The University of Montana football team and head coach Mick Delaney and his staff racked up their sixth practice of 2013 spring drills last night, (Wednesday, March 27), working again under the lights in Washington-Grizzly Stadium, with practice wrapping up around 9:45 p.m.
"We feel real good about what's going on," said second-year Griz mentor Mick Delaney. "Just from the standpoint of energy and playing with emotion, and running, and guys getting to the football - all that type of stuff that you have to have.
"I think we are zeroing in on the little things, like not having a bunch of alignment mistakes," Delaney said. "The defense is doing a really nice job of adjusting to all of the shifts and moves that the offense is making.
"We had a double-reverse pass, and we've thrown one or two things in every day to really stretch the defense, and they have reacted very well," he said. "Overall, we're making a lot of progress scheme-wise on both offense and defense. The biggest thing is, that we are competing. We're flying to the football. We're having fun, and we're getting things down."
Some of the action from Wednesday's practice:
In early 11-on-11 drills Connor Lebsock sacked quarterback Shay Smithwick-Hann. It should be one of many big plays that Lebsock, a sophomore linebacker from Billings (Skyview HS) will make the next few seasons. He has missed the last two seasons with injuries. He was moved from safety to linebacker this spring.
Junior halfback Jordan Canada returned to action today after missing Monday's practice due to a bruised heal, and he had many outstanding plays today. He had a nice 20-yard run in the 11-on-11 phase of drills. Canada is up to 190 pounds right now, after playing at around 175 last season.
A few plays later in "skelly" (the skill players on offense versus the linebackers and second on defense) Canada made an impressive shoe-string catch on a pass by sophomore quarterback Trent McKinney, good for 22 yards. Also in that series, junior running back Travon Van hauled in a 35-yard pass from McKinney.
Van, the 5-11, 195-pound transfer from Marshall, is turning heads in spring drills. He has displayed good toughness running up the middle, and also an extra burst of speed when he gets outside.
Van, Canada, and sophomore halfback/fullback Joey Counts have all looked impressive at times during spring drills. Another back who has looked solid is sophomore Gavin Hagfors, who plays H-back (fullback/tight end), and has boosted his weight up about 15 pounds (to 226).
In other skelly drills, junior quarterback Jordan Johnson is starting more and more to look like his old self after missing last season. Johnson had three consecutive completions to sophomores Kevin Berland, Ellis Henderson, and Taylor Walcott, which covered a total of 54 yards. Johnson continues to see limited action because of a tweaked hamstring.
Henderson is the Grizzlies' leading returning receiver with 23 receptions for 360 yards and a pair of touchdowns. All three of those sophomores have been more consistent so far this spring.
A couple of other wide-outs who are having good springs so far are juniors Mitch Saylor and Sean Haynes. A 6-5, 222-pounder, Saylor is UM's second leading returning receiver from a year ago when he had 22 catches. Haynes, at 6-3, 185, is a good-sized target too, with better-than-average speed. Haynes had just 8 catches last season and was slowed by injuries.
Senior tight end Clay Pierson has been slowed down by injuries, which has opened the door for three other players. Sophomore Aschan Richards (6-6, 240), Oregon transfer Curtis White (6-5, 260, So.), and freshman Jordan Harper (6-2, 212) all look like they can help the Griz this fall.
Richards has not only bulked up some, but he's been much more consistent catching the ball. A five-star recruit out of high school (Sheldon HS in Eugene, Ore.), White has battled injuries the past two years, but if he can stay healthy he could be a force. Harper, a C.M. Russell High School product who recently returned from an LDS mission, is a bit undersized, but has impressed the coaching staff with his pass-catching ability.
Another area of concern going into spring drills was the cornerback position, but senior Anthony (the 6-0, 180-pounder from Temecula, Calif. prefers the nickname of "Chief") Goodwin has been outstanding.
"People are going to be shocked, I think, at how good our wide receivers and our corners are this year," Delaney said. "I really believe that. Chief Goodwin has had a great week-and-a-half. He's a big-time corner right now. If he continues to play like that he will be as good a player as there is in the country at that position.
"Taylor's got great speed, and when he catches the ball he makes things happen," Delaney said. "Mouse (senior receiver Cam Warren) is dependable. Mitch Saylor had some nice catches today. I am just really happy with our receivers.
"Two young men who really stepped up this week are Jordan Harper and Aschan Richards," Delaney said. "They have both made strides this spring. Jordan Harper is coming off a mission and hasn't played in a couple of years, and size-wise he gives up a little at tight end, but man is he a good athlete and a pleasant addition to our football team."
Some player highlights from practice #6:
1. Walcott made a finger-tip catch of a McKinney pass for a 20-yard gain. Walcott, a state sprint champion from Marist High School (Eugene, Ore.), also had a 30-yard gain on an end-around play
2. Senior linebacker Jordan Tripp could see that a screen pass was being set up, which resulted in a 5-yard tackle for loss of Canada.
3. Hann connected with Warren, a 5-7, 160-pounder, on a 25-yard completion, as Warren made a very difficult, over-the-shoulder catch on the right sideline.
4. Thanks to a quarterback hurry by Lebsock and junior cornerback Joshua Dennard, a McKinney pass was picked off by sophomore safety Justin Whitted.
5. Sophomore safety Herbert Gamboa laid out for a fully-extended, diving pick of a McKinney pass on the sideline, but landed out of bounds with the football.
6. In a rather bizarre play, senior safety Bo Tully dove and tipped a pass by redshirt freshman quarterback Brady Gustafson, and the ball bounced up into the hands of sophomore linebacker Kelsey Lippert who got the interception.
Montana will practice once more this week, on Friday (March 29) starting at 3:30 p.m. in the stadium. The team will take off for spring break, and they resume spring drills on Tuesday, April 9. They will also practice on April 10th and 12th, then hold a scrimmage in Ronan at noon on Saturday, April 13.
"Friday (practice) is going to be very crisp and it will be almost all situations," Delaney said. "We'll come out here and bounce around and work on first, second, and third down scenarios. We will do very little individual stuff. We're going to start early (practice had originally been scheduled for 4:20 p.m.) on Friday, because we have some kids with evening flights (to go home for spring break) that evening. They deserve to get out of here and relax for a week, and do whatever they're going to do, and continue their workouts and then come back in to finish up."
GRIZ GRIDIRON NOTES: If the Lebsock named sounded familiar from the earlier reference to Connor, it should. He is the fifth member of his family to play for the Griz. His father, Ron, from Butte was a center at UM from 1974-77. His brothers, Matt, Nick, and Shawn also played at Montana.
Henderson looks like the heir-apparent to Peter Nguyen as UM's punt returner, and looks very confident back there in a very crucial special teams task.
Montana returns 11 All-Big Sky players in 2013: first team picks Danny Kistler Jr., senior offensive tackle; Jordan Tripp, senior linebacker; and Zach Wagenmann, junior defensive end.
UM has six honorable mention all-league picks on defense returning: senior tackle Alex Bienemann; senior linebacker Brock Coyle; junior free safety Matt Hermanson; senior linebacker John Kanongata'a; senior cornerback Sean Murray; and junior tackle Tonga Takai. Kicker Chris Lider and punter Stephen Shaw, both sophomores, were both honorable mention all-conference selections last season.
Two defensive starters are still nursing injuries. Senior defensive tackle Alex Bienemann did not suit up again on Wednesday, while Coyle returned to limited action.
FUN FACT: Goodwin's hometown of Temecula, Calif., is also where former Griz star wide receiver and returner Jabin Sambrano is from.
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