Montana Grizzlies 2023 preseason preview

SPOKANE — The Big Sky coaches slotted Montana sixth in the Big Sky football preseason poll, a reminder of where the Griz finished the 2022 season.

The media were much more bullish on coach Bobby Hauck’s Grizzlies, ranking them third in the 12-team poll that was released Monday.

“Interesting,” Hauck said of the disparity when shown the polls. “I don’t care. It’s got nothing to do with me. We’re going to play our game. I don’t think much on it. You could put us last. I don’t care.”

Hauck and Griz players TraJon Cotton and AJ Forbes, who were UM’s representatives at the Big Sky Football Kickoff in Spokane, are more concerned with where they finish in the standings at the end of the season.

The Griz were picked first in 2022, but they limped to a 4-4 finish in the Big Sky, their worst since 2018. While external expectations were increased, Cotton believed the pressure of being the favorite didn’t impact them much.

“It really didn’t because we have those big expectations, so it felt like we should be there at that point,” Cotton said. “We do feel like we’re kind of low this year, but at the same time, we lost a lot of games last year, way too many for us to be OK with. So we just got to work.”

One option for Montana would to be to embrace that underdog role as the team that others are overlooking. But that’s not how Hauck has built the program, setting high internal expectations of competing for Big Sky and national titles.

“I think I speak for not only me and TraJon but for the rest of the Montana football team: I don’t think we’re ever underdogs,” Forbes said. “I think we always see ourselves as a team that can compete for a Big Sky title and national championship every year. I don’t think we ever see ourselves as underdogs.”

Montana has recently struggled as the front runner, and it wasn’t just last year. The Griz were picked second in 2021 but finished tied for third.

In 2018, they exceeded the coaches' prediction of seventh to take sixth. In 2019, they rose above the media’s predicted fifth-place finish to tie for third.

“I hope by the end of the season people see that the Griz are back,” Cotton said. “We’ve been saying that for a long time. I feel like 2021 we were kind of there, but we just got to be more consistent. We hope by the end of the season we’ll gain that respect back and we’ll show the world.”

The Griz had upset FBS Washington in the 2021 season and made it to the FCS playoff quarterfinals for the second season in a row. They didn’t even make it past the second round in 2022, getting nearly doubled up in a loss to North Dakota State to finish the season with an 8-5 record.

"If we’re able to play teams,” Forbes began, “and at the end of that game they’re going into their tunnel and they’re looking back at us on the field and they’re like, ‘Man, we hated playing those guys. Those were a bunch of tough-nosed, hard-nosed, frantic, violent football players,’ I hope that’s what they say about us.”

Hauck heads into the fifth season of his second stint on the final year of his contract. He’s not too concerned about the contract as he tries to get the Griz their first Big Sky title and first trip to the FCS title game in over a decade.

“Our program is ticking along,” he said. “We’re winning a lot of games. We got all-time high graduation rates and GPAs. How many games did we win over the last three seasons: 30, 28, 29? Anybody else in here do that? Maybe one.”

The Griz indeed won 28 games over the past three seasons. The only league teams to win more were Montana State (35) and Sacramento State (30).

Hauck was mum about how the offensive and defensive schemes might change this season under a pair of new coordinators. Brent Pease moved from wide receivers coach to offensive coordinator. Ronnie Bradford switched from cornerbacks coach to defensive coordinator.

The Griz lost several decorated players, but they have five who landed on the preseason all-conference team. That’s the third most among league teams, behind only Montana State (seven) and Idaho (six). It’s also the same number they had in both 2021 and 2022 when they were higher in the polls.

This year, they have two defensive honorees in defensive lineman Alex Gubner and linebacker Levi Janacaro. Both are seniors who are heading into their final season of eligibility.

“Gub is special,” Cotton said. “I think he really has a lot of NFL talent. It’s funny because after every game, the next Monday, we watch hustle tape and see everybody swarm to the ball. Gub, he’s a nose guard and he’s trying to chase down fly sweeps. It’s just really great to see how much he cares about this program, this team and his brothers.”

Janacaro is wearing the No. 37 legacy jersey this season. He played his high school football at Missoula Big Sky.

“Levi is special as well,” Cotton said. “Levi’s been kind of a solid leader. But now he has the 37, so he’s been more vocal. It’s been really respectable. Him and Gub have been good leaders for our defense.”

Defensively, the Griz need to replace three All-Americans who exhausted their eligibility: cornerback Justin Ford, linebacker Patrick O’Connell and safety Robby Hauck.

“I feel like we might not have the big-name stars — the Justins, the Pats and all that — but we have a complete team,” Cotton said. “I feel like for the defense we have three, four senior safeties. All our linebackers, we have three, four seniors. D-line, Gub’s been handling that. Corner, we have Corbin Walker.

“I feel like we’re going to have a real complete team with everybody doing their part.”

Montana’s lone offensive honoree is lineman Hunter Mayginnes. He’s a senior who has started the past two seasons at left guard after transferring from Washington State.

Mayginnes is part of an O-line that returns all five starters and is developing some more depth. That’s been a rarity in recent years for Montana.

“I think everybody on the offensive line should be recognized for what they’ve done for the team, not only last year but what they’re going to do this year,” Forbes said. “I think it’s a big thing for Hunter to get that recognition.

“But I think we have a ton of guys on the offensive line. With the unique position we’re in bringing all five starters back, I think the whole unit is going to be dominant in this conference.”

Montana had two special teams award winners in punt returner Junior Bergen and special teams contributor Trevin Gradney. Both of them are Billings natives.

Bergen can also be a playmaker in the loaded wide receiver room. Then there’s a stable of diverse running backs. However, for the third consecutive season, UM will have a new quarterback.

“I think we’re going to be an explosive unit,” Forbes said. “I’m excited about how we’ve looked in the offseason during spring ball and through the offseason. Going into training camp, I expect us to be a really explosive offense this year.”