MISSOULA, Montana – Grizzlies current and former gathered on an unusually warm, beautiful early April day at Washington-Grizzly Stadium to watch the eight men who now sport the title of “recent former Griz” chase their dreams in front of NFL and CFL scouts.
Former Griz linebacker Jordan Tripp — the first Missoula native to wear the University of Montana’s vaunted No. 37 jersey before becoming a fifth-round NFL Draft pick in 2014 — quipped “the weather was so bad on my Pro Day, we had to shovel the field beforehand.”
Chase Reynolds, the second-leading rusher in the history of Griz football (4,067 yards), remembered the field being wet enough that during his 40-yard dash “I kind of had to veer off to one way or another.”
Still, Reynolds ran 4.58 seconds, good enough for the Class C legend turned Griz workhorse turned UM Hall of Famer to earn an undrafted free agent contract, which led to a six-year NFL career.
Reynolds marked the height of the Bobby Hauck era in Hauck’s first go-around leading his alma mater. And when the Griz missed the playoffs for the first time in 17 years in Reynolds’ senior year, it marked the first of many times the Montana football faithful wished Hauck was still at the helm.
Tripp was part of Hauck’s final recruiting class of his first seven-year stint in 2009. He was the second-to-last Griz player drafted when he was selected 10 years ago. Of the 35 players drafted out of Montana since the Griz entered the Big Sky in 1963, 10 were recruited by Hauck. And every player other than Tyrone Holmes (a sixth-round pick in 2016 and the last Montana player drafted) over the last 20 years was developed by Hauck.
So with scouts from the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Seattle Seahawks (x2), the Green Bay Packers plus CFL reps from the Calgary Stampeders and the Saskatchewan Rough Riders in attendance, and the Griz fresh off a run to the most recent FCS national championship game, it made sense that the Pro Day was enough to bring out many from the UM football family, including Hall of Fame quarterback Marty Mornhinweg (who coached 26 seasons in the NFL) and even Hauck himself.
And perhaps the bright, beautiful weather was foreshadowing for good things to come for the participants, at least unorthodox but monstrous and productive defensive tackle Alex Gubner.
It remains to be seen if Gubner did enough to be the next in the line of Grizzlies to get drafted. It’s unlikely for no other reason than the NFL Draft is so top-heavy with Power 5 prospects these days. But the Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Year almost certainly did enough at his Pro Day on Tuesday to get into an NFL training camp.
“I was pretty close to a lot of my goals,” Gubner said. “I had a few mock combines and from what I was told, I think I was pretty good today.
“It’s my dream to play at the next level and I hope I helped myself today, impressed some scouts. I’m just living day to day trying to become the best football player I can be and I can’t wait to see what happens.”
Gubner was joined by All-American linebacker Braxton Hill, all-conference offensive linemen center A.J. Forbes and left tackle Chris Walker, standout safeties Nash Fouch and Trajon Cotton along with kicker Nico Ramos and punter Travis Benham in the workout.
Gubner checked in at 6-foot-2.5, 294 pounds yet looked leaner than during his playing days anchoring the center of the UM defensive line. He performed adequately during the drills inside the Griz Champions Center — 20 reps at 225 pounds on the bench press, a 30.5-inch mark on the vertical — and had standout mark in the broad jump (9-foot-1), a jump that would’ve been tied for 7th best among DTs at the NFL combine.
When the stopwatches came out for the 40-yard sprint, the group of about four dozen current Griz in attendance rose to their feet, egging Gubner with great enthusiasm. They know. It’s affirmation for the program if Gubner can prove he can play on Sundays.
And its further solidification for why Gubner was the Big Sky Defensive MVP even with a stat line — 45 tackles, nine tackles for loss, three sacks — compared to some of the other flashy defensive lineman in the conference and the country.
Gubner did not disappoint, throwing down times of 4.79 and 4.85 seconds in the 40, each that would’ve been the second-fastest among defensive tackles at the combine. He also did well in the pro shuttle (4.60 seconds), the 3-cone Drill (7.45 seconds) and overall looked fluid, explosive and fast during his on-field drills. The shuttle would’ve been third at the NFL Combine among DTs while the 3-cone would’ve been second
“It’s my dream, it’s the only thing I want to do for a living and I think I can,” Gubner said. “I think my film speaks for that. And hopefully today. Whoever is willing to give me that opportunity, I’m going to lay it on the line, go 100 percent on every play and do whatever things they want me to do.”
Between Hauck’s departure to become the head coach at UNLV after the 2009 season and his return to UM ahead of the 2018 season, the NFL Draft well has run dry. A total of 20 Griz signed undrafted free agents over the last 10 years since Tripp was picked. But the overall buzz around Pro Day and the reputation of the Griz as an NFL factory experienced a serious lull between Hauck’s departure and return.
After Tripp was drafted, Holmes along with wide receiver Jamaal Jones (free agent signee in 2016) were the only Griz who earned real NFL opportunities until the last two seasons. In 2022, offensive tackle Dylan Cook signed an undrafted free agent deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and a year later is on the active roster for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Last season, Patrick O’Connell turned enough heads at his Pro Day to earn a free agent contract for the Seattle Seahawks. By the end of last season, O’Connell had moved from the practice squad to the active roster.
That’s the same path that several of the other participants will likely have to follow. Last spring, O’Connell checked in at 6-foot-1 ½ inches, 227 pounds. He ran 4.70 seconds in the 40, had a 38.5 inch vertical jump, went 10-foot-2 in the road jump and clocked 6.90 seconds in the 3-cone drill.
This year, the latest walk-on turned All-American linebacker for the Griz making a run at the NFL is Hill. The Anaconda, Montana native checked in at 6-foot-1 7/8, 228 pounds. He did 15 reps on the bench press at 225 pounds and notched a 32.5-inch vertical jump. He went 9-foot-4 in the broad jump and ran 4.77 seconds in his best 40. He and a pro shuttle time of 4.29 seconds and a 3-cone drill of 7.01 seconds.
“As a kid, you always dream of playing in the National Football League or playing football as long as you can so after playing here for five and a half years, you think of guys doing Pro Day and you hope that will be me, that will be me, but actually doing it is crazy,” Hill said. “Everyone is out here watching. It was a lot of fun.
Hill trained for 10 weeks at California Strength in Los Gatos, a training facility where several other Grizzly greats have prepared for the next level, including Tripp, Zack Wagenmann, Holmes and former Buck Buchanan Award winner Dante Olson.
“Our Pro Day is so late and they do it because of the weather so we aren’t running on ice, but man, you have to stay locked in,” Hill said. “You go down and wherever you train, you work on these six drills for 12 weeks. You have to stay locked in for three months. The mental part can make or break you but you just have to trust your training.”
Forbes, a former transfer from Nebraska, started 42 games at center for the Griz, earning third-team All-Big Sky honors as a junior and second-team all-conference honors as a senior captain last season. On Tuesday, he checked in at 6-foot-1.5, 298 pounds with a 77.5 inch wing span. He pumped out 22 reps on the bench press (high for the day) and met his self-stated goal in the vertical with a 25-inch jump. He broad jumped 7 feet, 5 inches before running 5.68 seconds in the 40.
“This was everything you could ask for,” Forbes said. “It was a great opportunity. We will see what the times look like but positional drills, I thought I did well on. And I hit a lot of my goals.
“This has been a goal of mine since I was seven years old and started playing football. I am super thankful for the fact that I even got the opportunity to come out and perform in front of NFL scouts and have them interested in me and me trying to show them why I belong at the next level.”
Cotton is a 6-foot, 191-pounder who came to Montana as a transfer from Oregon State with the initial intention of playing cornerback. A knee injury cost him a step but he still transformed into a multi-year starter and emotional leader, serving as a team captain last season. He ran the fastest 40 of any Griz on Tuesday, clocking a 4.75 seconds.
“I’ve been dream chasing and this has been my dream since I was five years old playing football and just being able to get this opportunity was a huge blessing” Cotton said.
“The hardest part is translating the training. Everyone is saying ‘It’s just another day.’ But you have prepared for 10 weeks for this moment and you don’t want to be overwhelmed by the moment.”
The Sacramento native spent the last few months training in his hometown, working with former Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year Taron Johnson, a Weber State alum who is now the highest paid nickelback in the NFL for the Buffalo Bills.
“I trained with him, and he’s the highest paid nickelback and I have asked him for plenty of pointers,” Cotton said. “Nickelback is definitely a position of need right now and I’m open to giving it a go if someone gives me a shot.”
Walker has turned heads since he arrived on the UM campus as a former defensive lineman transfer from Nebraska. The hulking 6-foot-6, 305-pounder certainly hit the prototype marks when it came to the measurements. His testing was also good, with standout marks including 5.14 seconds in the 40 and 4.65 seconds in the pro shuttle.
Fouch, a 6-foot-2, 214-pound safety who established a reputation as one of the hardest hitters on the Griz over the last few seasons, ran 4.78 in the 40 and had a pro shuttle of 4.53 seconds among his top marks. He has the best broad jump of the day at 9-foot-5.
Tuesday marked the final time the group of now former Grizzlies took the field together at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. They will never perform at the venue again. That was something each one took to heart.
“It was great to get out here in WA-Griz one final time as a football player because we will never be able to do it again,” Gubner said. “I got to do it with my brothers. It’s awesome. It sucks that I will never share the field again with those guys. But it was a good day.”
