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"Sam Vidlak, Clifton McDowell and Kris Brown will be vying for the Montana Grizzlies’ starting quarterback job during fall camp, according to UM head coach Bobby Hauck.
“It’s really a three-man competition,” Hauck said
The Griz are expected to have six quarterbacks on their roster this fall. That leaves redshirt freshman Kaden Huot as the likely fourth-stringer while true freshmen Keali’i Ah Yat and Gage Sliter will be in line to take a redshirt season.
Performance will be the deciding factor for Hauck in naming a starter.
“There’s not going to be some flashing light or magic wand that gives it away,” he said. “Just got to play well, play smart.”
The list of qualities Hauck looks for in his quarterbacks is long.
“Feel for the game,” he said. “Accuracy. Understanding of the scheme. The ability to get the ball going in the right place, whether it’s run game or pass game.
“Then the intangible things. The competitiveness I think is really important. Toughness is important, even though it’s not exposed in practice like it is at some other positions because we don’t tackle those guys. Those are the things you’re looking for.
“All the great ones have all of those. Good ones have most of them.”
“Sam, he’s a younger guy, but he has done such a good job coming into this program and being able to show the maturity of a guy who wants to be the guy at quarterback,” UM center AJ Forbes said after blocking for him in practices. “He’s done a great job of taking the offense.
"Me and him, I’ve been taking him and watching film with him to try to help him on with the offense. We’ve been meeting two or three times a week over the course of this offseason just to make him comfortable with the system.”
“Sam has a nice, pretty ball,” UM defensive back TraJon Cotton said after going up against him in practices. “His deep ball is real nice and he’s real accurate with it. He’s real precise. I just like the way Sam rips it.”
McDowell, a Texas native who stands at 6-4 and 220 pounds, is a grad transfer who has two seasons of eligibility left.
“He’s kind of a dual-threat,” Cotton said. “He can run real nice. He’s been running fast times all summer. He’s also a nice passer as well.
“The first week he got here he was kind of just learning the offense, kind of getting his feet wet. And then probably the last two weeks during player-run practices he’s been ripping it and he’s been running it as well. It’s going to be fun.”
“He brings something different than Sam does,” Forbes said. “You look at Sam, he’s a prototypical pocket passer. He’s going to dime you up.
“Then you talk about Clifton, who is a physical freak. He’s a real strong runner. You look at the film that he had at Central Arkansas and you can see that he’s a big, powerful runner.
“I’m not sure what Sam and Clifton’s roles are going to be on the team, but I think they have the potential to be really good.”
Whoever wins the job will be behind an offensive line that returns all five starters. They’ll also have a plethora of playmakers at the skill positions.
“We’ll be multiple,” Hauck said of the new offense. “We’re going to be able to run. We’re going to be able to throw it.
“I thought spring ball was really good. I think the summer work’s been terrific. We’ve got some prep to do before we get to our first game. But we’ll be excited to play our opener.”
https://missoulian.com/sports/college/big-sky-conference/university-of-montana/montana-grizzlies-quarterback-battle-bobby-hauck/article_9e268c3a-5f6b-5789-a450-24373818e857.html
“It’s really a three-man competition,” Hauck said
The Griz are expected to have six quarterbacks on their roster this fall. That leaves redshirt freshman Kaden Huot as the likely fourth-stringer while true freshmen Keali’i Ah Yat and Gage Sliter will be in line to take a redshirt season.
Performance will be the deciding factor for Hauck in naming a starter.
“There’s not going to be some flashing light or magic wand that gives it away,” he said. “Just got to play well, play smart.”
The list of qualities Hauck looks for in his quarterbacks is long.
“Feel for the game,” he said. “Accuracy. Understanding of the scheme. The ability to get the ball going in the right place, whether it’s run game or pass game.
“Then the intangible things. The competitiveness I think is really important. Toughness is important, even though it’s not exposed in practice like it is at some other positions because we don’t tackle those guys. Those are the things you’re looking for.
“All the great ones have all of those. Good ones have most of them.”
“Sam, he’s a younger guy, but he has done such a good job coming into this program and being able to show the maturity of a guy who wants to be the guy at quarterback,” UM center AJ Forbes said after blocking for him in practices. “He’s done a great job of taking the offense.
"Me and him, I’ve been taking him and watching film with him to try to help him on with the offense. We’ve been meeting two or three times a week over the course of this offseason just to make him comfortable with the system.”
“Sam has a nice, pretty ball,” UM defensive back TraJon Cotton said after going up against him in practices. “His deep ball is real nice and he’s real accurate with it. He’s real precise. I just like the way Sam rips it.”
McDowell, a Texas native who stands at 6-4 and 220 pounds, is a grad transfer who has two seasons of eligibility left.
“He’s kind of a dual-threat,” Cotton said. “He can run real nice. He’s been running fast times all summer. He’s also a nice passer as well.
“The first week he got here he was kind of just learning the offense, kind of getting his feet wet. And then probably the last two weeks during player-run practices he’s been ripping it and he’s been running it as well. It’s going to be fun.”
“He brings something different than Sam does,” Forbes said. “You look at Sam, he’s a prototypical pocket passer. He’s going to dime you up.
“Then you talk about Clifton, who is a physical freak. He’s a real strong runner. You look at the film that he had at Central Arkansas and you can see that he’s a big, powerful runner.
“I’m not sure what Sam and Clifton’s roles are going to be on the team, but I think they have the potential to be really good.”
Whoever wins the job will be behind an offensive line that returns all five starters. They’ll also have a plethora of playmakers at the skill positions.
“We’ll be multiple,” Hauck said of the new offense. “We’re going to be able to run. We’re going to be able to throw it.
“I thought spring ball was really good. I think the summer work’s been terrific. We’ve got some prep to do before we get to our first game. But we’ll be excited to play our opener.”
https://missoulian.com/sports/college/big-sky-conference/university-of-montana/montana-grizzlies-quarterback-battle-bobby-hauck/article_9e268c3a-5f6b-5789-a450-24373818e857.html
