Montana football coach Bob Stitt preached unity this offseason in preparation for his second campaign leading the Grizzlies. Now that was in reference to his offense and defense working more seamlessly together.
The Griz linebackers found their own way to express homogeneity: at the barber shop.
"(Connor) Strahm and I figured we'd mess around, have a little fun, and we started convincing some other people to do it," began outside linebacker Josh Buss. "We kind of got a little Mohawk gang going now."
Hair styles aside, a linebacking unit tasked with replacing all three starters and four seniors in total has gelled as well as could have been hoped so far in 2016. The men in the middle will be younger than in years past -- the position group features no seniors and only two juniors -- but they're not short on talent.
A top tier has separated itself from the pack, that being the sophomore Buss and juniors Strahm and James Banks, but a large group of redshirt freshmen will be pushing for playing time, linebackers coach Travis Niekamp said. The only thing dividing them is the former's speed at adjusting on the fly.
"Now the younger guys aren't too far behind 'em in that regard, but with reps comes experience," Niekamp said. "I'm excited about the depth. We've got a lot of good depth, it's not fake depth. I wouldn't have an issue running seven guys out there playing in a football game right now."
But the fact remains that none among that impressive group has started a game in Missoula for the Griz. Banks, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound transfer from Alabama-Birmingham, last played in 2014 after missing a year when UAB cut its football program. Buss (6-2, 204) and Strahm (6-0, 241) both saw the majority of their minutes on special teams last year.
There'll be a lot to prove when this group hits the field for its first live action together in 10 days against Saint Francis to open the season. But the LBs are happy to have it that way, Strahm said.
"That's how we like it. We don't want to be on the front pages or anything," he said. "We're fine being the guys under the radar, doing our job."
The projected starting three quickly found their roles in the 2016 linebacking corps. There were three spots vacant due to Kendrick Van Ackeren, Jeremiah Kose and Herbert Gamboa having exhausted their eligibility and the new trio grabbed hold of their spots during spring ball.
Strahm was a backup middle linebacker, the "mike," last season and bulked up for better durability this fall. After landing on the depth chart in 2015 at "will," the weak-side LB, Buss has moved to the other side at "star." That leaves Banks manning the weak side.
"I'm a lighter, not as heavy guy, so I'm outside of the box a lot more in coverage," said Buss, explaining the differences between the positions. "Kind of like a bigger safety compared to weak side or Strahm in the middle who are thicker guys who can fill gaps."
Banks and Strahm played together at Eugene, Oregon's Sheldon High School, both graduating in 2013, so the chemistry there took little time to cultivate. The younger backers are nearly as close because of their more recent shared history.
Four redshirt sophomores and four redshirt freshmen came into the program together over the past two years. Griz fans can expect to see many of them grace the field this fall, even if just on special teams. Names like Vika Fa'atuiese (6-3, 220), Dante Olson (6-3, 223) and Cy Sirmon (6-3, 236) could crack the two-deep depth chart early in the season as well.
