Keali'i Ah Yat is currently the nations leader in passing yards

[garizzalies]

OFFENSIVE OUTBURSTS: With the business end of the calendar officially in front of them, the Griz enter the last three games of the regular season with one of the most potent and versatile offenses in the FCS.

Led by a veteran offensive line, coordinator Brent Pease's offense is a three-headed monster, able to attack opposing defenses in a variety of ways, with a variety of weapons. It stacks up to the No. 1 total offense in the Big Sky at an average of 482 yards per game – the fourth best mark in the FCS.

- The Griz scored their 50th total touchdown this season early in the fourth quarter at Weber State. With three regular season games to go and an average of over five TD's per game – the seventh-best average in in the FCS – Montana's offense is on pace to be the most potent of the last decade, chasing 2019's total TD count of 69.

• Keali'i Ah Yat has been dealin'. Plain and simple.


Just four yards shy of his fifth 300-plus yard passing game of the season, Ah Yat torched Weber State for two passing touchdowns and ran for another in Montana's 38-17 road win in Ogden – UM's first in over a decade.

The sophomore completed 15 of 27 passes for 296 yards and added 16 more on the ground for 312 yards of total offense while responsible for 18 of UM's 38 points. In just three quarters of play, he paced Montana to 522 yards of total offense – the third-highest output for the Griz this season – with zero turnovers. Here are some other highlights:

- He now leads the FCS in passing yards with 2,534 – the sixth-most in all D-I football – in a balanced offense that also boasts one of the nation's top running backs. He also leads the Big Sky in passing TDs with 19, passing YPG at 281, and points responsible for at 138.

- His current passing completion percentage this season is .669, as of now the fifth-best season in program history. He sits six places ahead of his dad Brian's 1998 season where he completed .642 percent of his passes.

- He's now thrown just three interceptions to 15 touchdown passes in the last seven games. Despite throwing four picks in the first two games as he adjusted to being a sophomore starter, his pass efficiency rating of 161 is still top 15 in the FCS.

KAY’s numbers are insane. He leads the BSC in passing TDs, YPG, and points.
He should be the front runner for the BSC OPY and his only competition for the award are his teammates

 

[rocklobster]

And he still hasn't come close to his ceiling yet! If he stays for another year we will be in for a real treat, I believe.

I was definitely on the Fife hype train last year, and I have never been happier to admit I was wrong.

Wait a minute! I thought Bobby and his coaching staff couldn't develop QBs and other players. Probably just lucky on this one.

 

[Wolf777]

I still wonder if it was concussion. Honestly dont know, I thought it may have been his shoulder. But it was the game he ran for all those TDs , western Carolina i believe. Coaches wanted him, saw through fifedom completely, but it was difficult to sustain his health all year.

His offseason work and his physical transformation and bulking up has made all the difference in his ability to tolerate hits and his mental work has helped him avoid taking too many unnecessary hits. I really hope we get to see him reach his full ceiling because as good as he’s playing, there’s a higher level he could get to.

 

[nicktaber58]

His offseason work and his physical transformation and bulking up has made all the difference in his ability to tolerate hits and his mental work has helped him avoid taking too many unnecessary hits. I really hope we get to see him reach his full ceiling because as good as he’s playing, there’s a higher level he could get to.

Man, that transformation and improvement has been awesome. And you're right, there more left in the tank

 

[Oldskoolgriz]

Man, that transformation and improvement has been awesome. And you're right, there more left in the tank

I remember when right before the season started and Nick was telling everyone how good Ah Yat was going to be this year, most posters on here were doubting Ah Yat and his ability. But Nick stayed firm in his belief and said just wait and see. Thanks Nick for believing and manifesting this into existence!

 

[kemajic]

BS. You check the numbers. KAY had one of the greatest freshman seasons in UM history and broke a 120 year old record.

Let's check the numbers, which you obviously haven't done.

QB Rating Compl Attempts % Int Yards TD
Fife 130 167 263 63.5 2 1800 14
Ah Yat 115 112 180 59,3 6 1121 7

A, Fife was better in every category and B, Ah Yat was far from having "the greatest freshman seasons in UM history". Please tell us about the 120 year old record and try to stick to the facts for a change.

Ah Yat is doing great this year, last year not so much.

 

[GoldStandardGriz]

I thought Fife was clearly the better QB last year--the Portland State game was Exhibit A. But I also realize because Coach Hauck is so tight-lipped about injuries and understandably so--don't want to show our hand to this week's and upcoming opponents--that Keali'i was playing hurt at least some if not most of the year.

And I was skeptical coming into this year--I thought like our former QB Nick Montana who wasn't his dad Joe, Keali'i was not Brian nor would he ever be. Jensen was going to be our guy for 2025.

And boy was I wrong !!! While the level of effort hasn't changed--Keali'i always played his guts out and leaves everything on the field, but his physical maturation--he's no longer 180 lbs but 200 and his increased arm strength plus his mental maturation--his judgement on when to hand the ball off and when to keep the ball himself and run it, his check downs and what WR, TE or back to throw the ball to are just night and day better than last year !!!

I would still say Keali'i isn't as good as Brian the senior, but I would also say that Keali'i the redshirt sophomore QB is better than Brian was as a sophomore and I'll say it again, if he stays healthy, I think Keali'i will do something his dad almost did but came up short against Marshall, Chad Pennington and Randy Moss: win a national championship(s).

I have never been so happy to have been so wrong about our great young QB. !!!

( Michael Wortham deserves an assist for helping occasionally, resting Keali'i playing Wildcat QB plus as as his go-to-guy in the slot.)

Brian threw for 3800 yds and 42 tds (record) his soph sseason while leading us to the chipper vs Moss and KRESSER (not Pennington!! He red-shirted that yr). While Keali'i is having an amazing season thus far, it's a stretch to say he's better than his dad was as a Sophomore, Brian was great that year.

 

[CrunchGriz]

When you’re comparing what KAY has done this season against what his father did in 1996, both as sophomores, you have to take into consideration that the Griz at that time where a pass first, pass second, pass third, team. Rushing the ball was a rarity. It’s no wonder that Brian threw for so many yards in that offense. KAY is on track to throw for around 3400 yards in a much less pass happy offense, which is not that far behind what his father did in an Air Bear offense.

 

[nicktaber58]

Let's check the numbers, which you obviously haven't done.

QB Rating Compl Attempts % Int Yards TD
Fife 130 167 263 63.5 2 1800 14
Ah Yat 115 112 180 59,3 6 1121 7

A, Fife was better in every category and B, Ah Yat was far from having "the greatest freshman seasons in UM history". Please tell us about the 120 year old record and try to stick to the facts for a change.

Ah Yat is doing great this year, last year not so much.

For how shitty of a teammate fife was last year, and the ridiculous mistakes he made that cost us games, he sucked. And I believe the record hes talking about was the qb rushing TD record, when KAY willed us to victory with his feet against a formidable western Carolina opponent. This was also the beginning of a downhill slide of injuries for him. Had he stayed healthy, he truly wouldve had one of the greatest freshman seasons in program history. As it were, it was close, with less than 50% game reps. I don't understand why its so difficult for some here to see the virtues of KAYs play last year, and how beneficial it was for his success this season.

Lemme guess, you were one of the posters with the genius prediction pre season that we "still don't have a quarterback" this year.

 

[nicktaber58]

I remember when right before the season started and Nick was telling everyone how good Ah Yat was going to be this year, most posters on here were doubting Ah Yat and his ability. But Nick stayed firm in his belief and said just wait and see. Thanks Nick for believing and manifesting this into existence!

Thank you good sir I saw the work he was putting in during the off season, and the promise he showed last season

 

[montanaguy]

I thought Fife was clearly the better QB last year--the Portland State game was Exhibit A. But I also realize because Coach Hauck is so tight-lipped about injuries and understandably so--don't want to show our hand to this week's and upcoming opponents--that Keali'i was playing hurt at least some if not most of the year.

And I was skeptical coming into this year--I thought like our former QB Nick Montana who wasn't his dad Joe, Keali'i was not Brian nor would he ever be. Jensen was going to be our guy for 2025.

And boy was I wrong !!! While the level of effort hasn't changed--Keali'i always played his guts out and leaves everything on the field, but his physical maturation--he's no longer 180 lbs but 200 and his increased arm strength plus his mental maturation--his judgement on when to hand the ball off and when to keep the ball himself and run it, his check downs and what WR, TE or back to throw the ball to are just night and day better than last year !!!

I would still say Keali'i isn't as good as Brian the senior, but I would also say that Keali'i the redshirt sophomore QB is better than Brian was as a sophomore and I'll say it again, if he stays healthy, I think Keali'i will do something his dad almost did but came up short against Marshall, Chad Pennington and Randy Moss: win a national championship(s).

I have never been so happy to have been so wrong about our great young QB. !!!

( Michael Wortham deserves an assist for helping occasionally, resting Keali'i playing Wildcat QB plus as as his go-to-guy in the slot.)

If he whips the Cats like his dad did, I’ll be pretty satisfied.

 

[Oldskoolgriz]

For how shitty of a teammate fife was last year, and the ridiculous mistakes he made that cost us games, he sucked. And I believe the record hes talking about was the qb rushing TD record, when KAY willed us to victory with his feet against a formidable western Carolina opponent. This was also the beginning of a downhill slide of injuries for him. Had he stayed healthy, he truly wouldve had one of the greatest freshman seasons in program history. As it were, it was close, with less than 50% game reps. I don't understand why its so difficult for some here to see the virtues of KAYs play last year, and how beneficial it was for his success this season.

Lemme guess, you were one of the posters with the genius prediction pre season that we "still don't have a quarterback" this year.

It's not hard for these posters to see how good KAY was, is and is still getting. It's that those few posters DONT want to see and hate rooting for him for one reason or another. Blows my mind how we have a legacy kid who comes in and busts his ass from the beginning moving all the way up to 2nd string in his true Freshman year when we went to the NC. Then those posters started claiming it's because it's Brian's son which is why the coaches had him at 2nd string and was even playing at times. Some posters on here will continue to hate on him and it's pretty evident which posters do by the comments they make. This is why some of the threads have been so light because those same posters couldn't wait to talk shit about the kid but he's been doing amazing and it upsets those posters that he's doing so well. And if you're one of those posters then you're not a Griz fan, you're just an angry, bitter person.

 

[kemajic]

For how shitty of a teammate fife was last year, and the ridiculous mistakes he made that cost us games, he sucked. And I believe the record hes talking about was the qb rushing TD record, when KAY willed us to victory with his feet against a formidable western Carolina opponent. This was also the beginning of a downhill slide of injuries for him. Had he stayed healthy, he truly wouldve had one of the greatest freshman seasons in program history. As it were, it was close, with less than 50% game reps. I don't understand why its so difficult for some here to see the virtues of KAYs play last year, and how beneficial it was for his success this season.

Lemme guess, you were one of the posters with the genius prediction pre season that we "still don't have a quarterback" this year.

Your guess is no better than your attention to the facts.

 

[kemajic]

It's not hard for these posters to see how good KAY was, is and is still getting. It's that those few posters DONT want to see and hate rooting for him for one reason or another. Blows my mind how we have a legacy kid who comes in and busts his ass from the beginning moving all the way up to 2nd string in his true Freshman year when we went to the NC. Then those posters started claiming it's because it's Brian's son which is why the coaches had him at 2nd string and was even playing at times. Some posters on here will continue to hate on him and it's pretty evident which posters do by the comments they make. This is why some of the threads have been so light because those same posters couldn't wait to talk shit about the kid but he's been doing amazing and it upsets those posters that he's doing so well. And if you're one of those posters then you're not a Griz fan, you're just an angry, bitter person.

Facts can be very stubborn. No one is hating on Ah Yat.

 

[nicktaber58]

Your guess is no better than your attention to the facts.

Were you vocally high and on and positive about KAY preseason, or pessimistic? I certainly am not going to take the time to research it, so be honest. If you were, good on you.

 

[garizzalies]

Ah Yat was far from having "the greatest freshman seasons in UM history". Please tell us about the 120 year old record and try to stick to the facts for a change.

Wrong-O. We already covered this. When you combine KAY’s total stats as a freshman (he played in two years), it is one of the greatest in modern UM history, basically since Marty, and the only one close as a freshman was Gresch Jensen (as so astutely pointed out by 1122).
KAY also rushed for more TDs as a QB than any one in UM history, including players like Lazetich and Wild Bill.

Such a bonkers stat line for a freshman. Meanwhile, Fife was throwing a very public tizzy fit on the field that BH would not put him back in because of his terrible attitude

It’s crazy people think Fife was better. The dude lost us games because of his fumbling, finished the season deeper in BH’s dog house than anyone, and was so far down the bench at the end of the season that it was a blessing when he transferred. Definition of addition by subtraction.

 

[BozAngelesGriz]

He lost me on the sandwich list at the end when he didn't mention either a Philly cheesesteak or a Porkchop John's pork chop sandwich.

It doesn’t count unless it’s a Double Porkie Deluxe from the uptown location

 

[5280Griz]

I wasn’t that high on KAY in preseason based on last season but he has been very good this year which is awesome. I think there are probably other posters who feel the same way they weren’t high on him like y’all were in the preseason but we are more than happy to have been wrong and see KAY succeed beyond expectations.

 

[Oldskoolgriz]

Facts can be very stubborn. No one is hating on Ah Yat.

Here are some facts for you. This post is about Ah Yat being the passing leader in the FCS which is a great thing for him and the team as a whole. But you want to go out of your way to look up last year's stats to prove Fife is a better QB in your opinion. For whatever reason you felt the need to prove to everyone in this thread that Fife was better last year is dumb to say the least. Then you go out of your way to throw shade on Nicks opinion about Ah Yat which have been nothing but positive about the kid. Instead of being happy for Ah Yat and his progress and posting something positive about the kid, you decide to be negative and pass off your negativity as fact. And it's pretty obvious you're hating on Ah Yat. On a thread where everyone is applauding his current success, you on the other hand haven't said one nice thing about the kid. Maybe you need a hug! Hahaha

 

[kemajic]

Here are some facts for you. This post is about Ah Yat being the passing leader in the FCS which is a great thing for him and the team as a whole. But you want to go out of your way to look up last year's stats to prove Fife is a better QB in your opinion. For whatever reason you felt the need to prove to everyone in this thread that Fife was better last year is dumb to say the least. Then you go out of your way to throw shade on Nicks opinion about Ah Yat which have been nothing but positive about the kid. Instead of being happy for Ah Yat and his progress and posting something positive about the kid, you decide to be negative and pass off your negativity as fact. And it's pretty obvious you're hating on Ah Yat. On a thread where everyone is applauding his current success, you on the other hand haven't said one nice thing about the kid. Maybe you need a hug! Hahaha

Nothing you said is true. Being 100% like that is difficult.