Copyright Tim Kupsick 2007GameDay Kaimin
Their story has gone down many roads: Through the record books, through Baker and through one January phone call. It could start anywhere. But fittingly, Loren and Brandon Utterback’s story starts in a small town on the Missouri River, past the wheat fields of Central Montana, in a backyard.
“We used to run out into our backyard with our Joe Montana jerseys on, playing all day and all night,” recalls Loren, who is in his final season as a Griz linebacker.
His brother remembers the beginning of something special.
“Our backyard had some great games,” said Brandon, a talented special teams player and back-up running back for the Griz. “Me being the youngest, I would always take a lot of hits, sometimes that would knock me out for the day. That’s where it all started. We knew that we always wanted to play college football. That was our goal.”
To the Utterback brothers, it was a backyard of dreams. A dream that all roads would lead to Missoula.
“My parents instilled in me and my brothers hard work,” said Brandon. “It didn’t matter if it was football or school, we grew up in a family and a town that was all about hard work.”
With guidance from their father, Brad, the brother’s work ethic and passion for football went hand-in-hand. Their older brother Ryan, who played at MSU-Northern, introduced them to the weight room. Loren filmed Fort Benton High games as a young boy. Brandon grew up in Fort Benton coach Kevin Smith’s strength and conditioning program. With football and hard work in their blood, the brothers would soon become Fort Benton’s finest.
“They come from a very good family, a very hard working family,” Smith said. “The thing about the Utterback boys is that they are incredible football players, but they are also incredible human beings.”
Loren’s road to being a three-year starting linebacker began from the sandlots of Fort Benton, where he learned early on the Utterback way. The hard work, the roll-up-your-sleeves and grab-your-lunch-pail type of hard work.
Entering his senior year of high school, Loren became the face of one of Montana’s best high school programs. A two-time All-State pick, recruiters were buzzing about his strength and athletiscm.
Then came the roadblock.
In the third game of his senior year, Loren tore his ACL. “A lot of tears were shed that night we found out,” Smith said. “You watch a kid grow up in your program and work his ass off to get to this point, then see that. It’s devastating. I’ll tell you one thing: we we’re all sad, but Loren never cried.”
He couldn’t cry. It could’ve been the end for him, had he decided to forgo his senior year and have reconstructive surgery. Instead he did what he’d always known. Grabbed his lunch pail and went to work.
“I had worked too hard to lose everything,” Loren said. “I mean, my teammates, the state title, and my dream of playing college football – all of it was on the line. I felt like I had no other option but to strap a brace on and play on it.”
Loren did physical therapy on weeknights, and then carried his torn ACL into a nine-game stretch in which he rushed for more than 1,000 yards and 22 touchdowns en route to the 2002 Class B state title.
“What he did that year I’ll never forget,” Smith said. “But that’s Loren. He has so much pride, so much will, and he cares about his teammates. That’s what a leader is all about.”
While many recruiters shied away because of his knee, Loren still had an offer from Bobby Hauck, and after making a visit to Washington-Grizzly Stadium decided on Montana. While his dream of playing college football had been fulfilled, Loren wasn’t satisfied.
“I wanted to show all the schools who quit on me that they made a mistake,” Loren said. “I had a chip on my shoulder.”
Loren would have to carry that chip on his shoulder plenty his freshman year. He had heard the doubts about his knee, about his abilities coming out of the Class B, about whether he was going to make it off the practice squad as a running back. After watching Lex Hilliard have an outstanding freshman year, Utterback approached Hauck and offered to help the team win from another position. Then, shortly after his move to linebacker, he got a phone call in mid-January of his freshman year. It was former All-American defensive end Ciche Pitcher, who had designated his number 37, the prestigious defensive hallmark given to a native Montanan, to Utterback.
“I was so surprised. It was great to know that I had gotten to that point, but also with the tradition of the jersey it pushed me that much harder to represent it well,” Loren said in a down-to-earth manner.
It’s his opponents whom he has put down to earth, however, earning him not only a 2006 All-Big Sky selection, but also respect from his coaching staff.
“Everything Loren has gotten he has earned. He earned his scholarship. He’s earned respect for small schools. He’s earned the 37 jersey and he’s earned his way as a starter and leader of this team,” said linebackers coach Ty Gregorak, who paused, then added, “And Brandon is on his way. He’s younger, and plays a lot like his brother – with a lot of intensity and a lot of heart.”
There have never been any shortcuts for Brandon. There was never a detour he could take to escape the hits in the backyard as the baby brother, or escape any legacy shadow his older brother might have cast over him in high school.
No shortcuts, no problem. Brandon ran right through it. The guy became a man-child at Fort Benton, rushing for 1,915 yards as a senior, becoming the state’s then all-time leading rusher. After 7,000 career all-purpose yards, little brother wasn’t so little anymore.
“Loren has always pushed me, ever since we were little,” Brandon said. “I have fed off the example he has set, it always reminds me to work harder.”
When it came down to signing day, a fork was pitched in the road. The suitors came calling, but in the end he was a Griz, right alongside his brother.
“I really wanted to make my college decision my decision,” Brandon said. “I looked into what I wanted academically and athletically, and UM was a good fit. Loren has had a huge impact on me, and he was a big part in why I chose to play at UM.”
Coming out of high school as one of the best prep players in state history has no guarantees, though. And to Brandon, that’s exactly what he wants.
“I have to pay my dues,” he said. “That’s the one reason why this program is so great: guys have to come in here and earn their spot, and I’m ready to do that. I just want to help our team win and get to our ultimate goal, which is a national championship.”
After completing his redshirt season, Brandon has become a fixture on special teams, all the while staying true to playing running back, fighting his way up the depth chart in the coming years. That lets him bang heads in practice with a familiar face.
“They really look after each other as brothers, but they’re also both extremely competitive against each other,” Gregorak said. “Brandon brings it against Loren. We were in spring drills, and there were one-on-one battles going on. They wanted to go at each other. Their intensity shows how much they want to win.”
On game day, Loren Utterback doesn’t get superstitious. He’s too old-school for that. He’ll tighten his socks, put on his prestigious jersey and head down the tunnel, running out with his brother behind, just like they did with the childhood Joe Montana jerseys on. They’ll shoot a look up to their blue-collar roots in the north end zone stands, never forgetting where they came from. Then it’s time for work. As Fort Benton’s finest, this is the brothers’ new backyard of hope.
Hope that all roads lead to Chattanooga.
