MISSOULA — Our final Montana Grizzlies position preview takes a look at UM's secondary as a whole, with the safeties and cornerbacks. Like the other defensive units, there are a lot of new faces and open spots up for the taking.
At safety, the Griz are again leaning on some key transfer additions, along with senior TJ Rausch who is ready to put the final stamp on his career with the hometown Grizzlies.
"I'm giving it all I got," Rausch said. "I'm going to be out there no matter what. But yeah, it's really surreal. It doesn't feel like I've been here for five years, but it's been awesome. Just keep working every day, trying to get better so I'm the best I can be on Saturdays."
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BYU transfer Micah Harper and Idaho addition Diezel Wilkinson also come into the program with plenty of hype and high expectations to make an immediate impact.
Behind them, players like senior Tanner Huff, junior Kade Cutler, sophomore Kade Boyd and sophomore transfer Terahiti Wolfe, among others, also could figure into the mix. And they'll work hand-in-hand in the secondary with UM's corners.
"It's hard to learn the defense at first, but we're over that hump, I feel like," Rausch said. "Our safeties have to communicate a lot to our corners and our corners listen and we mesh together. And as long as everybody's on the same page, we're going to be a good defense."
Senior Kenzel Lawler will slide into a bigger role this year, while sophomore Kyon Loud will be fully unleashed after getting time a year ago, as these two lead the way for the cornerback room.
They'll be followed by senior transfer Justus Breston, fellow senior Prince Ford and sophomore Elijah Brady who have rounded out the depth.
"The guys that we have that have come in, you know, they've stepped up to the plate," Lawler said. "And, me, Kyon, we've obviously stepped up to the plate. And, you know, we're just grateful to have those new guys. We're learning so much, and our coaches are assisting us in every way possible to be successful."
A lot of eyes will be on the UM defense this year because of so much unknown with the current group, but so far they pass the early eye test and will soon get to prove it on Saturdays.
"We're communicating, we're flying around, we're doing things the right way," Lawler said. "And when you're doing things the right way, it just equals success. And I'm just excited, really, really excited for this upcoming season. And I'm just grateful for all my teammates in this defense because they make playing football really, really fun."
Griz safeties on the 2025 roster by number
No. 0, Terahiti Wolfe, SO, 5-foot-11, 173 pounds, Kahalu'u, HI
No. 2, Micah Harper, R-SR, 5-foot-10, 194 pounds, Chandler, AZ
No. 3, Jeilani Davis, R-FR, 6-foot-0, 204 pounds, Inglewood, CA
No. 4, Dane Parker, R-FR, 6-foot-1, 175 pounds, Puyallup, WA
No. 7, Kash Goicoechea, R-FR, 6-foot-1, 197 pounds, Kalispell, MT
No. 10, TJ Rausch, R-SR, 6-foot-3, 208 pounds, Missoula, MT
No. 13, Brock Beaner, FR, 6-foot-0, 193 pounds, Anacortes, WA
No. 17, Kade Boyd, R-SO, 6-foot-0, 197 pounds, Billings, MT
No. 24, Diezel Wilkinson, SO, 6-foot-0, 193 pounds, Spokane, WA
No. 25, Brady Beaner, FR, 6-foot-0, 187 pounds, Anacortes, WA
No. 29, Tanner Huff, R-SR, 6-foot-0, 210 pounds, Butte, MT
No. 30, Kade Cutler, R-JR, 6-foot-0, 200 pounds, Philipsburg, MT
No. 39, Fynn Ridgeway, R-SO, 6-foot-1, 204 pounds, Whitefish, MT
Griz cornerbacks on the 2025 roster by number
No. 5, Kyon Loud, SO, 6-foot-2, 175 pounds, San Mateo, CA
No. 6, Prince Ford, R-SR, 5-foot-11, 170 pounds, Concord, NC
No. 8, Kenzel Lawler, R-SR, 6-foot-0, 190 pounds, Corona, CA
No. 9, Justus Breston, SR, 5-foot-11, 178 pounds, Atlanta, GA
No. 12, Elijah Brady, R-SO, 6-foot-1, 172 pounds, Seattle, WA
No. 14, DeAnte Gentry, FR, 5-foot-11, 169 pounds, Fort Worth, TX
No. 20, Sage Salopek, FR, 6-foot-0, 168 pounds, Seattle, WA
No. 23, Rashid Mansour, JR, 6-foot-0, 163 pounds, Fresno, CA
No. 36, Garrett Speer, R-FR, 6-foot-0, 191 pounds, Sherwood, OR
