Griz show all around improvement on day five

Practice No. 5
Full pads

The Montana Grizzlies suited up in full pads for the first time in the 2016 fall camp as the offensive unit, defensive unit and the special teams each enjoyed standout moments throughout the Saturday morning session.

"It was a great practice overall because offensively we started off really well and got some things done, and the defense finished it really, really well and shut the offense down," said Montana head coach Bob Stitt.

Day 5 of #GrizFallCamp in the books! @CoachBobStitt and the @VoiceoftheGriz breakdown today's practice.#GoGriz pic.twitter.com/l9zFiqPSFx
— UM Griz Football (@UMGRIZZLIES_FB) August 13, 2016

Though in full pads, the Griz showed a calm determination to put together a disciplined, yet productive and energetic practice, making the most out of each repetition during individual and positional work, seven-on-seven passing and full 11-on-11 drives.

After installing the offense in the first two days of camp, the Grizzlies continued to fine tune the playbook in different situations with plenty of new faces to get on the same page.

@CoachNolanSwett on the #GrizFootball corps of receivers with the @VoiceoftheGriz after day 5 of #GrizFallCamp pic.twitter.com/2gCo8gJ5LE
— UM Griz Football (@UMGRIZZLIES_FB) August 13, 2016

The defensive line once again looked like it will be one of the strongest forces in the Big Sky, pressuring the quarterbacks at nearly every snap of the ball.

Montana will get one more full pads practice in before Saturday's scrimmage.

Play of the day: Saturday's play of the day went to one of the newcomers on the defensive side of the ball. Korey Alexander, a junior transfer defensive back out of Los Medanos Junior College hauled in a spectacular interception.

Quarterback Reese Phillips scrambled out of the pocket toward the left sideline and tried to float a pass over a defender while on the run. Alexander made a backwards diving grab to collect his first interception of fall camp.

Today's top targets: Sophomore wide receiver Keenan Curran continues to establish himself as one of coach Nolan Swett's most dangerous outside receivers. Curran has shown his physical ability throughout camp to take balls out of the air and the speed to finish once the ball is caught, hauling in a deep touchdown pass during an 11-v-11 session on Saturday.

Blinn JC transfer James Homan again received plenty of attention from the Griz quarterbacks. His speed on the outside and crisp routes will make him one for fans to keep an eye on.

Sophomore Justin Calhoun, brother of running back Jeremy Calhoun, had a strong day and is also emerging as a leader in the wide receiver corps. Likewise, Kobey Eaton has continued his solid form from spring ball and made several of the top plays on the ball on day five. Colin Bingham also continues to make plays, as does true freshman Samori Toure, who also hauled in a touchdown pass on Saturday.

WR Keenan Curran talks with the @VoiceoftheGriz on the progression of the receivers at #GrizFallCamp. #WeAreMT pic.twitter.com/N1bpyRWb8W
— UM Griz Football (@UMGRIZZLIES_FB) August 13, 2016

Next up: The Griz will have one more practice on Sunday and a walkthrough on Monday morning before taking the field for the first scrimmage of the season at 4 p.m. The scrimmage is open to the public and is scheduled to be the first event on the new turf at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

This week's schedule:
Sunday August 14: 8AM: Full pads
Monday August 15 (Scrimmage 1): 8AM: Shells| 4PM: Scrimmage (Open to public)

University of Montana Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Korey Alexander

Colin Bingham

Jeremy Calhoun

Justin Calhoun

Keenan Curran

Kobey Eaton

Reese Phillips

Samori Toure

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