Light up the scoreboard – A breakdown of the 2020 Grizzly offense

With a true dual-threat quarterback dealing to a pair of record-breakers at running back and receiver, the 2019 Montana Grizzly offense was, at times, as potent as it's ever been in the program's 100-plus year history.

Montana scored more than 500 points and outscored its opponents by an average of more than 11 points en route to the team's first FCS Quarterfinal appearance in a decade and its first 10-win season since 2013 last year.

Led by eventual CFL signee Dalton Sneed with two games of backup brilliance from Cam Humphrey, the Griz finished the year ranked No. 6 with a top-10 passing offense. Samori Toure racked up more receiving yards than anyone in Montana history, and Samuel Akem was well on his way to a thousand-yard season before suffering an injury.

And just because the Griz were passing the ball doesn't mean the run game suffered. Marcus Knight, a sophomore junior college transfer, exploded on the scene as the Big Sky Newcomer of the Year with a school-record and FCS-best 25 touchdowns and 1,030 rushing yards.

Looking ahead to 2020, Montana's offensive unit is poised to once again be one of the most lethal and experienced in FCS football with three returning Al-Americans, four returning All-Big Sky performers, and 10 returners with three or more starts last year.

Could the offense improve? Sure. The quest for football perfection has never been achieved.

But despite having to replace one of the most efficient and competitive QBs ever at UM, and having the team's spring season sawed in half due to coronavirus concerns, head coach Bobby Hauck thinks this year's offensive scheme and personnel are once again going to be a strength.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it," said Hauck in the latest episode of the Inside the Den podcast.

"Spring ball is a great opportunity to tinker with our scheme and actually try it out in live college football looks to see if it's working.

"That's a byproduct of not being able to complete spring ball. We didn't get a lot of lab time. But we did get some, and we've got some new stuff on offense we really like.

"We did tinker around a little bit with it, and I really feel good about it."

So what, or who, has Hauck feeling so good about this year's offense? Let's go through the position groups.

Quarterback: It's not often that when a two-year starting quarterback graduates that a team has the luxury of a backup that earned two wins, threw for nearly 800 yards and six touchdowns is waiting in the wings.

Humphrey has been there and done that for Griz football, filling in superbly for Sneed when he went down with an injury late last season. And in a recent interview with GoGriz.com, he says he was also confident in the ability of this year's offensive group to pick up where it left off.

"Within two to three practices, it felt like we had been practicing for two months. We just got right back into it. So, it's such a bummer we weren't able to finish it because the strides we were taking every day was so impressive, but we got some good things out of it. We got the most we could for the time we had," said Humphrey.

But no spot is ever given. All eyes were on the quarterback position battle heading into spring, with freshman Kris Brown and sophomore Robbie Patterson competing for Sneed's vacant starting job as well. After six practices, Hauck says that Humphrey's experience has him in the lead going into fall.

"Cam has experience in the offense, so he should be ahead, and he is, in terms of that competition. I would say that of the whole football team, the guys that not being able to complete spring practice was most detrimental to would be Kris Brown and Robbie Patterson," said Hauck in the podcast.

"You can't learn to play quarterback watching video, or on a simulator, or out there throwing routes. You have to play it. It's got to be chaos in front of you, bodies all over the place. They need repetition. So, that probably inhibited those guys grown a whole bunch, but they did some good things. We feel good about our quarterbacks."

Running Back: The whole country took notice of Montana's newfound run game last year, with Knight rushing for more touchdowns than anyone in all of Division-I football except Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor, an expected early-round NFL draft pick.

While Knight grabbed all the headlines and rushed his way to the top of Montana's record book, Hauck says Montana won't be a one-trick pony in the run game next season.

With the emergence of true freshman Nick Ostmo rushing for 319 yards and a pair of TDs, and Kalispell native Drew Turner striking an impressive physical stature, Montana's depth at running back might be its greatest asset in 2020.

"I think we have a good corps of guys. I think we have guys that can go in the game, carry the ball and take care of it, and get yards," said Hauck.

"He (Ostmo) has got great power and size. Nick's doing a good job.

"Turner's probably had as much improvement, from A to B in terms of his accomplishment in becoming a better college football player, as anybody on the team."

Wide Receivers: Samori, Sammy, Mitch, Sulser. They're all really good. Everyone agree? Good. Next.

But seriously folks, while UM lost the likes of Jerry Louie-McGee to graduation, who, despite small stature grew to legendary Grizzly status, the cupboard is anything bare in receiver coach Brent Pease's room.

Montana's offense is set to return not one, but potentially two of the greatest receivers in program history in 2020 in Akem and Toure. As a group, the Griz return 81-percent of last year's production at receiver, or 3,453 of last year's 4,221 total yards, and 26 of 32 touchdown catches, and those two are responsible for the bulk of it. When they were covered, Mitch Roberts was reliable for a big catch when his name was called too.

With seemingly unmatched one-on-one ability in the Big Sky, whoever wins the quarterback battle will have luxurious options out wide. That's a give in.

"It's a good crew, and obviously, the guys who had big games last year, Samori, Mitch, and Sammy, all had huge games at different times," said Hauck.

"When those guys are maned up on the outside with one safety deep, its hard on them if you've got wide receivers that can just beat DBs for the ball, and those guys can."

But what might make the Grizzlies' receivers even more dangerous is who else lines this year.

"We talk about Mitch, Samori, and Sammy a lot. The guys in that depth that will all make plays is pretty comforting," Hauck added.

Montana fans already know the name Malik Flowers as the only player to run back two kickoffs for TDs in the FCS last year and also set a new school record for total kick return yards with a league-leading 879.

Gabe Sulser is also back from injury and set to fill the role vacated by Louie-McGee, having proved himself with a touchdown on his first career touch of the ball as a freshman against Sacramento State.

New names to keep an eye on include redshirt freshmen Keelan White, who impressed enough last year to play in three games before preserving his redshirt status, and Bozeman's Ryan Simpson, the tallest receiver in the group at 6-foot-6.

"He (Simpson) put on 26 pounds since he walked in the door. He doesn't look like he's got spaghetti hanging out of his sleeves anymore. He's transforming himself into a college football player and was having a great spring season before we got derailed," said Hauck.

Tight Ends: The Griz lose a Montana blue-blood to graduation in Colin Bingham, but the tight ends are another group that is also expected to be deep and talented in 2020.

Bryson Deming, Matt Rensvold, and Joey Elwell made a combined 26 appearances and scored four touchdowns last season, with Rensvold missing the bulk of the year due to injury.

Hauck also added to the group this spring, bringing over freshman Cole Grossman from the defensive side of the ball. Tall and athletic, Grossman made an immediate impact during spring ball with a handful of eye-popping grabs.

"Cole's a guy that's got great athletic ability," said Hauck. "He really took to it (tight end), and was having a really good spring."

Offensive Line: If there was one position group on the offensive side of the ball to put a question mark next to over the last few seasons, it might have been the big men up front.

Piecemealed together with athletes moved from other positions, Montana's O-line punched above its weight in 2019, helping pave the way for Knight's record-breaking season.

Now Hauck thinks the offensive line is set to transition from an area of concern to an area of strength.

"To their credit, they got the job done in a big way," said Hauck of last year's line.

With the addition of Kordell Pillans and Moses Mallory to add size to the group, the emergence of Dylan Cook as a force at tackle, the experience of Conlan Beaver and Colton Keintz, the O-line will be hugely experienced in 2020.

"These guys have worked at it. They've really embraced it. I was really enjoying working with them this spring. It was fun for me to be around them. I think they're enjoying the game more," said Hauck.

"I'm encouraged by the offensive line. I think they'll have a good year next year."

Another reason to believe in the 2020 O-line? Depth. And lots of it. Youngsters like Skyler Martin, Tyler Ganoung, Gerrit Bloemendaal, and Cody Kanouse are ready to make an impact.

"The one thing we have is really good competition. Good, spirited competition. They're helping each other; they're fighting tooth and nail to be in the first group. And I could see the eventuality next fall where we're rolling guys on the offensive line. I think that will be really productive," Hauck added.

###

Tune in to next week's Inside the Den Podcast where Hauck and "Voice of the Griz" Riley Corcoran break down the defensive side of the ball.

University of Montana Athletics

Light up the scoreboard – A breakdown of the 2020 Grizzly offense

Players Mentioned

Samuel Akem

Conlan Beaver

Colin Bingham

Gerrit Bloemendaal

Kris Brown

Dylan Cook

Bryson Deming

Joey Elwell

Malik Flowers

Tyler Ganoung

Cole Grossman

Cam Humphrey

Cody Kanouse

Colton Keintz

Marcus Knight

Jerry Louie-McGee

Moses Mallory

Skyler Martin

Nick Ostmo

Robbie Patterson

Kordell Pillans

Matt Rensvold

Mitch Roberts

Ryan Simpson

Dalton Sneed

Gabe Sulser

Samori Toure

Drew Turner

Keelan White

Related Videos