Montana Grizzlies Sports, Football and Basketball : Grizzoulian

In a move that seems a little off, The Tribune Chronicle in Warren, Ohio, is reporting that Josh Swogger has become a quarterback consultant for kids making the move from high school to college. Up first is Mike Ryan, who's headed to Eastern Kentucky.

Swogger has become a quarterback consultant, trying to emulate the job NFL quarterback coach Jerry Rome has done for many pro athletes. However, the former Ursuline standout is trying to ease the transition for high school student-athletes to the collegiate level. His business is located near Liberty.

‘A lot of kids don’t have the knowledge and don’t know what they’re getting into their first year of college,’’ Swogger said. ‘‘I’d like to help them out and make the transition. I’m going to let them know what’s going to be ahead for them.’’

He derives from his experiences, even some brief pro stints.

‘‘You gain so much knowledge in being in different places,’’ Swogger said. ‘‘I had three different quarterback coaches at Washington State. I had two at Montana and being with the (Kansas City) Chiefs, the (Buffalo) Bills and the Colorado Crush (AFL). You pick up different things everywhere you go — tidbits of knowledge.’’

Swoggers' workouts  begin with him hanging a tire from beneath the goal post. The trainee then stands at the 35 yard line and focuses on trying to fire the ball through the tire. The trainee then proceeds to chuck the ball through the goal posts.

Josh is still hold out hope for living the dream.

‘‘Everything is kind of dead right now, training camp starts again in July. I’m going to try to hook on with a developmental league or something like that and see what it’s doing,’’ he said. ‘‘If it’s not the NFL, maybe Canada next year or something like that. We have to wait and see what happens.

‘‘Take off this year and work out and stuff and try to grow this business and get it going.’’

All teasing aside, I wish Josh luck. As I'm sure I'll do when the time comes, Josh is doing everything he can to avoid growing up and getting a real job. Put it off as long as possible.

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Every single Griz fan knows how frustrating it can be to have Josh Swogger at quarterback. Well, Dwayne Bowe and the Kansas City Chiefs are starting to understand now too.

At LSU, Bowe played with strong-armed quarterback JaMarcus Russell, chosen by Oakland as the first pick in the draft.

On Saturday, the passers were a couple of NFL wannabes, Jeff Terrell and Josh Swogger.

Both are undrafted rookies. Terrell, from Princeton, was signed by the Chiefs last week. Swogger, from Montana, was rented by the Chiefs just for the duration of the camp.

Their throws were frequently off target, frustrating Bowe. After one such pass, he shouted to Swogger, “Come on, get it to me.”

“All I can do is run routes and catch the ball,” Bowe explained later. “Quarterbacks are going to change. Different quarterbacks, some throw it this way and some throw it that way. All I’ve got to do is worry about catching the ball.”

Right now Swogger is an NFL quarterback. Savor it buddy, savor it. It's looking like it may be the only time he'll be able to call himself that. "Yeah, I played four years in NFL Europe" probably doesn't get you a drink or a girl at the local bar.

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As it turns out, some NFL GMs were in the market for a scaled back version of JaMarcus Russell. While Russell was probably recovering from a night out spending his Under Armor endorsement money and making it rain, Swogger spent the day sitting and staring at that ESPN draft frame before signing as an undrafted free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs.

It was a tough draft for quarterbacks as even the one who led his team to a National Championship didn't hear his name called so it was somewhat expected that we weren't going to hear the Griz QB mentioned in the later rounds. This may turn out alright for him as he's going to a pretty good situation; well, at least it's a good situation for  a backup quarterback who's trying to secure a job

Griz defensive back and returnman extraordinaire — hey, he just signed with an NFL team, ridiculous cliche superlatives are fine  — Tuff Harris signed with the Miami Dolphins.

“They'd seen film, and they came and visited last spring,” Harris said. “They have good corners, but they're all young - nobody over two years, I guess. He (Miami secondary coach Mel Phillips) said it's a good opportunity, a good chance to compete.”

The kicking game could be a factor for Harris. Miami's first-round pick, receiver and return man extraordinaire Ted Ginn, Jr., out of Ohio State, is nursing a sprained foot.

“He has an injury and probably won't be doing anything until two months from now,” said Harris, who averaged 14.5 yards per punt return with two touchdowns last fall. “They also mentioned (returning) which is good. I kind of like doing that.”

The only question is, which one of these guys is going to really get lit up first? We all saw what happened to Trent Green last year and God only knows what a training camp punt coverage team — filled with guys trying to earn a job too — will be thinking when they see the undrafted 6' sub 200 lb kid from the boonies head back to field a kick.

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I'm sure many of you are aware that Josh Swogger has garnered some attention from folks up in the No Fun League. There's an interesting story in this morning's Kaimin with Swogger's reaction to the attention and press he's been getting.

“It’s tough to say what’s going to happen in the draft, because you just never know,” Swogger said. “You can run yourself in circles trying to figure out who likes you and who doesn’t, so I’m just going to wait and see what happens.”

“It’s nice to have articles that give you that recognition,” Swogger said. “But in the end, the only thing that matters is what the teams think."

The article says that the Packers have been coming after him a bit. As a Green Bay fan, I like hearing this because I am just scared to death of the weak-armed Aaron Rodgers lining up under center in Lambeau. Yes, Swogger lining up at QB on the Tundra is slightly more terrifying but at least it would be fun to watch. Swogger said he has also spoken several times with the Cleveland Browns — Brady Quinn's sloppy seconds, holla — and the Vikings, Steelers, Colts and Eagles have also shown interest.

While there has been a fair amount of positive press on Swogs, some media members — myself sort of included — have pointed out his flaws.

But not all teams at the Combine were impressed. In an online scouting report, the Miami Dolphins wrote that he did not have an NFL arm. On nfldraftcountdown.com, analyst Scott Wright wrote that despite Swogger’s strong arm and good size, he couldn’t cut it against top competition. He said he has limited mobility, and “makes a lot of bad decisions … he’s still just a developmental guy.”

I really disagree with the first statement as Swogger could probably have his own Powerade commercial if he could manage to hit a single section of bleachers. I think Wright is pretty dead-on in his assessment, based on what I've seen at Montana. Hopefully, once Swogger gets settled into an offense he can reduce these bad decisions.

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As many of you have probably heard, Montana Grizzlies quarterback Josh Swogger is headed to the NFL Combine, where he will do everything he can to prove himself. JaMarcus Russell will be doing the opposite as he'll probably be walking around  just trying not to slip on any laminated Wonderlic exam booklets and go out George Costanza style. Sure, a guy who's going to be drafted first and one who will be lucky to sign as a free agent are going to have some big differences, but they also have some key similarities.

So if you're an NFL GM who's looking for a guy like Russell but don't have the #1 spot and already used up all your draft picks on players who are actually worth a damn, Josh Swogger is your quarterback of the future.

The biggest similarity between these two is that their best attribute is exactly the same. Both of these guys have the ability to "throw the football over them mountains." Swogger's arm strength doesn't equal Russell's, who can supposedly throw a ball 182 yards lying flat on his stomach, but Josh does have an NFL caliber arm that's probably above average for those playing on Sunday. The difference is that Swogger doesn't have as good of touch on the deep ball. Had Russell been put in Swogger's shoes, I guarantee he would've thrown the ball towards the sideline, away from the safety and hit a wide-open Craig Chambers in stride for the win against UMass instead of lofting it towards the defensive back like it was worth about 50 points game of '500.'

However, it's not like like Russell hasn't had his problems with questionable throws. The biggest only knock on the Russell is that his decision-making is a bit inconsistent. This also happens to be one of Swogger's biggest flaws. He occasionally has some trouble getting the ball to the right guy and tries to Brett Favre the ball into covered receivers.

One more similarity is their size, both are built like racehorses. Swogger is listed at 6-5, 238 so he looked pretty damn big when compared to the likes of Cole Berquist and other undersized FCS players. Russell comes in an inch taller and 20 pounds heavier at 6-6, 260. Their size helps them shake tacklers when they need to. Swogger definitely showed he could pick up some yards when he actually decided to leave the cozy confines of a collapsing pocket. (A Swogger/Bledsoe comparison post was too easy)

Still, he's not Russell when it comes to scrambling, who on top of being built like a racehorse can run like one too. He supposedly ran a 4.35 recently. The Vegas line on Swogger's forty time would probably sit somewhere between 5.1 and 2 hours.

That's the end of the comparison. There's a reason they're at complete opposite ends of the draft board but there are also a couple reasons to pick up Swogger. There's not really anyone else I'd want to have lining up under center in the 4th quarter of a preseason game.

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For the UMass Minutemen, this really isn't a good time for a short week.

According to this Daily Hampshire Gazette article, several players are trying to heal before Friday night's game with the Griz.

University of Massachusetts football coach Don Brown said his team was a collection of casts, ice and braces on Sunday as the players battled injuries of varying degrees while they prepared for Friday night's Division I Football Championship semifinal game at Montana.

'We looked like a MASH unit on Sunday, but I told the kids by Tuesday make sure that we're unmashed,' Brown said. 'The old adrenaline gets running as the week goes along and I'm sure we'll be ready to go Friday night' at 7:30 p.m

The article also offers some insight from the Sports Network's Matt Dougherty. He says that the offense has definitely improved in these playoffs. I don't think any Griz fan could disagree when he says the play of Josh Swogger has improved and frosh Thomas Brooks-Fletcher has emerged as the Griz's #1 back.

It may have been immediately following a Jamarcus Russel or vintage Daunte Culpepper-esque run but at one point the student section was definitely chanting "Swogger, Swogger, Swogger."

He also talks about what weekends are like in Wash-Griz:

'It's a feeling unlike any other I-AA venue,' he said. 'When I was there they came in with parachuters before the game, stuff you'll usually only see at NFL stadiums. When the teams are in the north end zone inside the 20, it's unbelievably loud. The seats are very close to the field. People come from all over the state. It's a very lightly populated, but huge state, a lot of people make long drives every week. It's a pretty unbelievable atmosphere.'

If anyone wants a to feel a little of the Wash-Griz atmosphere from the comfort of their laptop, check out the YouTube clip after the jump.

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As most Montanans already know, the Griz were victorious in this year's Brawl. The AP article on the game leads with Josh Swogger's statistics but everyone who watched the game, including the Cat-Griz Insider, knows he wasn't the reason our Griz won this game.

It's pretty easy to see the QB wasn't the deciding factor; just look at Swogger's complete stat-line or the final score. They are 17/41 241 yds 1 TD 2 INT and 13-7 respectively. Swogger did have his one moment with the spectacular TD pass to Eric Allen right in front of the student section. This made me (sitting in the front row) react during the play the same way someone would act if Ken Griffey Jr (10 years ago) were jumping up and robbing a homerun that would've otherwise nicked off their knee. I was really in awe and kind of stood back as it happened but once EA dove past the pylon I erupted along with everyone else around me. After this grab, all the momentum shifted and defense decided the Cats were not going to win this game.

From this point on, the Griz defense stepped up every time they needed to. Whether it was stopping them about a Pabst can short of the first down with 5 minutes left or sacking the Cats on the crucial 4th down to [pretty much] end the game, the Cats' resiliency just wasn't working out.

I really could not have enjoyed my first Griz-Cat game any more than I did.

I will try to put more photos up in another entry and also toss up anymore reaction pieces I come across

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Saturday's Griz-Cal Poly game lived up to all expectations. It was a defensive battle between #2 and #6 and had the game been I-A, Corso and the gang would've been there and it would've been an Instant Classic.

The best Griz game of the year ended on a Favre-like drive -- one of the the vintage ones where he doesn't throw a pick halfway through -- by Josh Swogger to set up 21 yard game winning kick by Dan Carpenter. This means the Griz hang in at #2 in the latest Sports Network I-AA Football Poll and this game goes down as another one Skip Bayless would've hated.

The win also means everything is in order for a Brawl of the Wild with BSC title implications. It's just like the Michigan-Ohio State game, except with the S and the C switched. The Griz have Northern Colorado coming up and the Cats just beat them, barely. Can you say settling for a moral victory?

Ms. U moved up on spot to #18 after their sixth straight win.

Complete rankings after the jump.

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Yeah, I forgot the camera. Here are pregame pictures taken via the phone; more after the jump.
The team trotting out.

Swogger, before he went 14-18 for 221 yards and 3 TDs.

Craig Chambers

Eric Allen warming up.

Chambers making a pregame grab.

Who we all really came to see.

Postgame prayer.

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• This week's rankings: The Griz come in at #5 but talk about all things evening out; after their upset at Colorado MSU has plummeted out of the rankings faster than Brett Boone left the majors.
• Not going to be a blowout?  The Griz have won all 11 meetings by a combined score of 419-174 but apparently the Hornets' defense has improved.
• Interview with the Moose: Your schedule is always going to be hard if you're not very good.
• Swogger will probably play. Hauck wouldn't admit it but he'll be in there. He practiced with the first team and I think all of us want to see regular TD hookups from the WSU-UW dropdown duo of Swogger and Chambers.
• What Bobby did with his off week; and other questions.
• Griz can't get to the QB. One sack in 8 quarters, ouch... or not.
• GrizTracks Preview. It's not gonna be pretty. Their prediction: 31-3 Griz.

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41-7 or $650,000, which matters more? I'm not going to make the call but the fact that the Griz made about $200,000 an hour to get trounced as if they were the Sisters of the Poor football team is almost impressive. Spread that out  over60 guys and it's $3,300.33 an hour. That's A-Rod bank. Nooo, college football isn't about the money at all.

Josh Swogger was not only running around the backfield as if he were carrying his life instead of a pigskin in his hands, he was also working on getting rid of a seven figure deficit in the athletic department and pumping some money into the football program.

While the Griz football team was serving as a prostitute to Drew Tate's stats, other teams in the Big Sky Conference were making decent showings against I-A foes.

Going into the weekend, I thought Thursday night would be the best showing by a BSC team when Northern Arizona hung with Arizona State for three quarters. No, it gets better (worse).

Ms. University earned 275 g's for their win over one time Big 12 power Colorado. Apparently Dan Hawkins can't ball on a field that ducks don't accidentally crash into.

On top of that, Portland State pulled off the "upset" of "I-A" New Mexico.

I'm just happy the weekend of torment is over. Even my I-A love ND had a sub-holy showing against Georgia Tech. The important thing is that there is a ticket in my (Coach) wallet (thank you girlfriend) for a 1:05 game against South Dakota State.

Everyone needs a game against Cupcake University.

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The big Double-D pointed out in his recent Kaimin column that I-AA screw-ups and backups sure do love the University of Montana and the U loves them right back.

The University of Montana football team loves transfers like a fat kid loves cake.
Or like the elderly love Buicks.
Or like myself and NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg love Shakira.

So what if I-AA transfers swarm to Missoula like deadbeat dads and retirees to Florida; would the Griz be anywhere without them?

A recent ESPN (AP) article points to how I-AA second teamers and those who Bomar'd their teammates are the prosthetic legs that will carry the Griz through this season.

Just as the Montana Grizzlies were looking to shore up their quarterback spot, which struggled during the 2005 campaign, Washington State's Josh Swogger was looking to play for a team that had a chance of winning a national championship.

Others are former Louisville running back Reggie Bradshaw and Iowa State running back Greg Coleman, along with former Washington receiver Craig Chambers. However, Chambers is expected to miss the season opener Saturday against No. 16 Iowa.

"Chambers isn't cleared yet to play," Hauck said. "We're not sure how long that will linger -- maybe soon, maybe longer. He has issues with me and eligibility."

Come on, ALL the skill positions have been sured up by I-AA dropdowns. Quarterback, running back, and wide receiver all have transfers at #1 on the depth chart. This won't exactly be the case against Iowa as Chambers will not make the trip. (What are these issues with Hauck?)

Yes, these transfers do, in a way, make the Griz and all of I-AA look like 'Plan B' to anyone that messes up or just can't cut it in big time college ball, but we have to take what we can get. If we're going to to complain about this making us look bad, then why not get upset about selling our team out as a practice squad for six figures?

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There is no dispute. Going into this season, Lex Hilliard was the best football player in Montana and probably the entire Big Sky Conference. Now, he's done for the season after suffering a serious foot injury that will require surgery.

We’re very disappointed for Lex Hilliard,” said fourth-year Griz head coach Bobby Hauck. “For him to lose his senior season, especially one that he has prepared so hard for, is a hard pill to swallow. It’s difficult to put into words just how bad that myself, our coaches and our players feel for Lex.

“Obviously it is a tremendous loss to our football team and certainly puts a damper on our championship aspirations since we lost our best player for the season,” Hauck said.

Looks like Swogger will have to carry the offense as the injury leaves a crater where a great running game once was.

In a way, Lex is to Hauck as Terrell Davis and John Elway were to Mike Shanahan of the Denver Broncos. Hauck has proven that he can win with Lex, lets see if he can do so without.

I do acknowledge the fact that Hauck did lead the Griz to a 9-3 record in his initial season in 2003 without much help from Hilliard. Sorry for another NFL reference, but  Bill Callahan led to the 2002 Oakland Raiders to the Super Bowl because of the system put in place by Jon Gruden. Callahan was fired only a [4-12] season later.

During the 2004 run to the National Championship game Lex failed to break the 1000 yard (950 yards) mark but he did rumble into the endzone 17 times.

In 2005, Hilliard ran for 1,332 yards and the Griz were BSC co-champions before losing their opening round playoff game.

Lex will return in 2007 after redshirting for the 2006 season.

From: The Missoulian

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The Cat-Griz Insider notes that Lex is a average (for him) year away from breaking the career rushing record at UM.

Senior running back Lex Hilliard needs 1,186 yards to become the Montana Grizzlies’
all-time leading rusher. Yohance Humphery (1998-2001) currently holds that title with 4,070 yards.

Lex ran for 1,322 yards last year so the record is definitely within reach. I'm sure he'll be as motivated as ever enteting his senior year and looking to re-establish the Griz as the I-AA powerhouse they are. However, it'll be interesting to see if the Griz return to their airborn ways with the talented senior transfer Josh Swogger at quarterback.

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