As many know I was away on a trip this last weekend and unable to get to my usual post-game write up. I think a lot of the comments and thoughts on the game have already come up, I don’t have too much to add so I’ll skip that regular post. Instead I thought I’d write a reflection on what was the 2015 season to this fan.
First and foremost, we’re losing one of the most special group of seniors we’ve ever had. Think about the last 4 to 5 year journey for many of these guys. Of the group most were recruited in 2010 or 2011 by Robin Pflugrad. They then saw Robin fired and had Mick Delaney take over, changing the offense. Then this year Bob Stitt comes in and changes it up again. In the meanwhile they went through the first losing season since the 80’s, NCAA punishments, two of their former teammates publicly tried for sexual assault, and media scrutiny of every little slip up at a level we’ve never seen before. It was a dramatically difficult time for many of these guys to stay focused on the program and the game they love to play. That’s the challenges they faced however in the face of that these players continued to thrive and succeed. A 3-year winning streak against the cats, 3 years in a row in the playoffs with 2 first round wins. A game on ESPN and positive national attention we’d not seen in a little while. An improving APR, a GPA that out-performed the average UM student body, and a Rhodes Scholar finalist. They saw the completion of the academic center and the start of the Champions Center – a turning point for the next level of greatness for Montana. We’ve seen records chased and nearly broken by this group with tackles, receiving yards, TFLs, and sacks. We’ve not a national defensive MVP finalist and are poised to send a few of these guys to the pro ranks. This group of seniors represents mental toughness, drive, and the ability to succeed in football and in life when all others doubted them. To that, I thank our 2015 Grizzly senior class for the fun memories and I wish them the very best.
As you look at our senior class, my impressions are as follows:
#3 Eric Johnson – Transferred in and rose to the occasion this season. Not a lot knew who he was before this year, I didn’t list him on my 2-deep. He finished tied (I believe) with the most INTs, he started a few games, and rotated in and out a ton.
#5 Dan Sullivan – Quietly had a very good season. I’d posted about it before but he wound up being the highest scoring kicker in the Big Sky this year. Many were “worried” about the kicking game this year, that worry was put to rest.
#35 Kendrick Van Ackeren – So good he got 2nd team all big sky at a position he didn’t even play. I expect others will disagree but I think KVA was the best outside linebacker Montana has ever had. At least he’s the best I’ve ever seen. A smart player, a great tackler, and if you ever met him in person, a great guy too. KVA should have a shot at the NFL I would think, assuming this break heals in tim.
#36 Herbert Gamboa – Lighting fast and a wicked hitter. Based on the all-conference voting his talent far exceeded his stats because the coaches obviously respected the hell out of this guy. With his overall speed he could be viewed as a great depth/ST option in the NFL/CFL.
#74 John Schmaing – Quite the journey for John, missing a year to academic issues stemming from challenges back home, he returned to claim his starting job back and helped anchor the line as its lone senior starter.
#91 Tyrone Holmes – The most disruptive and brutal D-end I’ve ever seen from a Grizzly. As a true freshman I remember in fall camp watching him in the stands and we were all shocked at how good he already was. He’ll go down in Grizzly history as one of the best and he should be playing on Sundays next year.
#6 Jamaal Jones – I’ve teetered back and forth on this on where I’d rank him but I’d venture to say he’s one of the top 3 or top 5 best WRs we’ve ever had. Jones is the complete player and already on NFL watch lists. I am still shocked UW let him go but I’m so glad he spent the bulk of his incredible career as a Grizzly.
#11 Nate Harris – The self-appointed governor of Montana, Nate had his best year this season. He backed up his game with his talk, it was always entertaining to overhear him in practice. Also I’d notice, when flagged for penalties or if a big play was allowed – he never got down on the ref or himself. Resilient dude, would be seen clapping his hands, nodding his head, “ok, on to the next play”.
#18 Tyler Lucas – Didn’t get much of a chance with just 1 year but did give us maybe one of the more impressive single plays of the year with his leap over a UND defender. It was cool to see Tyler, in the face of our QB injuries, offer up to help the team in anyway possible and play some time at QB for the Griz.
#31 Justin Whitted – Battled through some injuries but still started a ton of games and showed his range and skill at safety. He came in as a corner, took a year off, and returned as a safety. Coaches praised him for being a hard hitter and deceptively quick guy.
#33 Connor Lebsock – It’s going to be strange to not have a Lebsock on the Grizzly roster, I think it’s been about 11 or 12 years straight now… Connor converted to LB from safety, started three games this year, both against NDSU and one against ISU. A special teams stand out and a nice re-assurance of quality depth behind the starting two OLBs.
#34 Jamal Wilson – Another selfless guy who went from FB to DT in the course of a season, added a lot of weight to get there and started just about every game I believe. If I recall correctly I think he’s going to trim down a bit now and try for a fullback job on pro day. No one expected much from Jamal due to the position change – and all he did was win the starting job and help anchor the middle of the D-line.
#39 Jake Dallaserra – Unfortunately saw his season end before it even started due to injuries. Jake rose from what I believe was a walk-on spot to fighting for the starting spot. Hit and played the run like you’d expect a safety from Butte to do.
#45 Jeremiah Kose – ‘Miah struck me as the leader of the defense. The force in the middle of the field who took over the role left by Brock Coyle. Deceptively good in pass coverage and a very good blitzer. You could tell he loved to punish running backs too.
#47 Derek Crittenden – Derek missed what could have possibly been his last game as a Griz and against the cats, to interview to be a Rhodes Scholar. He’s the epitome of what a student athlete is. I still love his quote from earlier this year about why he likes football, “So I can turn my brain off for a few hours and smack my face into fat guys stomachs.”
#86 Ben Roberts – Ben came to the Griz this summer, not much was known if the baseball player could contribute consistently. The former high school stand out WR showed he’s still got it with many memorable catches and plays. It’ll be interesting to see if he can work his way into a shot at playing in the pros.
#87 Chris Lider – Went from kicker to punter and won the job due to his powerful kicks and good accuracy. Was a big guy too – could tackle and hit as needed. What’s not widely known about Chris as well is that as a finance major on his internship he has put together a massive financial analysis of Grizzly athletics, something I saw just this fall. It’s going to be a major piece in helping Athletics expand and analyze their inner-workings.
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As for the season itself, some of my thoughts:
1. The run from the ISU game up until the NDSU game is what I think will define this team. They were sitting at 4-4 and looking like they may only win 1 of their last 3, if even that. As we all know they rallied and kicked the crap out of our two biggest rivals in EWU and MSU.
2. The NDSU win, in the smoke, on ESPN, and in the way it ended – one of the best Griz games ever.
3. The defense out-performed it’s stats, the last NDSU game is a prime example. By no means perfect the defense fought with most odds against them all year. Having to play 34:00 to 41:00 per game, battling injuries, and thin depth… hats off to them.
4. The Stitt offense is a work in progress but we’ve seen it’s potential. NDSU round 1, UND, EWU, MSU, half of the SDSU game. It’s there, it needs to be more consistent. This season it needed a better ground attack to make the passing game more viable in many cases – IMO.
5. Special Teams play dramatically improved over prior years. Hats off to the players and coaches, this maybe was one of the best years for special teams as a whole since Bobby Hauck was running the ST.
6. The defense had issues against the run. No simple way around it, running teams for the most part, had very good success against this defense.
7. The O-line improved the most over the season. With the injection of Todd at guard and the maturation of Robert Luke and David Reese this group really got into a groove.
8. Josh Horner and Jeremy Calhoun have a bright future with the Griz. Not discounting other players, but these two on offense have me really excited for the years ahead.
9. The defense loses 9 starters from this team. Tall order to replace these guys.
10. Stitt showed that he’s still adapting to this level as well, with a self-appointed blame for the Weber loss, some earlier odd decisions such as the Poly game, and what looked like an unprepared team for the NDSU playoff game there’s room for him to keep getting better. He also backed off on his aggressive style, maybe the QB injury situation had the most to do with that…
11. I loved the new alternate jerseys, wish I could buy one of the granite colored jerseys.
12. Brady showed us what he’s like when he’s dialed in, which is very good. He also showed us what he’s like when he’s rattled and pressures, which isn’t very good. Needed more consistency this year.
13. The QB injuries would’ve sunk many other teams. The Griz held on this year and still made the playoffs in spite of losing two starting QBs at different moments of the season.
14. While all minor the arrests reported this season were a frustration and lead to much more scrutiny and publicity that the program didn’t need. Was it fair? Probably not. But after what we came out of from the 2011/2012 times this program isn’t going to be treated fairly for a while.
15. The NDSU playoff game showed us that we’re still a long way away from being a dominant team again. Good enough for the playoffs, yes. Good enough for a deep run in the playoffs, no. We’ve only had 1 team capable of that in the last 6 seasons (the 2011 team).
16. The Griz have great momentum into the off-season with recruiting and energy. Stitt’s confidence and approach is speaking well to a lot of recruits. The win in Bozeman was huge for that too. And now the start of the champions center.
17. As we transition to 2016 based on what we saw this year I’m excited for the 2016 offense and worried about the 2016 defense. Excited for the offense because of who returns, worried for the defense because of who all we’ve lost.
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So now we put 2015 in the books. It’s been a memorable one, thanks to all of the Griz players, Griz coaches, athletics staff, and fans for making it another great year – and for giving us even more to be excited for in the future!
As always, and forever – GO GRIZ
Keali'i Ah Yat on the off-season & upcoming youth camp