MISSOULA — The Montana Grizzlies saw their season come to a close on Saturday afternoon, and not even 24 hours later, major shifts are being made to the UM roster.
Quarterback Logan Fife, the off-and-on starter for the Grizzlies throughout the season alongside freshman Keali'i Ah Yat, announced on Sunday afternoon that he would be entering the transfer portal.
Fife enters the portal with one season of eligibility remaining.
"First and foremost, I'd like to thank God for the many blessings in my life and allowing me to continue to live out my dream," Fife wrote on social media. "I'd like to thank my family and friends for the endless support through this journey. I'd also like to thank my teammates and the city of Missoula for welcoming me with open arms in this past year.
"With that being said, it is in my best interest to enter the transfer portal as a grad transfer with one year of eligibility remaining. I am extremely excited for what the future has in store."
Fife and Ah Yat split reps at QB all season for UM in what oftentimes seemed puzzling and appeared to hinder the Grizzlies' offense from finding any rhythm, especially in the latter part of the season as Montana struggled on that side of the ball.
Head coach Bobby Hauck described their rotation based on "feel" all season when the two would swap in and out.
Those issues came to a head down the stretch in big games as Montana lost convincingly to Big Sky Conference leaders UC Davis and Montana State heading into the playoffs and struggled against others, which fueled much of UM's struggles — and biggest questions — as the season came to a close.
After transferring to UM after four seasons at Fresno State, Fife started in eight games for the Grizzlies, including against UC Davis, Montana State and UM's first-round playoff game against Tennessee State.
Thank You Missoula1 year of eligibility remaining @Greg_Panelli @CoachDanny10 pic.twitter.com/9RAdIAuhG1
— Logan Fife (@fife_logan) December 8, 2024
Fife completed 167 of his 263 passes for 1,890 yards for 14 touchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed for 135 yards and five more scores. Fife's first start came against Eastern Washington on Sept. 28 where he threw for 364 yards and five touchdowns and was named the Big Sky Conference offensive player of the week.
However, a pair of lost fumbles and struggling play against Tennessee State saw Fife pulled in favor of Ah Yat, and from there he never saw the field on offense again, including UM's second-round loss to South Dakota State on Saturday as the Griz finished 9-5 overall.
Fife is the first known player to have entered the transfer portal from Montana. The portal officially opens on Monday.
