Why 'rock star' Louisville linebacker Monty Montgomery is predicting a huge season
Monty Montgomery says he can beat anyone at chess, just as soon as he learns how to play.
The Louisville linebacker is comically confident, a self-hyping senior who conjures a modern day Muhammad Ali with braided dreadlocks. Though he has been remarkably productive in a limited role, leading U of L in quarterback sacks in two separate seasons despite playing primarily on third down, Montgomery talks a game so big it calls for its own area code.
He calls himself a “rock star,” the “best ever,” and has predicted an All-America season for himself with “monumental awards."
“It’s time for me to unleash,” he said Friday, “and flash the greatness.”
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Whether Montgomery’s boasts are sincere or merely a playful pose is an unsolved mystery — U of L defensive coordinator Bryan Brown said he's not sure he has ever encountered another player so outwardly confident — but few athletes have been more dedicated to the pursuit of their dreams. Admittedly afflicted by "little man syndrome," the 5-foot-11 Montgomery is known for logging the longest hours at U of L’s practice facility and for a competitive edge that has been sharpened since childhood in family pushup contests and football games played not only to win, but to humiliate rivals.
“Just the fact that you can embarrass a man and not feel any remorse about it, that’s the best feeling, man,” Montgomery said. “If you take away a man’s emotional state, then you win everything, I feel like.”
Monty Montgomery’s emotional state was abruptly upended at least twice last September. After earning a starting job after two seasons as a backup deployed primarily to rush the passer, Montgomery was ejected for a targeting penalty in the second quarter of the season-opener against Ole Miss. His season came to an excruciating end during the third game of the season when he collided with fellow linebacker C.J. Avery while trying to stop a game-tying touchdown in the closing minutes against Central Florida.
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Montgomery was credited with nine tackles in that game (four solo, five assisted), the second-highest total of his U of L career. But in attempting to make his 10th tackle against UCF, he tore his right anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus.
Though he was able to limp from the field under his own power, and later vowed to be back in action the following week, he was soon bound for season-ending surgery.
“I had to get all my cries out,” he said. “(But) I felt great after that. It’s depressing early on knowing that you tore your ACL and you’re done for the whole year, but it’s just an honor. It’s a blessing in disguise. I’m better than I was before.”
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Montgomery says he is more adept now at pass coverage — “I feel like I’m way more dominant than I was before,” he said — and Brown calls him "one of the best playmakers on our defense." During his lengthy rehabilitation, Montgomery also learned some useful leadership lessons, specifically to cushion his criticism of teammates’ mistakes.
“I’ve learned that you can’t really talk to people the way you want,” he said. “I feel like I live in the past, like back in the days where it was hard-nosed football. But you’ve got to be softer with guys ‘cause some of them are more sensitive in a sense.”
Accustomed to being “cussed out,” for his own errors, Montgomery said he is personally able to absorb “the harsh truth,” but is striving to provide more positive reinforcement to teammates with more delicate sensibilities.
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Not every player is a rock star, of course. Not many carry themselves with as much confidence as does Monty Montgomery.
Asked to identify the play of which he was most proud, the Louisville linebacker reserved judgment, anticipating that he is sure to top himself.
“You haven’t seen it yet,” he said. “It’s yet to come.”
Tim Sullivan: 502-582-4650, tsullivan@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @TimSullivan714
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Monty Montgomery expects big Louisville football season after ACL tear
