A year battle-tested, Griz corners ready for a breakout season

Justin Calhoun and Dareon Nash had a bit of a trial by fire in the 2018 season. The two players, initially brought to Montana to play wide receiver, have converted to the cornerback position since arriving in Missoula.

It was a difficult transition for the pair, as they freely admit. The speed of the game is different, and there is a lot to learn when playing across from the receivers instead of as one. But the pair now has a year of experience under their belts and are the leaders of a group of corners with very different backgrounds.

"I think the first year I was really learning a lot," Calhoun said of the position switch. "I was seeing a lot of different things that I had never seen before because high school and college are two different things. Now I'm starting to get it, and it's starting to click better for me."

The two both said that it has been more challenging to learn the defensive side of the ball than it was the offensive. They have competed in plenty of one-on-one drills against the receivers this fall, and both have had their big moments. It is an "iron sharpens iron" situation, according to Calhoun.

The experience as a receiver doesn't necessarily translate into the cornerback position, either. While you know the releases and the routes from your time as a receiver, any cornerback can learn those things as well. And they've had a lot more time to adjust to the speed of D-I receivers. It takes time to adjust to the speed of the game, something Calhoun and Nash both had to do already as receivers. But now they have to adjust again.

"At receiver, it was tough (adjusting to the speed), and I thought I had it down," Calhoun said. "Then (corner) was just a lot faster and a lot louder, I switched positions, and it is way different on the defensive side."

Gallery: (8/9/2019) FB:: Fall Camp Practice 4

Kobey Eaton is also a converted wide receiver playing corner this year. Kadeem Hemphill (San Jose St.) and Raeshawn Roland (Coll. of the Canyons) and Mykal Tolliver (Hawaii) are all transfers that add depth to the position, to go along with some freshmen. While Calhoun was forced to learn on the fly last year, he has emerged as the group's leader.

"As a group, I feel like we're all learning," Nash said. "We have some leaders like Justin in our group that keep us going, but I feel like as a whole, everyone has evolved from last year. We were kind of new and learning the defense, but I feel like we're getting the hang of it now."

The most difficult part of playing corner, according to Nash? The isolation.

"I would say you are just by yourself. If you make a mistake it is easy to notice," Nash said. "You can't point the finger at anyone, so it's kind of just one man on an island, and if you make a mistake it's on you."

With that being said, the challenge of taking on an opposing player is also what drives them to compete even more. Nash said that he doesn't like losing, a trait shared by all of the best corners. The most important part of playing cornerback is having the confidence that you can make a stop when the time comes.

"You have to have some type of swagger to you," Nash said. "Confidence is probably one of the biggest things you can have at corner, and a no-lose mentality."

Head coach Bobby Hauck likes what he has seen out of the receiver converts in their second year. Like anything, he says it just takes practice and reps.

"Certainly, when you move from wide receiver to corner or vice versa there are some intricacies that are at the position that takes time," Hauck said. "You only get those by playing it, so they've done a nice job and gotten better, and I'm hoping they have a big year. I think they are capable of it."

The team ran through drills with helmets and shoulder pads again on Friday, playing through some rain in the process. The team continued to alternate between skeleton passing drills and full team play, mixed with individual drills. There was also quite a bit of
special teams practice on the day.

The day started off with a nice defensive play by a couple of the younger players on the team. Redshirt freshman Tyler Flink tipped an early pass, and freshman Nick Guerena made an impressive diving interception. The offense got some revenge in the form of some nice catches by freshman Keelan White. The first skeleton drill of the day ended with a big celebration from the defense after a big hit by freshman Braxton Hill.

In full team play, Nash Fouch jumped a shallow pass and returned it for a pick-six. Shortly after Jerry Louie-McGee caught a long touchdown pass, bursting past the defense. Samori Toure also had a big touchdown grab on the day, but it was Fouch that ended the practice in style, diving for his second interception of the day.

Montana will hold open practices over the weekend, starting at roughly 2:30 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday at Dornblaser Field.

Griz Fall Camp Schedule
Saturday, Aug. 10: Practice 5
Sunday, Aug. 11: Practice 6
Monday, Aug. 12: OFF
Tuesday, Aug. 13: Practice 7
Wednesday, Aug. 14: Practice 8
Thursday, Aug. 15: Practice 9
Friday, Aug. 16: Practice 10
Saturday, Aug. 17: Practice 11 (9:30-11 a.m.)
Sunday, Aug. 18: OFF
Monday, Aug. 19: Practice 12
Tuesday, Aug. 20: Practice 13
Wednesday, Aug. 21: Practice 14
Thursday, Aug. 22: Practice 15 (10:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.)
Friday, Aug. 23: Closed Practice / Great Griz Encounter
Saturday, Aug. 24: Closed Practice
Sunday, Aug. 25: OFF
Monday, Aug. 26: Practice 18 (Washington-Grizzly Stadium)
Tuesday, Aug. 27: Practice 19 (Riverbowl)
Wednesday, Aug. 28: Practice 20 (Riverbowl)
Thursday, Aug. 29: Closed Practice
Friday, Aug. 30: Travel
Saturday, Aug. 31: vs South Dakota, 1 p.m. (MT) on ESPN Plus.

University of Montana Athletics

A year battle-tested, Griz corners ready for a breakout season

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Players Mentioned

Justin Calhoun

Kobey Eaton

Tyler Flink

Nash Fouch

Nick Guerena

Kadeem Hemphill

Braxton Hill

Jerry Louie-McGee

Dareon Nash

Mykal Tolliver

Samori Toure

Keelan White

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