Despite a roster that featured the FCS Defensive Player of the Year and a pair of wide receivers who earned shots in NFL training camps, the narrative of last season for the Montana Grizzlies focused upon the man under center.
It’s not an uncommon narrative among college football teams — far from it, really — but Montana’s success almost completely hinged on the health, or lack thereof, of the Grizzly quarterbacks in 2015.
And because of the success Brady Gustafson experienced in his first year as a starter — wins over No. 1 ranked North Dakota State, rivals Eastern Washington and Montana State and a playoff win over South Dakota State — coupled with Gustafson’s 6-foot-7 frame, Montana’s incumbent quarterback experienced an off-season filled with hype.
UM quarterback Brady Gustafson drops back vs. NDSU in 2015/by Brooks Nuanez
Gustafson burst onto the scene in 2015, throwing for 434 yards and three touchdowns in Montana’s shocking 38-35 win over North Dakota State in front of a national television audience. Two weeks later, Gustafson suffered a broken lower leg in a 31-21 loss at Liberty, beginning a quarterback carousel for the Griz that turned Bob Stitt’s first season at the helm into a rollercoaster ride.
“I’m not going to lie, that injury was tough, it sucked,” Gustafson said.
That victory over the Bison was aided by an injury to NDSU quarterback Carson Wentz, who would go on to become the No. 2 overall selection in the NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. Yet the comparisons between the strong-armed Billings West product and the 6-foot-6, 235-pound Wentz brewed all summer.
Bleacher Report published an article titled “Could Montana’s Brady Gustafson be the next Carson Wentz?” prompting a slew of reactionary commentary, both pushing the narrative and denouncing it. The fact of the matter is Wentz won two national championships as NDSU’s starter while Gustafson has thrown for a grand total of 12 touchdowns and played in just seven full games.
“To be honest with you, I have no reaction to any of that hype,” Gustafson said during the Big Sky Kickoff media days in July. “I don’t know if people are trying to get some hot takes or what but I’m just worried about this team and 2016 and focusing on the team aspect of it. We have big goals and hopefully something good comes of them. I don’t pay attention to any of that.”
Regardless of if he’s the next diamond in the rough quarterback to rise from the FCS ranks to the NFL or not, Gustafson’s importance to Montana was on full display when he was not in the lineup a season ago.
Tyrone Holmes, the top defensive player in the FCS and a sixth-round draft pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars, ensured Montana outlasted Northern Arizona by notching four sacks in a 23-14 victory, Chad Chalich’s first as a starting quarterback. The following week, Chalich threw three touchdowns, including scoring tosses to Jamaal Jones and Ben Roberts, each receivers who earned looks from NFL squads. Jones broke his finger and was recently let go by the San Diego Chargers. Roberts is still fighting for a roster spot with the Tennessee Titans.
UM quarterback Brady Gustafson vs. EWU in 2015/by Evan Frost for Skyline Sports
Against Weber State, disaster hit again. Chalich suffered an ankle injury, meaning Makena Simis became the Griz signal caller. He fumbled in overtime, leading to Weber’s first win in Missoula, 24-21, in overtime. Simis found his stride against North Dakota, hitting Jones four times for 139 yards and two touchdowns, hitting Roberts for a 23-yard score and hooking up with Ellis Henderson for touchdowns of 36 and 63 yards while tying a school record with six touchdown passes.
The following week in a torrential downpour in Portland, Simis came back down to earth, throwing three interceptions as the Vikings bludgeoned the Griz, 35-16.
With UM’s season hanging in the balance — the Griz entered November with a 4-4 record, including 3-2 in conference play — Montana won three straight down the stretch to qualify for the playoffs yet again. Gustafson returned the week after a miraculous 33-27 overtime victory at Idaho State for the EWU game, igniting the Griz on both sides of the ball. He threw for 266 yards and a touchdown, the Griz notched six sacks and forced six turnovers and Montana rolled, 57-16.
The following week, he threw for 353 yards and four touchdowns, including three scoring strikes to Jones. Against South Dakota State in the first round of the FCS Playoffs, Gustafson managed the game beautifully, throwing two first-half touchdown passes as UM took a 24-0 lead to halftime then hanging on 24-17 as Montana advanced to the second round for a rematch with NDSU.
“We just operate so much more efficiently offensively with Brady under center,” Stitt said in an interview in the off-season. “There’s so many things we put into their hands and it’s so difficult to come right in and master it right away. Brady did it better than anyone else.”
Although it’s hard to argue Gustafson’s influence in Montana’s success — the 2015 Griz went 4-1 against ranked opponents with Gustafson at the helm — the end of Stitt’s first season coincided with his quarterback’s worst outing. In the second round of the FCS playoffs in Fargo, the Bison got revenge, sacking Gustafson three times and forcing him to throw four interceptions en route to a 37-6 win, the first of four playoff victories as NDSU claimed its unprecedented fifth national title.
UM quarterback Brady Gustafson vs. Cal Poly in 2015/by Brooks Nuanez
In the off-season, former UM quarterbacks Eric Prater, Will Weyer and Willy Pflug all left the program. Simis switched from quarterback to wide receiver. Chalich, a former starter for the Idaho Vandals, returns for his senior season but Stitt still elected to go after a transfer. Montana added Kentucky drop down Reece Phillips before spring drills. Make no mistake though; there’s no doubt which player will Montana’s field general will be in 2016.
“I didn’t recruit Reece in to take Brady’s spot. I wanted him to push Brady,” Stitt said. “I feel like Brady is the guy. He’s gotten a lot of reps and our offense is so much better when you have a quarterback who returns with a lot of experience.
“Reece is very, very skilled,” Stitt said. “He throws the ball as well as maybe anybody I’ve ever had as far as a pure passer. He just needs reps. We have to decide early in camp whether it’s going to be Chad or it’s going to be Reece as far as who the backup is because we have to get two guys reps instead of three. But there’s no question who our No. 1 guy is.”
Montana opens fall camp in Missoula on Tuesday at 9 a.m.
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