The junior from Lewiston, Idaho, is the only Griz lineman to have started every game at the same position this season.
Not even senior Cody Balogh, who will be making his 36th consecutive start, stayed in the same position.
Russum missed three games last season with an ankle injury, but he’d have to have a more serious injury to keep him off this latest road trip.
This won’t be Russum’s first trip to Arizona, or Flagstaff for that matter.
Russum played a quarter against the Jacks back in 2005, after transferring to UM from Arizona State University.
Russum attended school in Tempe right out of high school, but lost his scholarship for allegedly taking nude photos of a female student without her permission.
UM offensive tackle Brent Russum has played in the same position all season and hasn’t missed a game yet.Photo by MICHAEL GALLACHER/Missoulian
Q: What’s your take on this weekend’s game with Northern Arizona?
A: It’s a big matchup as far as the Big Sky Conference championship goes. We can take a step closer to clinching. It’s their homecoming game. It’s a sold-out stadium as well. It’s a big game. It’s another part of our season and where we want to be. I’m looking forward to going down there and picking up another road win.
Q: What’s the story behind you transferring from ASU?
A: I went down there as a true freshman and my first year there, I red-shirted. After that year I was re-recruited by a few local schools like Eastern Washington, Idaho and Montana. That level has a good tradition. I wanted to play right away and not sit out another year. I knew the tradition at Montana was good, so I chose them. I’ve enjoyed it so far.
Q: What do you mean by re-recruited?
A: Well, I left the university and got recruited all over again because I only went there for a year. I committed to UM and came straight here and ended up playing
Q: What led to you leaving the ASU program?
A: Nothing in particular. They were a good team. They went to the Sun Bowl and won that year. ... I’m sure if you Googled my name, you’d see I was dismissed from the football team, but I never got charged in that incident. It was basically a hearsay situation and I never got charged, so I left. I came here - closer to home.
Q: Is there any part of you that wishes you were playing on ASU’s undefeated team?
A: That’s the irony involved with this whole thing. They’re undefeated in the Pac 10 and we’re undefeated in the Big Sky. I look back at the friends that are still there that I came into the university with. It’s bittersweet. It’s nice to know that I have a position the last couple of years, the environment and the people I met here. It’s not an experience I’d trade back. But when you look at what they’ve done this year being 8-0 and now they get to play Cal and the USCs. It’d be fun to play in those games, too. Like I said, it’s bittersweet.
Q: When the offense is “clicking,” what does that mean to the offensive line?
A: We rate our stats off things like pancake blocks. As a unit and how we’re trying to play we use total yards. We also use pocket presence and how much time we give Cole (Bergquist) to throw the ball. The more yards Cole and Lex, (Greg) Coleman and TBF get, the better we think we’re doing.
Q: Have you ever been to Lewistown, Mont.?
A: It’s funny that you asked. When I tell people I’m from Lewiston, I get a lot of people that think I said Lewistown and they ask me if I know this girl or that guy. Then I have to pronounce the suffix or ending for them to help them hear. Then they act confused, but there are signs for Lewiston all over the city. If you look around you’ll see. I get that comment quite a bit, but I never have been.
Q: Do you want to go there now?
A: I might know five people from there, now. If I had a weekend that wasn’t full I might go there, but I don’t know if it could compete with Lewiston.
Q: Oh yeah, what’s the best part about Lewiston? What’s it known for?
A: It’s known for the Hell’s Canyon. I think it’s the deepest gorge in North America. And it’s just 20 minutes south of Lewiston on the Snake River. It was a nice spot to grow up as a kid. It was only 500 feet above sea level, so it stays warmer there longer. It’s got the most inland seaports on the west coast. We send grain down the Columbia. It’s weird, a sea port not touching the ocean.
Q: What’s up with the long hair and long beard?
A: The long hair, I’ve had it for a year now. I try to keep it somewhat tame, but I’ve got a superstition with the O-line to keep it growing until we lose a game. I trimmed it once during the summer, but I haven’t chunked it off. When we’re done in Chattanooga, I’d like to shave my head. That’s the plan.
Q: Do you ever go against Kroy Biermann in practice and what is that like?
A: I went against Kroy and (Mike) Murphy quite a bit last year. He’s the Buck Buchanan Award finalist, so he’s an aggressive player. Strong and quick. He’s the best defensive end in the Big Sky Conference. He makes every D-end we play easier, because he’s the best in the conference in my opinion.
Lightning round
Favorite type of music? Classic rock. Some people call it butt rock or arena rock. I’m basically a Journey guy.
Most chatty O-lineman? On the field: J.D. Quinn. He has that Texas swagger. Off the field: Levi Horn. He’s chipper.
Movie popcorn. Butter or no butter? Heavy on the salt, light on the butter. The girl I go with doesn’t like butter, so we meet in the middle.
Toughest guy to block this season? Easy to say Kroy again.
Your halloween costume: Grimace from McDonalds.
Dream ride: A 1989 red Honda Prelude. It’s the car I drove in high school. A lot of memories from your first car, ones I won’t forget.
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