First opponent
Joe Glenn’s return to Montana, where he coached two years and won a national title, should be fun for those who got to know him during his time there, as well as for Glenn himself, who has had a way of keeping friends from all his stops over his career.
But the Grizzlies themselves have had quite an offseason, including the firing of head coach Robin Pflugard and athletic director Jim O’Day. The Griz, now coached by Mick Delaney, suspended QB starter Jordan Johnson as well as Gerald Kemp, a possible replacement, for separate issues.
Montana was picked to finish third in the Big Sky, behind Montana State and Eastern Washington, in a preseason poll. The Griz went to the semifinals last year before losing to 31-28 to Sam Houston State. They’re replacing most of their defense but have seven players returning on offense.
Washington High grad Matt Hermanson had 65 tackles a year ago at safety and returns as a starter at that spot as a sophomore. Montana lost 11 seniors on defense, 10 of whom were at least occasional starters. If the guys replacing them all play like Hermanson, however, you can’t count on there being much of a dip in performance of that unit. Judging from his stats, Hermanson basically picked up where he left off in high school. Still a big hitter coming at you from the secondary.
Trent McKinney, a redshirt freshman from Hawaii, appears to have emerged as the new Montana quarterback. As a group the potential candidates were a lightly tested group coming into the season.
Montana’s offensive coordinator is Timm Rosenbach, who was a supplemental first-round pick of the Phoenix Cardinals in 1989. Rosenbach’s career was beset by a series of serious injuries, however, and he was out of the game by 1995. He’s in his first year with Montana, where his father is a former Grizzly assistant.
