Big Sky Notebook: Tough to keep up with Bobcats' Jones
The bloom is not off the rose yet for the Montana State Bobcats, who had a pretty clutch finish to their 35-31 football win at New Mexico State Saturday.
“Touchdown Tommy” Mellott had an excellent last three quarters for the Cats, but tailback Adam Jones’ name came up more than once at MSU coach Brent Vigen’s Monday press conference.
The redshirt freshman out of Missoula Sentinel had a 93-yard touchdown scamper, true, but his work on a broken play that resulted in Mellott’s 15-yard scoring run was just as notable.
Basically, he sprung Mellott around the edge and up the left sideline, cutting New Mexico’s lead to 31-21.
“Should have been Adam running it,” Vigen said. “It was a high snap (and) I think Adam scores a little bit easier than Tommy on that play.”
Either way, the Bobcats had some momentum.
“I think we felt like at that point it was within reach,” Vigen said. “We knew we needed to make plays moving forward and we did that. We certainly didn’t make them all in the fourth quarter, but ultimately with the big play on Adams run... now down three, I think everybody on our sideline felt like, OK, ‘Here we go.’ “
Scottre Humphrey had the winning TD, a 4-yard run with 10 seconds left and MSU still holding onto a timeout. It capped a perfect clock drive.
“The moment was pretty big for me,” Humphrey told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. “It was a beautiful time. I got to help my team get the W.”
As did Jones, who on top of 167 rushing yards had several unsung plays aside from Mellott’s TD run. “He did some phenomenal things,” Vigens said.
On to Utah Tech
It was a “Week Zero,” win, and set up the Cats nicely for another non-league road game, this time at Utah Tech. The former Dixie State University of St. George, Utah, has a new coach — longtime Stanford defensive coordinator Lance Anderson — and seven defensive starters back from a 2-9 team.
One of those nine losses came 63-20 to the Bobcats last Sept. 2.
“They return some guys that played in that game, and moreso on the defensive side,” said Vigen, who also noted the Trailblazers brought in two transfer quarterbacks.
They are former Syracuse QB Luke McPhail and former Minnesota and Iowa signal caller Deacon Hill — though Vigen mentioned only the 6-foot-4, 258-pound Hill by name.
The junior started Iowa’s last nine games last season, including the Citrus Bowl. He threw five TD passes and eight interceptions, running a conservative offense that scored enough for the Hawkeyes to win six times.
During Iowa’s spring drills he was back to backing up Cade McNamara, who was the 2023 starter before getting injured. Hill entered the NCAA Transfer Portal in April.
Griz vs. Bears
The Montana Grizzlies get their season going Saturday night at home at 7 against Missouri State, and the team kicked off the week with a press conference that lasted less than 14 minutes.
Unlike the presser, the Bears probably won’t be quick work. Second-year coach Ryan Beard — elevated from DC when Bobby Petrino, his father-in-law, stepped down after the 2022 season — has a team that threw the ball to the tune of 300 yards a game in 2023.
The Bears did it despite quarterback Jacob Clark getting hurt in the fourth game; he had a 414-yard, five-touchdown day in a 59-14 win over Utah Tech. Notably, that was their lone win in his four starts; they went 3-3 from there, including a season-ending, 35-17 loss at eventual national champion South Dakota State.
The Bears also return running back Jacardia Wright, who is on the Senior Bowl watch list, a standout punter in Grand Burkett and a couple big-play receivers in Hunter Wood and Jmarlyae Robinson.
“They have many returning starters and I always think that veteran football teams are good football teams,” Hauck said Monday. “I really think at the end of October we’ll see them as a contender in the Missouri Valley.”
It will be the Bears’ last chance at an MVC title, which they last won a share of 2021: They’re headed to the FBC Conference USA in 2025.
Griz Two-Deep
As you might expect, Hauck did not announce a starting quarterback Monday; on Tuesday the Grizzlies’ two-deep showed Fresno State transfer Logan Fife or redshirt freshman Keali’i Ah Yat at QB.
Notable starters include Cooper Barnum, a former Washington State baseball player and the son of Portland State coach Bruce Barnum, at linebacker; and Youngstown State transfer Andres Lehrmann at defensive end.
Glacier product Henry Nuce is listed as Lerhmann’s backup, though the Griz rotate their D-linemen a lot. Other backups: Glacier product Drew Deck, behind Junior Bergen at “F” receiver; Whitefish’s Dillon Botner, a senior, at left tackle; and junior linebacker Riley Wilson behind San Diego State transfer Vai Kaho.
Also notable is that tight end Cole Grossman, back after missing all of 2023 with injuries, is not listed. Seniors Evan Shafer and Erik Barker are.
QUICK KICKS: The Missouri State roster includes RB Iverson Young, who had seven carries for the Griz last fall, and S Dylan Simmons, who played in nine games for the 2022 Griz and then all 11 games last fall (six starts) for the Bears. ... Vigen said Bobcat RB Elijah Elliott was injured on a kick return at New Mexico and hoped to get him back in time for conference play. ... Former Idaho QB Jevani McCoy was named the starter for Oregon State. The Beavers play host to Big Sky member Idaho State Saturday.