MISSOULA — The Big Sky Kickoff is officially in the books, and in one month the Montana Grizzlies will kick off the 2026 season at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
So now the attention turns to the upcoming fall camp, which begins on Monday.
There will be plenty of storylines to dissect, and the Big Sky Kickoff offered a chance to get that ball rolling as UM enters the season with a new head coach in Bobby Kennedy who now guides a program that fell just short a season ago as a semifinalist in the FCS.
UM was picked second behind Montana State in both preseason polls as well.
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"Montana football is not broken," Kennedy said. "We were 13-2 last year. We lost the wrong two games. And getting players to understand the process, that a few plays here and there, maybe we would have been standing on that big stage holding the trophy, right? So what are we going to do to make our dreams come true?"
Offensively the Griz are poised to be among the best in the FCS again, headlined by running back Eli Gillman who is knocking on the door of a number of career rushing records at Montana.
All-America quarterback Keali'i Ah Yat holds the keys to the offense, and wide receiver Brooks Davis broke out last season. So it's about who joins that core unit to keep the offense humming.
"We all still have the same goal in mind. We all still have the same determination," Gillman said. "So I thought it was sweet to see the team come together when a team could have easily fallen apart after a coaching change and a transfer change and all that kind of stuff. So I just think all of us want it just as bad as if not more than we did last year."
The defense holds more questions, with just two starters back including All-America linebacker Peyton Wing and a number of new coaches on that side.
"A lot of new guys that are already leaders on our team, older guys too that have seen ball, played a lot of ball, are very experienced," Wing said. "So having those guys, adding them to the mix is huge.
"Our defense is going great. Our coaching staff's amazing, and leading up to the season we're ready to go. Yeah, we're ready to get after it."
Montana players report on Friday and after meetings through the weekend will officially kick off camp on Monday, as they begin working toward a Big Sky championship, a national title and of course the start of their 12-game schedule which begins at home against Southern Utah on Aug. 29.
"They had a great summer period, but in training camp, how they come together, how they stay connected, how they focus on getting better every day, but also their connectivity and see how they support one another and how we really bond and become a really good team," Kennedy said.
