Montana senior linebacker Justin Eklund

0:00Jewelry Design Center is not your average jewelry store. And Brian Tune, the owner of the new location in Mizzula, a 2501 Brook Street, and his team can make any and every type of custom jewelry you might desire. The fun part is figuring out what makes people tick and what their drive is and see nobody needs what we have. No one needs it. It does not keep your lights on. It does not keep you warm at night. But it's a funny thing. We have this emotional attachment. The reasons that we wear these things, these are a celebration of our life, a celebration of a relationship. They all are super meaningful. And then it gets handed down. You have these important times in people's life where it's such an attachment, then they enjoy it. At Jewelry Design Center, they can make anything you desire. So come experience the largest full service jewelry store in the Northwest with unmatched artisanship, craftsmanship, unique creativity, and care. Jewelry Design Center. You're a Jewelry for life.

1:58Shop AlpineTouch.com AlpineTouch. Cash One Pond. Missoula's number one pawn shop. We want money. We got money. You need money. We got money. We're cash. Be yourself a favor and make Cash One Pond part of your online shopping habits. Cash One Pond has an awesome online inventory, everything from firearms to power tools to speaker equipment to Jewelry. Visit CashOnePond today. Cash One Pond. 8720 RollercoasterRolle. CashOnePond.com Live One Pond. When the stadium for the first time this year, at least from this side of things, Justin Eklon-Joydernus now, what's up man, thanks for doing this. Oh yeah, thanks for having me. I'm very grateful for this opportunity. First of all, just tell us about how life scored in Missoula. You relatively knew around here. So how's things just settling into a new place? Yeah, man, everybody calls me a hunk. So I've been here. Been at three different schools this year, five, and man, this is by far like the best atmosphere I've been around. The crowds absolutely amazing.

3:00My parents have been here a couple of times and they absolutely freaking love it. Like this is, I'm just very grateful to be here and glad to have my fifth year here and get a little send off. Take us through sort of your path here then, because you mentioned you went out here at Santos, they stayed in Bowling, Green. So you've been to different parts of the country, but now here you are in Montenegro, so what led you here? So straight out of high school, from the Santos, they stayed. I was there for two years with Coach Brennan. Then went to Bowling, Green. There was Scott Leffler and Eddie George. And then, you know, just like with the portal stuff now, I just felt like I could be the best version of myself at another place. And, you know, at a high school, I had to offer from here, from Coach Halk, and in my mind, it was like, hey, I want to go to one of the Montana's or one of the Dakota schools. And once the last staff reached out and I took a visit here, it was like, yeah, I'm all in to being a grays. Like, there was no doubt in my mind. Took some other trips in the portal, but man, once I came in to Missoula,

4:01it was just like a dream come true for me. When you were sort of thinking, okay, I might want to go to one of the Montana's or the Dakota's, what was the main draw for you? The culture. So I had a high school, originally from, went to Folsom High School. Powerhouse. Yeah, so the culture there is something that I just, I feed off of and that it's very, it's contagious and you just want to be around it. And, you know, with Montana's history and my last defensive coordinator, Brandon Fisher, is also an alum from here, so keep putting a good word. And, you know, once I got here and saw the guys and got around the coaches like, yeah, this is the culture that I want to be around. This is the culture I thrive in. And like I said, I'm just super excited to be a part of this team. Let's call you play for B fish. He's an exact, I went to Montana. He's the exact same grade as me. So we lived with the dorms together and everything. So, yeah, Fisher's the man. Well, so, tell me about Folsom High School a bit more. You probably just missed coach Taylor, right, Troy Taylor? So, just missed coach Taylor.

5:04Chris Richardson was the coach there, my freshman year. I was actually at Rockland High School. And then I was there for coach Dordy, Paul Dordy's, you know, first year. And my dad's a system principal there. So lots of ties there. And man, like that school, like I said, the culture and those coaches and being out of school like that, it teaches you a lot. Like it teaches you. The one thing coach Dordy told us is always the team first. You know, you're never above the team. And that's something that we embrace here. I think that all the guys buying to that coach BK talks about it over here all the time. The team, the team, the team and it's the best thing. Yeah, well, is it nice to, because for those that are listening to this, that don't know, I mean, full some high schools, one multiple state championships. I mean, it's a great winning culture. So is it nice to sort of get back to that and be a program that sort of has similar high expectations? Oh, yeah. You know, pressure is a privilege, man. So just being around that, it's, you know, it's going to affect you.

6:04It's going to train you for life after football. And that's like ultimately what coach Sanders has is training for life after football. But that privilege of having pressure and being that absolute, being the absolute best that you can be a day to day out and going one and all. It's, I mean, you can't beat that. You can't just an echo in the journal. It's here at Grisstar of the week on ESPN radio as well as the big set break down podcast series. So tell us about sort of your role, because you've been playing a little bit all over the place. They've worked in it several of the linebacker spots and at that new buck spot too. So how's it gone? Just picking up the new defense. How you sort of described how you settled in? Oh, I love it. Honestly, I could talk about this all day. So throughout college, I've played every different linebacker DN position. And then here's kind of like that buck and will get to kind of move with different fronts and different personnel. And I feel like for me speaking for myself, like that fits to what I am. I feel like I'm very versatile and what I can do. And you know, just being the best I can for the team.

7:05And you know, if they need me to play a three-tech one week or DN back whatever the team needs for me. I mean, I'm more than happy and willing to do that for the guy. Did you have experience before playing on the edge? Yeah. Yeah, high school played a little bit of DN in linebacker. San Jose played in a 3-4. So I played a little bit like a Sam, Niko to the field, played a will to the boundary. Went to Bowling Green, played like an a 4-2-5 buck. And then last year played like a in a 3-4. I mean, a 4-3-Sam and then also Rotea, Mike and Will. So I've played from being in college at 210 pounds to 240. So I've done it all. A lot of the reps go on at the buck, also to Solomon Tulliapoop. So what's it been like sort of sharing time with him? He's just pretty fun to watch about here. And he's pretty physically intimidating. So those are one of my good buddies. We sit next to each other in a team meeting room. And we're always trying to make him laugh whenever I can or making fun of his bad breath. Sorry, Saldo.

8:05But no, that's one of the guys that you look at. And you're like, hey, this guy just does it right. I mean, he's our team captain for a reason. He does everything on the field right off the field right. So looking at a guy like that and just being close with him, especially how he is spiritually with the Lord too, has also helped out our team a lot. So yeah, Saldo is one of my good. Sort of strategy, you guys made between first game and second game, just as a total defensive unit. Strategy, I mean, at the end of the day, we just want to go attack the football. We kind of fell short of that last two games. But I mean, that's our whole goal. Attack the football, run like hell, and keep the ball inside it in front. Coach, you'd be very proud of that. It is. He was. I mean, but yeah, that's what we try to do. I mean, if you throw on the tape, it doesn't matter what play it is. If it's play 80 or play one, you see all 11 guys running to the ball and trying to hit the other team as hard as we humanly can. You talk tech this week. So third straight home game for you guys. What sort of things have you seen early on in your preparation for the trailblazers coming to town? They got a good running back. They're a good solid team.

9:06So I mean, every single week, we got to put our best foot for no matter what. This week, we just talked about, like I said, each day is going one and a half. Be the best that we can today on Tuesday. And I think our team really did that today. And then, you know, today we're tonight we're going to watch film. Be the best that we cannot watch the film. And just take each day one at a time. And then once those guys come here, yeah, we're going to hit them in the mouth pretty hard. Johnson Decklin here on EOS, been radio. Thanks for doing them, man. Having me, sir. Thank you. It's been a long time since I've been on the football league from top to bottom and across the board by diving into everything you need to know about the NFL on all football all the time. Tune in at 5 p.m. every Thursday. For a deep dive into the top story lines, ranked tears, lanes and lines and everything you need to know to make your wagers for the weekend. All football all the time. In the five o'clock hour every Thursday on Nuanas now, probably presented by SportsBet Montana. Montana. The local dispensary in Mercantille offers the most high-quality products you'll find anywhere in Montana.

10:07The local only carries products that are created by local businesses or owners of the store. The bazolla-born and raised owners want to ensure a relaxed atmosphere with professional service at a customer-friendly price. The service is deli-style so that you can smell and see the product before you purchase. The owners are also farmers that have been cultivating green goodness for a combined 34 years. The sleep by the local at East Mizzula or downtown on the corner of front and orange where there's spree parking. Keep it local! Blackfoot Communications has been helping Montana's make strong connections for more than 70 years. With its headquarters in Mizzula, Blackfoot has been providing steady, high-quality jobs to Western Montana's for decades. As you are a caring neighbor, Blackfoot shows their support by giving back to local organizations, causes and schools in ways that truly matter. Blackfoot's mission is to connect people, businesses and communities, connect more with Blackfoot Communications. To find out more about how Blackfoot can improve your connection to our community, visit blackfoot.com. If you're underway two or from a Gris game, there's literally no better place to go than the Pressbox Sports Bar and Grill.

11:08It is the Gris fan headquarters in the heart of Gris country. They have a happy hour every single day between 4 and 6 pm with $3 drafts. They also have a full bar with great beer and wine selection. Excellent food. Pressbox burger, the smash burger, delicious. They also have the best chili in the state of Montana. It's definitely the best place to pre-game before Gris games. Swinging to the heart of Gris country at the Gris fan headquarters, the Pressbox Sports Bar and Grill right next to the University of Montana campus.