-and-coming sophomore Carson Bender should help. Sophomore Austin Mullins was moved from end to tackle and could also be in the mix, along with redshirt freshman Braydon Schilling.
LINEBACKER: Senior Tyler Corwin has been waiting in the wings for a starting berth and is a talent, as is newcomer Thomas Bauer, a junior. Junior Shawn Lebsock is also a talent and will start at middle linebacker. Junior Brandon Fisher is vying for a starting job. Senior Tom Martin had an outstanding spring, and depth is added by junior Tyler Pelluer and sophomore Andy Gonzales. There are some talented incoming freshmen who could make an impact.
CORNERBACK: Both starters graduated, and two promising young players left the program. Senior Ciarre Campbell had a good spring and is vying for a starting role. Junior Joe Smith and redshirt freshman Nick Haynes are also in the mix, and two junior college transfers will join the team for fall drills.
SAFETY: Anderson is a proven player, while junior Shann Schillinger and sophomore Erik Stoll are also quality players with experience. Junior Tim Anderson should also contribute.
SPECIAL TEAMS OVERVIEW
KICKER/PUNTER: Because of the loss of record-setting kicker Dan Carpenter and four-year starter Tyson Johnson at punter, both positions are wide open. Carpenter set FCS records with 413 kick-scoring points and 75 field goals, while Johnson had the second longest career punting average in school history (42.13-yard average).
PUNT & KICKOFF RETURNS: Mariani was an honorable mention all-league pick a year ago, and is the Big Sky??s top returning player in both punt and kickoff returns, averaging 13.3 on punt returns and 32.2-per kickoff returns. Schulte has been one of the leading kickoff returners in the league the past two seasons.
A quick look at some of the key dates and times of 2008 Grizzly football fall camp:
-Sunday, August 10th: Players report. Equipment issued and team/position meetings.
-Monday, August 11: Physicals. Practice at South Campus Fields (no pads) at 2:00 p.m. (August 11-12 practices: No Pads).
-Monday, August 11 to Friday, August 15: One-a-day practices (August 15: first day in full pads).
NOTE: One-a-day practices begin at 2:00 p.m. Two-a-day practices begin at 10:45 a.m. and 3:15 p.m. (Times Approximate).
-Thursday, August 21: One-a-day practice. Final practice at South Campus Fields.
-Friday, August 22: Final two-a-day practice sessions. NOTE: Practices are now at Riverbowl Field OR Washington-Grizzly Stadium (upon completion of the installation of new Sprinturf playing surface).
-Saturday, August 23: First of two scrimmages. Starts at approximately 9:45 a.m. in Riverbowl.
-Monday, August 25: School starts. Practices now start at 3:30 (limited media opportunities 3:15-3:30 p.m.) at Riverbowl practice field, kitty-corner to Hoyt Athletic Complex/Adams Center.
-Thursday, August 28: ??Great Griz Encounter?? at Caras Park. Introduction of 2008 football team, honors candidates, coach Hauck and staff.
-Friday, August 29: Final scrimmage of fall camp at approximately 3:15 p.m. in Riverbowl OR Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
The Griz are in an unfamiliar role this season, as they are in a rebuilding mode and need to replace 14 starters and several record-setting players who graduated.
Montana, which returns 10 starters, seven on offense and three on defense, is the defending Big Sky Conference champions, and has won 10 league titles in a row, has a record 15 NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoff appearances in a row, and has 22 straight winning seasons.
??As a football team we made a lot of progress during spring ball, which was much-needed,?? said sixth-year UM head coach Bobby Hauck, who sports a 52-14 overall mark and a Big Sky record of 32-5. ??We??re not where we have been the last couple of years at this point in time; it??s really going to be a race against the clock for us to try to get ready for Sept. 6th and Cal Poly.
UM has 46 lettermen from its 11-1 team of 2007 that was 8-0 en route to its second Big Sky crown in a row. The Griz have won 16 straight league games. Montana ended up 10th in the final Sports Network poll.
??The position on our team that has a lot of experience back is the offensive line,?? Hauck said. ??That is really the only spot that we have a good nucleus of veteran players coming back. That??s a good place to start. We do have a returning starter at quarterback (Cole Bergquist), and returning starters on the offensive line, and hopefully with those key components back we can have another good year offensively.
??The defense has to be completely retooled,?? Hauck continued. ??We can start with (strong safety) Colt Anderson, who has been an all-conference performer for us the past two years, and build from there. We have guys who have played at defensive tackle in Jesse Carlson and Craig Mettler, and they??re going to have be leaders for us on the D-line.
??At defensive end Mike Stadnyk is a guy who is now a fifth-year senior and has made a lot of good plays in his career, but he has had some injury problems, and it is imperative for us to have success on defense for Mike to have a big year,?? Hauck said.
??When you look at our secondary and at linebacker there are not a lot of recognizable names there,?? Hauck continued. ??In eight of our 11 positions on defense not too many of the names on our depth chart are going to look familiar. That is a real concern for me and for our staff.
??Special teams are a key component on any football team and have been a real strength for us,?? Hauck said. ??Frankly we??re back to where we were when (kicker) Dan Carpenter and (punter) Tyson Johnson were coming in the door and we had a lot of unknowns at those two positions.
OFFENSIVE OVERVIEW
In 2007 Montana was ranked 23rd in total offense at 415.3 yards a game and was 24th in scoring offense at 31.4 points per contest.
The Grizzlies lost halfback Lex Hilliard and two of their top wide receivers in school history to graduation. Hilliard ended his career with a school-record 50 rushing touchdowns, while Ryan Bagley and Eric Allen are ranked 13th and 21st all-time in receiving yards. Also gone is tackle Cody Balogh, who started in 41 games in a row.
The offensive line returns several veteran starters in senior tackle Brent Russum and senior center J.D. Quinn, both first team All-Big Sky selections last year, while senior guard Colin Dow was a second team pick, and senior guard Dan Carter was honorable mention.
Also back is senior quarterback Cole Bergquist who started all 12 games last season and a second team all-league pick. Senior wide receiver Mike Ferriter, who was UM??s most consistent receiver a year ago is back, as are a handful of upperclassmen with some valuable game experience, but most have more potential than playing time.
The tandem at tight end are juniors Dan Beaudin and Steve Pfahler, who have shared the starting job over the past two seasons. Both were honorable mention all-league picks last year.
QUARTERBACK: Bergquist is now 17-4 as a starter and was a second team All-Big Sky pick last season. Sophomore Andrew Selle is a very promising young signal-caller and had an outstanding spring.
Bergquist passed for 2,623 yards and 20 touchdowns and completed 60.9% of his throws last season, while Selle played in six games and threw for 175 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Jeff Larson also had a solid spring.
RUNNING BACK: Hilliard rushed for 1,132 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2007. Sophomore Chase Reynolds looked good this past spring and should challenge junior Brooks-Fletcher for a starting role. Senior Andrew Schmidt is a hard-charger and special teams standout, and junior Brandon Utterback is vying for playing time.
OFFENSIVE LINE: The O-line should once again be a strength for the Griz. Russum started all 12 games at right tackle a year ago, while seniors Colin Dow, J.D. Quinn, and Dan Carter and junior Terran Hillesland had all of the starts at both guard spots and center and are also back.
Juniors Chris Dyk and Levi Horn were battling for the starting job at left tackle, vacated by the durable Balogh.
Sophomore Alex Verlanic was moved from defense and could help out as well. All five prep signees come into fall camp with good size.
WIDE RECEIVER: Allen and Bagley accounted for 78 catches and 13 touchdowns last season, but Ferriter hauled in a team-high 49 passes a year ago. Junior Marc Mariani has tremendous potential, and senior Rob Schulte and junior Tyler Palmer appear to be ready for break-out seasons.
TIGHT END: Beaudin and Pfahler make this a strong position, and sophomore Robert Overton will also contribute.
FULLBACK: Junior Kevin Klaboe was an all-league pick at fullback the past two seasons. Noah McWilliams and sophomore Nick Lebsock were moved to fullback prior to the start of fall camp and may also see action.
DEFENSIVE OVERVIEW
Montana has had one of the nation??s best defenses the past two seasons and was ranked second nationally in scoring defense in 2007, allowing 14.8 points a game. Over the past two seasons, the Grizzly defense led the Big Sky in nearly every defensive category.
Last season, UM was ranked among the national leaders in several categories: rushing defense (21st, giving up 125.4 yards a game), was 32nd in total defense (338.8 ypg), and was 23rd in turnover margin (+.83 a game). Two seasons ago, the Griz were ranked ninth in the country in total defense (266.4 yards a game).
The defense lost eight starters, and all eight of those players received all-league recognition in 2007.
Lost to graduation are first-team all-conference players Kroy Biermann, linebacker Loren Utterback, as well as linebacker Tyler Joyce, cornerback Chris Clark, and free safety Torrey Thomas, who were second team picks. Biermann was the Big Sky??s defensive MVP and UM??s first-ever winner of the Buck Buchanan Award.
All three starting linebackers: Joyce, Kyle Ryan, and Utterback, are gone, as well as quality back-ups Muckie Foreman and Alex Hawthorne.
Two-time first team all-conference pick Colt Anderson is back at strong safety and is a 2008 Buck Buchanan Award candidate. The other two starters back are senior tackle Craig Mettler, a second team All-Big Sky pick, and senior end Mike Stadnyk, an honorable mention selection.
DEFENSIVE END: Biermann, who had the second most sacks (32) in school history and was second in the nation in that category last season with 1.25 a game, will be impossible to replace. But Stadnyk, a second round draft pick of the Canadian Football League, is braced to have a banner senior season. Junior Jace Palmer had quite a few reps last season as well. Depth will be provided by junior George Mercer, sophomore Severin Campbell, and redshirt freshman Ryan Featherston.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE: Mettler has started the last 23 games in a row and was UM??s ninth leading tackler last year with 46 stops. Senior Jesse Carlson is a veteran and played in 11 games a year ago. Senior Paul LaMantia has seen a lot of action, and up-and-coming sophomore Carson Bender should help. Sophomore Austin Mullins was moved from end to tackle and could also be in the mix, along with redshirt freshman Braydon Schilling.
LINEBACKER: Senior Tyler Corwin has been waiting in the wings for a starting berth and is a talent, as is newcomer Thomas Bauer, a junior. Junior Shawn Lebsock is also a talent and will start at middle linebacker. Junior Brandon Fisher is vying for a starting job. Senior Tom Martin had an outstanding spring, and depth is added by junior Tyler Pelluer and sophomore Andy Gonzales. There are some talented incoming freshmen who could make an impact.
CORNERBACK: Both starters graduated, and two promising young players left the program. Senior Ciarre Campbell had a good spring and is vying for a starting role. Junior Joe Smith and redshirt freshman Nick Haynes are also in the mix, and two junior college transfers will join the team for fall drills.
SAFETY: Anderson is a proven player, while junior Shann Schillinger and sophomore Erik Stoll are also quality players with experience. Junior Tim Anderson should also contribute.
SPECIAL TEAMS OVERVIEW
KICKER/PUNTER: Because of the loss of record-setting kicker Dan Carpenter and four-year starter Tyson Johnson at punter, both positions are wide open. Carpenter set FCS records with 413 kick-scoring points and 75 field goals, while Johnson had the second longest career punting average in school history (42.13-yard average).
PUNT & KICKOFF RETURNS: Mariani was an honorable mention all-league pick a year ago, and is the Big Sky??s top returning player in both punt and kickoff returns, averaging 13.3 on punt returns and 32.2-per kickoff returns. Schulte has been one of the leading kickoff returners in the league the past two seasons.
A quick look at some of the key dates and times of 2008 Grizzly football fall camp:
-Sunday, August 10th: Players report. Equipment issued and team/position meetings.
-Monday, August 11: Physicals. Practice at South Campus Fields (no pads) at 2:00 p.m. (August 11-12 practices: No Pads).
-Monday, August 11 to Friday, August 15: One-a-day practices (August 15: first day in full pads).
NOTE: One-a-day practices begin at 2:00 p.m. Two-a-day practices begin at 10:45 a.m. and 3:15 p.m. (Times Approximate).
-Thursday, August 21: One-a-day practice. Final practice at South Campus Fields.
-Friday, August 22: Final two-a-day practice sessions. NOTE: Practices are now at Riverbowl Field OR Washington-Grizzly Stadium (upon completion of the installation of new Sprinturf playing surface).
-Saturday, August 23: First of two scrimmages. Starts at approximately 9:45 a.m. in Riverbowl.
-Monday, August 25: School starts. Practices now start at 3:30 (limited media opportunities 3:15-3:30 p.m.) at Riverbowl practice field, kitty-corner to Hoyt Athletic Complex/Adams Center.
-Thursday, August 28: ??Great Griz Encounter?? at Caras Park. Introduction of 2008 football team, honors candidates, coach Hauck and staff.
-Friday, August 29: Final scrimmage of fall camp at approximately 3:15 p.m. in Riverbowl OR Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
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