Newcomers Pillans and Knight ready to make an impact in first season
8/16/2019 7:32:00 PM | Football
There are plenty of new faces around fall camp at Dornblaser Field, and there will be several newcomers that take the field inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium for the first time this fall. But there are a couple of players that, while they still haven't played a competitive game in a Montana uniform yet, have already had months of experience in Head Coach Bobby Hauck's program.
Marcus Knight will compete for the starting running back job this season after transferring to Montana from Citrus College. The sophomore averaged 83 yards per game and scored eight touchdowns in his only season there, going along with some impressive academics. He was a big pick up for Hauck and his staff.
"Getting Marcus here, he is just such a unique guy. He's a junior college running back with a 4.0 GPA, he's kind of a sasquatch or a yeti or something, he's a mythical creature," Hauck said of the running back. "He's an awesome guy to bring into the program. He's done a nice job. For him to go from a small high school and then to junior college and then to now getting into a division one football program and offseason program, he's made some great strides."
Knight arrived at Montana in the spring, as did offensive lineman Kordell Pillans. Pillans, a 6-foot-6 transfer from Mesa Community College, said that coming in the spring made him more comfortable. He got a head start in learning the offense, meeting his coaches and teammates.
After going through spring ball and an intense summer workout period, Pillans says he feels right at home.
"Everybody up here is hard-working, and it's a great environment to be in. Everybody is there to get to work and get better every day, there isn't really a day when somebody comes in and is just moping around," Pillans said. "It's really fun, especially during the summer when everyone was waking up at five in the morning and getting in there ready to go. It's exciting."
But the native Alaskans first impression of Missoula?
"I was like, 'Man, this place is cold.' I just got out of Arizona. Kodiak, Alaska is an island in south-central Alaska, and it stays pretty warm. I don't think I've ever gone through winter when I was waking up and it was negative 20."
He should figure into the offensive line this season and is competing for a starting spot during fall camp. After playing at a smaller high school and then a community college, the jump to the D-I level has helped him improve on his game.
There aren't many major differences he said, but the details that they focus on have helped his game evolve over the past months.
"I've learned from the coaches and the other guys just little things about playing," Pillans said. "There is a ton of stuff, just little things that have been missed throughout high school and junior college. Scheme stuff, hand placement, little stuff that coming here I've learned over the last few months."
Gallery: (8/16/2019) FB:: Fall Camp Practice 10
For Knight, arriving at Montana in the spring helped him get accustomed to the speed of the D-I game. He said he was shocked at first, but now in fall camp feels comfortable with the pace of practice and the physicality of the game.
Practice has been the biggest adjustment for Knight. He said practice for him used to be a learning period. Now, he said, the expectations are that that the learning periods come before practice. Once you take the field, you better know what you are doing. The attention to every detail before and during practice is something that has helped his game grow.
"(Before Montana), I'd been pretty much just running, feeling it out and having fun with it," Knight said. "Now, I'm learning what the linebackers are doing, what the D-line is doing, what my line is doing, and where they might go. All of that stuff, I think I have just progressed and become a smarter football player."
His first impression of Montana was that it is cold and there aren't a lot of people. But he's learned about the history of Grizzly football and knows he is part of something special.
"It was definitely a selling point of wanting to come here," Knight said of the culture of the program. "I don't think there's another place like it in the country. People really care about what you do, and it makes it more fun."
The two newcomers mix in well with the returning players, who completed their tenth practice of the fall on Friday. There were several highlights from a practice that saw the players take the field in helmets and shoulder pads only.
Robby Hauck continued his great fall with an impressive interception in one-on-one drills against the wide receivers. Running back Adam Eastwood scored a long touchdown on a wheel route during skeleton drill, and Dareon Nash jumped a route a few plays later for an interception.
In full 11-on-11 play, Dante Olson picked off a pass and took it to the house. Nash then continued what was an excellent day for him with multiple pass breakups, which continued into more one-on-one drills.
The team worked on red-zone execution, and during that time Samori Toure made a toe-tapping grab at the back of the end zone for a touchdown. In a balanced day, however, Gavin Crow won back some bragging rights for the defense with an interception in the end zone.
Drew Turner also had a long touchdown run later in practice.
Montana will return to action on Saturday in a closed-door session before helping new UM students move into the dorms that afternoon. The team will take Sunday off before entering week three of fall camp on Monday.
Marcus Knight will compete for the starting running back job this season after transferring to Montana from Citrus College. The sophomore averaged 83 yards per game and scored eight touchdowns in his only season there, going along with some impressive academics. He was a big pick up for Hauck and his staff.
"Getting Marcus here, he is just such a unique guy. He's a junior college running back with a 4.0 GPA, he's kind of a sasquatch or a yeti or something, he's a mythical creature," Hauck said of the running back. "He's an awesome guy to bring into the program. He's done a nice job. For him to go from a small high school and then to junior college and then to now getting into a division one football program and offseason program, he's made some great strides."
Knight arrived at Montana in the spring, as did offensive lineman Kordell Pillans. Pillans, a 6-foot-6 transfer from Mesa Community College, said that coming in the spring made him more comfortable. He got a head start in learning the offense, meeting his coaches and teammates.
After going through spring ball and an intense summer workout period, Pillans says he feels right at home.
"Everybody up here is hard-working, and it's a great environment to be in. Everybody is there to get to work and get better every day, there isn't really a day when somebody comes in and is just moping around," Pillans said. "It's really fun, especially during the summer when everyone was waking up at five in the morning and getting in there ready to go. It's exciting."
But the native Alaskans first impression of Missoula?
"I was like, 'Man, this place is cold.' I just got out of Arizona. Kodiak, Alaska is an island in south-central Alaska, and it stays pretty warm. I don't think I've ever gone through winter when I was waking up and it was negative 20."
He should figure into the offensive line this season and is competing for a starting spot during fall camp. After playing at a smaller high school and then a community college, the jump to the D-I level has helped him improve on his game.
There aren't many major differences he said, but the details that they focus on have helped his game evolve over the past months.
"I've learned from the coaches and the other guys just little things about playing," Pillans said. "There is a ton of stuff, just little things that have been missed throughout high school and junior college. Scheme stuff, hand placement, little stuff that coming here I've learned over the last few months."
For Knight, arriving at Montana in the spring helped him get accustomed to the speed of the D-I game. He said he was shocked at first, but now in fall camp feels comfortable with the pace of practice and the physicality of the game.
Practice has been the biggest adjustment for Knight. He said practice for him used to be a learning period. Now, he said, the expectations are that that the learning periods come before practice. Once you take the field, you better know what you are doing. The attention to every detail before and during practice is something that has helped his game grow.
"(Before Montana), I'd been pretty much just running, feeling it out and having fun with it," Knight said. "Now, I'm learning what the linebackers are doing, what the D-line is doing, what my line is doing, and where they might go. All of that stuff, I think I have just progressed and become a smarter football player."
His first impression of Montana was that it is cold and there aren't a lot of people. But he's learned about the history of Grizzly football and knows he is part of something special.
"It was definitely a selling point of wanting to come here," Knight said of the culture of the program. "I don't think there's another place like it in the country. People really care about what you do, and it makes it more fun."
The two newcomers mix in well with the returning players, who completed their tenth practice of the fall on Friday. There were several highlights from a practice that saw the players take the field in helmets and shoulder pads only.
Robby Hauck continued his great fall with an impressive interception in one-on-one drills against the wide receivers. Running back Adam Eastwood scored a long touchdown on a wheel route during skeleton drill, and Dareon Nash jumped a route a few plays later for an interception.
In full 11-on-11 play, Dante Olson picked off a pass and took it to the house. Nash then continued what was an excellent day for him with multiple pass breakups, which continued into more one-on-one drills.
The team worked on red-zone execution, and during that time Samori Toure made a toe-tapping grab at the back of the end zone for a touchdown. In a balanced day, however, Gavin Crow won back some bragging rights for the defense with an interception in the end zone.
Drew Turner also had a long touchdown run later in practice.
Montana will return to action on Saturday in a closed-door session before helping new UM students move into the dorms that afternoon. The team will take Sunday off before entering week three of fall camp on Monday.
That's a Pick-6️⃣ for our guy @danteolson25!#GoGriz #RTD #GrizCamp pic.twitter.com/FblHPKEozD
— Montana Griz Football (@MontanaGrizFB) August 16, 2019
👀👀 Adam Eastwood reaches WAY back behind him for the grab and it's a... TOUCHDOWN, MONTANA!#GoGriz #RTD #GrizCamp pic.twitter.com/NG2AdyXqCa
— Montana Griz Football (@MontanaGrizFB) August 17, 2019
#GrizD rolled hard today with another Pick-6️⃣, this time from Nash Fouch!#GoGriz #RTD #GrizCamp pic.twitter.com/RELDzWsPfI
— Montana Griz Football (@MontanaGrizFB) August 17, 2019
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