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Scouts from 10 N.F.L. teams have talked to Montana safety Colt Anderson, who's impressed at the Texas vs. The Nation game practices this week.
*** Local/Regional Sports
Montana's Anderson to suit up Saturday
By FRITZ NEIGHBOR of the Missoulian
Griz fans who tune in the Texas vs. The Nation college football all-star game Saturday may see a familiar sight: Big hits, big hair, even the same No. 19.
Colt Anderson will suit up for The Nation, coached by venerable college coach Howard Schnellenberger, in the third annual senior showcase. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. Mountain on CBS College Sports Network, formerly CSTV, which is found at Bresnan channel 411, channel 152 on Dish Network and channel 613 on DIRECTV.
The 180-pounder out of Butte had planned to play though an ankle injury suffered during the Montana Grizzlies' 2008 season was hampering him. The leg has held up in El Paso, Texas.
“It feels pretty good,” said Anderson, who'll be playing both strong and free safety Saturday. “It's not 100 percent, but I don't think I'm hurting it any worse, so it's good.”
Anderson flew into El Paso Saturday and is one of four safeties, though one, Tennessee's DeAngelo Williams, is also playing cornerback. Reshard Langford of Vanderbilt and Kevin Akins of Boston College are the others. Another, Anthony Scirrotto of Penn State, opted out of playing.
“We've just kind of been rotating from free to strong,” said Anderson, who made 313 career tackles, sixth-best in Griz history, at strong safety. “I feel pretty good with my play. I had a couple good hits and a couple interceptions. For the most part, nobody's really stuck out.
“I think you can always do better, but for the most part I've been getting quite a bit of reps. I guess that's what is important.”
As usual with these college showcase events, much of the important work is doing during the week, when the place is thick with NFL scouts. The Nation squad has gone full pads for three days with plenty of contact; though tackling to the ground is discouraged.
Anderson said roughly 10 scouts spoke with him ahead of a Wednesday scrimmage against the Texas squad. The scouts have since left; Thursday was a noncontact practice and Friday is a walk-through.
“I guess we can make noise when they're watching the game on TV,” Anderson said.
Game rules prohibit blitzing by the defense, though Anderson said disguising coverages is OK.
“We're going to change it up, give them a couple different looks,” he said. “In our defense our strong safety is pretty much a linebacker.”
Beyond that, Anderson is reconnecting with old friends - Weber State fullback Marcus Mailei is suiting up for Texas - and making new ones. It's an education, including for those senior standouts who've not yet heard of Butte, America.
“No, not Butte,” said Anderson, who has also talked with Portland State linebacker Andy Schantz, also on the Texas squad. “But there are a few of them who know about Montana football, and how we've got a pretty good program up there. So that's pretty neat.”
Fritz Neighbor can be reached at 406-523-5247 or by e-mail at fneighbor@missoulian.com.
*** Local/Regional Sports
Montana's Anderson to suit up Saturday
By FRITZ NEIGHBOR of the Missoulian
Griz fans who tune in the Texas vs. The Nation college football all-star game Saturday may see a familiar sight: Big hits, big hair, even the same No. 19.
Colt Anderson will suit up for The Nation, coached by venerable college coach Howard Schnellenberger, in the third annual senior showcase. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. Mountain on CBS College Sports Network, formerly CSTV, which is found at Bresnan channel 411, channel 152 on Dish Network and channel 613 on DIRECTV.
The 180-pounder out of Butte had planned to play though an ankle injury suffered during the Montana Grizzlies' 2008 season was hampering him. The leg has held up in El Paso, Texas.
“It feels pretty good,” said Anderson, who'll be playing both strong and free safety Saturday. “It's not 100 percent, but I don't think I'm hurting it any worse, so it's good.”
Anderson flew into El Paso Saturday and is one of four safeties, though one, Tennessee's DeAngelo Williams, is also playing cornerback. Reshard Langford of Vanderbilt and Kevin Akins of Boston College are the others. Another, Anthony Scirrotto of Penn State, opted out of playing.
“We've just kind of been rotating from free to strong,” said Anderson, who made 313 career tackles, sixth-best in Griz history, at strong safety. “I feel pretty good with my play. I had a couple good hits and a couple interceptions. For the most part, nobody's really stuck out.
“I think you can always do better, but for the most part I've been getting quite a bit of reps. I guess that's what is important.”
As usual with these college showcase events, much of the important work is doing during the week, when the place is thick with NFL scouts. The Nation squad has gone full pads for three days with plenty of contact; though tackling to the ground is discouraged.
Anderson said roughly 10 scouts spoke with him ahead of a Wednesday scrimmage against the Texas squad. The scouts have since left; Thursday was a noncontact practice and Friday is a walk-through.
“I guess we can make noise when they're watching the game on TV,” Anderson said.
Game rules prohibit blitzing by the defense, though Anderson said disguising coverages is OK.
“We're going to change it up, give them a couple different looks,” he said. “In our defense our strong safety is pretty much a linebacker.”
Beyond that, Anderson is reconnecting with old friends - Weber State fullback Marcus Mailei is suiting up for Texas - and making new ones. It's an education, including for those senior standouts who've not yet heard of Butte, America.
“No, not Butte,” said Anderson, who has also talked with Portland State linebacker Andy Schantz, also on the Texas squad. “But there are a few of them who know about Montana football, and how we've got a pretty good program up there. So that's pretty neat.”
Fritz Neighbor can be reached at 406-523-5247 or by e-mail at fneighbor@missoulian.com.
