The known and the unknown

Quarterback

Senior Cole Bergquist enters his third starting season ranked ninth in school history with 4,349 passing yards. He was named second team All-Big Sky last season after throwing for 2,623 yards and 20 touchdowns. He was also Montana’s second leading rusher last season, piling up 383 yards on the ground. Backing up Bergquist will be sophomore Andrew Selle.

Running Backs

Junior Thomas Brooks-Fletcher burst onto the scene with back-to-back 100-yard games in the FCS playoffs as a redshirt freshman in the absence of former Griz Lex Hilliard. But last season, Brooks-Fletcher only tallied 43 carries for 126 yards. His experience in the backfield will be crucial. Sophomore Chase Reynolds will provide the lightning to Brooks-Fletcher’s thunder and should get his fair share of carries.

Kevin Klaboe will once again assume fullback duties after back-to-back seasons in which he was named honorable mention All-Big Sky.

Wide Receivers

Offensive team captain Mike Ferriter enters his final season just three receptions shy of the century mark. He is also 23rd in school history with 1,269 receiving yards. He earned honorable mention All-Big Sky honors after posting team highs with 49 receptions and 733 yards. 

A trio of inexperienced but talented speedsters will compliment Ferriter on the outside.  Junior Marc Mariani is the second-leading returning receiver after recording 15 catches for 231 yards last season. Senior Rob Schulte will start in the slot after piling up 37 catches for 402 yards over three seasons. Junior Tyler Palmer is the most physically imposing of the group and should also be in the mix as a big play option.

Tight Ends

Montana has a pair of battle-tested thoroughbreds as bookends of the offensive line. Juniors Dan Beaudin and Steven Pfahler each enter their third season sharing starting duties.
Beaudin, who also lettered in basketball last winter and track & field, recorded six catches for 55 yards in route to being named honorable mention all-league. Pfahler caught 8 balls for 77 yards as he also was named honorable mention All-Big Sky.

Offensive Line

The offense’s strength is found up front. All five projected starters are honors candidates, with four All-American hopefuls. The most versatile of the group is senior Colin Dow, who has started at center as well as both guard spots over the past two seasons. He will start at left guard. As a sophomore, Dow was a first team all-league pick and last season he was a Sports Network honorable mention All-American. Senior Brent Russum started all twelve games for Montana at right tackle last season on his way to a first team All-Big Sky selection and a nod from Sports Network as an honorable mention All-American. Despite only starting six games last season, center J.D. Quinn was also named first team all-league and was a Sports Network All-American.

All-American candidate senior guard Dan Carter started in six games, playing in all 12. UM’s other honors candidates in the trenches are also their biggest. Junior tackle Levi Horn and 6-foot-8 junior tackle Chris Dyk will see significant playing time as will 6-foot-7, 324-pound junior Terran Hillesland.

Defensive Ends

Gone is Buck Buchanan award winner Kroy Bierman but hope is not lost. Montana returns veteran Mike Stadnyk, who was second on the team last season with 3.5 sacks while also recording 44 tackles, 6.5 for loss. He was honorable mention All-Big Sky. Stepping into Biermann’s spot will be junior Jace Palmer. Palmer played in 11 of UM’s 12 games last season, ranking fourth on the team with three sacks. 

Defensive
Tackles

Senior Craig Mettler has started every game for the past two seasons. He is Montana’s second-leading returning tackler after making 46 stops last season, garnering a second team All-Big Sky spot. Third generation Grizzly senior Jesse Carlson will start at the other spot. Junior Austin Mullins, recently moved from defensive end, and sophomore Carson Bender should also see significant time.

Linebackers

The strength of last season’s defense is now a big question mark. Gone are the three leading tacklers in Tyler Joyce, Loren Utterback and Kyle Ryan. But junior middle Shawn Lebsock returns, after sitting out last season because of shoulder surgery.  Lebsock played in all 14 games of 2006, recording 78 stops and is an honors candidate in 2008. On the strong side will be junior Brandon Fisher, who converted from safety during the spring. The other outside spot will be manned by senior Tyler Corwin, who recorded 44 stops last season. Junior-college transfer Thomas Bauer should also contribute.

Cornerbacks

Depth issues arise at corner for several reasons. Several players who are new to the program will be asked to pick up the slack for departed Chris Clark and Quinton Jackson. True freshman Trumaine Johnson showed promise in fall camp and is penciled in as a starter for the opener. The other spot will be a battle between junior college transfer Andrew Swink, who was an All-California performer at Mount San Antonio College last season, fellow Mount San Antonio College alum Joe Smith, and senior Ciarre Campbell, who initially earned the starting job before suffering an injury during fall ball.

Safety

A pair of veteran safeties should offset the inexperienced corner.  Buck Buchanan finalist and Grizzly defensive team captain Colt Anderson returns as the starter at strong safety for a third consecutive season. Anderson tallied 85 tackles, including a team high 58 unassisted tackles. He was second on the team with three forced fumbles and fourth in tackles for loss with seven. Anderson was selected first-team All-Big Sky Conference for the second consecutive season and was tabbed All-America honorable mention by the Sports Network. Starting at free safety will be junior Shann Shillinger. Shillinger has never started but has played in 26 consecutive contests. His 45 tackles rank third among returnees. 

Punters

Gone to graduation is All-American Tyson Johnson. The task of replacing him will fall to true freshman Ken Wood.  Although Johnson’s shoes will be hard to fill, Johnson himself was thrown into the fire as a true freshman and went on to a stellar career.

Kickers

Dan Carpenter, all-time leading scorer in FCS history, is now a Miami Dolphin and the task of replacing him falls on the shoulders of Purdue transfer sophomore Brody McKnight and true freshman Russell Shey. Competition between the two remained heated and no starter had been named as of Thursday.

Kick Returners

Mariani will again handle punts after a 2007 season that saw him lead the Big Sky and rank 11th in the nation in punt return average at just over 13 yards per tout. He was an honorable mention All-Big Sky selection. Mariani will also handle kick-offs along with Rob Schulte.

colter.nuanez@umontana.edu