Know your Griz: Justin Strong

At each home game this season, GoGriz.com will help you get to know a Grizzly senior with a Q&A that first appears in the game day program.

On week three, we sat down with senior safety Justin Strong, who led the Griz with nine tackles and a half TFL at Washington. A fitting performance for Strong as one of the few Griz that has faced UW in the past, having played against them in 2014 during his time at Oregon State when he recorded six tackles as a freshman.

Be sure to pick up a copy of the game day program this Saturday when the Griz host rival Eastern Washington to meet senior defensive end Tucker Schye.

###

GoGriz.com: You have six brothers and sisters in your family, but your brother Victor Butler played in the NFL and now the CFL. What kind of influence did he have on your football career?

Strong: My big brother had a huge influence on my career, as far as showing me the possibilities that come with playing the game of football. I grew up loving football as a little boy. My dad was my coach all the way up until high school, and he always told me it's a difference between liking football and loving football. Being around my older brother, I started to distinguish the difference, and I started loving football more than life itself. As a young boy 15-16, I missed out on vacations, family trips, and all types of fun, because I understood that I wouldn't be able to achieve my goals without sacrificing. I watched my brother work out every single night after he got home from practice. He would make me work with him, and he would tell me everybody who wants to reach the same goal as you is asleep right now, and it was true. I started surpassing all my friends in high school and was playing at a different level. So the influence my brother had on my career was a great one. My dad made him work in a way that he couldn't be defeated, and as a good big brother does, he passed it on to me. I started taking everything about football seriously. If I made a bad play my mom and dad would criticize me after every game, so I hate making mistakes and when I do I make sure I never make it again. I was brought up in an extremely competitive household, so sometimes I feel like I have to strive for perfection.

GoGriz.com: How did you end up going from Rialto, California all the way up to Oregon State?

Strong: My Junior year of high school I played extremely well, and my team ended up winning the C.I.F championship. Going into that summer I had a lot of schools coming to check me out, but my grades held me back from receiving more offers. I was blessed to still end up with four opportunities to further my football career. Oregon State was at the top of my offers which included San Diego State, Nevada, and Wyoming. I always wanted to play in the Pac-12, so it was a no brainer once I received a call from Coach Mike Riley at Oregon State.

GoGriz.com: You had success at Oregon State your Freshman year, playing in all 12 games for the Beavers. What was it like getting thrown into the deep end of Pac-12 football as a freshman and succeeding?

Strong: Football is such a fast game. I never had time to think about the fact that I was actually going to be on the stage that I always dreamed about. It all started when spring ball hit after my redshirt year, I was making play after play, and my name started buzzing amongst the coaching staff. I came back to Oregon State for fall camp highly motivated to get on the field and I ended up getting 12 or 13 interceptions in camp. I jumped from 4th string to 1st string in all packages except the base package which was held by two seniors. Even though I didn't start, I was still getting at least 65-70 snaps a game. One of the things that made me excel at Oregon State is the fact that I was young. I was 19 playing with a defense full of seniors, so I had no choice but to step my game up.

GoGriz.com: What was your path from Corvallis, Oregon to Missoula like? What was it about the program here at UM that made you want to be a Grizzly?

Strong: My path from Corvallis to Missoula was not smooth at all. It took a lot of time for me to find my passion for football again. Once I found it, I took a labor job where I made enough money to pay my last month's rent and get a U-Haul to make the nine-hour drive from Corvallis to Missoula. I was out of football for so long that I had no idea of what to do with my life, and my mom worked on finding me another school. When she brought up Montana, I was skeptical because I never heard of the school before. But after talking with the coaches, I got a strong sense that they genuinely wanted me in their program. Since arriving here they have all showed me love and have been there for me, even when I don't ask for help.

GoGriz.com: You're a sociology major. Any ideas yet what you want to do after football?

Strong: I'm a sociology major with a criminal justice option, and I'm in this field for a couple of reasons. I had friends who made a lot of bad decisions and ended up getting in trouble with the law. I've been looking into the field of probation and parole officer because I want to make a difference in people's lives. I know first-hand a lot of my friends would have made it far if they had someone telling them right from wrong, and showing them different ways to affect someone's life positively.

GoGriz.com: How have you embraced being a senior leader on Montana's defensive unit?

Strong: The biggest thing that helped me embrace my leadership role on this defense came from the players embracing me the way they did when I came in the summer of 2016. Coming in, I felt like a freshman all over again. New city, new coaches. I was honestly nervous because I had no idea what to expect. The last thing I wanted was for my new teammates to feel like I was entitled to anything because I was coming from the Pac-12. So I worked hard to make friendships amongst my team, and earn their trust. And now that it's my senior year and year two with the Griz I feel like the chemistry amongst all of us is great and every single person on this roster is involved in what we're trying to accomplish this year. Another big thing that helped me take a leadership role is the fact that I'm humble and easy to reach, I'm willing to do anything for my teammates, and they all know that.

University of Montana Athletics

Related News

Players Mentioned

Tucker Schye

Justin Strong

Related Videos