MISSOULA — Montana’s offensive line has new leaders, both at the head of the room and at the head of the line.
Joe Pawlak took over as the O-line coach in the spring, replacing Chad Germer. He had spent the past five years coaching the O-line at North Dakota and he was a graduate assistant at Iowa before that.
“He’s a very intense and passionate dude,” junior left tackle Cannon Panfiloff said. “He loves football.”
Pawlak has brought in his own language that the O-linemen have had to adapt to. That includes the terms he uses and the techniques he teaches.
Two of his most common sayings have been “accelerate on contact” — which means exactly what it sounds like — and “run the backside knee” — which is a technique thing— according to Panfiloff and senior right tackle Brandon Casey.
