MISSOULA — The Montana football team released its first two-deep on Tuesday and there is no 'or' listed among the quarterbacks, marking the first time since 2022 that has been the case on a season-opening depth chart.
In fact, there is not a single 'or' on the entire two-deep after the Grizzlies wrapped up fall camp last week and prepare for their season opener against Central Washington at 6 p.m. on Saturday in Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
Redshirt sophomore Keali'i Ah Yat was listed as the starting quarterback after splitting reps last year. Senior Jake Jensen, a transfer from Southern Cal, is listed as the backup after appearing to be pushed by redshirt freshman Luke Flowers in camp.
Ah Yat is one of the rare underclassmen on the two-deep, especially among those listed as starters. Of the 44 players on offense and defense, 30 are juniors and seniors. Among the 22 starters, 17 are upperclassmen.
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"I wouldn't say any one (position group battle) was any more competitive than the other," Montana head coach Bobby Hauck said Monday. "But in saying that, I would probably impart that they were all pretty competitive. I think we have a competitive team."
Blocking for Ah Yat is a starting offensive line of all seniors. Left tackle Cannon Panfiloff and left guard Liam Brown are both returning starters. Center Dillon Botner made spot starts at tackle last year. Right guard Patrick Matan, an NC State transfer, had started camp at tackle before sliding over. Everett Johnson, who was a backup last year after he transferred from Cal, is at right tackle. The backups: LT Colin Amick, LG Dylan Jemtegaard C Cade Klimczak (the 2024 starting center), RG Lucas Freitas and RT Austin Buehler.
Starting in the backfield with Ah Yat will be proven running back Eli Gillman. Malae Fonoti, who flashed as a true freshman last year, got the backup spot.
Ah Yat's starting receivers are Eastern Washington transfer senior Michael Wortham, Kennesaw State transfer senior Blake Bohannon and speedy redshirt freshman Brooks Davis. The Griz like to rotate receivers, so the backups — sophomore Jordan Dever, redshirt freshan Lekeldrick Bridges and senior Drew Deck — are likely to see reps.
The Griz also use multiple tight ends, the position where senior Evan Shafer is listed as the starter. UC Davis transfer senior Josh Gale is the backup.
Griz Spring Football 05.JPG
Montana quarterback Keali’i Ah Yat (8) looks to pass during the Griz spring football game at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Friday, April 11, 2025. BEN ALLAN SMITH,Missoulian
On defense, the starting linebackers are sophomore Caleb Otlewski, Portland State transfer junior Peyton Wing and Southern Cal transfer senior Solomon Tuliaupupu. The Griz showed their depth in camp and do regularly rotate players there. The backups are senior Geno Leonard, Eastern Illinois transfer senior Elijawah Tolbert and the new No. 37, sophomore Clay Oven.
The starting defensive ends are senior Kellen Detrick, who is back after battling injuries, and senior Hunter Peck, who transferred from Carroll College, where he was the Frontier Conference defensive MVP. The backups are Minnesota transfer junior Hayden Schwartz and sophomore Jake Mason, who moved from the interior of the line.
At nose tackle, junior Jareb Ramos is slated as the starter after being a multi-year backup. Utah State transfer junior Braydon Bailey is the backup as he has worked to get back in shape after an injury last year.
Sophomore Kyon Loud is listed as one of the starting cornerbacks after getting backup reps as a true freshman last year. Across from him will be senior Kenzel Lawler, who transferred from Utah two years ago. The listed backups are seniors Prince Ford and Justus Breston.
Senior Micah Harper, a BYU transfer, is listed as the starting free safety. Sophomore Diezel Wilkinson, an Idaho transfer, is at nickel. Senior TJ Rausch is the strong safety. The backups are sophomore Kade Boyd at free safety, junior Kade Cutler at nickel and senior Tanner Huff at strong safety.
On special teams, Deck is listed as the lone punt returner after getting some reps last year. Wortham and senior running back Stevie Rocker Jr. are the kick returners. Senior Ty Morrison returns as the kicker and punter, backed up by Jo Silver. Davis takes over at holder. Senior Grayson Pibal will be the long snapper for a fourth season.
One thing Montana hasn't announced is team captains. New this year is the Griz will be naming captains eack week instead of season-long captains, which they had done via a team vote previously under Hauck.
"It's what NFL teams do," Hauck said of the decision. "It's what our seniors prefer."
Late start(s)
The Griz will be the last NCAA Division I team with a 12-game regular season schedule to play their first game of the season. The Ivy League teams, who play only 10 games, begin their shortened schedule in mid-September.
Villanova joins Montana as the only D-I teams outside of the Ivy League who were off in both Week 0 and 1. The Wildcats kick off at 6 p.m. ET/4 p.m. MT on Saturday, two hours before the Griz.
Every FCS teams played in Week 1 except for the Griz, Villanova and the Ivy League. Seven FCS teams played in Week 0, a count which excludes the "no contest" game between UC Davis and Mercer. Stanford was the only FBS team off Week 1, but it played Week 0.
Four D-I teams that played Week 0 and 1 — Iowa State, Idaho State, Fresno State and Kansas — should all finish their third game before UM starts its first. Iowa State starts at 10 a.m. Saturday, Idaho State at 1 p.m., and Fresno State and Kansas at 1:30 p.m.
The Grizzlies' bye week was technically Week 1, but it wasn't a traditional off week where they could get extra practice, like they would in the middle of the season. That week was simply the normal third week of fall camp.
"Our open date was last weekend, but the NCAA doesn't let us set it up that way, so it's not like we get an extra week (ofpractice)," Hauck said. "Your start date is a count back (from the first game) and you only get a certain number of practices before the first game."
Teams that played Week 0 and get two bye weeks will have gotten two more weeks of practice than the Griz by the end of the regular season. Montana plays 12 consecutive games without a week off for the first time since 2008.
UM's season opener will be one of four night games. The Griz also host Idaho and play at Sacramento State in night games that will be both televised on ESPN 2. They also play at night in their first road game, at Idaho State.
Coaching connections
Central Washington "wouldn't exchange" game film, Hauck said, so watching 2024 film "is the best we can do." The Wildcats do have some key players back and many of the same coaches, some who have Montana connections.
Mike Ferriter, who enters his fourth year as Central Washington's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, has deep roots in Montana. He was an All-Big Sky wide receiver for Hauck's Grizzlies from 2004-08 before he got his coaching start as an assistant at his alma mater, Helena High School.
He coached at UNLV under Hauck from 2010-12 and then was an Idaho State assistant before returning to UM under head coach Bob Stitt from 2015-17. Next, he was the ISU offensive coordinator from 2018-21, working with current Griz assistants Rob Phenicie and Roger Cooper before going to CWU.
Jared Gallatin, the Wildcats' second-year special teams coordinator and safeties coach, is a Polson native who played defensive back for Rocky Mountain College in Billings in the mid 2010s.
Alex Kastens, the second-year offensive line coach, played at Carroll College in Helena from 2010-14 as an all-conference offensive lineman before being an assistant coach for the Saints.
Series history
Montana holds a 3-0 all-time record against Central Washington. The most memorable matchup was the first meeting, a 38-35 UM win in 2008. Hauck's Griz would win the Big Sky Conference championship and finish as the FCS national runner-up, but the Wildcats pushed them early in the season.
Griz freshman Brody McKnight broke a 35-35 tie when he drilled a 42-yard field goal with one second left in the game. The clutch kick helped the Griz avoid the upset bid that was led by quarterback Mike Reilly, who had played at Kalispell Flathead and would go on to a highly successful career in the CFL. He was one of several CWU players who went on to professional careers.
"They always have dudes," Hauck said.
In their most recent meeting, the Griz cruised to a 59-3 win in the shortened spring 2021 season. Both teams still have the same head coach. Chris Fisk is in his seventh year leading Central Washington and holds a 39-20 record.
Tight tilts with D-II
That 2008 game against CWU wasn't Hauck's only tight tussle with a D-II team at Montana. In his first home game, in 2003, North Dakota State scored a 25-24 upset with a 20-yard touchdown pass on a fake field goal with 2:13 left in the fourth quarter in NDSU's final year before moving up to the FCS.
The Grizzlies' most recent game against a D-II squad was another battle. They scored a 17-10 win over Ferris State, the two-time defending national champs who were ranked No. 1 in the nation, thanks to a 14-0 second-half rally as they used strong special teams play to overcome just 189 yards of offense. They lost the next week at Northern Arizona but then won 10 games in a row to capture the Big Sky championship and finish as the FCS national runner-up.
"We did address the fact that (two) year(s) ago we had a pretty good football team, we had Ferris State, in here and that was a real battle," Hauck said. "They were one of the best teams we played in that season. Kind of expect the same out of Central Washington."
Frank Gogola is the Senior Sports Reporter at the Missoulian and 406 MT Sports. Follow him on X @FrankGogola or email him at frank.gogola@406mtsports.com.
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