April 10, 2013
The University of Montana Grizzly football team started phase II of their 2013 spring drills yesterday (Tuesday, April 9), with practice number 8 in Washington-Grizzly Stadium. The team returned to action after taking the previous nine days off for spring break.
There were several outstanding plays on both sides of the football on Tuesday, but head coach Mick Delaney thought his players returned a bit rusty after a week-plus off for spring break.
"The intensity was there - that has not disappointed me in any practice that we've had or any workout through the winter," Delaney said. "But, you've got to have some intensity with some intelligence too. Today we were very inconsistent for the first time, I think. Mentally we were still on break for a good part of the practice, and that wasn't everybody, but it only takes one or two for a play to go completely haywire.
"We had way, way too many mental mistakes today," Delaney continued. "We had dropped balls by the receivers, bad breaks by the safeties and corners on the ball, etcetera, etcetera. But the enthusiasm was there. You don't like to admit your going to have those, but once and awhile you have one."
Some of the highlights and players who stood out in practice #8 and a few comments from Coach Delaney:
1. Several defensive players made big plays when the Griz worked on their run game mid-way through practice. Some of those plays: senior linebacker Brock Coyle had a 5-yard tackle for a loss. Sophomore linebackers Jeremiah Kose and Kelsey Lippert, and redshirt freshman end Zach Peevey all made tackles on running backs for minimal gains. Senior LB Jordan Tripp sacked junior quarterback Jordan Johnson, which is not easy.
2. Sophomore defensive end Tyrone Holmes, who wears number 91, could be one of the best ever to play for the Griz, made several outstanding plays. The 6-4, 245-pounder from Eagle Point, Ore., had a pair of sacks; two tackles for loss; had a pass deflection along with a couple of quarterback hurries.
3. Along with Holmes, there are several up-and-coming young players on the D-line, and Derek Crittenden (#47), a 6-3, 240-pound sophomore end from Whitefish is another one. He also had two sacks and quarterback hurries, as well as two stops for losses.
OF NOTE: Crittenden is getting more reps than normal at D-end because junior defensive end Zach Wagenmann is not participating in spring drills as he recovers from off-season surgery. "Wags" was first team All-Big Sky last season and ranked fifth in the nation with 1.05 sacks a game.
"With `Wags' being hurt with the shoulder deal, Crittenden and Holmes and Zach Peevey and (redshirt freshman) Ryan Johnson are all getting a ton of turns," Delaney said. "But, Tyrone Holmes is, to me anyway, a Pac-12 player. How he ever got out of the state of Oregon is beyond me. He's as fast a guy as we've got. He's smart, he's getting taller, and he's getting bigger, and he's so explosive off the ball. He's something really special I think, and he was last year as a true freshman as is (sophomore defensive tackle Caleb) Kidder. Those two guys are having great springs, because they work every day and take nothing for granted."
4. Brett Kirschner, a junior halfback from Bellevue, Wash., was impressive with his hard running, and picked up several first downs on different third down situations. At one point in UM's 11-on-11 drills he had consecutive runs of 5, 7, 4, 9, and 15 yards - all for first downs.
OF NOTE: Kirschner, who was moved back to his former position of running back (from safety) on March 27, has increased his weight to 210 (from 195) from a year ago.
5. Johnson, who saw limited action in the first portion of spring drills due to a hamstring injury, looked sharp. Early in 11-on-11 drills which started from the 35-yard line, he connected with senior tight end Clay Pierson for a 30-yard completion.
"For me, it was great to see Jordy (Johnson) go through a whole practice today," Delaney said. "That was enough to smile and forget about some of the bad stuff that we'll get corrected by tomorrow (Wednesday)." Add 1-1-1
6. Junior running back Jordan Canada had a 65-yard run for a touchdown when he started around the right side and then cut up the middle, and ran untouched into the end zone.
7. Junior QB Shay Smithwick-Hann had some nice completions, first a 15-yarder to sophomore halfback Joey Counts, and then a 20-yarder to sophomore wide receiver Taylor Walcott. Walcott has been impressive so far this spring, and the speedster could be a key receiver this season.
8. Redshirt freshman kicker Harrison Greenberg from Lake Oswego, Ore., nailed a 40-yard field goal, which would have been good from 50 yards out or more. The 5-8, 170-pounder has been struggling earlier this spring with his consistency.
9. Junior running back Travon Van again had a couple of big plays, gaining 32 yards on a pass from Johnson, and later in the day he had a 35-yard run.
"He's (Van) very, very impressive," Delaney said. "In all honesty, he is going to be a little bit like Chase (Reynolds, former Griz star now with the St. Louis Rams). When Chase first got here he did a lot of looking around and wondering what he should and shouldn't do, and `Tra,' is like that too right now. But, man he's got a lot of talent, and he'll be fine.
"As long as I am around, our running backs won't dance around - they'll go downhill," Delaney said. "When Travon runs that way he's dynamic, as is Canada. He gets better every single day. He's going to be something special, I think, and Jordan Canada is having a great spring, and he's hurt and battling a real bad heal bruise.
"And getting `Kirsh' back over there was the right thing for us to do as a football team," Delaney said. "He's really going to help us as that third guy, second guy, fourth guy, whatever that might be."
GRIZ GRIDIRON NOTES: Former Griz head coach Mick Dennehy, a Butte native as is coach Delaney, was at practice on Tuesday, and he's planning to observe today (Wednesday, March 10). Coach Dennehy was the head man at Montana from 1996-99 and compiled an overall record of 39-12 and a league mark of 27-5, including three conference titles. He was the Big Sky Coach of the Year in `96 when the Griz went 14-1, with their only setback a 49-29 loss to host Marshall in the Division I-AA championship game.
Sophomore quarterback Trent McKinney is currently nursing an injury, and was in sweat pants at Tuesday's practice and did not participate.
A plus for the "D" this past Tuesday was the return of senior defensive tackle Alex Bienemann, who had missed a lot of the first half of spring drills because of an injury. Bienemann started all 11 games last season and was 11th on the team with 32 tackles.
Sophomore linebacker Jonathan Richards has been moved from linebacker to tight end. He played defensive end and wide receiver at Butte Central High School, where he was all-state in three different sports, and had a school-record 55 receptions in 2009.
FUN FACT: Jonathan will now be playing the same position that his cousin, Aschan Richards, plays for the Griz. Aschan was an all-state pick at tight end at Butte Central HS
