Patrick O’Connell bet on himself and became a Griz great

Patrick O’Connell’s year at the University of Mary wasn’t misspent: He played 10 football games for the Division II Marauders and scored a defensive touchdown in the 2017 season finale.

But by the end of that year he was leaning toward leaving the North Dakota school.

The Montana Grizzlies, a team he’d grown up watching in person on Saturdays, were still on his mind. He’d have to walk on, but so be it.

“My daughter Megan and I came through Bismarck,” remembered Jeanne O’Connell, Patrick’s mom. “I’m originally from Fargo, and have family there, and we had lunch with Patrick. And he said at lunch he was giving this some thought.

“We just felt positive that whatever decision he made, it would be the right one. As scary as it was, you know? The fear of the unknown.”

As you pore over his numbers now — 28.5 career sacks, 45 career tackles for loss — it’s hard to imagine another destination. O’Connell was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, for the top defensive player in the FCS, as a junior in 2021. He’s led the Griz in sacks three times.

He also won 30 games at Montana, or 29 more than he did at Mary

“Plenty of memories,” O’Connell said this week. “I think one of the most memorable ones would be our (2021) win against Washington. That’s one I’ll always remember. And obviously beating the Cats last year is a good memory, too.”

He pauses.

“My first winter conditioning always sticks out, whether it was good or bad,” he said. “Just unprepared for it, I was. I had no idea what I was getting into, really. Came in with street clothes, street shoes. It was a tough winter condo, that winter.”

He’d been warned by Bobby Hauck, who’d just returned for his second stint as UM’s head coach. At first O’Connell stood out because he didn’t have the Griz-issued gear to condition in; years later he stands out as the best “civilian” to come through winter conditioning.

O’Connell estimates a dozen or so showed up that first winter, and every one since. He made it; the list of players who did and then starred on the Washington-Grizzly Stadium turf ends about right there.

Along the way he picked up a degree in business management; he’s a couple weeks away from finishing his MBA. The time has passed quickly, except when it didn’t.

“My freshman/sophomore year, I was like, ‘Holy cow, this is never going to end,’” he said of 2018, when he was a redshirt transfer. “Then Covid came in 2020, and it was, ‘This is truly never going to end.’

“Once my junior and senior year came around… it flew by. It seems like just the other day we were preparing to play Washington.”

This season brought high expectations for the Grizzlies, and they began the year 5-0. Then came an upset home loss to Idaho; then one-score losses at Sacramento State (31-24 in overtime) and Weber State (24-21). The Griz lost quarterback Lucas Johnson at Sac State; O’Connell got rolled up on at Weber and sat out a game with an ankle injury.

Weird plays happened, and continued to happen: An out-of-bounds catch by Sac State ruled inbounds in California; a fumble recovery for a touchdown that shouldn’t have been at North Dakota State.

It was in the second quarter of Montana’s final game, a 49-26 loss at NDSU, that Hank Nuce caught up to Bison quarterback Cam Miller and popped the ball loose. O’Connell, like Nuce a Glacer High graduate, recovered — but a defensive holding call on Robby Hauck negated the play.

NDSU instead had the ball near midfield. The Bison didn’t score then, but the Johnson facemask-fumble happened on UM’s ensuing series.

“It was a tough call,” said O’Connell, meaning the Hauck penalty, which he watched on tape. “It could have gone either way.”

So it goes.

“We had some injuries and the ball just didn’t bounce our way a few times,” he said. “That’s the way it goes; that’s the game of football. We’re sitting 5-0 and No. 2 in the country and just ran into some speed bumps.”

Back to the ankle: It got rolled up again in Montana’s playoff opener against Southeast Missouri State, during a rocky first half in which the Redhawks built a 17-3 lead. Bobby Hauck would draw on the epic 2009 Griz playoff win over South Dakota State during his halftime talk; O’Connell missed it, along with part of the third quarter.

“I was still upstairs getting everything taped up again,” he said. “When I came out they were already on our side of the field. Pretty soon they scored.

“Then right after that the kickoff return happened” — Malik Flowers made an 80-yard house call — “and we were right back in it.”

Montana’s 34-24 win is another great memory that O’Connell can take with him, whether he puts his MBA to use right away or waits until a possible pro career ends. He has been invited to the Hula Bowl all-star game in January, and figures every NFL team visited practice this season. He’ll let his ankle heal up ahead of the Hula Bowl and then get ready for UM’s Pro Day this spring.

He’ll put in the work.

Jeanne thinks back to that fateful lunch.

“I told him, hold onto the three Fs,” she said. “Keep the foundation of your faith; you have the support of family; and football will take off. Keep perspective – faith, family and football – and you’ll be fine.”

The Grizzlies finished their third straight playoff season with an 8-5 record. Not the finish they wanted, certainly, and now they have to replace another sack-happy linebacker.

“It was never a lack of guys wanting it, or guys not fighting hard,” Patrick O’Connell said. “Everyone was still bought in, playing their hardest, which is awesome. People have to respect us for that.

“I don’t regret anything. There’s always stuff you look back on and wish you’d done differently. But it was the time of life, here. It was a great ride.”