Fall football practice is underway for the state’s top two universities, with the Montana Grizzlies facing the unfamiliar position of being ranked third in both preseason Big Sky Conference polls.
Montana has been ranked either first or second in the coaches preseason poll as well as the media poll every year since 1993. But this year the polls pegged the Grizzlies behind consensus No. 1 Eastern Washington and No. 2 Montana State University.
The Grizzlies finished last season with a 7-4 record and failed to make the playoffs for the first time in 18 years. They kicked off this season’s bid to right the ship on Aug. 9, the first day of fall camp.
Perhaps the biggest question in fall camp is the uncertain depth chart at the quarterback position. Among the Grizzlies getting snaps at practice is 2009 Glacier High School graduate Shay Smithwick-Hann, a redshirt freshman.
The other quarterbacks battling for playing time are sophomore Jordan Johnson, junior Gerald Kemp, freshman Trent McKinney and junior transfer Nate Montana, the son of NFL great Joe Montana.
Head coach Robin Pflugrad has called the quarterback race “an open competition.” Whoever wins the starting job will have a formidable challenge in his first game when the Grizzlies open up the regular season on the road against the Tennessee Volunteers on Sept. 3.
Tennessee is a perennial powerhouse in the larger Football Bowl Subdivision and has a notoriously raucous home stadium that seats more than 100,000 fans.
“They’ll never face anything like that first game,” Pflugrad told the Missoulian. “The quarterback has to take all that in a little more than the other players: Where are they on the field, the 25-second clock, all these things. I’m excited to find out which ones we feel will take the reps at Tennessee.”
After Tennessee, the Grizzlies head back home to play Cal Poly on Sept. 10. Cal Poly is the first game in a string of 10 in which the Grizzlies will be televised live. The game against Tennessee is available on pay-per-view.
“Montana is one of the few Division I schools playing at the Football Championship Subdivision level to have all of its games available either through statewide television or via pay-for-view, and we are proud of that fact,” Athletic Director Jim O’Day said in a statement.
The MSU Bobcats began their fall camp a few days earlier than the Grizzlies on Friday Aug. 5. In contrast to the Grizzlies, the Bobcats don’t have anything resembling a quarterback battle. Sophomore DeNarius McGhee is firmly cemented in the starting position.
As a redshirt freshman last season, McGhee was named Big Sky Conference Offensive Co-MVP, sharing the award with Eastern Washington running back Taiwan Jones. He threw for 3,163 yards last year, tied for sixth best in the nation. He tossed 23 touchdowns and only six interceptions.
In July, McGhee was named the Big Sky Conference Preseason Offensive Player of the Year.
On Aug. 11, the Bobcats held a seven-on-seven scrimmage, giving head coach Rob Ash a glimpse of what he can expect in the regular season opener Sept. 1 in Salt Lake City against the University of Utah. The Cats come back home on Sept. 10 to face UC Davis.
From what he saw at the scrimmage, Ash believes his team will be more than ready when the regular season starts, according to reports on the athletic department’s official website. Ash was impressed with the players’ energy on both sides of the ball.
“They really competed,” Ash said. “I was shuddering at times. If they were doing those things against their own teammates, we’ll be pretty tough on game day, I think.”