We're about a month away from the start of FALL camp and I wanted to get a few posts up before taking a closer look at the roster and sharing some thoughts on it. As we all know the 2025 Griz return only a handful of starters on both sides of the ball and there is a lot of unknown about what to expect and who might turn into major impact players.
Breaking it down:
Quarterback: It's presumably a 2 man race between Ah Yat and Jensen. Ah Yat had a setback in spring which gave Jensen a long stretch with the 1st team without sharing reps. I'm fearful we're headed into a 3rd year in a row with no locked in starter here. Ah Yat, when healthy, operates this offense the best. Jensen's improvement through spring is really promising and he rapidly improved and looked pretty good by the time of the spring game. And keeping an eye on Flowers, who quietly had what I thought was a good spring camp.
Running back: We know what we've got here, one of the very best backs in the FCS in Eli Gillman - who I would venture could be in the conversation for preseason offense MVP, will be on the Payton watch list, and will probably also be on the eyes of a lot of FBS teams this year too (again). Behind him this team needs to see if it's Rocker or Fonoti who will fill the role that Nick Ostmo had for years, we've seen great stuff out of both, I'd assume all 3 backs are going to get a lot of touches this season.
Wide receiver: This is going to be a totally different WR group than we've seen in quite some time Griz Nation. Our most experienced returning WR is Drew Deck, who had 78 yards on 7 catches, I'd expect to see Drew much more in the slot and as our primary returner. More experienced play has arrived by way of portal though with Wortham (EWU) and Bohannon (KSU) showing up. Wortham's 2 year stat line from EWU is wild; 582 rushing yards, 10 rushing TDs, 126 passing yards, 3 passing TDs, 266 receiving yards, 1 receiving TD, 1829 total kick return yards, 1 KR TD. Wortham will be the Swiss Army Knife of this offense, we'll see him everywhere. Bohannon's 4 years at Kennesaw he tallied up a total of 654 receiving yards and 2 TDs, looks like he played some special teams as well considering I see some defensive stats, even a fumble recovery. These two senior transfers will probably be looked upon to carry some veteran leadership in an otherwise really young and really inexperienced group. Of course the two other names that we're excited to see more from are our two heralded recruits from last year, Lekeldrick Bridges (who played a few games last year) and Brooks Davis who lit up the spring game. Add in some more transfers that have multiple years to play and you've got Corbin Hendrix and Weston Adams. I'll say this about many of these guys, but especially Bridges and Hendrix - these guys are different type of WR than we usually see the Griz recruit, they are FAST and strike me as more of a speed/burner type of WR rather than the typical "balanced" WR that might be a bit taller or broader and plays a greater role in blocking. Add in spring ball's highest rising WR (IMO) Cameron Gurnsey, and another spring game standout in Jordan Dever + Ian Finch (who I think was dinged up in the spring) and we've got a wide open room that this staff has to get aligned fast. I honestly think beyond Wortham the 2 deep here could still be wide open and will be something to watch once camp starts up.
Tight End: Montana got some help with the announced return of Evan Schafer who, at 6-5, 273, is like adding another OL to the field. He and Jake Olson bring some good rotational experience to this group. Beyond these two we once again will see quite a few transfers, Josh Gale a UCD transfer who in 3 seasons of play there had 830 yards and 9 TDs - he missed a part of spring ball, hopefully he's ready to roll - I wonder if they see him as that Grossman-type of TE that can be a vertical/seam threat too. Titus Roher from Tennessee has also transferred in but he has real limited experience and no prior stats of note, I believe he also missed a part of spring ball. Danny Sirmon is a guy to watch for in the years ahead.
Offensive Line: We have good returning experience here but it seems the coaching staff is still working to see who they'll plug in, and at what position. Cannon Panfiloff will presumably lock in at tackle and will open fall camp as (IMO) the best player we have on the OL, we know his versatility well, he can play all over the line but it seemed tackle is where he really excelled. Liam Brown returns with starts and time at both center and guard. Cade Klimczak returns who played center last year but I think also played guard at Central Michigan. Dillon Botner, who played tackle for most of his career returned and was playing center in the spring game. There's also Lucas Freitas who rotated a lot last year and seems to be one of the younger interior OL this staff is really excited about. Then... we add in the transfers. 4 total. Carter Bowen, a tackle, who arrived here before spring camp and had his ups and downs that I saw. Patrick Matan, a tackle in high school and backup/ST player at NC state with just 1 year to play. Dylan Jemtegaard, from Cal, another guy with primarily backup and ST work that played LT in high school. And then there's Jose Balver-Mendoza, an RS frosh from Kennesaw that our current OL coach knows well - he's I think being pinned for tackle as well. 4 returning players with experience, 4 transfers, and then add in depth/developing players that are on roster as well; Buehler, Henrickson, Johnson, Hilden, Jeske, Steinbach, Templeton, and Amick. Admittedly I had a hard time tracking who was playing where this spring and didn't focus as much on the OL. Add in that I think only Bowen was here for the spring, so many of the transfers didn't practice with this group, and we've got things pretty wide open here. Coach Norcross has his work cut out for him, although I was told that of the transfers coming in Norcross actually has familiarity with a few - obviously one from KSU but a few others he recruited when they were in high school.
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I really wonder if in September and part of October that we see some struggles from this group on a few accounts.
- Lack of playing time together / playing time in total. Save the running back room, Wortham, and a few dudes on OL/TE, we're going to see many guys on this 2 deep that have never started a game. I would wonder if getting into the flow of going from being a backup/ST or even redshirting to now starting is going to lead to some breakdowns and some inefficient play. This, I think, is where the staff will need to lean early on the running back room, Wortham, Deck, and a few other experienced guys to bring the team along.
- It seems that the Griz are once again headed into a contested QB situation, need I say more? Can Ah Yat stay healthy? Or is Jensen just the right safe choice?
- With this much turnover I wonder how the leadership void will be filled, this group has a lot of guys that haven't been on the same roster together so finding the guy(s) with that outward leadership voice by position might take some time.
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I do think this offense has the potential to be very lethal, it should possess the ability to grind teams out in the trenches and run the ball down their throats - all while having legit over the top speed that could stretch the field. This really could be one of the biggest tests for this coaching staff with so many new and young guys they're trying to snap in. If it works, this team offense could do great things. If not... it could be a choppy season that will rely on the legs/back/strength of Eli Gillman alone.
Breaking it down:
Quarterback: It's presumably a 2 man race between Ah Yat and Jensen. Ah Yat had a setback in spring which gave Jensen a long stretch with the 1st team without sharing reps. I'm fearful we're headed into a 3rd year in a row with no locked in starter here. Ah Yat, when healthy, operates this offense the best. Jensen's improvement through spring is really promising and he rapidly improved and looked pretty good by the time of the spring game. And keeping an eye on Flowers, who quietly had what I thought was a good spring camp.
Running back: We know what we've got here, one of the very best backs in the FCS in Eli Gillman - who I would venture could be in the conversation for preseason offense MVP, will be on the Payton watch list, and will probably also be on the eyes of a lot of FBS teams this year too (again). Behind him this team needs to see if it's Rocker or Fonoti who will fill the role that Nick Ostmo had for years, we've seen great stuff out of both, I'd assume all 3 backs are going to get a lot of touches this season.
Wide receiver: This is going to be a totally different WR group than we've seen in quite some time Griz Nation. Our most experienced returning WR is Drew Deck, who had 78 yards on 7 catches, I'd expect to see Drew much more in the slot and as our primary returner. More experienced play has arrived by way of portal though with Wortham (EWU) and Bohannon (KSU) showing up. Wortham's 2 year stat line from EWU is wild; 582 rushing yards, 10 rushing TDs, 126 passing yards, 3 passing TDs, 266 receiving yards, 1 receiving TD, 1829 total kick return yards, 1 KR TD. Wortham will be the Swiss Army Knife of this offense, we'll see him everywhere. Bohannon's 4 years at Kennesaw he tallied up a total of 654 receiving yards and 2 TDs, looks like he played some special teams as well considering I see some defensive stats, even a fumble recovery. These two senior transfers will probably be looked upon to carry some veteran leadership in an otherwise really young and really inexperienced group. Of course the two other names that we're excited to see more from are our two heralded recruits from last year, Lekeldrick Bridges (who played a few games last year) and Brooks Davis who lit up the spring game. Add in some more transfers that have multiple years to play and you've got Corbin Hendrix and Weston Adams. I'll say this about many of these guys, but especially Bridges and Hendrix - these guys are different type of WR than we usually see the Griz recruit, they are FAST and strike me as more of a speed/burner type of WR rather than the typical "balanced" WR that might be a bit taller or broader and plays a greater role in blocking. Add in spring ball's highest rising WR (IMO) Cameron Gurnsey, and another spring game standout in Jordan Dever + Ian Finch (who I think was dinged up in the spring) and we've got a wide open room that this staff has to get aligned fast. I honestly think beyond Wortham the 2 deep here could still be wide open and will be something to watch once camp starts up.
Tight End: Montana got some help with the announced return of Evan Schafer who, at 6-5, 273, is like adding another OL to the field. He and Jake Olson bring some good rotational experience to this group. Beyond these two we once again will see quite a few transfers, Josh Gale a UCD transfer who in 3 seasons of play there had 830 yards and 9 TDs - he missed a part of spring ball, hopefully he's ready to roll - I wonder if they see him as that Grossman-type of TE that can be a vertical/seam threat too. Titus Roher from Tennessee has also transferred in but he has real limited experience and no prior stats of note, I believe he also missed a part of spring ball. Danny Sirmon is a guy to watch for in the years ahead.
Offensive Line: We have good returning experience here but it seems the coaching staff is still working to see who they'll plug in, and at what position. Cannon Panfiloff will presumably lock in at tackle and will open fall camp as (IMO) the best player we have on the OL, we know his versatility well, he can play all over the line but it seemed tackle is where he really excelled. Liam Brown returns with starts and time at both center and guard. Cade Klimczak returns who played center last year but I think also played guard at Central Michigan. Dillon Botner, who played tackle for most of his career returned and was playing center in the spring game. There's also Lucas Freitas who rotated a lot last year and seems to be one of the younger interior OL this staff is really excited about. Then... we add in the transfers. 4 total. Carter Bowen, a tackle, who arrived here before spring camp and had his ups and downs that I saw. Patrick Matan, a tackle in high school and backup/ST player at NC state with just 1 year to play. Dylan Jemtegaard, from Cal, another guy with primarily backup and ST work that played LT in high school. And then there's Jose Balver-Mendoza, an RS frosh from Kennesaw that our current OL coach knows well - he's I think being pinned for tackle as well. 4 returning players with experience, 4 transfers, and then add in depth/developing players that are on roster as well; Buehler, Henrickson, Johnson, Hilden, Jeske, Steinbach, Templeton, and Amick. Admittedly I had a hard time tracking who was playing where this spring and didn't focus as much on the OL. Add in that I think only Bowen was here for the spring, so many of the transfers didn't practice with this group, and we've got things pretty wide open here. Coach Norcross has his work cut out for him, although I was told that of the transfers coming in Norcross actually has familiarity with a few - obviously one from KSU but a few others he recruited when they were in high school.
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I really wonder if in September and part of October that we see some struggles from this group on a few accounts.
- Lack of playing time together / playing time in total. Save the running back room, Wortham, and a few dudes on OL/TE, we're going to see many guys on this 2 deep that have never started a game. I would wonder if getting into the flow of going from being a backup/ST or even redshirting to now starting is going to lead to some breakdowns and some inefficient play. This, I think, is where the staff will need to lean early on the running back room, Wortham, Deck, and a few other experienced guys to bring the team along.
- It seems that the Griz are once again headed into a contested QB situation, need I say more? Can Ah Yat stay healthy? Or is Jensen just the right safe choice?
- With this much turnover I wonder how the leadership void will be filled, this group has a lot of guys that haven't been on the same roster together so finding the guy(s) with that outward leadership voice by position might take some time.
---------------------
I do think this offense has the potential to be very lethal, it should possess the ability to grind teams out in the trenches and run the ball down their throats - all while having legit over the top speed that could stretch the field. This really could be one of the biggest tests for this coaching staff with so many new and young guys they're trying to snap in. If it works, this team offense could do great things. If not... it could be a choppy season that will rely on the legs/back/strength of Eli Gillman alone.
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