Montana entered the off-season knowing it would need to find a new starting quarterback for the third year in a row. The Griz went 8-5 last season with Lucas Johnson at the helm, although Johnson was knocked out in the first quarter of UM’s overtime loss at Sac State and missed the following week against Weber State as well.
Kris Brown has started games over the last two seasons, with mixed results. Montana head coach Bobby Hauck also has a trend of bringing in transfer quarterbacks, which Montana did again this off-season with the addition of former Oregon State and Boise State signalcaller Sam Vidlak.
On Friday night in Missoula, the Griz hosted their annual spring football game. All eyes were on Vidlak and the quarterbacks. But Montana also has plenty of other puzzle pieces it needs to fit together if the Griz hopes to win its first Big Sky Conference title since 2011.
“This is always like the least intense day of the spring, but I thought it was great,” Hauck said. “We got some plays in and got to play. I like the work we had this spring.
“I think we are healthy, which was good. Everybody got to play. Quarterbacks were able to get tackled a little bit and I thought that was productive for them. Fun to see some of the young guys making some plays, good to see them operate.”
Here are our observations from Friday’s spring game. The Griz open their season on September 2 in Missoula against Butler.
GRIZ SPRING FOOTBALL OBSERVATIONS
Vidlak looked impressive — and the Griz offense is definitely different
Hauck’s spring games have long had a reputation as being efficient, swift and vanilla. Last year in Hamilton, when presented by this reporter that it seemed like the Griz ran “four or five concepts on offense”, Hauck said “As we planned” with a smile. Last spring, Montana was short-handed at running back, among other areas.
Although new offensive coordinator Brent Pease certainly didn’t open up the entire playbook, the Griz offense certainly showed different elements than it has the last few seasons under Timm Rosenbach. Montana’s offense made a concerted effort Friday to isolate its top play-makers and get them the ball.
Junior wide receiver Aaron Fontes caught six passes for 79 yards and a touchdown. He caught a tunnel screen and an outside bubble screen, and made money on intermediate and deep routes.
“It feels good knowing with new coaching staff changes, we have been going through the motions every day and it felt good,” Fontes said.
“We have some new flow, trying to find openings. We did a good job of running the new plays we put in. The big plays we put in, we are going to run them. We want to run those big plays in games.”
Vidlak showed the ability to throw receivers open. He threw a beautiful strike to Ryan Simpson for a 29-yard touchdown on the first score of the day. Vidlak also showed poise in the pocket, along with the ability to throw while rolling out of the pocket and lead his receivers to open space against both man and zone coverage.
Perhaps his best throw of the day came with the Maroon team backed up against the North end zone with 97 yards of field in front of them. Vidlak used one of his best passing pockets of the day to his advantage, stepping up and throwing to the West sideline. He dropped the pass perfectly in the bucket as Fontes made a sliding catch for a 30-yard gain to give the offense breathing room.
“I just saw a hole, tried to hit it as fast as I can, but I got rolled up, got stepped on,” Fontes said. “But he threw a great ball and I got there.”
Vidlak — who originally committed to Montana out of high school only to pivot to Oregon State and transfer to Boise State after spending a season in Corvallis — completed 11-of-15 passes for 152 yards. His touchdown throw to the 6-foot-6 Simpson helped the jumping jack from Bozeman use his height and leaping ability. Later in the scrimmage, Vidlak’s beautiful throw to Keelan White on a skinny post showed great anticipation and arm strength.
“The new offense is very intricate and complex but a bunch of guys are catching on,” White said.
“(The biggest difference) I would say is getting the ball in the players’ hands that can do the most with it is what we have accomplished this spring.”
Simpson’s size can certainly cause matchup problems. Fontes is a top-level talent who seems primed for a breakout season. White has received internal praise for a few seasons and might blossom into a star. The Griz wide receivers were among the standout groups on Friday despite Junior Bergen not participating because of off-season surgery.
Yet the success of that group — and perhaps the success of the Griz in general — will depend heavily on if Vidlak can translate his spring ball performance into becoming an elite Big Sky quarterback.
“I love the way he throws,” Fontes said of Vidlak. “He gets the ball to me, he gets it to all the other receivers. He’s consistent in what he does making plays. Sam is doing a good job overall.”
Despite graduation of elite talent, Montana will always be solid to exceptional at linebacker
The cliche is that Montana has a conveyor belt of in-state, workman-like linebackers that never seems to end. Sometimes, cliches are true.
On Tuesday, Patrick O’Connell and Marcus Welnel turned heads at Montana’s annual Pro Day. O’Connell performed well enough he certainly earned a shot with an NFL squad and might have even performed his way into the NFL Draft.
Replacing those two will be a tall task. But the most consistent part of Hauck’s program since he first took over as Montana’s head coach in 2003 is the production from Griz linebackers.
O’Connell rolled up 178 tackles and 35.5 tackles for loss, including 22 sacks, over the last two seasons. Welnel had back-to-back 95-plus tackle seasons, totaling 24.5 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks.
Given the way Montana practices and the Grizzlies’ tradition of consistently productive linebackers, it seems certain that returners like Braxton Hill, Levi Janacaro, Tyler Flink, Ryan Tirrell and Carson Rostad — all who hail from Western Montana — will be able to contribute to Montana’s defense.
In addition to stopping the run, they’ll have to provide a large chunk of the pass rush and fill the void of all the lost splash plays for a defense that had 101 TFLs last season.
“When you lose guys like Marcus and Mike (Matthews) and Pat, it’s tough to fill those roles, but it’s the next man up,” Janacaro said. “We are going to need everyone to contribute to the linebackers and what we are doing. I think the senior class, Braxton, Flink, myself, we got to learn from such great linebackers like Jace (Lewis), Pat, Mike and Marcus, Dante (Olson), and we are taking what we learned and projecting that onto the other guys and helping them grow.
“We are telling them we are going to need them in the fall and they are going to need to do some growing up. I think they did that this spring ball, so it’s promising.”
Hill, Janacaro and Flink are all seniors. Each got reps early Friday before giving way to some of the younger linebackers.
“I thought our linebacking group was good. Just kind of A to Z, they did a nice job,” Hauck said.
“I think a lot of the young guys who needed to make jumps did,” Janacaro added. “They were serious about our practices. They were intentional about improving each and every day and I think it really showed through the five weeks of spring practice.”
Janacaro was once a Wildcat quarterback leading Missoula Big Sky to one of its best seasons ever. The former walk-on has gone from fullback to linebacker before breaking out last season, piling up 87 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
“A few days ago, I was in (former Big Sky Eagle) Tyler Flink’s room and I saw a picture of us from our first spring ball at the end of the game,” Janacaro said. “I can’t believe that was five years ago. It was great to come out here and run around one last spring game.
“Spring is probably the best opportunity for young guys to grow and make an opportunity for themselves in the program. They don’t have to be on the scout team. You get a chance to go through our offense or defense. You get to get better at your craft and what you are doing within the system. It’s a great opportunity for them to work their way into the lineup.”
One of the big plays of the scrimmage came when sophomore linebacker Geno Leonard came off the edge to sack Vidlak from behind, forcing a fumble in the process. The quarterbacks were open to live contact on Friday — something Hauck said he thought they needed — and the big hit drew plenty of cheers from Leonard’s teammates.
“He might be one of my favorite guys in the entire pod,” Janacaro said with a smile despite the fact that Leonard comes from Sentinel High, a fierce rival of Janacaro’s Big Sky Eagles. “He is such a delight. He is the hardest worker in the room. Watching him make plays and have success, nothing puts a smile on my face more than Geno.”
The defensive line looks athletic, yet slight. Harris and Ramos can play
Alex Gubner has established himself as one of the best interior defensive linemen in the Big Sky Conference and the FCS. He suited up but did not play on Friday. Kale Edwards is expected to be a headlining defensive end as a fourth-year junior, but also did not play in the spring game.
Junior defensive end Jacob McGourin is out indefinitely after suffering what will likely be a season-ending knee injury.
Outside of Gubner, who checked in at a svelte 285 pounds, the Griz have just one defensive lineman who weighs more than 280 pounds: redshirt freshman Jareb Ramos, who is 6-foot-4 and 283 pounds. Junior end Henry Nuce weighs 245 pounds, as does sophomore Kellen Detrick. Junior Garrett Hustedt, a 6-foot-1, 245-pound former transfer from Nebraska, is the last main candidate in a group that hopes to make up for its lack of mass with speed, explosiveness and a high motor.
With McGourin out and the Griz searching to replace pass rush production, Hayden Harris could be a key cog. The 6-foot-5, 251-pounder is long, lean and quick. The UCLA transfer notched a pair of sacks on Friday.
“He’s a big, athletic guy. He’s got good bend and a good frame. He’s got pretty good get-off, and I think he’s made progress this spring,” Hauck said.
Harris saw action in just three games in his UCLA career. Ramos, a highly regarded recruit who originally committed to Colorado State, showed good fortitude for the Silver team defensive line. He stuffed a pair of inside runs near the goal line late in the first half.
“(Ramos) is a guy who has made some progress this spring,” Hauck said. “He’s far better than he was a month ago.”
After first group, the corners are thin; need big strides from Dylan Simmons & Co.
Since Hauck returned before the 2018 season, one of the biggest position groups the Griz have turned a corner at is, well, cornerback. In Hauck’s first season, converted wide receivers Justin Calhoun and Dareon Nash were the first-team corners.
Two years later, the position group was fortified by All-American Justin Ford and hard-hitting former Oregon State transfer Omar Hicks-Onu. Last season, Ford was flanked by Corbin Walker (who did not participate on Friday) and Jayden Dawson, a former All-Big Sky selection at Idaho State who played his final season at Montana.
With Walker unavailable on Friday, third-year sophomore Dylan Simmons performed well. Simmons, who had recruiting interest from Florida State among others, will likely be in the rotation come fall. Junior Trevin Gradney, a Billings West product who’s been one of the best special teams players in the league the last two seasons, also got competitive reps.
Behind those three (assuming Walker, a tough, aggressive player from Seattle, is Montana’s No. 1 corner), UM had some work to do. In the off-season, Hauck brought in Andrew Travillion, a junior college cornerback who played in seven games for San Diego Mesa after redshirting at Sam Houston in 2020. He showed decently well Friday.
Montana’s cornerback room also includes Robert Whitehead, a junior college transfer who joined the Griz before last season.
It remains to be seen how Montana’s 3-3-5 defense evolves with Ronnie Bradford as defensive coordinator. But if the scheme remains similar in its principles, corners who can play press man coverage are huge advantages, leading to the big sack numbers Montana has compiled the last two seasons.
Griz offensive line had defined units Friday, which indicates real depth
Montana mixed and matched on Friday in terms of the personnel making up the Maroon and Silver teams. But it was clear that the best offensive players who were available to play suited up for the Maroon.
The first-team offensive line in front of Sam Vidlak and Kris Brown (presumably the top two quarterbacks next season) featured super senior Chris Walker (6-foot-6, 291 pounds) at left tackle, All-Big Sky senior Hunter Mayginnes (6-5, 325) at left guard, senior A.J. Forbes (6-2, 302) at center, sophomore Journey Grimsrud (6-3, 280) at right guard and junior Brandon Casey (6-5, 295) at right tackle.
Cannon Panfiloff, a 6-foot-6, 285-pound sophomore transfer from Utah Tech, also rotated in with the first-team Maroon line at guard and tackle. He started 14 games over the last two years for the Blazers.
The presumed “backup” offensive line also played for Maroon, which was a huge part of the 31-3 “score”. The second-team Maroon O-line included junior Colin Dreis (6-7, 275) at left tackle, sophomore Liam Brown (6-5, 310) at left guard, sophomore Declan McCabe (6-4, 279) at center, Grimsrud at right guard (he’s a converted defensive lineman so Hauck said he needed additional reps), and junior Dillon Botner (6-6, 285) at right tackle.
The Silver team’s top offensive line was made up of converted defensive lineman Braunson Henricksen (6-5, 246) at left tackle, sophomore Kukila Lincoln (6-5, 286) at left guard, redshirt freshman Michael Ray (6-3, 281) at center, Kevin Good (6-4, 290) at right guard and senior Cody Kanouse (6-6, 310) at right tackle.
“You have to divide them up somehow,” Hauck quipped. “I feel really good two-deep probably for the first time since 2009. I think we have guys who can play on the offensive line, which is reassuring.”
“Right now, guys like that (Dreis, Brown and Botner) were with the second group and some days they were with the first group. The goal is to be two-deep and for a while, we were trying to just get to one-deep. I just like where that sits.”
Who the hell is the punter going to be?
For the second straight off-season, Montana will need to replace an All-American punter. That in itself is an anomaly that confirms that Hauck has almost always recruited, acquired and developed elite talent at punter and kicker. It also affirms and accentuates the notion that some of the top players in the FCS will be lured by the top level of Division I football. And it also leaves the Griz in a pickle, or at least in “must acquire a transfer” mode.
Last season, Patrick Rohrbach finished his first season of college football with the second-best punt average in program history at 45.2 yards on 48 attempts, a mark good enough to top the Big Sky Conference and land him No. 3 overall in the FCS.
He was also a catalyst for Montana’s punt coverage team, which finished the year second in the FCS in net punt average at 41.52 yards per attempt, meaning the average punt return for UM’s opponents was a mere 3.68 yards. He was named FCS Punter of the Year and a first-team All-American by multiple outlets.
Rohrbach — a Kalispell Glacier product who is transferring to Arizona State to join the “Flyin’ Devils” of ASU’s Air Force ROTC Detachment 025, one of the nation’s top feeder programs into the U.S. Air Force Academy Flight School — stepped into the big shoes left by Brian Buschini.
Buschini, a Helena Capital product who averaged who averaged 46.0 yards per punt on the way to first-team All-American honors as a redshirt freshman, transferred to Nebraska, setting up Rohrbach’s breakout season.
Halfway through fall camp in 2021, Hauck brought in Arizona State transfer kicker Kevin Macias. He went on to make 18 straight field goals, a UM single-season record. That’s worth mentioning to confirm UM’s head coach has a penchant for fixing specialist problems promptly.
On Friday, Noah Hughes, a 6-2, 180-pound walk-on from Cincinnati, averaged 35.75 yards per punt on four punts. Cameron Rasmussen, a 5-10, 150-pound walk-on from Phoenix, averaged 32.3 yards per punt.
Hauck won’t accept anything but elite punting.
Mystery quarterback was a former student manager
When No. 19 joined Vidlak, Brown, sophomore A.J. Abbott and redshirt freshman Kaden Huot on the Washington-Griz turf about 90 minutes before kickoff, this reporter and his ESPN radio co-host Rajiem Seabrook quickly perused the roster.
The mystery solved itself when John Kohler took over at quarterback for the Silver team late in the scrimmage. We were quickly informed that he was a former student manager who had joined the roster for the spring. The 5-foot-11, 147-pounder out of O’Dea High School in Seattle had his moment in the sun when he hit Nick Williams for a 43-yard gain.
All of this comes with a grain of salt
Here’s the list of players who did not play on Friday:
0 – Kale Edwards, junior DE
2 – Sawyer Racanelli, junior WR
3 – TraJon Cotton, senior S
5 – Junior Bergen, junior WR
8 – Corbin Walker, senior CB
9 – David Koppang, senior S
11 – Cole Grossman, junior TE
12 – Camden Capser, sophomore K
21 – Drew Deck, sophomore WR
24 – Camden Ver Strate, junior WR
26 – Nick Ostmo, junior RB
64 – Ethan Barney, redshirt freshman OL
82 – Ian Finch, redshirt freshman WR
85 – Micah Ashton, sophomore TE
86 – Joe Weida, redshirt freshman TE
89 – Peyton Brammer, RS sophomore TE
92 – Jacob McGourin, junior DE
99 – Alex Gubner, senior DT
Gubner was a first-team All-Big Sky selection as a junior. Bergen was a third-team all-league selection as an all-purpose player. Grossman was an honorable mention all-conference pick. Walker, Edwards, Cotton, Koppang and Ostmo are expected to be key contributors, as was McGourin before he got injured.
The Griz offense looked more diverse and effective, especially in its ability to isolate mismatches. The defense was missing familiar faces, while the special teams weren’t on display at all.
It left the upcoming 2023 season, Hauck’s 12th season as head coach over the span of the last 20, with plenty of intrigue.
“I am most satisfied with the improvements that a lot of these guys made,” Hauck said. “Every year in college football, you are always going to lose players. To have people up their game and be closer to being ready for prime time was going to be beneficial for the team. I thought we had guys improve.”
