MISSOULA — The 2025 football season is flying by, and for seniors like Cannon Panfiloff it's faster than they'd like. So they soak up everything they can along the way.
"That playing clock hits zero, you're like, you wish you could do those every day if you could, just to be out here with your boys and playing again," Panfiloff said. "But just trying to enjoy the moment and give it all I got while I'm still here."
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Panfiloff has made the most of his football journey, and it'll be a homecoming to enjoy on Saturday when the Montana Grizzlies take on Weber State in Ogden, Utah.
Panfiloff grew up about 10 minutes away in Roy, Utah, where as a kid he knew football would be his passion.
"I had coaches and my parents say like, you have a shot if you really want it," Panfiloff said. "And my dad always used to tell me, you can go as far as you want to go. And so that really became a reality like into high school as I started getting more recruiting and then playing better as well."
But offensive line wasn't his first choice — or first love — after playing tight end throughout most of high school.
"But I was just like, the team needs me at tackle, I'll play tackle," Panfiloff recalled of his senior year of high school. "But it did kind of suck at first when coaches told me they were recruiting me as tackle because I really wanted to play tight end, catch the ball, get some highlights. But once I kind of bought into being the O-line, it was a lot more fun. And now I don't really see myself as any other position.
"I think coming here helped it a lot more, like being around some of the guys that were here when I got here, like AJ Forbes, Chris Walker, Brandon Casey, those kind of guys helped me kind of buy into it even more. And just as being an O-lineman, you got to be gritty, tough."
Once he committed to the position, the 6-foot-6, 294-pound Panfiloff was all in.
He began his career in St. George at Utah Tech where he spent three seasons before transferring to UM in 2023 as the Griz made a run to the FCS national championship game that season.
"When I entered the portal, my initial thought was to kind of stay close to home. And some of my family members as well wanted that. But then once I got the chance here, I was like I don't think I can pass this up. And then my first year here, we ended up going to the national championship, so I'm very happy every day that I chose to come here and I don't regret coming here one bit," Panfiloff said.
Primarily a backup that season at four of the five positions on the line — every position but center — Panfiloff became the team's starting left tackle last year, and is set to make his 24th career start at UM on Saturday as the staple at blindside blocker.
Behind the efforts of Panfiloff and others this season, the Grizzlies are the top offense in the Big Sky in scoring and yardage totals, and rank top 10 nationally in both categories.
"You got to do everything you can to protect that quarterback, the running back," he said. "It's just everything you got to make sure that those guys don't get hit."
They're in the trenches every play, and when they succeed everyone succeeds.
"It's awesome. I mean, when you see (Michael) Wortham, Eli (Gillman), all those guys running downfield, it's like, just go run after him, go celebrate with them," Panfiloff said. "It's awesome seeing those guys do their thing.
"I like doing combo blocks with Liam (Brown). He takes a lot of the grunt work and he's strong. So those blocks are fun."
And after living out his dream, Panfiloff's focus is on making it last as long as he can.
"Being a Grizzly has meant everything to me. I wouldn't want to play for any other team," Panfiloff said. "I think my younger self would be proud of me. And I know my parents are. But yeah, job's not done. We still got more work to do.
"Give it all you got because you're never guaranteed another play, another snap, another game. So give it all you got, do everything I can to make this the best year of my career."
