MISSOULA, Montana — Samori Toure had quite literally the most prolific afternoon of any receiver in Montana or FCS history during his second-to-last game with the Grizzlies.
During an elongated off-season abruptly extended again and again because of a global pandemic, Toure made the decision to take his talents to the Big Ten.
The race to replace an explosive wide receiver who caught 12 passes for an FCS-playoff record 303 yards in a single game in 2019 — Toure broke Randy Moss’s decades old record — is one of the key story lines for a Griz football team harboring elite internal expectations entering the 2021 season.
Montana has been chomping at the bit since a 17-10 loss in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs to a Weber State squad that the Griz dismantled less than a month earlier in Missoula. Sure, UM played a pair of games in the spring.
Head coach Bobby Hauck and his staff are so serious about their football team, the coaching staff intensely scouted all four of the semifinal qualifiers during the spring season along with all the teams from the Big Sky Conference.
In other words, the Griz hope to be among that company by the time the calendar turns from November to December.
“It’s the standard around here; we play to win them all, and that’s how we want it,” Montana junior safety Robby Hauck said following Monday’s practice. “It pushes everybody to be better and never be satisfied.
“I felt like we got a pretty good taste of that in 2019 and there’s still a lot of work left to do and so we’re really excited to get out on the field and perform at the highest level we think we can play at.”
Montana opened up fall camp with a spirited, crisp practice on a picturesque Garden City evening on Monday night. UM did not take Dornblaser Field until 6:30 p.m. with temperatures hovering in the mid-70s and not a trace of smoke in the previously smoke-soaked Missoula sky.
From Griz senior linebacker Jace Lewis wearing No. 37 for the first time to corner back Omar Hicks-Onu donning No. 0 (a new number allowance in college football) for the first time in Montana history, changes abounded as UM’s pursuit of its first Big Sky championship in 10 years began.
Lewis, wide receiver Samuel Akem, left tackle Conlan Beaver, quarterback Cam Humphrey, defensive ends Justin Belnap and Joe Babros and Gavin Robertson are all potential honors candidates from Montana’s group of 12 super seniors.
A slew of players with starting experience dot the roster. Hauck asserted at the Big Sky Kickoff media event in Spokane last month that his roster is finally balanced and doesn’t have many obvious holes.
“We’re back in business,” Hauck said before Monday’s opener. “We’re excited to be out here. I can’t wait to get on the field with the guys. It should be a lot of fun.
Still, as with every fall camp for every football team around the country, questions will be part of the fall camp narrative.
“I like our depth at almost every position, I think that there isn’t a huge drop off,” Hauck said. “When we’re in late October, November, December, you know, we may be talking about different guys than we are in September.”
Here’s a look at six important questions for Montana football as football officially returns to the Garden City at long last.
Who, if anyone, will replace Toure?
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