It could have its original meaning, where the news is scarce, as with Grizzly coach Bobby Hauck's job prospects outside the University of Montana. Or it could more literal, like when two people close to Indiana State athletics queried about the possibility of UM defensive coordinator Kraig Paulson becoming head coach of the Sycamores.
Paulson was in Havre at the time. Reached by phone, he said he hadn't heard anything about the job until right then. The next day Indiana State welcomed former player Trent Miles as its new coach.
Montana athletic director Jim O'Day did say that neither CSU nor Washington State - nor any other program - had contacted him about talking to Hauck. WSU hired Eastern Washington's Paul Wulff on Tuesday.
“I have had no communication this year,” O'Day said Tuesday. “I think a lot of names come up and I'm sure there is some interest. You just don't know which way it's leaning.”
For now Hauck, who signed a one-year contract in February for the 2007 season, remains UM's head coach. His Griz went 11-1 and he is 52-14 in five seasons at UM. The in-state recruits are starting to pile up, with more likely coming after this weekend.
“At this particular time, we're continuing to move ahead,” O'Day said. “Business as usual.”
Three more Montanans, meanwhile, have made verbal commitments to the Grizzlies.
The latest is Raymond DeBruycker, a 6-foot-3, 195-pounder from Choteau who has been recruited to play defensive end at UM.
Reached by phone, DeBruycker, who lives on a ranch outside Choteau, said he was first contacted by UM at the start of football season. He hasn't been to many football camps; he spent last summer ranching, both at home and outside Gardiner.
Still, he drew interest from every football program in Montana, as well as the University of Idaho, the University of North Dakota, Colorado and Washington.
The state champion wrestler at 189 pounds in February, DeBruycker visited UM for the Albany game, and then came back with his parents for the Portland State game. He summed up Griz game days in one word: “Excitement.”
“It's a great environment,” said DeBruycker, who played linebacker and D-end for the Bulldogs, as well as tight end and receiver.
Hauck cannot comment on Grizzly recruits until the NCAA signing period begins, on Feb. 6.
DeBruycker joins a list that includes Fairview's Greg Hardy, Tyzer Cady of Colstrip and Sam Gratton of Billings Senior. Hardy committed last week, followed by Gratton and then Cady.
Cady is the defending Class B state champion in the 100 meters, and the 6-0, 170-pounder said he is projected, like Gratton, to play receiver. He caught 26 passes for 445 yards and rushed for 1,135 yards over the past two seasons for the Colts. He also had three kickoff returns for touchdowns.
Cady made a visit to UM for the Grizzlies' season-opening win over Southern Utah. He'd also made visits to Carroll College, Montana State and North Dakota in Grand Forks.
“It's just too cold over there,” Cady said of UND, and said UM was the clear choice.
“It was awesome. That is an awesome atmosphere,” he said. “Ever since I was little I've been coming up there to basketball camps and football camps when I was old enough. It was just always a dream to play there in Missoula.”
Gratton, 6-1 and 180, was on the recruiting lists for Hawaii, Wyoming, UNLV and Illinois, along with the NAIA programs. He visited UM for the Northern Colorado game and his commitment should be no surprise: His father Scott, a lawyer in Billings, played linebacker at UM from 1978-81.
“It's where I wanted to go all along,” said Gratton, who caught 43 passes for 723 yards and six TDs this year for the Broncs, who lost in the State AA title game. “It was a pretty easy decision.”
Montana's Kroy Biermann is an All-American again, this time making the American Football Coaches Association's team released Tuesday.
Biermann, a 238-pound defensive end from Hardin who is the Big Sky Conference defensive player of the year, also made the Walter Camp All-America team, released last week, for a second straight season. Biermann finished the 2007 season with 15 sacks and 18 tackles for loss, along with five forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and two blocked field goals.
He and Weber State offensive linemen David Hale were the only Big Sky players to make the 25-member AFCA All-America team. Only one player was a repeat selection: offensive lineman Kerry Brown of Appalachian State.
One name that is missing from the AFCA team is standout safety Corey Lynch from Appalachian State, who like Biermann is a leading candidate for the Buck Buchanan Award, given to the top defensive player in the FCS. That award will be announced Thursday evening, on the eve of Friday's FCS title game.
Last season Biermann was a second-team All-America pick on both The Sports Network and Associated Press FCS teams. Neither of those has been released for 2007.
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