Photo by: Ella Palulis/University of Montana
Griz return to Dornblaser for first practice of fall camp
8/9/2025 7:03:00 PM | Football
Montana has had a couple of walk-throughs since players reported Thursday, but fall camp ramped up a notch Saturday afternoon as the Grizzlies returned to their traditional proving grounds at Dornblaser Field for the team's first official practice.
Under perfect summer skies in Missoula, the energy was as high as the spirits around the squad as Montana worked through a crisp practice session – the first of 19 on the calendar in the leadup to game week.
The lack of pads didn't equate to a lack of intensity, as Montana came out firing on both sides of the ball in four team periods – setting just the tone head coach Bobby Hauck was looking for.
"I think just how sharp the team periods are, and the team periods the first three days have been really sharp," said Hauck to the question of what he'd be keeping an eye on.
"We want energy out here, we want focus, and we certainly want urgency from everybody involved. We're counting the clock down every day to the first game and the first opportunity to keep score."
Montana will officially start keeping score on Sept. 6 when the Grizzlies open the season against Central Washington in the first of eight regular season home games on the schedule.
Until that time, however, the name of the game is improvement, improvement, improvement, both individually and as a unit.
Under the watchful eye of UM's veteran coaching staff, every rep will count as Montana looks to replace a large graduating class.
In this new era of college football, the Griz open camp with 50 new names on the roster since the end of the 2024 season. And for Hauck, that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's still a production business, and as fall camp opens the Griz will be looking for the cream to rise to the top at each position on the field.
"I think Bo Schembechler said it 50 years ago: attrition is good. Sometimes it's good for guys to move on. It's fun to have new guys to work with. We miss some guys that are gone, but the fact of the matter is there is no one here new as of last week. We've been working with these guys since May," said Hauck, after officially announcing 15 new additions to the roster on Thursday.
Despite having the bulk of the fresh faces on campus this summer, (where new NCAA regulations allow for increased coach contact with players) Montana's staff will be getting its first true look at the newcomers in competitive football situations during fall camp.
There's always been a certain kind of person – something built into that guy's DNA and his intestinal fortitude – that makes a successful Grizzly. When faced with rebuilding the team, finding that trait was priority No. 1 for Hauck and his staff.
With the summer OTA season behind them and fall camp now rolling full steam ahead, it's so far, so good, in Hauck's assessment of the new additions as UM pursues a 20th Big Sky championship.
"There are personality traits we look for, and one of those is understanding there is one way to do things here, and that's the Montana way," said the 14th-year Grizzly mentor.
"I really like how energetic and locked in on doing things the way we do them all of our new guys are."
UP NEXT: Montana will take a Sunday rest day before jumping back into the fall camp schedule en-mass over the next three weeks, with practice set to resume at Dornblaser on Monday afternoon.
Season ticket packages and single game tickets are on sale now for Montana's historic eight game home slate at GrizTix.com.
Under perfect summer skies in Missoula, the energy was as high as the spirits around the squad as Montana worked through a crisp practice session – the first of 19 on the calendar in the leadup to game week.
The lack of pads didn't equate to a lack of intensity, as Montana came out firing on both sides of the ball in four team periods – setting just the tone head coach Bobby Hauck was looking for.
"I think just how sharp the team periods are, and the team periods the first three days have been really sharp," said Hauck to the question of what he'd be keeping an eye on.
"We want energy out here, we want focus, and we certainly want urgency from everybody involved. We're counting the clock down every day to the first game and the first opportunity to keep score."
"𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐠𝐮𝐲𝐬"
— Montana Griz Football (@MontanaGrizFB) August 10, 2025
Fall camp is officially underway 💪#GoGriz pic.twitter.com/pxiMsIUtWm
Montana will officially start keeping score on Sept. 6 when the Grizzlies open the season against Central Washington in the first of eight regular season home games on the schedule.
Until that time, however, the name of the game is improvement, improvement, improvement, both individually and as a unit.
Under the watchful eye of UM's veteran coaching staff, every rep will count as Montana looks to replace a large graduating class.
In this new era of college football, the Griz open camp with 50 new names on the roster since the end of the 2024 season. And for Hauck, that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's still a production business, and as fall camp opens the Griz will be looking for the cream to rise to the top at each position on the field.
"I think Bo Schembechler said it 50 years ago: attrition is good. Sometimes it's good for guys to move on. It's fun to have new guys to work with. We miss some guys that are gone, but the fact of the matter is there is no one here new as of last week. We've been working with these guys since May," said Hauck, after officially announcing 15 new additions to the roster on Thursday.
Despite having the bulk of the fresh faces on campus this summer, (where new NCAA regulations allow for increased coach contact with players) Montana's staff will be getting its first true look at the newcomers in competitive football situations during fall camp.
There's always been a certain kind of person – something built into that guy's DNA and his intestinal fortitude – that makes a successful Grizzly. When faced with rebuilding the team, finding that trait was priority No. 1 for Hauck and his staff.
With the summer OTA season behind them and fall camp now rolling full steam ahead, it's so far, so good, in Hauck's assessment of the new additions as UM pursues a 20th Big Sky championship.
"There are personality traits we look for, and one of those is understanding there is one way to do things here, and that's the Montana way," said the 14th-year Grizzly mentor.
"I really like how energetic and locked in on doing things the way we do them all of our new guys are."
UP NEXT: Montana will take a Sunday rest day before jumping back into the fall camp schedule en-mass over the next three weeks, with practice set to resume at Dornblaser on Monday afternoon.
Season ticket packages and single game tickets are on sale now for Montana's historic eight game home slate at GrizTix.com.
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