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Weekly Position Discussion: Week 9, D-Line

Sweet, it's August 1st and the season is looming closer. The Griz defense has strong talent and great potential, especially the line and backers; I can't wait to see them on the field.
 
Darksim said:
That said The D seems to be on the upswing and our weakest link, pass D, will get fixed if our couches are paying any attention. We were REALLY good in every single other stat besides that, and with 10 returning starters on D we are set for a solid D. I would say top 5 D in the FCS!
Click to expand...


You know the last time we made a season to season transformation like that was 1999 to 2000. In 1999 we had a new OC Bob Cole and our offense lead the nation in points per game, but we were still hemorrhaging points on defense, mostly due to a terrible pass defense. The Griz even managed to put up like 48 points against Portland State and still lose because PSU's Jimmy Blanchard shredded our pass defense, which was one of the shittiest in the nation.
This was all before the days of egriz and even before the short-lived UM bookstore board, but rest assured fans were quick to blame Montana's secondary as being inexperienced, slow, short. They didn't get a lot of heat because the Griz offense was putting up more points than ever, but they did unfairly get blamed.

Then Mick Dennehey took off for Utah State and he took defensive coordinator Kraig Paulson with him.

Joe Glenn rolled into town. Offensive production went down, but the defense really got tough. That secondary that looked so bad the year before was suddenly tops in I-AA. Even undersized Damon Parker looked like a world beater.
In a nutshell, we went from Paulson to Breske. Turned out old Barbed Wire was the problem. Now we've gone from Breske to Gregorack, a new DC who coached under both Paulson and Breske, but mostly Paulson and before that was a graduate assistant at Washington. I hope coach Ty has a kick ass year. I know some egrizzers think sideline emotion translates into good coaching and Gregorack is as emotional on the sideline as any coach in college football. Ergo, he's destined for greatness.
I know playerep thinks Gregorack is destined for greater things and will rise through the coaching ranks. Maybe Gregorack will rise through the ranks. Maybe he's just been overlooked during his decade at Montana. Heck, Hauck hired him twice in the last decade. Pflugrad hired him.
However, Gregorack is definatley a work in progress, a second year defensive coordinator calling plays from the sideline with not a single coach on his staff with more defensive coaching experience than his own.
Maybe he'll be great, but it's going to be a bumpy ride. If you look at the biographies of the offensive coordinators Gregorack will face this season, not one of them is as new to the job as he is.
If Montana becomes a top 5 defensive team in FCS this year, I'll be the first to say Gregorack is a keeper. But that hasn't happened yet.
 
griz4life said:
Darksim said:
That said The D seems to be on the upswing and our weakest link, pass D, will get fixed if our couches are paying any attention. We were REALLY good in every single other stat besides that, and with 10 returning starters on D we are set for a solid D. I would say top 5 D in the FCS!
Click to expand...


You know the last time we made a season to season transformation like that was 1999 to 2000. In 1999 we had a new OC Bob Cole and our offense lead the nation in points per game, but we were still hemorrhaging points on defense, mostly due to a terrible pass defense. The Griz even managed to put up like 48 points against Portland State and still lose because PSU's Jimmy Blanchard shredded our pass defense, which was one of the shittiest in the nation.
This was all before the days of egriz and even before the short-lived UM bookstore board, but rest assured fans were quick to blame Montana's secondary as being inexperienced, slow, short. They didn't get a lot of heat because the Griz offense was putting up more points than ever, but they did unfairly get blamed.

Then Mick Dennehey took off for Utah State and he took defensive coordinator Kraig Paulson with him.

Joe Glenn rolled into town. Offensive production went down, but the defense really got tough. That secondary that looked so bad the year before was suddenly tops in I-AA. Even undersized Damon Parker looked like a world beater.
In a nutshell, we went from Paulson to Breske. Turned out old Barbed Wire was the problem. Now we've gone from Breske to Gregorack, a new DC who coached under both Paulson and Breske, but mostly Paulson and before that was a graduate assistant at Washington. I hope coach Ty has a kick ass year. I know some egrizzers think sideline emotion translates into good coaching and Gregorack is as emotional on the sideline as any coach in college football. Ergo, he's destined for greatness.
I know playerep thinks Gregorack is destined for greater things and will rise through the coaching ranks. Maybe Gregorack will rise through the ranks. Maybe he's just been overlooked during his decade at Montana. Heck, Hauck hired him twice in the last decade. Pflugrad hired him.
However, Gregorack is definatley a work in progress, a second year defensive coordinator calling plays from the sideline with not a single coach on his staff with more defensive coaching experience than his own.
Maybe he'll be great, but it's going to be a bumpy ride. If you look at the biographies of the offensive coordinators Gregorack will face this season, not one of them is as new to the job as he is.
If Montana becomes a top 5 defensive team in FCS this year, I'll be the first to say Gregorack is a keeper. But that hasn't happened yet.
Click to expand...

Im not a Gregorack fan either. The guy wasnt able to make any changes last year. His defense philosophy is too finesse, kinda like Paulson's coaching style.. I guess we'll see how he does this year but im not gonna be holding my breath. With the talent we have this year there is no doubt we could be a top 5 defensive team this year in the FCS but Gregorack is gonna have to make the right calls...
 
I agree with griz4life. There is a big difference between being a position coach and being a coordinator. TG has always been a talented position coach, but making that transition where he is orchestrating game plans, making calls and leading in-game adjustments is not an easy one. It was very apparent that he struggled last year with these responsibilities. A lot of people like his passion, and it can rub off on players to play hard with intensity, but it doesn't put them in the right positions to be successful. We need improvement on that.

Saying that, he has a year of experience under his belt now and he is full out prepared on what to expect this year. That is huge. You see a lot of first year coordinators in the Big Sky and more often than not they struggle a little bit. I expect TG to have a much improved year with a better understanding on how to use his assets on defense better. He's a smart guy that knows the game and the players believe in him, I think that should bring some peace of mind to some who were frustrated with the defensive philosophy last year.
 
July 18, 2013 12:00 pm • By Greg Rachac0
NOTE: This is the fourth installment of our weekly series projecting the Top 10 players at each position for the 2013 Big Sky Conference football season.

The Big Sky Conference every year lays claim to some of the best defensive linemen in the FCS. Need proof? Go back and look at the list of past winners of the Buck Buchanan Award. Four of the Big Sky's five winners have been D-linemen: Idaho State's Jared Allen in 2003, Montana's Kroy Biermann in '07, Eastern Washington's Greg Peach in '08, and Montana State's Caleb Schreibeis last year. That's some pretty strong credibility.

There's no shortage of talent ready to dig in again along the defensive line in the Big Sky this season. Each year, some defensive lineman seems to raise his game to a whole other level. Biermann did it in 2007. Schreibeis did it in 2012. Who will be the best of the best this year? This is my list:

TOP 10 DEFENSIVE LINEMEN FOR 2013

1. SULLIVAN GROSZ, DT, SR., CAL POLY 2012: 57 tkl, 12½ tfl, 5 sacks, 5 qbh, 2 ff, 2 fum rec. THE BUZZ FOR 2013: Why did Cal Poly earn a share of the Big Sky title last year? Defense had much to do with it. And down in the trenches is Sullivan Grosz. Now a senior, Grosz is ready to take another leap as the top defensive lineman in the league. If his combined statistics from the past two years are any indication -- 103 tackles, 24½ tackles for loss, 11½ sacks, 12 QB hurries -- he will take that leap. Grosz and Cal Poly jumped out to a 7-0 start last season, made the playoffs and nearly knocked off Sam Houston State. They are definitely a player in the Big Sky.

2. ZACK WAGENMANN, DE, JR., MONTANA 2012: 50 tkl, 13 tfl, 11½ sacks, 4 qbh, 2 ff. THE BUZZ FOR 2013: Wagnemann was a beast last season, eating up offensive tackles -- and quarterbacks -- all year. It was a breakout for Wagenmann, who was only a sophomore. As far as per-game sacks, he was ranked No. 1 in the Big Sky and fourth in the FCS at 1.05. The Missoula Sentinel product has bulked up to 250 pounds, which supplements his quickness and agility as an outside pass rusher. "Wags" exceeded expectations placed on him last season, and if he continues that trend he'll become the most feared (and productive) defensive end in the league.

3. JAMES COWSER, DE, SO. SOUTHERN UTAH 2012: 61 tkl, 13½ tfl, 7½ sacks, 5 qbh, 1 ff, 1 fum rec, 1 int. THE BUZZ FOR 2013: Zak Browning wasn't the only first-year defensive player to thrive at Southern Utah in 2012. Cowser also had a monster year, earning freshman All-America honors while finishing fourth in the league in sacks. Coach Ed Lamb expects Cowser to be even better this season. Cowser had a lot of room to roam last year with teammate and first-team All-Big Sky tackle Cody Larsen clogging up the middle of the line, and how Larsen's graduation will directly affect Cowser remains to be seen. But the sophomore-to-be should still put up big numbers.

4. BRAD DALY, DE, SR., MONTANA STATE 2012: 52 tkl, 10½ tfl, 5½ sacks, 2 fum rec. THE BUZZ FOR 2013: I asked Daly last fall why his sack numbers weren't as high as his sophomore year (down 7) and he explained it was because teammate Caleb Schreibeis was simply beating everyone to the quarterback. Now that Schreibeis, who won the Buchanan Award, and tackle Zach Minter have graduated, it's up to Daly to resume his role as the team's top sack man. Daly takes blockers head-on, has a knack for forcing fumbles and plays against the run better than most. He'll also be counted on to assume more of a leadership role as a team captain this season.

5. TIM WILKINSON, DT, SR., NORTHERN ARIZONA 2012: 37 tkl, 5½ tfl, 6½ sacks, 2 qbh. THE BUZZ FOR 2013: Northern Arizona's defense has a lot of talent coming back, not the least of which is Wilkinson, who was named as a second-team All-Big Sky player after a very solid 2012 campaign. Wilkinson isn't tall (he's 5-11) but he is wide (at nearly 300 pounds), which makes him tough to move in the middle. The Lumberjacks were ranked in the top half of the league last year in rushing defense, and Wilkinson's presence will help them in that category again in 2013. And if he can increase his sack total from last year, it will probably amount to a huge season for Wilkinson.

6. DEVONTAE CHAPPLE, DT, SO., NORTHERN COLORADO 2012: 4 tkl. THE BUZZ FOR 2013: An injury ended Chapple's 2012 season before it even started. He was named to the College Sports Journal Freshman All-America squad after starting all 11 games as a redshirt freshman in 2011 when he had 5½ sacks. Then the 6-5, 275-pounder only played in one games last year. UNC's coaches have raved about Chapple's speed, hands and escape-ability in the past, and now that he's bigger and stronger it should all come together on the field. If he stays healthy, Chapple will have a big year for a program trying to prove last year's five wins weren't a fluke.

7. NICK KING, DE, SR., UC DAVIS 2012: 46 tkl, 12½ tfl, 6½ sacks, 3 qbh, 3 ff. THE BUZZ FOR 2013: Last year, King's position coach said opponents "can't block (King) one-on-one. He's that good." After meticulously working his way up the depth chart during the previous two seasons, King especially came alive last year for the Aggies, finishing in the Top 10 in the Big Sky in both sacks and tackles for loss. It's a new era of football in Davis with Ron Gould coming in from Cal to take over over for longtime coach Bob Biggs. The Aggies hope this new era breeds more victories. Either way, the hard-working King will do what he normally does to contribute.

8. ANDRU PULU, DT, SR., EASTERN WASHINGTON 2012: 36 tkl, 3 tfl, 1½ sacks, 4 qbh. THE BUZZ FOR 2013: Pulu played as a true freshman at Washington in 2009 but ran into trouble with the law, which ended his career with the Huskies. Taken in by EWU and coach Beau Baldwin, Pulu didn't waste his second chance. He had a strong year, and was named honorable mention all-conference by the league's coaches. Pulu is the only starter coming back on the defensive line for the Eagles in 2013, which puts higher expectations on him to anchor that unit. He may not be the next Renard Williams in Cheney, but Pulu is a force with the potential for big things this year.

9. TYRONE HOLMES, DE, SO., MONTANA 2012: 24 tkl, 5½ tfl, 5 sacks, 3 qbh. THE BUZZ FOR 2013: Holmes' bio on the Grizzlies' website says he has the potential to be one of the best defensive ends in school history. That's some high praise. And come mid-season it could be obvious that he's far too low on this list. Holmes, who drew Pac-12 interest in high school, originally made a verbal commitment to Portland State in 2011. He certainly showed flashes of being unblockable as a Griz last year. If he can string 12 games together like that? Look out. Holmes will get more playing time this year, and he has the opportunity to be a big-time menace.

10. JOE LOPEZ, DT, JR., PORTLAND STATE 2012 (at Oregon State): 4 tkl, 1½ tfl. THE BUZZ FOR 2013: Portland State struck gold with one D-line transfer last year in end Marquis Jackson. Will Lopez have a similar impact? His stats weren't all that impressive in 2012 at Oregon State, but that was deceiving. Lopez appeared in 10 games (and played more than 300 snaps) as one of the Beavers' top reserve linemen and a favorite of coach Mike Reilly. Now that the hard-working Lopez has relocated to Portland State, he has a chance to be a major contributor on defense. Also, as a Portland native, Lopez has some extra incentive to perform well for his hometown team.

*** NATIONAL NO. 1: COLTON UNDERWOOD, DE, SR., ILLINOIS STATE. Underwood was one of the most dominant defensive linemen in the FCS last year, with 10½ sacks, 19½ tackles for loss and a staggering 95 total tackles from his D-end spot. A sure-fire Buchanan Award candidate, he'll do his part to help push the Redbirds back into the playoffs this year.



Read more: http://billingsgazette.com/sports/college/blogs/catgrizinsider/big-sky-position-rankings-defensive-line/article_c66001c0-dd1e-11e2-8da3-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz2bbkVyDsB" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
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