MISSOULA, MT (8/7/08) --The University of Montana Grizzlies have
their practice of 2008 fall camp on Tuesday, August 11th. Players
report the day before on Monday, when they are issued equipment and
attend team and position meetings. Note: A complete fall camp schedule
is included in this release.
The Griz are in an unfamiliar role this season, as they are in a
rebuilding mode and need to replace 14 starters and several
record-setting players who graduated.
Montana, which returns 10 starters, seven on offense and three
on defense, is the defending Big Sky Conference champions, and has won
10 league titles in a row, has a record 15 NCAA Football Championship
Subdivision playoff appearances in a row, and has 22 straight winning
seasons.
"As a football team we made a lot of progress during spring
ball, which was much-needed," said sixth-year UM head coach Bobby Hauck,
who sports a 52-14 overall mark and a Big Sky record of 32-5. "We're
not where we have been the last couple of years at this point in time;
it's really going to be a race against the clock for us to try to get
ready for Sept. 6th and Cal Poly.
UM has 46 lettermen from its 11-1 team of 2007 that was 8-0 en
route to its second Big Sky crown in a row. The Griz have won 16
straight league games. Montana ended up 10th in the final Sports
Network poll.
"The position on our team that has a lot of experience back is
the offensive line," Hauck said. "That is really the only spot that we
have a good nucleus of veteran players coming back. That's a good place
to start. We do have a returning starter at quarterback (Cole
Bergquist), and returning starters on the offensive line, and hopefully
with those key components back we can have another good year
offensively.
"The defense has to be completely retooled," Hauck continued.
"We can start with (strong safety) Colt Anderson, who has been an
all-conference performer for us the past two years, and build from
there. We have guys who have played at defensive tackle in Jesse
Carlson and Craig Mettler, and they're going to have be leaders for us
on the D-line.
"At defensive end Mike Stadnyk is a guy who is now a fifth-year
senior and has made a lot of good plays in his career, but he has had
some injury problems, and it is imperative for us to have success on
defense for Mike to have a big year," Hauck said.
"When you look at our secondary and at linebacker there are not
a lot of recognizable names there," Hauck continued. "In eight of our
11 positions on defense not too many of the names on our depth chart are
going to look familiar. That is a real concern for me and for our
staff.
"Special teams are a key component on any football team and have
been a real strength for us," Hauck said. "Frankly we're back to where
we were when (kicker) Dan Carpenter and (punter) Tyson Johnson were
coming in the door and we had a lot of unknowns at those two positions.

OFFENSIVE OVERVIEW
In 2007 Montana was ranked 23rd in total offense at 415.3 yards
a game and was 24th in scoring offense at 31.4 points per contest.
The Grizzlies lost halfback Lex Hilliard and two of their top
wide receivers in school history to graduation. Hilliard ended his
career with a school-record 50 rushing touchdowns, while Ryan Bagley and
Eric Allen are ranked 13th and 21st all-time in receiving yards. Also
gone is tackle Cody Balogh, who started in 41 games in a row.
The offensive line returns several veteran starters in senior
tackle Brent Russum and senior center J.D. Quinn, both first team
All-Big Sky selections last year, while senior guard Colin Dow was a
second team pick, and senior guard Dan Carter was honorable mention.
Also back is senior quarterback Cole Bergquist who started all
12 games last season and a second team all-league pick. Senior wide
receiver Mike Ferriter, who was UM's most consistent receiver a year ago
is back, as are a handful of upperclassmen with some valuable game
experience, but most have more potential than playing time.
The tandem at tight end are juniors Dan Beaudin and Steve
Pfahler, who have shared the starting job over the past two seasons.
Both were honorable mention all-league picks last year.
QUARTERBACK: Bergquist is now 17-4 as a starter and was a second
team All-Big Sky pick last season. Sophomore Andrew Selle is a very
promising young signal-caller and had an outstanding spring.
Bergquist passed for 2,623 yards and 20 touchdowns and completed
60.9% of his throws last season, while Selle played in six games and
threw for 175 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Jeff Larson also had a
solid spring.
RUNNING BACK: Hilliard rushed for 1,132 yards and 16 touchdowns
in 2007. Sophomore Chase Reynolds looked good this past spring and
should challenge junior Brooks-Fletcher for a starting role. Senior
Andrew Schmidt is a hard-charger and special teams standout, and junior
Brandon Utterback is vying for playing time.
OFFENSIVE LINE: The O-line should once again be a strength for
the Griz. Russum started all 12 games at right tackle a year ago, while
seniors Colin Dow, J.D. Quinn, and Dan Carter and junior Terran
Hillesland had all of the starts at both guard spots and center and are
also back.
Juniors Chris Dyk and Levi Horn were battling for the starting
job at left tackle, vacated by the durable Balogh.
Sophomore Alex Verlanic was moved from defense and could help out as
well. All five prep signees come into fall camp with good size.
WIDE RECEIVER: Allen and Bagley accounted for 78 catches and 13
touchdowns last season, but Ferriter hauled in a team-high 49 passes a
year ago. Junior Marc Mariani has tremendous potential, and senior Rob
Schulte and junior Tyler Palmer appear to be ready for break-out
seasons.
TIGHT END: Beaudin and Pfahler make this a strong position, and
sophomore Robert Overton will also contribute.
FULLBACK: Junior Kevin Klaboe was an all-league pick at fullback
the past two seasons. Noah McWilliams and sophomore Nick Lebsock could
also see action.

DEFENSIVE OVERVIEW
Montana has had one of the nation's best defenses the past two
seasons and was ranked second nationally in scoring defense in 2007,
allowing 14.8 points a game. Over the past two seasons, the Grizzly
defense led the Big Sky in nearly every defensive category. In 2007, UM
was ranked among the national leaders in several categories: rushing
defense (21st, giving up 125.4 yards a game), was 32nd in total defense
(338.8 ypg), and was 23rd in turnover margin (+.83 a game). In 2006 the
Griz were ranked ninth in the country in total defense (266.4 yards a
game).
The defense lost eight starters, and all eight of those players
received all-league recognition in 2007.
Lost to graduation are first-team all-conference players Kroy
Biermann, linebacker Loren Utterback, as well as linebacker Tyler Joyce,
cornerback Chris Clark, and free safety Torrey Thomas, who were second
team picks. Biermann was the Big Sky's defensive MVP and UM's
first-ever winner of the Buck Buchanan Award.
All three starting linebackers: Joyce, Kyle Ryan, and Utterback,
are gone, as well as quality back-ups Muckie Foreman and Alex Hawthorne.
Two-time first team all-conference pick Colt Anderson is back at
strong safety and is a 2008 Buck Buchanan Award candidate. The other
two starters back are senior tackle Craig Mettler, a second team All-Big
Sky pick, and senior end Mike Stadnyk, an honorable mention selection.
DEFENSIVE END: Biermann, who had the second most sacks (32) in
school history and was second in the nation in that category last season
with 1.25 a game, will be impossible to replace. But Stadnyk, a second
round draft pick of the Canadian Football League, is braced to have a
banner senior season. Junior Jace Palmer had quite a few reps last
season as well. Depth will be provided by junior George Mercer,
sophomore Severin Campbell, and redshirt freshman Ryan Featherston.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE: Mettler has started the last 23 games in a row
and was UM's ninth leading tackler last year with 46 stops. Senior
Jesse Carlson is a veteran and played in 11 games a year ago. Senior
Paul LaMantia has seen a lot of action, and up-and-coming sophomore
Carson Bender should help. Sophomore Austin Mullins was moved from end
to tackle and could also be in the mix, along with redshirt freshman
Braydon Schilling.
LINEBACKER: Senior Tyler Corwin has been waiting in the wings
for a starting berth and is a talent, as is newcomer Thomas Bauer, a
junior. Junior Shawn Lebsock is also a talent and will start at middle
linebacker. Junior Brandon Fisher is vying for a starting job. Senior
Tom Martin had an outstanding spring, and depth is added by junior Tyler
Pelluer and sophomore Andy Gonzales. There are some talented incoming
freshmen who could make an impact.
CORNERBACK: Both starters graduated, and two promising young
players left the program. Senior Ciarre Campbell had a good spring and
is vying for a starting role. Junior Joe Smith and redshirt freshman
Nick Haynes are also in the mix, and two junior college transfers will
join the team for fall drills.
SAFETY: Anderson is a proven player, while junior Shann
Schillinger and sophomore Erik Stoll are also quality players with
experience. Junior Tim Anderson should also contribute.

SPECIAL TEAMS OVERVIEW
KICKER/PUNTER: Because of the loss of record-setting kicker Dan
Carpenter and four-year starter Tyson Johnson at punter, both positions
are wide open. Carpenter set FCS records with 413 kick-scoring points
and 75 field goals, while Johnson had the second longest career punting
average in school history (42.13-yard average).
PUNT & KICKOFF RETURNS: Mariani was an honorable mention
all-league pick a year ago, and is the Big Sky's top returning player in
both punt and kickoff returns, averaging 13.3 on punt returns and
32.2-per kickoff returns. Schulte has been one of the leading kickoff
returners in the league the past two seasons.