Transformation complete. Former QB Cook set to lead an improved Grizzly O-Line
3/30/2021 12:46:00 PM | Football
Share:
By: Montana Sports Information
It's not often a college quarterback makes the transition to the offensive line, but Chad Germer has seen it before.
 Brett Boyko came to UNLV as a QB from Canada and made the jump when Germer was an assistant for the Rebels under head coach Bobby Hauck from 2010-14. After four years in the NFL and three in the CFL, his transition seems to have worked out pretty well.
 For the past three seasons, Germer, Montana's longtime O-line coach, has been training up a different QB who has traded passing for protection, with Grizzly tackle Dylan Cook arriving at UM as a transfer from MSU Northern in 2018.
 Now, as he prepares to take the field for two spring games in April as a senior, Cook has embraced his new position and emerged as a leader in an O-Line group that is shaping up to be a literal strength of Montana's attack.
 "It's been a challenging process, but I wouldn't have been able to do it without the guys in there that pushed me every day and pretty much taught me how to play O-line," says Cook.
 "I came in having no idea. Just the competition level and the talent level in that O-line room really helped me come along."
 Since arriving in Missoula, the Butte, America, native has a big been part of a group Hauck describes as being "more physically dominant," after being a question mark for the team when he returned to coach the Grizzlies in 2017.
 This spring the Grizzly O-Line returns four starters from 2019, tipping the scales at an average of 320 pounds each. Cook used the extra time in the weight room last fall to bulk up, too, putting on 21 pounds to check in at a solid 306.
 Even though he only earned his first real playing time as a Grizzly against the Oregon Ducks in 2019, Germer says the added weight isn't the only thing that's helped Cook become more dominant. Being forced to swim in the deep end helped him develop as well.
 "He's added some weight, but he got thrown in the fire as a junior, and now he's had more time to reflect on it and develop," says Germer.
 "He's a smart guy. He's a smart football guy, and once he started to learn the offensive line it clicked, and it's snowballed for him."
 Part of being a good quarterback is being able to read the defense. So now, when Cook lines up to pass protect or open holes for the Grizzly running backs, part of what he says has helped him develop is that ability to recognize what's going on.
 Of course, the right attitude goes a long way, and Cook is Butte tough when it comes to that.
 "(Having played QB) really helps. I see safeties shift, and I know we're switching plays, or I'll see linebackers shift, and I'll know what's happening. It's awesome. It's unconscious too. I'll just see what's happening and react," he says.
 "It's a whole different world playing O-line than it is sitting behind O-line. Playing O-line is fun. You get to be as mean as you want and hit people as hard as you want. You get humbled here and there, and it's happened to me, but you just hit 'em right in the mouth again on the next play."
 Germer, an O-line coach since 1998, sees the benefit as well and says it's part of the reason Cook was named to the 2020 Phil Steele Preseason All-Big Sky team.
 "It's huge. Having a base understanding of what a defense is trying to do is not just helpful, but key to playing the offensive line," Germer says.
 "You have to have a good idea of what defenses are trying to get accomplished to give yourself a chance, and he's got it."
Â
Cook in action against Eastern Washington
 Cook will take the field this spring as one of four seniors on the offensive line in 2021, along with All-Big Sky selection Conlan Beaver at the opposite tackle spot and guards Moses Mallory and Kordell Pillans.
 Add junior Colton Keintz to the mix (who has also made a transition from tackle to guard), and you've got a total of 62 career starts worth of experience.
 Starts are one thing, but with all that experience comes a new attitude - a group brimming with confidence as it realizes its own potential.
 "The growth has been incredible. Coach Germer has put us on the right path on our progression and how we do things and how we operate, and it's been leaps and bounds ahead of where we were," says Cook.
 "It feels great. We're a confident group, and we can finally hold our own. It feels good."
 No football team can rely on its seniors or incumbent starters, though. It's a game of attrition, and when the Griz were good during Hauck's first run as head coach, he attributes depth as a big reason why.
 Juniors Skylar Martin and Cody Kanouse, and even sophomores Tyler Ganoung, Gerrit Bloemendaal, and Trevor Welnel have been putting their hand up for playing time this spring, and the Grizzly staff has taken notice.
 "We've done two things: I think we've fortified our first-line guys, and we've built our numbers up where we've created much more competition," says Germer.
 "We've done a much better job of adding numbers and being able to get guys on the field and in the weight room to get our numbers up."
 Another name Griz fans will want to know is sophomore AJ Forbes, who transferred to Montana from Nebraska in time for summer workouts a year ago and looks to be the frontrunner to start at center.
 As a former All-America center for the Grizzlies, Germer knows a good one when he sees him.
 "AJ's done a nice job. Having a guy that has the offensive line in his blood at center who's wanted to be that since he's started playing the game is huge," says Germer.
 "He's a football rat, he's into it, and he's definitely been a big addition for us on the field and in the weight room because he's a leader in there as well."
  With an all-star (or at least All-Big Sky caliber) cast around him, Cook will eventually leave the offensive line room a better place than he found it - both on the field and off - when the working world comes calling.
 An Academic All-Big Sky pick in 2019, he's already graduated with one degree from UM, earning his diploma in sociology last spring.
 Now, as he works toward a master's in public administration with an eye toward human resource management, he's looking to leave the world a better place too.
 After completing his master's, Cook plans on entering the workforce in the emerging field of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Subjects near and dear to his heart that have gained extra notoriety and importance over the last year.
 "Diversity, equity, and inclusion is such a new subject in this world, and there are so many companies out there that have no idea what it is. It's going to be important in the future, and I want to be a part of it," he says.
 One department that has been proactive in the area has been right here in Grizzly Athletics, which formed a Diversity and Inclusion Committee in September in response to the global stand against racial violence and social injustice.
 And while Cook hasn't been able to take part in the committee's meetings because of conflicts with his class and lifting schedule, Grizzly football is well represented, with Samuel Akem, TraJon Cotton, and Garrett Graves all involved.
 But just because he's not there doesn't mean Cook hasn't tracked on the conversation with his teammates and seen the effect the committee is having amongst his peers.
 "I really love the allies we're getting that aren't minorities that are willing to stand up for us and stand together with us and speak up when things are wrong, and something needs to be fixed," he says.
 There's a lot that football can teach a guy about perseverance, and the growth of Montana's offensive line over the last few years is a shining example of that.
 Find out what's wrong, and fix it. Always keep improving.
 In the NFL or not, with that attitude Cook is set to take on some of the world's biggest challenges in the future, and the Montana offensive line will be the better off for it.
Â
