Weber State football: 'Cats can credit Graybeal, too

Jerry Graybeal might not be Weber State's head football coach anymore, but he does deserve to be credited with an assist in the Wildcats' 4-2 start and No. 22 Division I Football Championship Subdivision national ranking.

As the Wildcats' athletic director, Graybeal also serves as the scheduling coordinator for Weber State. The way he lined up the early portion of Weber State's schedule couldn't have worked out better for the Wildcats.

Playing Hawaii before Sacramento State and Utah before Montana was extremely beneficial in getting Weber State ready to play its Big Sky opponents, the Wildcats say.

"The organization of our games was key to our success in the Big Sky," said Wildcats fullback Marcus Mailei. "When you play a team that was ranked 17th in the nation (Utah), and then you play Montana, there's a big drop-off. Our confidence was definitely there after playing decently well against Utah. That was big."

Graybeal said the way the schedule was put together didn't happen by accident. Every fourth year, FCS teams are allowed to schedule a 12th game. The Wildcats took advantage of that this year when they added Hawaii and Dixie State to their 2008 schedule last winter. The Utah game was agreed upon in 2002.

Graybeal said he thought Weber State had a chance to have a special season when he saw how well it physically matched up against Hawaii. He said the road win over Sacramento State the following week launched the Wildcats in their current breakthrough season.

"The credit should go to the coaches and kids for opening conference play with a win at Sacramento State," Graybeal. "That game set the tone."

LINEHAN SHINES: The 94-yard fumble return for a touchdown against Montana-Western in Weber State's opener was just the beginning for defensive tackle Kevin Linehan this season. He has been named the Big Sky's Defensive Player of the Week on two different occasions, and he might be Weber State's MVP on defense so far in 2008.

Linehan has recorded a total of 33 tackles and four sacks. He's also forced two fumbles and recovered two fumbles.

"He plays hard every week," said coach Ron McBride. "He's a little bit undersized (6-foot-3, 255 pounds), but he's a strong guy. He's got good feet and good quickness."

FOLSOM QUESTIONABLE: Linebacker J.D. Folsom re-aggravated the ankle injury he originally suffered against Utah in the Montana game last Saturday. He is listed as questionable for the Montana State game on Saturday.

McBride said Folsom attempted to play against the Grizzlies at just 80 percent.

"He got rolled up pretty good," McBride said. "He's back to about 50 percent. At some point we'll probably have to hold him out for a full game.

EXTRA POINTS: The Wildcats haven't defeated Montana and Montana State in the same season since 1987. If Weber State does beat Montana State, it will mark the first time the Wildcats have been 3-0 in Big Sky play since 1998. Running back Trevyn Smith became just the third player in school history to surpass 3,000 career rushing yards. He now has 591 carries for 3,017 yards in 26 career games.

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