2024 Montana Recruits

[lutecat]

@VimSince03
I dont see listed the Browning kid the griz signed. What are your thoughts on him?

[Cats15]

So who won the instate recruiting battle this year??

[VimSince03]

So who won the instate recruiting battle this year??

On paper, MSU. But ask me in three years!

[coloradocat]

So who won the instate recruiting battle this year??

On paper, MSU. But ask me in three years!

Who won 2018 and 2019 (the first two Bobbi 2.0 years and the last two Choate years)?

[basincat]

What is the status of Henry Sellards? He didn't sign with NDSU yesterday it doesn't look like. Anyone have any inside info there?

[VimSince03]

So who won the instate recruiting battle this year??

On paper, MSU. But ask me in three years!

Who won 2018 and 2019 (the first two Bobbi 2.0 years and the last two Choate years)?

How I ranked them for 2018:

UM
1.) Gabe Sulser (Billings Senior) - 5'9", 170 lbs. - WR/CB (Montana)
2.) Drew Turner (Kalispell Glacier) - 6'1", 210 lbs. - RB (Montana)
4.) Garrett Graves (Eureka) 6'3", 190 lbs. - QB/S (Montana)
5.) Levi Janacaro (Missoula Big Sky) - 6'1", 220 lbs. - FB (Montana)
7.) Nick Germer (Missoula Sentinel) - 6'2", 175 lbs. - WR (Montana)
16.) David Koppang (Missoula Loyola) - 6'0", 195 lbs. - WR/S (Montana)
20.) Jackson Pepe (Kalispell Glacier) - 6'1", 210 lbs. - S (Montana)
24.) Trevor Welnel (Helena Capital) - 6'3", 250 lbs. - OL (Montana)
28.) Colten Curry (Valier) - 6'7", 220 lbs. - TE (Montana)
34.) Conor Quick (Helena Capital) - 6'2", 250 lbs. - OL (Montana)
38.) Braxton Hill (Anaconda) - 6'2", 210 lbs. - LB. (Montana)
43.) Max Morris (Kalispell Glacier) - 6'4", 245 lbs. (Montana)

MSU
3.) Nolan Askelson (Billings Senior) - 6'2", 215 lbs. - LB (Montana State)
6.) Logan Kleinhans (Bozeman) - 6'2", 195 lbs. - WR (Montana State)
8.) Mark Estes (Kalispell Glacier) - 6'1", 180 lbs. - WR (Montana State)
9.) Lane Sumner (Huntley Project) - 5'8", 186 lbs. - RB (Montana State)
10.) Blake Allred (Billings Senior) - 6'0", 200 lbs. - LB (Montana State)
12.) Joe McElroy (Missoula Loyola) - 6'5", 260 lbs. - TE/OL (Montana State)
17.) Kaleb Winterburn (Helena High) - 6'2", 195 lbs. - QB/S (Montana State)
25.) Treyton Pickering (Sunburst) - 6'6", 225 lbs. - TE/DE (Montana State)
31.) Jory Choate (Bozeman) - 6'1", 195 lbs. - DE/LB (Montana State)

Griz clearly won on paper with getting 4 of my Top 5 with only MSU landing Askelson. Sulser played early and was trending up before all of his injuries took over his career. Graves was never All-Big Sky on defense but turned into a productive and flexible rotation player and special teams All-Big Sky. Janacaro earned #37 so that should say enough. Hill turned his career around after overcoming injuries from his high school days. He now turned into the best player in this class arguably. Koppang played special teams every year. Turner, Germer, Pepe, Welnel, Curry, Quick, and Morris all left before eligibility ended.

MSU earned two 1st-Team All-Big Sky players in this class and multi-year starters: Nolan and Treyton. Nolan also turned into #41. Sumner played a role in pushing the RB rotation every year and almost had a 1000 yards rushing for his career. Choate was a special teams ace nearly every year. McElroy was on the two-deep for three seasons with a few starts after injuries his final two years. Kleinhans and Estes got some run at WR before they transferred or retired. Those two along with Allred and Winterburn left before eligibility ended.

Final Verdict for 2018: Nolan and Treyton were two of the best players in our conference by the end of their careers while Sumner was well on his way prior to his injuries mounted up. However, Hill turned in an All-American season at LB with Janacaro and Graves earning All-Big Sky nods as well. Gabe Sulser was a big-play nightmare his true freshman and sophomore seasons but injuries added up and stunted his career. In my opinion, Griz still won this recruiting year but it got much closer than what it appeared on paper by the end of their careers.


How I ranked them for 2019:

UM
2.) Garrison Poetzl (Billings Senior) - DL - 6'4", 250 lbs. (Montana)
3.) Jesse Owens (Billings West) - WR/CB - 5'9", 175 lbs. (Montana)
6.) Ryan Tirrell (Missoula Loyola) - LB/S - 6'2", 205 lbs. (Montana)
7.) Trevin Gradney (Billings West) - CB - 6'0", 170 lbs. (Montana)
11.) Ryder Meyer (Fairfield) - S - 5'9”, 170 lbs. (Montana)
20.) Kris Brown (Bozeman) - QB - 6’4”, 210 lbs. (Montana)
21.) Elias Dewaters (Missoula Sentinel) - RB/SB - 5'10", 185 lbs. (Montana)
22.) Ryan Simpson (Bozeman) - WR - 6'6", 190 lbs. (Montana)
30.) Noah Ambuehl (Great Falls Central) - TE - 6’3”, 220 lbs. (Montana)
45.) Dillon Botner (Whitefish) - TE/OL - 6'6", 225 lbs. (Montana)

MSU
1.) Ryan Lonergan (Bozeman) - TE - 6'4", 220 lbs. (Montana State)
5.) Holden Sampson (Helena High) - OL - 6'3", 250 lbs. (Montana State)
8.) Joe Olson (Bozeman) - RB - 6’0”, 195 lbs. (Montana State)
9.) Alex Johnson (Helena High) - LB/S - 6'2", 185 lbs. (Montana State)
12.) Marcus Wehr (Billings Central) - DE/DL - 6’3”, 220 lbs. (Montana State)
13.) Blake Thelen (Great Falls High) - QB - 6’3”, 185 lbs. (Montana State)
14.) Brody Grebe (Melstone) - LB - 6’2”, 205 lbs. (Choate Rosemary Hall)
23.) Tanner Trafton (Fergus) - WR - 6'5", 190 lbs. (Montana State)
24.) Rylan Ortt (Missoula Sentinel) - QB/ATH - 6'2", 185 lbs. (Montana State)
32.) Ethan Bullock (Sweet Grass County) - TE/DE - 6’6”, 220 lbs. (Montana State)
36.) Logan Gilliard (Bigfork) - OL/TE/DE/LB - 6'3", 210 lbs. (Montana State)
39.) Justus Perkins (Bozeman) - OL - 6'1", 230 lbs. (Montana State)

Another extremely close race on paper. Starting with UM, I thought Poetzl was special out of high school and Owens was Junior Bergen before Bergen became...Junior Bergen. Gradney turned into an All-Big Sky corner this year. Tirrell, Meyer, and Simpson have all worked themselves into either starting roles or heavy rotation roles. Kris Brown ended up playing a lot of football for the Griz over his career. Poetzl, Owens, Dewaters, and Ambuehl all left before eligibility ended while Botner is still on the roster but buried on the depth chart. Gradney is the current star of the class but Meyer isn't far behind followed by Tirrell and Simpson.

MSU got my #1 recruit in Ryan Lonergan who finally got varsity minutes his junior season due to injuries to Treyton and Snell. Sampson was on the two-deep for three seasons but never broke through the starting lineup mostly because of the rise of Justus Perkins at center. Joe Olson's career was over before it started due to injury. Johnson worked his way into the LB rotation in 2021 but then got beat out in 2022 before retiring to teach. Marcus Wehr has turned into the #1 player in this entire class. Thelen transferred to Tech and got to have two productive years at QB for the Orediggers. Grebe didn't actually sign in this class but I've mentioned him because MSU had the opportunity to bring him on before he decided to go the prep school route for a year which essentially turned into his redshirt season. Trafton never got to take off due to injuries. Ortt has turned into a Top 5 player in this class overall. Bullock and Gilliard left after a year or so. Justus Perkins was underrated and worked his way into a starter by his redshirt freshman season. Sampson, Olson, Johnson, Thelen, Trafton, Bullock, and Perkins all didn't make a large impact before their eligibility ended.

Final Verdict for 2019: Don't get me wrong, I love what Gradney, Meyer, and Tirrell have developed into for UM. All played a big role for them this season. But MSU ended up with Marcus Wehr, Brody Grebe, Rylan Ortt, Ryan Lonergan, and Justus Perkins out of this class. Wehr is a 1st-Team All-American from multiple media outlets for 2023 and Grebe has All-American status for two years now. Ortt and Perkins have both received HM All-Big Sky in their careers and Ryan Lonergan is our starting TE next year. This one tilts MSU.

[Long Time Cat]

So who won the instate recruiting battle this year??

On paper, MSU. But ask me in three years!

Who won 2018 and 2019 (the first two Bobbi 2.0 years and the last two Choate years)?

How I ranked them for 2018:

UM
1.) Gabe Sulser (Billings Senior) - 5'9", 170 lbs. - WR/CB (Montana)
2.) Drew Turner (Kalispell Glacier) - 6'1", 210 lbs. - RB (Montana)
4.) Garrett Graves (Eureka) 6'3", 190 lbs. - QB/S (Montana)
5.) Levi Janacaro (Missoula Big Sky) - 6'1", 220 lbs. - FB (Montana)
7.) Nick Germer (Missoula Sentinel) - 6'2", 175 lbs. - WR (Montana)
16.) David Koppang (Missoula Loyola) - 6'0", 195 lbs. - WR/S (Montana)
20.) Jackson Pepe (Kalispell Glacier) - 6'1", 210 lbs. - S (Montana)
24.) Trevor Welnel (Helena Capital) - 6'3", 250 lbs. - OL (Montana)
28.) Colten Curry (Valier) - 6'7", 220 lbs. - TE (Montana)
34.) Conor Quick (Helena Capital) - 6'2", 250 lbs. - OL (Montana)
38.) Braxton Hill (Anaconda) - 6'2", 210 lbs. - LB. (Montana)
43.) Max Morris (Kalispell Glacier) - 6'4", 245 lbs. (Montana)

MSU
3.) Nolan Askelson (Billings Senior) - 6'2", 215 lbs. - LB (Montana State)
6.) Logan Kleinhans (Bozeman) - 6'2", 195 lbs. - WR (Montana State)
8.) Mark Estes (Kalispell Glacier) - 6'1", 180 lbs. - WR (Montana State)
9.) Lane Sumner (Huntley Project) - 5'8", 186 lbs. - RB (Montana State)
10.) Blake Allred (Billings Senior) - 6'0", 200 lbs. - LB (Montana State)
12.) Joe McElroy (Missoula Loyola) - 6'5", 260 lbs. - TE/OL (Montana State)
17.) Kaleb Winterburn (Helena High) - 6'2", 195 lbs. - QB/S (Montana State)
25.) Treyton Pickering (Sunburst) - 6'6", 225 lbs. - TE/DE (Montana State)
31.) Jory Choate (Bozeman) - 6'1", 195 lbs. - DE/LB (Montana State)

Griz clearly won on paper with getting 4 of my Top 5 with only MSU landing Askelson. Sulser played early and was trending up before all of his injuries took over his career. Graves was never All-Big Sky on defense but turned into a productive and flexible rotation player and special teams All-Big Sky. Janacaro earned #37 so that should say enough. Hill turned his career around after overcoming injuries from his high school days. He now turned into the best player in this class arguably. Koppang played special teams every year. Turner, Germer, Pepe, Welnel, Curry, Quick, and Morris all left before eligibility ended.

MSU earned two 1st-Team All-Big Sky players in this class and multi-year starters: Nolan and Treyton. Nolan also turned into #41. Sumner played a role in pushing the RB rotation every year and almost had a 1000 yards rushing for his career. Choate was a special teams ace nearly every year. McElroy was on the two-deep for three seasons with a few starts after injuries his final two years. Kleinhans and Estes got some run at WR before they transferred or retired. Those two along with Allred and Winterburn left before eligibility ended.

Final Verdict for 2018: Nolan and Treyton were two of the best players in our conference by the end of their careers while Sumner was well on his way prior to his injuries mounted up. However, Hill turned in an All-American season at LB with Janacaro and Graves earning All-Big Sky nods as well. Gabe Sulser was a big-play nightmare his true freshman and sophomore seasons but injuries added up and stunted his career. In my opinion, Griz still won this recruiting year but it got much closer than what it appeared on paper by the end of their careers.


How I ranked them for 2019:

UM
2.) Garrison Poetzl (Billings Senior) - DL - 6'4", 250 lbs. (Montana)
3.) Jesse Owens (Billings West) - WR/CB - 5'9", 175 lbs. (Montana)
6.) Ryan Tirrell (Missoula Loyola) - LB/S - 6'2", 205 lbs. (Montana)
7.) Trevin Gradney (Billings West) - CB - 6'0", 170 lbs. (Montana)
11.) Ryder Meyer (Fairfield) - S - 5'9”, 170 lbs. (Montana)
20.) Kris Brown (Bozeman) - QB - 6’4”, 210 lbs. (Montana)
21.) Elias Dewaters (Missoula Sentinel) - RB/SB - 5'10", 185 lbs. (Montana)
22.) Ryan Simpson (Bozeman) - WR - 6'6", 190 lbs. (Montana)
30.) Noah Ambuehl (Great Falls Central) - TE - 6’3”, 220 lbs. (Montana)
45.) Dillon Botner (Whitefish) - TE/OL - 6'6", 225 lbs. (Montana)

MSU
1.) Ryan Lonergan (Bozeman) - TE - 6'4", 220 lbs. (Montana State)
5.) Holden Sampson (Helena High) - OL - 6'3", 250 lbs. (Montana State)
8.) Joe Olson (Bozeman) - RB - 6’0”, 195 lbs. (Montana State)
9.) Alex Johnson (Helena High) - LB/S - 6'2", 185 lbs. (Montana State)
12.) Marcus Wehr (Billings Central) - DE/DL - 6’3”, 220 lbs. (Montana State)
13.) Blake Thelen (Great Falls High) - QB - 6’3”, 185 lbs. (Montana State)
14.) Brody Grebe (Melstone) - LB - 6’2”, 205 lbs. (Choate Rosemary Hall)
23.) Tanner Trafton (Fergus) - WR - 6'5", 190 lbs. (Montana State)
24.) Rylan Ortt (Missoula Sentinel) - QB/ATH - 6'2", 185 lbs. (Montana State)
32.) Ethan Bullock (Sweet Grass County) - TE/DE - 6’6”, 220 lbs. (Montana State)
36.) Logan Gilliard (Bigfork) - OL/TE/DE/LB - 6'3", 210 lbs. (Montana State)
39.) Justus Perkins (Bozeman) - OL - 6'1", 230 lbs. (Montana State)

Another extremely close race on paper. Starting with UM, I thought Poetzl was special out of high school and Owens was Junior Bergen before Bergen became...Junior Bergen. Gradney turned into an All-Big Sky corner this year. Tirrell, Meyer, and Simpson have all worked themselves into either starting roles or heavy rotation roles. Kris Brown ended up playing a lot of football for the Griz over his career. Poetzl, Owens, Dewaters, and Ambuehl all left before eligibility ended while Botner is still on the roster but buried on the depth chart. Gradney is the current star of the class but Meyer isn't far behind followed by Tirrell and Simpson.

MSU got my #1 recruit in Ryan Lonergan who finally got varsity minutes his junior season due to injuries to Treyton and Snell. Sampson was on the two-deep for three seasons but never broke through the starting lineup mostly because of the rise of Justus Perkins at center. Joe Olson's career was over before it started due to injury. Johnson worked his way into the LB rotation in 2021 but then got beat out in 2022 before retiring to teach. Marcus Wehr has turned into the #1 player in this entire class. Thelen transferred to Tech and got to have two productive years at QB for the Orediggers. Grebe didn't actually sign in this class but I've mentioned him because MSU had the opportunity to bring him on before he decided to go the prep school route for a year which essentially turned into his redshirt season. Trafton never got to take off due to injuries. Ortt has turned into a Top 5 player in this class overall. Bullock and Gilliard left after a year or so. Justus Perkins was underrated and worked his way into a starter by his redshirt freshman season. Sampson, Olson, Johnson, Thelen, Trafton, Bullock, and Perkins all didn't make a large impact before their eligibility ended.

Final Verdict for 2019: Don't get me wrong, I love what Gradney, Meyer, and Tirrell have developed into for UM. All played a big role for them this season. But MSU ended up with Marcus Wehr, Brody Grebe, Rylan Ortt, Ryan Lonergan, and Justus Perkins out of this class. Wehr is a 1st-Team All-American from multiple media outlets for 2023 and Grebe has All-American status for two years now. Ortt and Perkins have both received HM All-Big Sky in their careers and Ryan Lonergan is our starting TE next year. This one tilts MSU.

Good stuff! Thanks

[CodyCat]

What is the status of Henry Sellards? He didn't sign with NDSU yesterday it doesn't look like. Anyone have any inside info there?

I saw on Facebook this morning that he signed with NDSU.

[VimSince03]

So who won the instate recruiting battle this year??

On paper, MSU. But ask me in three years!

Who won 2018 and 2019 (the first two Bobbi 2.0 years and the last two Choate years)?

How I ranked them for 2018:

UM
1.) Gabe Sulser (Billings Senior) - 5'9", 170 lbs. - WR/CB (Montana)
2.) Drew Turner (Kalispell Glacier) - 6'1", 210 lbs. - RB (Montana)
4.) Garrett Graves (Eureka) 6'3", 190 lbs. - QB/S (Montana)
5.) Levi Janacaro (Missoula Big Sky) - 6'1", 220 lbs. - FB (Montana)
7.) Nick Germer (Missoula Sentinel) - 6'2", 175 lbs. - WR (Montana)
16.) David Koppang (Missoula Loyola) - 6'0", 195 lbs. - WR/S (Montana)
20.) Jackson Pepe (Kalispell Glacier) - 6'1", 210 lbs. - S (Montana)
24.) Trevor Welnel (Helena Capital) - 6'3", 250 lbs. - OL (Montana)
28.) Colten Curry (Valier) - 6'7", 220 lbs. - TE (Montana)
34.) Conor Quick (Helena Capital) - 6'2", 250 lbs. - OL (Montana)
38.) Braxton Hill (Anaconda) - 6'2", 210 lbs. - LB. (Montana)
43.) Max Morris (Kalispell Glacier) - 6'4", 245 lbs. (Montana)

MSU
3.) Nolan Askelson (Billings Senior) - 6'2", 215 lbs. - LB (Montana State)
6.) Logan Kleinhans (Bozeman) - 6'2", 195 lbs. - WR (Montana State)
8.) Mark Estes (Kalispell Glacier) - 6'1", 180 lbs. - WR (Montana State)
9.) Lane Sumner (Huntley Project) - 5'8", 186 lbs. - RB (Montana State)
10.) Blake Allred (Billings Senior) - 6'0", 200 lbs. - LB (Montana State)
12.) Joe McElroy (Missoula Loyola) - 6'5", 260 lbs. - TE/OL (Montana State)
17.) Kaleb Winterburn (Helena High) - 6'2", 195 lbs. - QB/S (Montana State)
25.) Treyton Pickering (Sunburst) - 6'6", 225 lbs. - TE/DE (Montana State)
31.) Jory Choate (Bozeman) - 6'1", 195 lbs. - DE/LB (Montana State)

Griz clearly won on paper with getting 4 of my Top 5 with only MSU landing Askelson. Sulser played early and was trending up before all of his injuries took over his career. Graves was never All-Big Sky on defense but turned into a productive and flexible rotation player and special teams All-Big Sky. Janacaro earned #37 so that should say enough. Hill turned his career around after overcoming injuries from his high school days. He now turned into the best player in this class arguably. Koppang played special teams every year. Turner, Germer, Pepe, Welnel, Curry, Quick, and Morris all left before eligibility ended.

MSU earned two 1st-Team All-Big Sky players in this class and multi-year starters: Nolan and Treyton. Nolan also turned into #41. Sumner played a role in pushing the RB rotation every year and almost had a 1000 yards rushing for his career. Choate was a special teams ace nearly every year. McElroy was on the two-deep for three seasons with a few starts after injuries his final two years. Kleinhans and Estes got some run at WR before they transferred or retired. Those two along with Allred and Winterburn left before eligibility ended.

Final Verdict for 2018: Nolan and Treyton were two of the best players in our conference by the end of their careers while Sumner was well on his way prior to his injuries mounted up. However, Hill turned in an All-American season at LB with Janacaro and Graves earning All-Big Sky nods as well. Gabe Sulser was a big-play nightmare his true freshman and sophomore seasons but injuries added up and stunted his career. In my opinion, Griz still won this recruiting year but it got much closer than what it appeared on paper by the end of their careers.


How I ranked them for 2019:

UM
2.) Garrison Poetzl (Billings Senior) - DL - 6'4", 250 lbs. (Montana)
3.) Jesse Owens (Billings West) - WR/CB - 5'9", 175 lbs. (Montana)
6.) Ryan Tirrell (Missoula Loyola) - LB/S - 6'2", 205 lbs. (Montana)
7.) Trevin Gradney (Billings West) - CB - 6'0", 170 lbs. (Montana)
11.) Ryder Meyer (Fairfield) - S - 5'9”, 170 lbs. (Montana)
20.) Kris Brown (Bozeman) - QB - 6’4”, 210 lbs. (Montana)
21.) Elias Dewaters (Missoula Sentinel) - RB/SB - 5'10", 185 lbs. (Montana)
22.) Ryan Simpson (Bozeman) - WR - 6'6", 190 lbs. (Montana)
30.) Noah Ambuehl (Great Falls Central) - TE - 6’3”, 220 lbs. (Montana)
45.) Dillon Botner (Whitefish) - TE/OL - 6'6", 225 lbs. (Montana)

MSU
1.) Ryan Lonergan (Bozeman) - TE - 6'4", 220 lbs. (Montana State)
5.) Holden Sampson (Helena High) - OL - 6'3", 250 lbs. (Montana State)
8.) Joe Olson (Bozeman) - RB - 6’0”, 195 lbs. (Montana State)
9.) Alex Johnson (Helena High) - LB/S - 6'2", 185 lbs. (Montana State)
12.) Marcus Wehr (Billings Central) - DE/DL - 6’3”, 220 lbs. (Montana State)
13.) Blake Thelen (Great Falls High) - QB - 6’3”, 185 lbs. (Montana State)
14.) Brody Grebe (Melstone) - LB - 6’2”, 205 lbs. (Choate Rosemary Hall)
23.) Tanner Trafton (Fergus) - WR - 6'5", 190 lbs. (Montana State)
24.) Rylan Ortt (Missoula Sentinel) - QB/ATH - 6'2", 185 lbs. (Montana State)
32.) Ethan Bullock (Sweet Grass County) - TE/DE - 6’6”, 220 lbs. (Montana State)
36.) Logan Gilliard (Bigfork) - OL/TE/DE/LB - 6'3", 210 lbs. (Montana State)
39.) Justus Perkins (Bozeman) - OL - 6'1", 230 lbs. (Montana State)

Another extremely close race on paper. Starting with UM, I thought Poetzl was special out of high school and Owens was Junior Bergen before Bergen became...Junior Bergen. Gradney turned into an All-Big Sky corner this year. Tirrell, Meyer, and Simpson have all worked themselves into either starting roles or heavy rotation roles. Kris Brown ended up playing a lot of football for the Griz over his career. Poetzl, Owens, Dewaters, and Ambuehl all left before eligibility ended while Botner is still on the roster but buried on the depth chart. Gradney is the current star of the class but Meyer isn't far behind followed by Tirrell and Simpson.

MSU got my #1 recruit in Ryan Lonergan who finally got varsity minutes his junior season due to injuries to Treyton and Snell. Sampson was on the two-deep for three seasons but never broke through the starting lineup mostly because of the rise of Justus Perkins at center. Joe Olson's career was over before it started due to injury. Johnson worked his way into the LB rotation in 2021 but then got beat out in 2022 before retiring to teach. Marcus Wehr has turned into the #1 player in this entire class. Thelen transferred to Tech and got to have two productive years at QB for the Orediggers. Grebe didn't actually sign in this class but I've mentioned him because MSU had the opportunity to bring him on before he decided to go the prep school route for a year which essentially turned into his redshirt season. Trafton never got to take off due to injuries. Ortt has turned into a Top 5 player in this class overall. Bullock and Gilliard left after a year or so. Justus Perkins was underrated and worked his way into a starter by his redshirt freshman season. Sampson, Olson, Johnson, Thelen, Trafton, Bullock, and Perkins all didn't make a large impact before their eligibility ended.

Final Verdict for 2019: Don't get me wrong, I love what Gradney, Meyer, and Tirrell have developed into for UM. All played a big role for them this season. But MSU ended up with Marcus Wehr, Brody Grebe, Rylan Ortt, Ryan Lonergan, and Justus Perkins out of this class. Wehr is a 1st-Team All-American from multiple media outlets for 2023 and Grebe has All-American status for two years now. Ortt and Perkins have both received HM All-Big Sky in their careers and Ryan Lonergan is our starting TE next year. This one tilts MSU.

Good stuff! Thanks

Ignore the Perkins mention in my last sentence of the MSU paragraph on players not having an impact. Typo!

[technoCat]

So who won the instate recruiting battle this year??

On paper, MSU. But ask me in three years!

Who won 2018 and 2019 (the first two Bobbi 2.0 years and the last two Choate years)?

How I ranked them for 2018:

UM
1.) Gabe Sulser (Billings Senior) - 5'9", 170 lbs. - WR/CB (Montana)
2.) Drew Turner (Kalispell Glacier) - 6'1", 210 lbs. - RB (Montana)
4.) Garrett Graves (Eureka) 6'3", 190 lbs. - QB/S (Montana)
5.) Levi Janacaro (Missoula Big Sky) - 6'1", 220 lbs. - FB (Montana)
7.) Nick Germer (Missoula Sentinel) - 6'2", 175 lbs. - WR (Montana)
16.) David Koppang (Missoula Loyola) - 6'0", 195 lbs. - WR/S (Montana)
20.) Jackson Pepe (Kalispell Glacier) - 6'1", 210 lbs. - S (Montana)
24.) Trevor Welnel (Helena Capital) - 6'3", 250 lbs. - OL (Montana)
28.) Colten Curry (Valier) - 6'7", 220 lbs. - TE (Montana)
34.) Conor Quick (Helena Capital) - 6'2", 250 lbs. - OL (Montana)
38.) Braxton Hill (Anaconda) - 6'2", 210 lbs. - LB. (Montana)
43.) Max Morris (Kalispell Glacier) - 6'4", 245 lbs. (Montana)

MSU
3.) Nolan Askelson (Billings Senior) - 6'2", 215 lbs. - LB (Montana State)
6.) Logan Kleinhans (Bozeman) - 6'2", 195 lbs. - WR (Montana State)
8.) Mark Estes (Kalispell Glacier) - 6'1", 180 lbs. - WR (Montana State)
9.) Lane Sumner (Huntley Project) - 5'8", 186 lbs. - RB (Montana State)
10.) Blake Allred (Billings Senior) - 6'0", 200 lbs. - LB (Montana State)
12.) Joe McElroy (Missoula Loyola) - 6'5", 260 lbs. - TE/OL (Montana State)
17.) Kaleb Winterburn (Helena High) - 6'2", 195 lbs. - QB/S (Montana State)
25.) Treyton Pickering (Sunburst) - 6'6", 225 lbs. - TE/DE (Montana State)
31.) Jory Choate (Bozeman) - 6'1", 195 lbs. - DE/LB (Montana State)

Griz clearly won on paper with getting 4 of my Top 5 with only MSU landing Askelson. Sulser played early and was trending up before all of his injuries took over his career. Graves was never All-Big Sky on defense but turned into a productive and flexible rotation player and special teams All-Big Sky. Janacaro earned #37 so that should say enough. Hill turned his career around after overcoming injuries from his high school days. He now turned into the best player in this class arguably. Koppang played special teams every year. Turner, Germer, Pepe, Welnel, Curry, Quick, and Morris all left before eligibility ended.

MSU earned two 1st-Team All-Big Sky players in this class and multi-year starters: Nolan and Treyton. Nolan also turned into #41. Sumner played a role in pushing the RB rotation every year and almost had a 1000 yards rushing for his career. Choate was a special teams ace nearly every year. McElroy was on the two-deep for three seasons with a few starts after injuries his final two years. Kleinhans and Estes got some run at WR before they transferred or retired. Those two along with Allred and Winterburn left before eligibility ended.

Final Verdict for 2018: Nolan and Treyton were two of the best players in our conference by the end of their careers while Sumner was well on his way prior to his injuries mounted up. However, Hill turned in an All-American season at LB with Janacaro and Graves earning All-Big Sky nods as well. Gabe Sulser was a big-play nightmare his true freshman and sophomore seasons but injuries added up and stunted his career. In my opinion, Griz still won this recruiting year but it got much closer than what it appeared on paper by the end of their careers.


How I ranked them for 2019:

UM
2.) Garrison Poetzl (Billings Senior) - DL - 6'4", 250 lbs. (Montana)
3.) Jesse Owens (Billings West) - WR/CB - 5'9", 175 lbs. (Montana)
6.) Ryan Tirrell (Missoula Loyola) - LB/S - 6'2", 205 lbs. (Montana)
7.) Trevin Gradney (Billings West) - CB - 6'0", 170 lbs. (Montana)
11.) Ryder Meyer (Fairfield) - S - 5'9”, 170 lbs. (Montana)
20.) Kris Brown (Bozeman) - QB - 6’4”, 210 lbs. (Montana)
21.) Elias Dewaters (Missoula Sentinel) - RB/SB - 5'10", 185 lbs. (Montana)
22.) Ryan Simpson (Bozeman) - WR - 6'6", 190 lbs. (Montana)
30.) Noah Ambuehl (Great Falls Central) - TE - 6’3”, 220 lbs. (Montana)
45.) Dillon Botner (Whitefish) - TE/OL - 6'6", 225 lbs. (Montana)

MSU
1.) Ryan Lonergan (Bozeman) - TE - 6'4", 220 lbs. (Montana State)
5.) Holden Sampson (Helena High) - OL - 6'3", 250 lbs. (Montana State)
8.) Joe Olson (Bozeman) - RB - 6’0”, 195 lbs. (Montana State)
9.) Alex Johnson (Helena High) - LB/S - 6'2", 185 lbs. (Montana State)
12.) Marcus Wehr (Billings Central) - DE/DL - 6’3”, 220 lbs. (Montana State)
13.) Blake Thelen (Great Falls High) - QB - 6’3”, 185 lbs. (Montana State)
14.) Brody Grebe (Melstone) - LB - 6’2”, 205 lbs. (Choate Rosemary Hall)
23.) Tanner Trafton (Fergus) - WR - 6'5", 190 lbs. (Montana State)
24.) Rylan Ortt (Missoula Sentinel) - QB/ATH - 6'2", 185 lbs. (Montana State)
32.) Ethan Bullock (Sweet Grass County) - TE/DE - 6’6”, 220 lbs. (Montana State)
36.) Logan Gilliard (Bigfork) - OL/TE/DE/LB - 6'3", 210 lbs. (Montana State)
39.) Justus Perkins (Bozeman) - OL - 6'1", 230 lbs. (Montana State)

Another extremely close race on paper. Starting with UM, I thought Poetzl was special out of high school and Owens was Junior Bergen before Bergen became...Junior Bergen. Gradney turned into an All-Big Sky corner this year. Tirrell, Meyer, and Simpson have all worked themselves into either starting roles or heavy rotation roles. Kris Brown ended up playing a lot of football for the Griz over his career. Poetzl, Owens, Dewaters, and Ambuehl all left before eligibility ended while Botner is still on the roster but buried on the depth chart. Gradney is the current star of the class but Meyer isn't far behind followed by Tirrell and Simpson.

MSU got my #1 recruit in Ryan Lonergan who finally got varsity minutes his junior season due to injuries to Treyton and Snell. Sampson was on the two-deep for three seasons but never broke through the starting lineup mostly because of the rise of Justus Perkins at center. Joe Olson's career was over before it started due to injury. Johnson worked his way into the LB rotation in 2021 but then got beat out in 2022 before retiring to teach. Marcus Wehr has turned into the #1 player in this entire class. Thelen transferred to Tech and got to have two productive years at QB for the Orediggers. Grebe didn't actually sign in this class but I've mentioned him because MSU had the opportunity to bring him on before he decided to go the prep school route for a year which essentially turned into his redshirt season. Trafton never got to take off due to injuries. Ortt has turned into a Top 5 player in this class overall. Bullock and Gilliard left after a year or so. Justus Perkins was underrated and worked his way into a starter by his redshirt freshman season. Sampson, Olson, Johnson, Thelen, Trafton, Bullock, and Perkins all didn't make a large impact before their eligibility ended.

Final Verdict for 2019: Don't get me wrong, I love what Gradney, Meyer, and Tirrell have developed into for UM. All played a big role for them this season. But MSU ended up with Marcus Wehr, Brody Grebe, Rylan Ortt, Ryan Lonergan, and Justus Perkins out of this class. Wehr is a 1st-Team All-American from multiple media outlets for 2023 and Grebe has All-American status for two years now. Ortt and Perkins have both received HM All-Big Sky in their careers and Ryan Lonergan is our starting TE next year. This one tilts MSU.

Good stuff! Thanks

Ignore the Perkins mention in my last sentence of the MSU paragraph on players not having an impact. Typo!

Thanks for doing this Vim. Really cool to see it laid out like that.

[1890Griz]

@VimSince03
I dont see listed the Browning kid the griz signed. What are your thoughts on him?

There is limited tape available on him, but he looks very athletic from the plays I've seen. His bio says he is a 4.0 student which is always a plus. My friend played a pickup basketball game against him last year and said he is fast on the court, I assume that will translate to the field.

[kennethnoisewater]

@VimSince03
I dont see listed the Browning kid the griz signed. What are your thoughts on him?

There is limited tape available on him, but he looks very athletic from the plays I've seen. His bio says he is a 4.0 student which is always a plus. My friend played a pickup basketball game against him last year and said he is fast on the court, I assume that will translate to the field.

I like it. I can't think of too many Native American D-I football players ever in Montana--especially Blackfeet. He'll be a fan favorite. Worst case scenario it's good PR and will get a lot of natives paying attention to Gris football (I'm not at all saying that's why he got signed). Best case scenario, he plays, contributes, gets an education, and gets a lot of kids from his community interested in football. Native or not, give me an athletic 4.0 kid from Montana any day of the week. If he's got the right attitude, you make room for kids like that.

[HelenaCat95]

The Davis brothers for MSU.

[kennethnoisewater]

The Davis brothers for MSU.

I assume that's in response to my comment. I know there have been some natives, and the Davis boys were definitely an impressive bunch. I don't mean to disparage them in any way, but my point is a little more about kids who grew up in those tougher reservation towns. Guys that native population will really rally behind. Guys from towns that haven't had good football programs in a long time--if ever.

[lutecat]

@VimSince03
I dont see listed the Browning kid the griz signed. What are your thoughts on him?

There is limited tape available on him, but he looks very athletic from the plays I've seen. His bio says he is a 4.0 student which is always a plus. My friend played a pickup basketball game against him last year and said he is fast on the court, I assume that will translate to the field.

I like it. I can't think of too many Native American D-I football players ever in Montana--especially Blackfeet. He'll be a fan favorite. Worst case scenario it's good PR and will get a lot of natives paying attention to Gris football (I'm not at all saying that's why he got signed). Best case scenario, he plays, contributes, gets an education, and gets a lot of kids from his community interested in football. Native or not, give me an athletic 4.0 kid from Montana any day of the week. If he's got the right attitude, you make room for kids like that.

I'm not going to lie, I'll be cheering for the kid. Hopefully he does amazing things. Except against us. Sorry kid I got to draw the line somewhere.

I think it would be awesome if this kid turned into something and was a role model for kids on reservations. I think there could be some real raw talent on the reservations. There's some speed for sure.

[RickRund]

@VimSince03
I dont see listed the Browning kid the griz signed. What are your thoughts on him?

There is limited tape available on him, but he looks very athletic from the plays I've seen. His bio says he is a 4.0 student which is always a plus. My friend played a pickup basketball game against him last year and said he is fast on the court, I assume that will translate to the field.

I like it. I can't think of too many Native American D-I football players ever in Montana--especially Blackfeet. He'll be a fan favorite. Worst case scenario it's good PR and will get a lot of natives paying attention to Gris football (I'm not at all saying that's why he got signed). Best case scenario, he plays, contributes, gets an education, and gets a lot of kids from his community interested in football. Native or not, give me an athletic 4.0 kid from Montana any day of the week. If he's got the right attitude, you make room for kids like that.

I'm not going to lie, I'll be cheering for the kid. Hopefully he does amazing things. Except against us. Sorry kid I got to draw the line somewhere.

I think it would be awesome if this kid turned into something and was a role model for kids on reservations. I think there could be some real raw talent on the reservations. There's some speed for sure.

Wasn't Browning really down for quite a few years, I mean, really down?

[HogheadCats]

I was looking through the original post of players to watch and the top players in the start coming into this last season. I felt like having watched a few high school games that we would land at least 3 O-lineman. There were some big dudes that played this last season. I felt like we picked up 2 in the group that just committed. Anyone see us going after anymore to help fill some of the gaps that the portal just took, or are we in good enough shape there that we shouldn’t have to bring in any others?

[AFCAT]

I was looking through the original post of players to watch and the top players in the start coming into this last season. I felt like having watched a few high school games that we would land at least 3 O-lineman. There were some big dudes that played this last season. I felt like we picked up 2 in the group that just committed. Anyone see us going after anymore to help fill some of the gaps that the portal just took, or are we in good enough shape there that we shouldn’t have to bring in any others?

It looks like the Cats are looking for at least one transfer lineman. Go check out the last few pages of the recruiting thread to see one of the guys they are looking at.

[grizzh8r]

@VimSince03
I dont see listed the Browning kid the griz signed. What are your thoughts on him?

There is limited tape available on him, but he looks very athletic from the plays I've seen. His bio says he is a 4.0 student which is always a plus. My friend played a pickup basketball game against him last year and said he is fast on the court, I assume that will translate to the field.

I like it. I can't think of too many Native American D-I football players ever in Montana--especially Blackfeet. He'll be a fan favorite. Worst case scenario it's good PR and will get a lot of natives paying attention to Gris football (I'm not at all saying that's why he got signed). Best case scenario, he plays, contributes, gets an education, and gets a lot of kids from his community interested in football. Native or not, give me an athletic 4.0 kid from Montana any day of the week. If he's got the right attitude, you make room for kids like that.

I'm not going to lie, I'll be cheering for the kid. Hopefully he does amazing things. Except against us. Sorry kid I got to draw the line somewhere.

I think it would be awesome if this kid turned into something and was a role model for kids on reservations. I think there could be some real raw talent on the reservations. There's some speed for sure.

Wasn't Browning really down for quite a few years, I mean, really down?

Back when I was in highschool, Browning and Park (Livingston) were in the Central A together. The loser between the two usually ended up winless and and the bottom of the division. So yes, down. Really down.

[blueandgoldblitz]

So who won the instate recruiting battle this year??

On paper, MSU. But ask me in three years!

Who won 2018 and 2019 (the first two Bobbi 2.0 years and the last two Choate years)?

12.) Marcus Wehr (Billings Central) - DE/DL - 6’3”, 220 lbs. (Montana State)

In your opinion, and with the benefit of hindsight, what do you think the coaches got wrong, if anything, about the evaluation for Wehr to put him as a DL to start his career? And why do you think they switched him to OL and watched him absolutely take off? I'm not looking for any dirt. Just curious as to how the evaluation process goes and how they missed him (initially) as an OL?