Griz set for annual Spring Game Friday

Head coach Bobby Hauck of the Montana Grizzlies looks on during the first quarter against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits at Dana J Dykhouse Stadium on December 7, 2024 in Brookings, South Dakota.

Photo by: Tommy Martino/University of Montana

4/10/2025 11:11:00 AM | Football

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana Grizzlies will hold their final practice of spring on Friday evening inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium in the team's annual preseason showcase, stoking fans appetite for the fall and giving them a sneak peek at the new-look roster.

The Grizzly Scholarship Association Spring Game, a fundraiser for the GSA that sees all proceeds from the event directly benefit student-athlete scholarships, gets underway at 6 p.m., with plenty more fun to be had in the leadup to the game.

The stadium will open to fans at 4 p.m. for the official GSA Tailgate Party inside "The Grizzly Den" located on the 200 level of the east concourse. Good Ol' Grizzlies, Montana's preferred NIL collective, will also host a pregame party starting at 3 p.m. at the Press Box.

Tickets to the game are $13 and are available for purchase at GrizTix.com, the Adams Center Ticket Office, or at the south entrance of Washington-Grizzly Stadium the day of the game for walk-up fans.

With roughly 80-90 plays scheduled during the four quarters of action, this year's spring game will give fans the chance put eyes on some of the 17 new players added to the roster in January. As is generally true the youth of the team will be on display as well, providing a glimpse of future Grizzly stars with increased reps for the underclassmen to show their stuff.

From the top down, head coach Bobby Hauck and his staff have liked what they've seen from his Grizzlies this spring. And it all centers around one word: development.

"I think the enthusiasm's been good throughout. There's good energy out here and the guys are wanting to improve, which is sort of the nature of having good spring practice," Hauck said.

Another feature of this year's spring game will be two mostly distinct maroon and silver teams, each drafted by the seniors to give everyone on the roster as many reps as possible with as little overlap as possible.

The maroon offense will be led by quarterback Jake Jensen who transferred to Montana from USC in January and has been under center with the team throughout the spring season. In the backfield with Jensen will be a trio of running backs led by All-American Eli Gillman and Arizona transfer Stevie Rocker Jr.

Wideouts for the maroon squad include senior Drew Deck of Kalispell, Arizona State transfer Korbin Hendrix, and freshman speedster Lekeldrick Bridges. On the offensive front, Whitefish native Dillon Botner, who announced his return to the program for his final season of eligibility earlier this spring, will see reps at center in the spring game after moving inside from tackle.

Defensively the maroon team will be led up front by sizeable nose guard Braydon Bailey, who joined the program out of Utah State in January. Havre native Kellen Detrick will also help lead the charge up front at end as he prepares for his senior campaign.

All-conference linebacker Elijawah Tolbert from Eastern Illinois will introduce himself to Griz fans on the maroon team alongside Missoula's Grady Walker and Billings native Clay Oven.

In the backfield, Missoula native TJ Rausch will feature heavily in the safety rotation at boundary with former BYU All-American Micah Harper among the field safeties. Idaho transfer Diezel Wilkinson and Whitefish native Fynn Ridgeway will also see time at safety for the maroon team.

The silver offense will be led by Keali'i Ah Yat, who is set to enter his sophomore season at UM with six starts and 16 total appearances under his belt for the Griz. Redshirt-Freshman running back Malae Fonoti will also patrol the backfield after a breakout true freshman year where he earned Big Sky Player of the Week honors with 176 yards in a single game.

Another young standout will line up at receiver for the silver squad in freshman Brooks Davis, and sophomore Cameron Gurnsey will also see reps at wideout.

Griz fans will also get another look (this time in UM colors) at All-American Michael Wortham, a do-it-all athlete from Eastern Washington who came to Montana for his senior season in January.

"Mike's a good player. He's had a nice spring. I think he's acclimated to how we do things and assimilated himself into the team pretty well. We played against him, so we know he's a really versatile player and he's a good addition," said Hauck.

Montana returns another deep tight end room in 2025, and leading the way for the silver team is Evan Shafer, one of the team's strongest overall players who received another year of eligibility in the leadup to the spring season.

Speaking of sizeable, sophomore Lucas Freitas will join senior Liam Brown in anchoring the silver team's offensive front, alongside senior Everett Johnon, who came to UM from Cal last season.

Heading up the silver defensive front is junior Jareb Ramos, who impressed in last year's spring game at nose, flanked by the emergence of RB Wilson V, who is set to make his public debut for UM after recovering from injury at D-end.

The silver linebacker room will also feature a mix of youth and experience, with Helena's Hayden Opitz, Caleb Otlewski, and Missoula's Geno Leonard starting three across. Butte safety Tanner Huff will head-up the backfield with Chase McGurran patrolling the boundary and Kade Cutler each putting in time at safety.

The two distinct rosters will be the first thing the Griz have seen this spring that resembles a depth chart, with practices to date having been a rotating cast of players in an effort from the staff to make the cream rise to the top in competition for spots – each of which remains wide open. The spring game will be no different, with each position expected to showcase its depth.

"I think we've had improvement, which is always the goal in spring. We've had no depth chart. There are probably 50 or 60 guys that have run with the first group at different times during the spring and I think that's been really productive. So, I like what's going on," Hauck added.

All the development and improvement is geared toward one thing: the Grizzlies hitting their stride when the season opener rolls around on Sept. 6 against Central Washington.

Montana will play an FCS record eight regular season home games in 2025, with key matchups against North Dakota, Idaho, Eastern Washington, and Montana State among them.