Griz announce (most of) their starters for 2011
8/26/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 26, 2011
With the 2011 season opener at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville just a week from tomorrow, The University of Montana football program has announced who most of their starters are going to be this year.
"I am glad we have another week to prepare, I really am," said second-year head coach Robin Pflugrad. "With school starting (next Monday) that's going to add a few distractions to our players of course. There are still a few things that need to be worked out. We simulated a game a little bit this afternoon and we will do that tomorrow morning as well.
"The important thing is getting to where you need to be," Pflugrad said. "That's getting all 11 players on the field in certain situations. You can never rehearse that enough. We have a relatively young team, with a new secondary, and a lot of those young guys will be playing on special teams, as are our linebackers and we really need to continue to focus on that part of the game. We also have to prepare all week on substitution changes and different playing situations on both sides of the football."
Defensive coordinator Mike Breske has determined who all 11 starters will be on his side of the football.
The Griz have seven-plus starters on defense, including all three linebackers, three players up front (one part-time), and two players in the secondary.
Starters up front will be senior Bobby Alt (Ontario, Calif.) and Ryan Fetherston (East Helena), both returning starters, at the end spots, and seniors Ben Hughes (Grants Pass, Ore.) and Bryan Waldhauser (Worden) at tackle.
Alt started nine games a year ago and was 10th on the team in tackles with 40, while Fetherston had six starts and tied Alt with 40 stops. Waldhauser was a second team All-Big Sky Conference pick a year ago when he tied for the sixth most tackles with 50, and started all 11 contests. This will be Hughes' first start.
Seniors Caleb McSurdy (11 starts) and Alex Shaw (10 starts), along with junior Jordan Tripp (11 starts) are back in their starting berths at linebacker. McSurdy (Boise) had a team-high 112 tackles last season, while Shaw (Spokane) had the fourth most with 62, and Tripp (Missoula) was second on the squad with 99. McSurdy was second team all-league last year, while Tripp was an honorable mention selection.
Returning starter and Buck Buchanan Award candidate Trumaine Johnson (Stockton, Calif.) will be starting for the fourth season in a row, while fellow senior Houston Roots (Sacramento, Calif.) gets the nod at the other corner spot. Veteran Mike McCord (Phoenix) will start at strong safety, and another senior, Andrew Badger (Elmer, N.J.) earned the berth at free safety.
Johnson, who was named to numerous All-American teams last season was ninth at UM last year with 44 tackles and second with four interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns. Roots, who transferred to Montana last season from Sierra College (Rocklin, Calif.), will be starting for the first time.
McCord is a three-year letterman who started eight games and was eighth on the team in tackles (45) last season before he was sidelined by an injury. Badger played in 10 games a year ago and is a first-year starter.
There are still several starting jobs up for grabs on offense. However, the O-line, which has three starters back, has its number of guys in place.
The Griz return two veteran starters back at tackle in seniors Charles Burton (Long Beach, Calif.) and Jon Opperud (Portland, Ore.). Both players are three-year lettermen, and Burton was named honorable mention all-conference last season, while Opperud received that honor two years ago.
Senior Stephen Sabin (Chandler, Ariz.) had nine starts at left guard a year ago and now will start at center. Two talented young behemoths, Danny Kistler Jr. (6-8, 315 from Seattle) and Williams Poehls (6-8, 331 from Chandler, Ariz.) will start at right and left guard, respectively. Kistler started twice last season, while Poehls will have his first career start at Tennessee.
Seniors Antwon Moutra (Carson, Calif.) and Jabin Sambrano (Temecula) will start again at wide receiver, along with junior Sam Gratton (Billings). Moutra led the Griz with 600 receiving yards for six touchdowns and was honorable mention all-league in 2010. Sambrano was second with 39 catches for 584 yards and Gratton had 28 receptions for 327 yards and four scores.
Either returning starter Greg Hardy (Fairview) or Kavario Middleton (Lakewood, Wash.) will start at tight end. Hardy had 17 catches for one score last season.
At running back either junior Peter Nguyen (Seattle) or redshirt freshman Jordan Canada (Duarte, Calif.) will start. Nguyen has been an all-league returner the past two seasons, but had just 17 rushes for 37 yards last season. Canada has not played for a couple of seasons, but he rushed for 1,900 yards and 19 touchdowns as a junior at Duarte High School.
The quarterback starting job is also up in the air, and either sophomore Jordan Johnson (Eugene, Ore.) or junior Gerald Kemp (San Diego, Calif.) will get that role. Johnson saw limited duty a year ago as a true freshman and attempted just 20 passes in six games. Kemp was moved to running back last season and was UM's second leading rusher as a running back and a QB in the "wildcat," gaining 224 yards on 45 carries, but he has yet to score a touchdown.
"With Jordy (Johnson) not taking reps today it's tough to evaluate that position," Pflugrad said. "I like what are tight ends are doing, but is there a guy who is better than the other? We probably can't say that until they show us what they can do in a game. At tailback, Canada again did not take any reps, so that's getting to the point where we almost have to go with someone else unless he has a tremendous week and shows us that he is healthy and ready to go."
Kicker/punter Brody McKnight (Vancouver, Wash.) will handle all of the kicking duties right now, but may not have punting responsibilities. McKnight was second team all-league last season at kicker when he made 14-of-18 field goals.
Senior Sean Wren (Yorba Linda, Calif.) is vying for the starting berth at punter, as is true freshman Stephen Shaw (Boise), and McKnight. Wren averaged 41.2 yards per punt as a sophomore, but lost his starting job to McKnight after three games last season.
GRIZ NOTES: The Grizzlies had their last two-a-day practice this afternoon (Friday, August 26th). Tomorrow they take team photos in the morning and then get Sunday off. School starts on Monday, August 29th at UM.
The players wore helmets, shorts, and shoulder pads in this afternoon's practice. They watched various videos on Griz Vision of one of Tennessee's home games from last year. As the players watched the videos their position coaches talked to them on a microphone about what type of formation UT was in, and then the players simulated a play.
The team will begin their practice at the Riverbowl fields on campus at approximately 3:10 p.m. on Monday, and then move into Washington-Grizzly Stadium for the last part of practice.
The team departs for Knoxville around 10 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 2, via charter aircraft, with the flight taking around four-and-a-half hours. The are schedule to arrive around 5:00 p.m. (Eastern time).
The Montana-Tennessee game will be available on television ONLY on ESPN Game Plan which is available to purchase via Direct TV or Dish Network.
