Aug. 10, 2012

Even though it may be ninety degrees outside, fall is right around the corner and that means Grizzly football is back.

The University of Montana football team will hold its first fall scrimmage Sunday, Aug. 12, at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Scrimmage action will start around 8:30 p.m. The scrimmage is open to the public.

After a week of scorching temperatures, the scrimmage marks the end of the first week of fall camp for the players. Players reported on Sunday and had their first practice on Tuesday. On Thursday, players donned their pads for the first time.

First-year head coach Mick Delaney said the team will run between 70 and 90 plays on Sunday. He expects to see room for improvement from a team that consists mostly of younger players.

"It will be the first opportunity for people to see players tackling live," Delaney said. "We haven't seen what they can do yet. There will be an emphasis on holding onto the ball. That's always a concern. We will be focused on proper tackling and ball handling."

As far as players to keep an eye on, Delaney said "all of them. The team is so young." He did say he is looking to seeing sophomore Jordan Canada perform now that he is healthy after battling an ankle injury last season.

In addition to Canada, fellow running backs Dan Moore and Peter Nguyen provide a strong backbone for the team. Between the three, they racked up 1,845 years and 19 touchdowns last season.

Delaney didn't specify who would take snaps as quarterback on Sunday.

"Of course there will be a lot of attention on the four quarterbacks," he said. "It will also be interesting to see what our cornerbacks can do, especially (junior Anthony) Goodwin, (freshman Nate) Harris, (freshman JR) Nelson and (sophomore Josh) Dennard."

Since Trumaine Johnson finished up his senior season and is now a St. Louis Ram, cornerback is another position that features young and inexperienced players.

Sunday will also be the first 2-a-day practice for the team.

Next week's practice schedule:
Monday, Aug. 13 - 1-a-day
Tuesday, Aug. 14 - 2-a-day
Wednesday, Aug. 15 - 1-a-day
Thursday, Aug. 16 - 2-a-day
Friday - 1-a-day
Saturday - scrimmage