MISSOULA — The Montana football team will have a new starting quarterback for the fourth season in a row.
The Griz last had an incumbent at signal caller in 2019, when Dalton Sneed was back for his second and final year as a starter. Since then, it’s been Cam Humphrey in 2021 after the canceled 2020 season, Lucas Johnson in 2022, and Clifton McDowell emerging in 2023 after splitting time with Sam Vidlak.
McDowell and Vidlak are gone, but having two quarterbacks instead of just one sounds like it’s sticking around with head coach Bobby Hauck.
“I think it’s pretty common in college football right now where you better have two,” Hauck said Monday on the first day of fall camp. “As much as everybody’s running guys, you better have two guys. I think the old thought that you have to have one guy and then a backup is somewhat antiquated. So we’re not really tied to any of that. I’m sure that we’ll play two as well.”
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Redshirt freshman Keali’i Ah Yat and junior Logan Fife entered camp leading the pack, Hauck said. Sophomore Kaden Huot is competing with them.
“They’re not all very different,” Hauck said of the trio. “Specifically Logan and Keali’i, they’ve got good arm strength. They both run pretty well athletically. They move and change direction well. They’re physically fit enough to probably withstand some hits and some tackles, so the run game is a viable piece for them.”
Who’s back
Ah Yat is the only player on roster who has taken snaps in a game at UM.
The Hawaii native finished 26-of-38 passing for 271 yards and one touchdown while playing in five games as a backup last year as a true freshman. He preserved his redshirt and still has four years of eligibility remaining.
“Last year, my first year, not really knowing anything, new plays, far from home, so definitely coming into this year I’m more confident knowing my teammates more, just everything I’m more comfortable,” he said.
Ah Yat was elevated to McDowell’s backup in early October and had to be ready to go if called upon. It was his first time in a two-QB offense, although his playing time in pressure-packed situations was minimal.
His displayed the studying he did with offensive coordinator Brent Pease when he saw his first action late in the first half against Northern Colorado on Oct. 28. With UM leading just 7-0 thanks to a defensive score, he led a scoring drive and tossed a touchdown to Junior Bergen for a 14-0 halftime lead.
“Definitely a little bit of nerves going into that first game,” he said. “But I just try to be as confident as I can because if you go out there and play scared, nothing good’s going to happen. So I just try to be as confident as I can.”
Ah Yat later completed 10 of 15 passes for 131 yards in garbage time of a blowout win at Portland State as he got another chance to adapt to the speed of the college game. He was 1 of 2 for 4 yards in a beatdown of Montana State.