The Lakewood, Colo., product came to UNC while future NFL players Reed Doughty and Vincent Jackson were still playing for the Bears, in the school's second year in the Football Championship Subdivision.
He's had current Griz linebacker Thomas Bauer as a roommate, when Bauer was enjoying a promising freshman campaign with the Bears in 2006.
“I thought it was going to take awhile, just because of the coaching change,” said Sarmento, who saw O. Kay Dalton dismissed after a 4-7 campaign in 2005, replaced by Scott Downing ahead of the school's first year in the Big Sky. “I think the coaches have been doing a good job.”
The Bears have been getting young, talented players onto the field, perhaps at the expense of early wins. Fourteen starters are back from last year; the bad news is that team won just one game, over Montana State. Yet these Bears are much improved, if scores mean anything.
They've taken UC Davis, Weber State, Texas State and Northern Arizona down to the wire. Weber and NAU, who battle Saturday for first place in the Big Sky, beat UNC by a total of 10 points.
All of which still adds up to a 1-5 record.
In the victory, a 29-9 verdict over winless Idaho State two weeks ago, Tyrone Wilson had 125 yards on 15 carries to lead a bruising ground attack.
Aside from a 42-10 opening loss at Purdue, the rest of the games are heartbreakers. Bryan Waggener, who took over as starting quarterback upon his transfer from Florida, threw for 402 yards in a 38-35 home loss to Texas State, in which Waggener fumbled as he tried to score from the 1-yard line.
Since then Waggener has thrown for 261, 212, 138 (against ISU) and 106 yards.
“He's a great guy,” noted Wilson, who hails from Washington, D.C., and goes by the handle DC. “He's a great boost from what we had before. Nothing against the guys we had last season, but he brings so many more weapons. He has a great, laid-back attitude. His mentality just helps us relax and remember this is just football.”
Wilson ended up in Greeley after playing one year at Coffeyville Community College in Oklahoma. That's a heck of a ways away from Washington. Greeley, of course, meant Wilson had to go even farther west.
“It is an adjustment not only in terms of wins and losses, but in terms of environment,” said Wilson. “But it's been great. I have a lot of friends, I enjoy the coaches and players. I've had a lot of fun.”
Wilson, by the way, also spent time at Casa de Sarmento.
“My house is like a revolving door for people who need a place to stay,” says the linebacker. “I've lived with a bunch of guys.”
Wilson is one of his favorites, and not just because he's a genetic wonder with 195 pounds strapped around a frame that is either 5-foot-5 or 5-7, depending on which roster you read.
“He's real deep,” Sarmento said of the junior, who has run for 288 yards this fall. “He's got moves. He's like Barry Sanders, except even smaller. I wouldn't want to tackle him in the open field, you know what I mean?”
Senior guard Jacob Thornbrue, 6-6 and 335 pounds, leads a front line that has juniors Chris Jones (guard) and Ryan Kemp (tackle) as second-year starters. Tight end Ryan Chesla was first-team all-Big Sky last year, and his presence has helped open things up for receivers like Cory Fauver, who averages 14.4 yards a catch, as well as Jason Caprioli and Brandon Smith, who each have three TDs.
Defensively, the front has been fortified with Ethan Davis, a sophomore who sat out 2007 with injuries, and returning standout John Eddy. Joe Kenney, another talented linebacker, has been slowed by injuries this fall though Sarmento says he's on the mend.
By adding young talent to familiar names, the wins should come. Montana will be the Bears' second straight ranked opponent, and they would love nothing more than an upset after being so close so many times.
“The hardest part is when you take a loss, especially in a close game you know you should've won, because you're waiting for that hard work to pay off,” Wilson said. “But that's just part of being a man.
“You've got to just keep pushing on, being a professional. You can't lose it.”
Sarmento feels the time is now for the Bears, a former Division II power still fighting to tread water in the FCS.
“We just really have to turn it around these last five games, and stop playing them close,” he said. “And just get in the win column with these guys.”
Up Next: No. 8 Montana at Northern Colorado
Saturday, 12:05 p.m. (MDT)
Nottingham Stadium
(8,500, grass)
A transfer quarterback has fortified a team that returned 14 starters from 2007, but the Big Sky's newest member is taking its lumps, usually in heartbreaking fashion.
Location: Greeley, Colo. Enrollment: 10,799.
Series history: Montana leads 7-1.
Man in charge: Scott Downing (Sterling College, 1979) is 3-26 in his third season with the Bears, 16-30-1 in four-plus seasons as a college coach.
Ones to watch:
5 Bryan Waggener (6-3, 240, jr., Chino Hills, Calif.): The Florida transfer has thrown for 1,335 yards and 11 touchdowns through six games, but his most impressive stat may be the 66-yard run he had against UC Davis.
9 Ryan Chesla (6-4, 260, sr., Colorado Springs, Colo.): The all-Big Sky tight end has drawn tighter coverage, and four other Bears have at least 19 receptions through six games. Chesla still leads the team with 24 catches.
22 Cristian Sarmento (6-1, 230, sr., Lakewood, Colo.): This will be the third straight season the middle linebacker leads the team in tackles. He has 76 - safety Max Hewitt is next with 40 - including six sacks.
Listen to this week's Big Sky Conference football press conference.
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