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2015 Class.....Who Will Step Up?

HookedonGriz

Well-known member
DONOR
You'll recall that our 2015 class was strong as well. Some are no longer here (Ena never made it, Pflug supposedly cut, McCullough gone). Hopefully some of these young kids are ready to contribute and make a name for themselves. Who would you say are ready to take it to the next level? Here's the list, minus the transfers who all contributed (Chalich, Y. Sanders, M. Sanders) as well as those no longer here:


Offense

Colin Bingham•TE•6-3 1/2•235•Missoula Big Sky•Missoula

Caught 20 passes for 176 yards and five touchdowns as a senior ... primarily a blocker for Eagles team that advanced to the Class AA semifinal game ... father, Guy, played at UM from 1976-79 before playing 14 seasons in the NFL and is part of Montana Hall of Fame.

Jeremy Calhoun•RB•5-11•187•Long Beach Poly•Long Beach, California

Named California Interscholastic Federation All-League as a senior ... ran for more than 1,100 yards, averaging more than 6.8 yards per carry. Scored 11 touchdowns on the ground and one more receiving ... twin brother, Justin, also committed to Montana to play wide receiver.

Justin Calhoun•WR•5-10-160•Long Beach Poly•Long Beach, California

Named CIF All-League as a senior ... moved to receiver during his senior season ... caught 28 passes for 771 yards and 10 touchdowns. Average per catch was 27.5 ... twin brother, Jeremy, also committed to Montana to play running back

Dalton Daum•WR•6-1•175•Butte High•Butte

Originally committed to Montana State ... caught 53 passes for 766 yards and six touchdowns playing with a broken hand as a senior ... totaled 196 receptions for 2,997 yards and 32 touchdowns at Butte ... holds single-season school records of catches (76), yards (1,217) and touchdowns (16) ... second-team All-State as sophomore, first-team as a junior and senior.

Kobey Eaton•WR 6-3•185•Evergreen High•Vancouver, Washington

Caught 19 passes for 526 yards and six touchdowns as a senior for the Plainsmen ... four-year starter in football; two at quarterback and two at wide receiver ... named a team MVP ... All-League selection as a junior and senior.

Dallas Hart•OL•6-5•295•Pacifica High•Cypress, California

First-team All-Conference selection ... voted team MVP as a senior after he was named captain ... three-year letterman

Cody Meyer•OL•6-3•270•San Marcos High•San Marcos, California

Officially accepted an admissions offer and will walk on with football team ... all-League selection as a junior and senior ... three-year starter and two-year captain ... earned letters in football and volleyball.

Donovan Rooks•WR•6-2•185•Yuma Catholic•Yuma, Arizona

Earned nine letters at Yuma Catholic, four in football. Part of three state championship teams ... caught 60 passes for 1,262 yards and 21 touchdowns as a senior. During his three years he had 110 catches, 2,575 yards and 35 touchdowns ... All-State as a senior.

Holden Ryan•WR•6-2•215•Billings Central Catholic•Billings

Played running back in high school ... rushed 227 times for 1,451 yards and 21 touchdowns as a senior. Also caught 22 passes for 346 yards and three scores ... selected first-team All-State running back as a junior and senior ... cousins Casey and Kyle Ryan played for UM.

Angel Villanueva•OL•6-5•310•Duarte High•Duarte, California

Earned 12 letters at Duarte, four in football ... team captain in three sports as a sophomore, junior and senior ... three-time All-League selection and Most Valuable Lineman as a senior ... registered 95 pancake blocks as a senior earning All-Mid Valley and All-San Gabriel Valley nods.

Defense

Andrew Harris•DE•6-4•215•Kalispell Glacier•Kalispell

Officially accepted an admissions offer and will walk on with football team ... first-team All-State as a senior for AA Champion Glacier ... registered 91.5 tackles, four fumble recoveries and two sacks ... named team captain and special teams MVP as a senior ... father, Greg Harris, played for UM from 1971-75 before playing in the NFL for the Jets and 49ers. Brother, Josh, was a defensive end at UM from 2008-2012.

Dante Olson•LB•6-3 1/2•230•Cascade Christian•Medford, Oregon

Four year letterman on four consecutive conference champion teams ... three-year captain and defensive player of the year ... led team in tackles three consecutive years ... voted MVP of conference and state for two years ... had 135 tackles, five sacks and four forced fumbles as a senior ... three-time All-State selection.

Josh Sandry•S•6-1•190•Bigfork High•Bigfork

All-State selection and team MVP as junior and senior. Team captain as a senior ... played quarterback, defensive back, kicker, punter and return specialist for the Vikings ... all-state in basketball for state champion team as a junior ... grandfather, Bruce Olson, played at Montana and lettered in 1957-58.

Jesse Sims•DE•6-4•235•Corvallis High•Stevensville

Originally committed to Oregon State ... transferred to Corvallis from Stevensville for senior season ... named All-Conference as a senior ... was named MVP of the Class A state basketball tournament as a sophomore ... sister, Alycia, is a sophomore for the Lady Griz.

Cy Sirmon•LB•6-3•225•Wenatchee High•Wenatchee, Washington

Three-year starter at Wenatchee ... as a senior he had 106 tackles, 10 TFLs, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries ... first-team All-Conference selection as junior and senior ... team captain and MVP as senior ... uncle, David Sirmon, played on Montana's 1995 national championship team.

Jerrin Williams•S•6-2 1/2•200•Evergreen High•Vancouver, Washington

Earned four letters in football ... was a team captain as a senior ... three-time All-Conference selection ... senior year he had 30 tackles and six interceptions and deflected 10 passes while registering two sacks.

Guys who came in later and were not part of original signing class:

Jerry Louie-McGee WR
David Fa'atuiese LB
Brody Martinez RB
Colin Mcgillvary OL
Nolan Timmons S
 
I'm excited about a lot of these guys, but I think we will be introduced to:

Donavan Rooks (huge HS numbers against legit competition)
Dalton Daum (can't keep his speed off the field, plus he's Butte tough)
Angel Villanueva ( highly touted OL)
Jerrin Williams (could be stud safety, incredible athlete)
Brody Martinez ( if he's healed up, watch out)
Jesse Sims (tons of upside)
Holden Ryan (gotta be on the field somewhere)
Bingham ( could be a mis match weapon in Stitt's offense)
Justin Calhoun (twin brother Jeremy showed what these kids can do)
Cy Sirmon ( I think this kid is going to be our next stud LB)

Some of these guys might only shine on special teams but that often times translates into a pretty darn good football player later on
 
HookedonGriz said:
I'm excited about a lot of these guys, but I think we will be introduced to:

Donavan Rooks (huge HS numbers against legit competition)
Dalton Daum (can't keep his speed off the field, plus he's Butte tough)
Angel Villanueva ( highly touted OL)
Jerrin Williams (could be stud safety, incredible athlete)
Brody Martinez ( if he's healed up, watch out)
Jesse Sims (tons of upside)
Holden Ryan (gotta be on the field somewhere)
Bingham ( could be a mis match weapon in Stitt's offense)
Justin Calhoun (twin brother Jeremy showed what these kids can do)
Cy Sirmon ( I think this kid is going to be our next stud LB)

Some of these guys might only shine on special teams but that often times translates into a pretty darn good football player later on

I would add Kobey Eaton and Josh Sandry to that list.
 
Bjorn Bjornstein said:
HookedonGriz said:
I'm excited about a lot of these guys, but I think we will be introduced to:

Donavan Rooks (huge HS numbers against legit competition)
Dalton Daum (can't keep his speed off the field, plus he's Butte tough)
Angel Villanueva ( highly touted OL)
Jerrin Williams (could be stud safety, incredible athlete)
Brody Martinez ( if he's healed up, watch out)
Jesse Sims (tons of upside)
Holden Ryan (gotta be on the field somewhere)
Bingham ( could be a mis match weapon in Stitt's offense)
Justin Calhoun (twin brother Jeremy showed what these kids can do)
Cy Sirmon ( I think this kid is going to be our next stud LB)

Some of these guys might only shine on special teams but that often times translates into a pretty darn good football player later on

I would add Kobey Eaton and Josh Sandry to that list.

Sandry could end up being the next # 37 in a year. Great all around athlete.
 
Any and every offensive linemen we have, hopefully.
I could really see Justin Calhoun come up and be our receptions leader.
Dante Olson, Cy Sirmon, and David Fa'autise. We got 3 stud Linebackers last year.
Jerrin Williams, gonna be a good one.
 
I wouldn't be at all surprised to see guys from previous years step up their game, now that Coach has established the bar.
 
HookedonGriz said:
I'm excited about a lot of these guys, but I think we will be introduced to:

Donavan Rooks (huge HS numbers against legit competition)
Dalton Daum (can't keep his speed off the field, plus he's Butte tough)
Angel Villanueva ( highly touted OL)
Jerrin Williams (could be stud safety, incredible athlete)
Brody Martinez ( if he's healed up, watch out)
Jesse Sims (tons of upside)
Holden Ryan (gotta be on the field somewhere)
Bingham ( could be a mis match weapon in Stitt's offense)
Justin Calhoun (twin brother Jeremy showed what these kids can do)
Cy Sirmon ( I think this kid is going to be our next stud LB)

Some of these guys might only shine on special teams but that often times translates into a pretty darn good football player later on

Define Rooks' legit competition.

Cy will be phenominal for sure. But I am highest on Dante, he had the most heralded LB HS career and was the Grizs' Defensive Scout Team Player of the Year,
 
brewskis said:
Any and every offensive linemen we have, hopefully.
I could really see Justin Calhoun come up and be our receptions leader.
Dante Olson, Cy Sirmon, and David Fa'autise. We got 3 stud Linebackers last year.
Jerrin Williams, gonna be a good one.
.

I think whoever plays most at Z will likely be the receptions leader. Typically Z receivers are targeted the most. That certainly could be Justin. But he played outside in HS a lot, so he may play outside for the Griz as well. Or possibly play both. Just like Stitt said he would use Daum, both outside and inside.

Either way, it's going to be exciting to see new faces out there.
 
IntuitiveGriz said:
HookedonGriz said:
I'm excited about a lot of these guys, but I think we will be introduced to:

Donavan Rooks (huge HS numbers against legit competition)
Dalton Daum (can't keep his speed off the field, plus he's Butte tough)
Angel Villanueva ( highly touted OL)
Jerrin Williams (could be stud safety, incredible athlete)
Brody Martinez ( if he's healed up, watch out)
Jesse Sims (tons of upside)
Holden Ryan (gotta be on the field somewhere)
Bingham ( could be a mis match weapon in Stitt's offense)
Justin Calhoun (twin brother Jeremy showed what these kids can do)
Cy Sirmon ( I think this kid is going to be our next stud LB)

Some of these guys might only shine on special teams but that often times translates into a pretty darn good football player later on

Define Rooks' legit competition.

Cy will be phenominal for sure. But I am highest on Dante, he had the most heralded LB HS career and was the Grizs' Defensive Scout Team Player of the Year,

I'm not as familiar with AZ classifications, but he played in Division 4 which I'm guessing is pretty competitive. His team won 3 straight state championships, going 14-0 one year. One of his teammates signed at Boise St so some good players there. But I admit I don't know as much about AZ competition.
 
HookedonGriz said:
IntuitiveGriz said:
HookedonGriz said:
I'm excited about a lot of these guys, but I think we will be introduced to:

Donavan Rooks (huge HS numbers against legit competition)
Dalton Daum (can't keep his speed off the field, plus he's Butte tough)
Angel Villanueva ( highly touted OL)
Jerrin Williams (could be stud safety, incredible athlete)
Brody Martinez ( if he's healed up, watch out)
Jesse Sims (tons of upside)
Holden Ryan (gotta be on the field somewhere)
Bingham ( could be a mis match weapon in Stitt's offense)
Justin Calhoun (twin brother Jeremy showed what these kids can do)
Cy Sirmon ( I think this kid is going to be our next stud LB)

Some of these guys might only shine on special teams but that often times translates into a pretty darn good football player later on

Define Rooks' legit competition.

Cy will be phenominal for sure. But I am highest on Dante, he had the most heralded LB HS career and was the Grizs' Defensive Scout Team Player of the Year,

I'm not as familiar with AZ classifications, but he played in Division 4 which I'm guessing is pretty competitive. His team won 3 straight state championships, going 14-0 one year. One of his teammates signed at Boise St so some good players there. But I admit I don't know as much about AZ competition.

Class 4 is second highest class..although they have 2 classes of class 5 (at least they did when I lived there a few years ago). Typically class 4 is 1200-2000 students, many in 3 class schools So-Sr. Hamilton high in chandler is class 5 and has something like 3600 in 3 classes, for comparison.
 
Jeremy Calhoun - has already stepped up - should only improve, especially if the O-line can take a step forward.

Of the rest of the group though, guys we didn't see last year, look at the spots of opportunity:

Of the WRs, I'd say Kobey Eaton. I almost thought they weren't going to red shirt him, he had a very strong fall camp. Eaton already has the size the coaches want and good speed and hands. With this off-season hopefully he's added some muscle and familiarity in this system. Daum and Ryan need to show they're healthy, which I assume by spring they will be. Rooks needs to clean up the drops. Calhoun needs to show improvement in the design of the offense.

On the O-line I'd say Dallas Hart. Hart is the lone tackle of this o-line group and the one presumed open job is LT or RT depending on where Reese is placed. The interior O-line has seniors Todd, Dietrich, & Weyer and junior Luke... there's a log-jam there for 2016.

For safety I've got to think that both Josh Sandry and Jerrin Williams are going to be needed - ready or not. We've got Yamen Sanders and Mick Delaney and then walk-ons Epperly and Timmons. I think both safeties could get a chance to start or rotate in a bunch.
 
BWahlberg said:
Jeremy Calhoun - has already stepped up - should only improve, especially if the O-line can take a step forward.

Of the rest of the group though, guys we didn't see last year, look at the spots of opportunity:

Of the WRs, I'd say Kobey Eaton. I almost thought they weren't going to red shirt him, he had a very strong fall camp. Eaton already has the size the coaches want and good speed and hands. With this off-season hopefully he's added some muscle and familiarity in this system. Daum and Ryan need to show they're healthy, which I assume by spring they will be. Rooks needs to clean up the drops. Calhoun needs to show improvement in the design of the offense.

On the O-line I'd say Dallas Hart. Hart is the lone tackle of this o-line group and the one presumed open job is LT or RT depending on where Reese is placed. The interior O-line has seniors Todd, Dietrich, & Weyer and junior Luke... there's a log-jam there for 2016.

For safety I've got to think that both Josh Sandry and Jerrin Williams are going to be needed - ready or not. We've got Yamen Sanders and Mick Delaney and then walk-ons Epperly and Timmons. I think both safeties could get a chance to start or rotate in a bunch.
Directly from coaches mouth, during this last season at least, Calhoun was the one receiver they really believed was ready to make an impact as true freshman, and Villanueva received far and away the highest praise of the o line class
 
casewinter13 said:
BWahlberg said:
Jeremy Calhoun - has already stepped up - should only improve, especially if the O-line can take a step forward.

Of the rest of the group though, guys we didn't see last year, look at the spots of opportunity:

Of the WRs, I'd say Kobey Eaton. I almost thought they weren't going to red shirt him, he had a very strong fall camp. Eaton already has the size the coaches want and good speed and hands. With this off-season hopefully he's added some muscle and familiarity in this system. Daum and Ryan need to show they're healthy, which I assume by spring they will be. Rooks needs to clean up the drops. Calhoun needs to show improvement in the design of the offense.

On the O-line I'd say Dallas Hart. Hart is the lone tackle of this o-line group and the one presumed open job is LT or RT depending on where Reese is placed. The interior O-line has seniors Todd, Dietrich, & Weyer and junior Luke... there's a log-jam there for 2016.

For safety I've got to think that both Josh Sandry and Jerrin Williams are going to be needed - ready or not. We've got Yamen Sanders and Mick Delaney and then walk-ons Epperly and Timmons. I think both safeties could get a chance to start or rotate in a bunch.
Directly from coaches mouth, during this last season at least, Calhoun was the one receiver they really believed was ready to make an impact as true freshman, and Villanueva received far and away the highest praise of the o line class

That's great! My observations pretty much ended with fall camp so I wasn't able to see how each progressed through the fall. I'm really excited for Villanueva, just don't see him breaking through this season, unless he can play tackle?
 
BWahlberg said:
casewinter13 said:
BWahlberg said:
Jeremy Calhoun - has already stepped up - should only improve, especially if the O-line can take a step forward.

Of the rest of the group though, guys we didn't see last year, look at the spots of opportunity:

Of the WRs, I'd say Kobey Eaton. I almost thought they weren't going to red shirt him, he had a very strong fall camp. Eaton already has the size the coaches want and good speed and hands. With this off-season hopefully he's added some muscle and familiarity in this system. Daum and Ryan need to show they're healthy, which I assume by spring they will be. Rooks needs to clean up the drops. Calhoun needs to show improvement in the design of the offense.

On the O-line I'd say Dallas Hart. Hart is the lone tackle of this o-line group and the one presumed open job is LT or RT depending on where Reese is placed. The interior O-line has seniors Todd, Dietrich, & Weyer and junior Luke... there's a log-jam there for 2016.

For safety I've got to think that both Josh Sandry and Jerrin Williams are going to be needed - ready or not. We've got Yamen Sanders and Mick Delaney and then walk-ons Epperly and Timmons. I think both safeties could get a chance to start or rotate in a bunch.
Directly from coaches mouth, during this last season at least, Calhoun was the one receiver they really believed was ready to make an impact as true freshman, and Villanueva received far and away the highest praise of the o line class

That's great! My observations pretty much ended with fall camp so I wasn't able to see how each progressed through the fall. I'm really excited for Villanueva, just don't see him breaking through this season, unless he can play tackle?
I happened to agree completely with the coaches based on pretty limited evaluation. My feeLing on Villanueva is that he's already good enough to start. He's physically mature, so he's not catching up strength wise, he's already ahead of most if not all. If we had a talented o line I'd say next year is his year, but we don't. One never knows until it's time to actually lace them up, though.
 
AZDoc said:
HookedonGriz said:
IntuitiveGriz said:
HookedonGriz said:
I'm excited about a lot of these guys, but I think we will be introduced to:

Donavan Rooks (huge HS numbers against legit competition)
Dalton Daum (can't keep his speed off the field, plus he's Butte tough)
Angel Villanueva ( highly touted OL)
Jerrin Williams (could be stud safety, incredible athlete)
Brody Martinez ( if he's healed up, watch out)
Jesse Sims (tons of upside)
Holden Ryan (gotta be on the field somewhere)
Bingham ( could be a mis match weapon in Stitt's offense)
Justin Calhoun (twin brother Jeremy showed what these kids can do)
Cy Sirmon ( I think this kid is going to be our next stud LB)

Some of these guys might only shine on special teams but that often times translates into a pretty darn good football player later on

Define Rooks' legit competition.

Cy will be phenominal for sure. But I am highest on Dante, he had the most heralded LB HS career and was the Grizs' Defensive Scout Team Player of the Year,

I'm not as familiar with AZ classifications, but he played in Division 4 which I'm guessing is pretty competitive. His team won 3 straight state championships, going 14-0 one year. One of his teammates signed at Boise St so some good players there. But I admit I don't know as much about AZ competition.

Class 4 is second highest class..although they have 2 classes of class 5 (at least they did when I lived there a few years ago). Typically class 4 is 1200-2000 students, many in 3 class schools So-Sr. Hamilton high in chandler is class 5 and has something like 3600 in 3 classes, for comparison.

Never ask a question you don't already know the answer to (Define Rooks' legit competition). :thumb:

Their are 6 divisions of football classification in AZ, Rooks played down in level 4.

Div 1
Div 2
Div 3
Div 4
Div 5
Div 6

Rooks' Div 4 high school has 345 students. enrollment: http://www.privateschoolreview.com/yuma-catholic-high-school-profile

The Div 1 state champion has 2,107 students, which is Griz commit Randy Rodriguez school, maxpreps #27 school in the country. enrollment: https://schools.peoriaud.k12.az.us/sites/cehs/Pages/Default.aspx

Legit, big-boy football...a pic of Randy Rodriquez scrolls through... http://www.centennialcoyotesfootball.com/page/show/1723399-home

AZ Classifications and schools: http://www.azpreps365.com/standings/football/d1
 
NDSU is not afraid to start a true freshman (or redshirt freshman) if he is the best player at his position. I hope we have the same mindset. I'm excited to see both 2015 and 2016 recruits on the field for Montana, and I hope a few of these guys are ready to step up right away.
 
IntuitiveGriz said:
Never ask a question you don't already know the answer to (Define Rooks' legit competition). :thumb:

Their are 6 divisions of football classification in AZ, Rooks played down in level 4.

Div 1
Div 2
Div 3
Div 4
Div 5
Div 6

Rooks' Div 4 high school has 345 students. enrollment: http://www.privateschoolreview.com/yuma-catholic-high-school-profile

The Div 1 state champion has 2,107 students, which is Griz commit Randy Rodriguez school, maxpreps #27 school in the country. enrollment: https://schools.peoriaud.k12.az.us/sites/cehs/Pages/Default.aspx

Legit, big-boy football...a pic of Randy Rodriquez scrolls through... http://www.centennialcoyotesfootball.com/page/show/1723399-home

AZ Classifications and schools: http://www.azpreps365.com/standings/football/d1

All true, IG, but there's a few caveats that should be mentioned.

1) The schools that typically produce the most talent from the state are Division II Chaparral and Division III Saguaro.
2) The private schools (of which Rooks attended) are a whole different animal when comparing attendance...they basically "recruit", which other schools aren't technically allowed to do (although Saguaro and Chaparral have been accused of it many times). they also routinely play "up" in talent, because of the recruiting. Rarely are they as big attendance-wise as the other schools in their division. Yuma Catholic is no exception, so 345 isn't necessarily representative of the size of schools they're playing against.
3) Two of the best schools in the state for football talent are Division IV Lakeside and Show Low.
 
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