The Montana Grizzlies still seemed well-stocked as they opened their 2009 fall drills under breezy, partly sunny skies at the South Campus Fields.

There were four quarterbacks slinging the ball around, and none of them were named Jeff Larson. The 6-foot-4 junior out of Cut Bank is officially a receiver, which it seems is where he's needed.

Three receivers from spring ball -- Tony Kazmierczak out of Thompson Falls, Bryan Riggs out of Spokane, Wash., and Tyzer Cady out of Colstrip -- are no longer in the program.

Larson can fit in alongside stalwart Marc Mariani, Jabin Sambrano, Ty Palmer and Sam Gratton in a crew that doesn't lack size or speed. Yet replacing the catches of graduates Mike Ferriter (50) of Helena and Rob Schulte (23) won't be easy.

";Those guys that have experience, they need to play and play well," seventh-year coach Bobby Hauck said after the first practice. ";Meaning Marc, Jabin and Ty. After that, the other guys need to come along. They need to be playmakers."

Larson actually moved toward receiver last fall, running routes against Northern Colorado. With the addition of Oregon transfer quarterback Justin Roper, it seemed more likely receiver would be a full-time gig for Larson. It became official Wednesday.

";I've played quarterback all of my life, but I looked at this move as a chance to get on the field and help my football team," Larson said in a release.

Besides Larson, the receiving corps includes walk-on Connor Smith, redshirt freshman Levi Buckles and true freshman Aaron Roberts. Another true freshman, Bryce Carver out of Dillon, could play receiver or defensive back.

";Depth is always an issue," said Mariani, a senior out of Havre who burst onto the Big Sky Conference scene a year ago. ";We've got some young guys, we've got some new guys, got some guys that are switching over. We've got some guys that have played a lot and played a little bit. We're all over the board.

";But you know, somebody always steps up, and it's fun to see who that guy's going to be. We're excited to work through the camp and find out."

Last year it was Mariani, who hauled in 69 passes for 1,308 yards and 15 touchdowns, in addition to his kick return duties as a junior. He was one reason the Griz went 14-2 and made the Football Championship Subdivision title game, and the former walk-on is a preseason all-Big Sky and All-American pick.

Despite his 2008 numbers, he can't do it alone.

";They've got to be ready to play for us," Hauck said of the younger receivers. ";That's the big goal for us; to get them game-ready."

The first practice lasted almost three hours, and concluded with a two-minute drill in which both junior quarterback Andrew Selle and Roper moved the team well at times.

";We turned it over on an interception when we were in pretty good field position, and we turned it over on downs when we were in the red zone," Hauck noted. ";But initially, the thing is to, especially in no-pads, to get through the gymnastics of it, and orchestrate it to where we know how it operates. I thought that was pretty sharp.

";The defense came out ahead of the offense, which is fine. We're going to practice that a lot, because it's important."

Practice overall was crisp and fast, with the occasional bad throw or sloppy route thrown in.

";It's always interesting the first time you take the field, because you always want to be extremely sharp, and yet you're always a little rusty," said Hauck. ";The enthusiasm is good. Just like all times, we have a lot of work to do."

Just like all the players, Mariani was happy to get back on the gridiron.

";After all the guys put in a good, long summer, it's always fun to get back out here and start to hit each other again," he said. ";Get the competitive fires going again. We want to get back to work. We've had enough time off. We're ready to go."

Throw away those old rosters. Smith is wearing No. 85, formerly worn by Riggs; Smith was wearing No. 6 and now that belongs to Roberts. Gratton has taken the No. 8 jersey formerly worn by Schulte.

The departed Kazmierczak is in school, as is Riggs, a senior who is close to graduating. Cady reportedly transferred to Carroll College.

Another senior, linebacker Thomas Bauer, also is concentrating on school.

";Those guys (Bauer and Riggs) are going to graduate in December," said Hauck. ";And both decided to enjoy their last semester of college. They weren't starters coming out of spring practice, but they're both guys who've been real valuable to our football team."

The Griz have a no-pads practice again today, and then go shoulder pads and helmet for Friday and Saturday. Their first full-pads practice is Sunday.