Montana Grizzlies Fall Football Camp Guide

The Montana Grizzlies kick off fall camp on Monday at Dornblaser Field on South Campus. They’ll practice 18 times over the next three weeks of the preseason before they open the year hosting Missouri State on Aug. 31.

The Griz come into this season as defending champs as they won their first conference title since 2009. They also made the FCS national title game for the first time since that same year and finished as the runner-up.

Head coach Bobby Hauck is back for his sixth season of his second stint at UM and his 13th season overall leading the Griz. He’s the all-time wins leader at UM and in the Big Sky with a 129-36 record.

Here are five storylines to follow heading into the season.

Another year, another new quarterback for Montana. Who will rise up and show they’re worthy of playing time?

Freshman Keali’i Ah Yat, the son of Grizzly Hall of Famer Brian Ah Yat, played in minimal action last year while still preserving his redshirt. Logan Fife transferred from Fresno State, where he made a handful of starts in the Mountain West Conference.

Kaden Huot, a sophomore from Helena, impressed in the spring game while redshirt freshman Gage Sliter of Kalispell also made some plays. Both of them have yet to appear in a game. Then there’s true freshman Luke Rigby of Idaho.

“I think Fife and Ah Yat are the two guys that are at the lead of that pack,” Hauck said heading into camp. “I thought that Hout had a nice spring and proved that he’s got capability to help out. I think we need to have two guys that can play. I don’t really give a dang who takes the first snap in the first game obviously. I think we’ll play multiple guys.”

Montana rotated two quarterbacks in nonconference play last season with Clifton McDowell and Sam Vidlak, who both have transferred. The Griz settled on McDowell after that and won 10 straight games to make FCS title contest.

“We used to say if you have two quarterbacks, you don’t have one,” Hauck said. “I think that’s antiquated in college football today because as much as we run these guys, all of us, that’s part of the deal and part of moving the ball, it’s part of scoring points is you’re playing with 11, not a guy taking the snap and handing it off or dropping back and throwing it. He’s part of the scheme. So I think you have to have two.”

Hauck and highly ranked defenses have been an annual theme throughout his time coaching the Griz. They continued that success with a new defensive coordinator last year and will look to do that again with new co-DCs Roger Cooper and Tim Hauck, the latter of whom is now coaching safeties also.

“I think we’ll be alright on the defensive side,” Bobby Hauck said. “There’s probably less proven players there. That’s where we lost more guys. But I think we’ll tackle. I think we’ll play hard. In fact, I know we will. When you start with those two things, I think you have a chance to be pretty solid on defense. And we’ve been really, really, really good on defense. We just have been always. I hope that transpires this year too. We’ll see.”

The Griz have some big holes to fill on that side of the ball, starting with Big Sky defensive player of the year Alex Gubner at nose tackle. They also need to replace three linebackers, two safeties, one corner and one defensive end.

“You lose the conference player of the year on defense, we got to replace him,” Hauck said. “So how do you do that? We lost Robby (Hauck) and Pat O’Connell last year, we didn’t have to have a guy equal to them in their position, we just had to replace the production. It’s the same thing with Alex (Gubner), we got to replace the production.

“Those position groups have got to come along. Defensive line, guys got to make plays, guys got to be productive. They will, I think. Linebacker, we lose some guys that played a lot, but we’ve got guys that can come in and do that. It’s the art of college football, bringing young guys along.”

Montana has added 17 transfers this offseason. That’s compared to 21 freshmen the team signed out of high school.

How do those transfers adjust to their new program, roles and level of competition? Can they incorporate themselves in a way to help UM make another harmonious run to conference and national prominence?

Some of the transfers have been in Missoula for seven or more months and have gone through winter conditioning and spring practices. Others have just joined over the summer or will get their first taste during fall camp.

“The strategy has changed in this regard is we don’t have the ability to project and plan ahead,” Hauck said of recruiting in the portal era. “You used to have a chart by class. I’d plan three years out, and barring attrition, on what we would be taking positionally in recruiting and then fill in the transfers if a kid quit or graduated or whatever. The ability to do that has gone away. Now Jan. 1 you’re assembling your roster for August each year. And then you play with that team.”

The quarterback touches the ball every play, but so too does the center.

The Griz have to replace a three-year starter and all-Big Sky player at that position in AJ Forbes. They also need to fill the left tackle spot which was held by a two-year starter and another all-conference pick in Chris Walker.

The Griz do return three starters on the offensive line and more players with some starting and backup experience. They’ve also added two transfers from the FBS ranks and have younger players who need to show their progress.

UM did bring in a new offensive line coach in Joe Pawlak. How much of an impact can a breath of fresh air infuse into this group?

“On the offensive side of the ball, we’ve got good depth on the offensive line,” Hauck said. “Feel strongly that we can play into our two-deep there, which is a great place to start.”

Whoever starts at quarterback will have a plethora of highly skilled weapons around them.

Back are standout receivers Junior Bergen, Keelan White and Aaron Fontes. Also returning are Jerry Rice Award winner Eli Gillman and veteran Nick Ostmo at running back in addition to transfer Stevie Rocker Jr., who stood out in the spring game. Then there’s the return of All-American tight end Cole Grossman, the move of Xavier Harris into the slot and many more players.

It all begs the question: How will Montana spread around touches to make the best use of its depth of quality skill players? There are only so many snaps in a game and only one ball for the quarterback to pass around.

“I feel like we have a couple of quarterbacks that can contribute and play well,” Hauck said. “I like our receivers. I like our running backs. So I think we’ve got the nucleus of a good football team. I think we’re always pretty good in the kicking game. I think we’ll be good there again. So we should have a fairly complete football team.”