Griz D looking to develop depth in spring season

How do you replace a guy like Dante Olson, the 2019 Buck Buchanan Award winner and most prolific tackler in Montana history?

Short answer: you don't.

"It's an 11-man deal. It's not just one player, it all works together, and I feel pretty good about our two-deep on defense," says head coach Bobby Hauck.

And when fans look at the personnel on that Grizzly defensive roster for the 2021 season, they should feel pretty good too.

The Montana Grizzlies returned to the practice field last Friday with seven starters and nine regular contributors from 2019's defensive unit that was ranked second in the Big Sky in stopping the run and top-five overall.

They also return the fall 2020 preseason Defensive Player of the Year, as well as a pair of preseason All-Americans, to a deep group that has only gotten deeper since that season was put on hold by the pandemic.

Montana – long known for stifling defenses under Hauck – appears to be on track to keep that tradition alive in the spring of 2021 and beyond.

Here's a group-by-group breakdown of the Montana defense as spring ball gets underway.

LINEBACKER

Even with Olson's departure, one glance at the season stats from 2019, and you know why Jace Lewis was picked at Montana's third-straight preseason defensive MVP.

The senior from Townsend racked up 131 total tackles his junior season, the third-most in the Big Sky Conference behind Idaho's Trey Walker and… Olson… with the two Grizzly 'backers totaling 310 stops between them.

But that absurd amount of production didn't leave room for many other linebackers to see much action in 2019, and now with Olson gone, it's time for the up-and-comers in the group to make up for lost time.

"We need some development at linebacker. It's probably our youngest group, and we need some of those young guys to come on, and frankly, we need some of our more veteran players to improve their play. So, to me, the linebacker position is probably one of the biggest question marks on the team right now," said Hauck.

"But I'm confident the work those guys are putting in and the ability level will lend itself to us being solid there."

Kalispell native Patrick O'Connell is one of the team's youngsters who burst on the scene last year, dialing up a team-high six and a half sacks as a sophomore.

Two other juniors, Marcus Welnel and Michael Matthews, and sophomores Braxton Hill and Tyler Flink will each be in the mix for a starting role this year, bringing a combined 44 appearances worth of experience from 2019 back this year.

With Big Sky's Levi Janacaro in the mix along with Loyola's Ryan Tirrell and Coeur d'Alene's Kale Edwards, Montana has plenty of local talent at the position to fill out the two-deep.

CORNERBACK

When Hauck returned to Montana, the cornerback group was piecemealed together with unproven youngsters and converted receivers.

But this year will be different. Hauck and his staff went out and brought in players that have the experience at the highest levels and athleticism to turn the group from a question mark into an exclamation point.

Joining the squad since the fall of 2019 are Oregon State transfers Omar Hicks Onu, a senior, and TraJon Cotton, a sophomore, that bring Pac-12 experience to the group. Also competing for a starting spot will be Justin Ford, who comes to Missoula from Louisville, where he missed the 2019 season due to injury, but before that was considered one of the top junior college corners in the country.

Add sophomore Corbin Walker to the mix, who scored a 47-yard pick-six in the FCS playoffs as a freshman, and the Griz are looking deep.

"We finally have corners. At least on paper, it's a position of strength for us. We've got great depth there. Guys that can really play," said Hauck.

SAFETY

If you take Lewis and Olson's combined 310 tackles in 2019 and add in Robby Hauck's season total of 129, you get three players with a total of 439 takedowns in one season.

Some whole teams don't average much more than that.

Already listed among Montana's top-40 tacklers of all time after just two years, Hauck returns for his junior campaign at safety as one of the most experienced in the league as a preseason All-America pick.

With Gavin Robertson, who came to UM from Arizona in 2018, back to full health for his senior season, the Grizzlies are set to pack quite the one-two punch at safety in 2021. The only question is: who's next?

"We have two guys that are All-American caliber guys, but we have to develop the rest of them," said Coach Hauck.

"We play with three safeties, and in that two-deep, we've got four spots where we kind of need to develop guys. That's a spot I'll have my eye this spring, trying to figure that out."

With senior Josh Sandry's departure to graduation, the Griz will look to one senior and a group of sophomores to take the third safety job.

Senior Gavin Crow is back to full health and physically looks the part after spending some time at linebacker.

Sophomore Nash Fouch hauled in two interceptions and registered 21 tackles as a freshman, making them the most experienced of the youngsters.

Meanwhile, Garrett Graves, a four-time state wrestling champion, proved he has the physicality to play safety after moving from quarterback, putting in one of the biggest highlight-reel tackles of the season on special teams against Eastern Washington.

D-LINE

Usually, when talking about safeties or cornerbacks, one would have mentioned which of them led the team in interceptions in any particular season.

How often is it you can say… a D-lineman… led the team in interceptions? Not often.

Alex Gubner was in the right place at the right time for the Grizzlies his freshman season, hauling in a team-high four INTs in 2019 to earn Freshman All-America honors on top of starting every game but one that year.

With Gubner and junior Eli Alford bulking up to around 290 pounds this year, Montana's defensive tackle spot will have the size and experience it needs to be a strength for the Griz. Add in plenty more experience at defensive end, and the defensive front is shaping up to be one of Montana's best overall groups.

"I like our D-line," says Hauck.

"I think we've got guys that can compete at a high level, we're two-deep at each position in our three spots, and we've got other guys that can fill in. So, we're on good footing there on the D-Line."

At defensive end, the Griz will be led by a pair of seniors in Joe Babros, who transferred in from N.C. State a year ago and posted 17 tackles and an interception in 2019. He's joined by offseason transfer Justin Belknap, who comes to Montana as a grad-transfer from Arizona with Pac-12 experience and has fit right in.

"He's been a great addition. Attitude-wise, skill level-wise, he's been fantastic to have in the locker room and on the team," Hauck added.

In the junior class, Braydon Deming is back at DE after putting up 15 tackles and 2.5 sacks as a sophomore, while RJ Nelson looks to bounce back after injury, while Jacob McGourin made a huge impact in four games as a true freshman.

Montana is scheduled to return to the field in Washington-Grizzly Stadium Wednesday for its fourth official practice of the spring season.

The Griz will cap the spring season with two games in Missoula this year. UM will face Central Washington on April 10 and Portland State on April 17. Ticketing, attendance, and broadcast details will be announced in the near future.

University of Montana Athletics

Players Mentioned

Eli Alford

Joe Babros

Justin Belknap

TraJon Cotton

Gavin Crow

Braydon Deming

Kale Edwards

Tyler Flink

Justin Ford

Nash Fouch

Garrett Graves

Alex Gubner

Robby Hauck

Omar Hicks Onu

Braxton Hill

Levi Janacaro

Jace Lewis

Michael Matthews

Jacob McGourin

RJ Nelson

Patrick O'Connell

Dante Olson

Gavin Robertson

Josh Sandry

Ryan Tirrell

Corbin Walker

Marcus Welnel

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