2021 Official UM football Signing day List

[Colter_Nuanez56]

I like this class of MT kids and I am very hopeful that they will be fueled by the fact they supposedly would have been overlooked if it wasn't for COVID. Give me an undersized Geno Leonard all day with a little extra motivation. This is the type of class with character and motivation and grit that builds the backbone of national championship teams. The fact they were signed with a low scholarship budget makes it even more special. Work hard and earn a bigger scholly down the road.

See, I think Bobby Hauck recruits all five of these Sentinel kids in any year, although they might not all sign. All five have strong family ties to Montana, dreams of playing for the Griz and come from a championship program - in other words, they check the primary boxes that Coach Hauck loves in in-state recruits.

The other thing worth noting is that if you stick around in Coach Hauck's program and you work hard, there's very few guys who make it to their fourth-year junior seasons who are not at the very least functional if not solid and most times, good to really good players. That's the trick in college football these days. You can get all the 3-star recruits you want but if they hit the portal after one semester, who really cares? Bobby knows that these Sentinel guys will stick around because of their love of the Griz, the accountability they feel from representing their hometowns and their family legacies. Leonard and Syvrud both said on my radio show recently that they don't care if they redshirt and don't play for years, they are just excited to play for the team and maximize their potential. That's the kind of dude Hauck wants.

 

[Colter_Nuanez56]

Pretty sure they weren't all in the same class but they were on the same varsity team for stretches - the early 2000s Great Falls CMR teams featured:

QB Brady Leaf, Oregon
QB Justin Hartman, Montana
WR Ryan Bagley, Montana
WR Tyler Graham, Oregon State baseball (certainly could've played in the Big Sky for football)
RB Royce Fulp, Colorado State before trasnfering to MSU
TE Justin Goodman, Washington
LB Austin Mullins, Montana
LB Chase Gazerro, Montana State
OL Jeff Hansen, Montana State
DT Kelly Kain, Griz
DE Mike Murphy, Griz

Not 5 D1 kids in same class, but on same varsity graduating from Butte High in mid 87 to 89 and played for Da Griz:

DE Kyle Mirich
LB Paul LeProwse
LB Chad Lembke
DT Lance Allen
FS Todd Ericson

Joining the 89'rs at Butte High and also then with the Griz were the 92'rs:

DT Brian Toone
DE Randy Riley
QB/WR Josh Paffhausen

I still remember vividly Toone and Riley meeting at the QB for the go ahead 2 point safety in the NC.

In case you missed it or haven't been subscribing, here's our Griz Greats episode with Brian Toone. That safety is a key talking point in this entertaining interview:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5Hv4i20ploU2wgxnEJkM4w?si=vIR9mYoPShmRcUWuE9Ebcg

 

[MTGRZ]

I like this class of MT kids and I am very hopeful that they will be fueled by the fact they supposedly would have been overlooked if it wasn't for COVID. Give me an undersized Geno Leonard all day with a little extra motivation. This is the type of class with character and motivation and grit that builds the backbone of national championship teams. The fact they were signed with a low scholarship budget makes it even more special. Work hard and earn a bigger scholly down the road.

See, I think Bobby Hauck recruits all five of these Sentinel kids in any year, although they might not all sign. All five have strong family ties to Montana, dreams of playing for the Griz and come from a championship program - in other words, they check the primary boxes that Coach Hauck loves in in-state recruits.

The other thing worth noting is that if you stick around in Coach Hauck's program and you work hard, there's very few guys who make it to their fourth-year junior seasons who are not at the very least functional if not solid and most times, good to really good players. That's the trick in college football these days. You can get all the 3-star recruits you want but if they hit the portal after one semester, who really cares? Bobby knows that these Sentinel guys will stick around because of their love of the Griz, the accountability they feel from representing their hometowns and their family legacies. Leonard and Syvrud both said on my radio show recently that they don't care if they redshirt and don't play for years, they are just excited to play for the team and maximize their potential. That's the kind of dude Hauck wants.

Preach! Comparing this recruiting class to others is, of course, naturally going to be impacted by COVID. But the pieces are there if these guys choose to stick with it, work hard, and come up big in 3-5 years from now. A lot of dudes in Hauck's previous stint were "blue collar" kids from Montana. I'm thinking Lebsock (Beef), Ferriter, Shillinger, Mariani, Anderson, Mullins, Mercer, Selle, Reynolds, Dow, Boudin to name a few. I don't know if any of those guys were "big time" recruits coming out of high school, but they put in the work, stayed patient, and sure played their asses off for the Griz and damn near won two natties.

Like I said in a different post, I think this will playout to the Griz's advantage with more scholly money available in the next few seasons for out of state kids.

 

[Colter_Nuanez56]

See, I think Bobby Hauck recruits all five of these Sentinel kids in any year, although they might not all sign. All five have strong family ties to Montana, dreams of playing for the Griz and come from a championship program - in other words, they check the primary boxes that Coach Hauck loves in in-state recruits.

The other thing worth noting is that if you stick around in Coach Hauck's program and you work hard, there's very few guys who make it to their fourth-year junior seasons who are not at the very least functional if not solid and most times, good to really good players. That's the trick in college football these days. You can get all the 3-star recruits you want but if they hit the portal after one semester, who really cares? Bobby knows that these Sentinel guys will stick around because of their love of the Griz, the accountability they feel from representing their hometowns and their family legacies. Leonard and Syvrud both said on my radio show recently that they don't care if they redshirt and don't play for years, they are just excited to play for the team and maximize their potential. That's the kind of dude Hauck wants.

Preach! Comparing this recruiting class to others is, of course, naturally going to be impacted by COVID. But the pieces are there if these guys choose to stick with it, work hard, and come up big in 3-5 years from now. A lot of dudes in Hauck's previous stint were "blue collar" kids from Montana. I'm thinking Lebsock (Beef), Ferriter, Shillinger, Mariani, Anderson, Mullins, Mercer, Selle, Reynolds, Dow, Boudin to name a few. I don't know if any of those guys were "big time" recruits coming out of high school, but they put in the work, stayed patient, and sure played their asses off for the Griz and damn near won two natties.

Like I said in a different post, I think this will playout to the Griz's advantage with more scholly money available in the next few seasons for out of state kids.

George Mercer didn't play any sports when we were freshmen at the U! He was a skinny, jumping jack basketball player who was also the rowdiest student at any Griz basketball game that year. A couple years later, he's a starting defensive end. Great story.

When Chase Reynolds came in, I was living with some guys on the team and they used to make fun of him so much for being the worst wide receiver on the team. The next year he moves back to running back....bam, one of the greatest tailbacks in Big Sky history.

Ferriter, Dow, Schillinger were definitely big time recruits. Dow was a frightening person in high school :lol:

Dan Beaudin might be the best example. He was about 190 pounds coming out of Noxon. By his third year in the program, he was a straight house while remaining athletic enough to throw for the Griz track team and even moonlighted a bit for Wayne Tinkle.

 

[MTGRZ]

Preach! Comparing this recruiting class to others is, of course, naturally going to be impacted by COVID. But the pieces are there if these guys choose to stick with it, work hard, and come up big in 3-5 years from now. A lot of dudes in Hauck's previous stint were "blue collar" kids from Montana. I'm thinking Lebsock (Beef), Ferriter, Shillinger, Mariani, Anderson, Mullins, Mercer, Selle, Reynolds, Dow, Boudin to name a few. I don't know if any of those guys were "big time" recruits coming out of high school, but they put in the work, stayed patient, and sure played their asses off for the Griz and damn near won two natties.

Like I said in a different post, I think this will playout to the Griz's advantage with more scholly money available in the next few seasons for out of state kids.

George Mercer didn't play any sports when we were freshmen at the U! He was a skinny, jumping jack basketball player who was also the rowdiest student at any Griz basketball game that year. A couple years later, he's a starting defensive end. Great story.

When Chase Reynolds came in, I was living with some guys on the team and they used to make fun of him so much for being the worst wide receiver on the team. The next year he moves back to running back....bam, one of the greatest tailbacks in Big Sky history.

Ferriter, Dow, Schillinger were definitely big time recruits. Dow was a frightening person in high school :lol:

Dan Beaudin might be the best example. He was about 190 pounds coming out of Noxon. By his third year in the program, he was a straight house while remaining athletic enough to throw for the Griz track team and even moonlighted a bit for Wayne Tinkle.

Wow didn't know that about Mercer.

I forgot to add the Palmer twins. Great local high school athletes; helped the team tremendously in college. I think this is the exact kind of class the Griz have been missing since Stitt came in (I am not a Stitt hater although I believe he wasn't the right "fit" for Montana, but that's been done already). Lots of tough local kids that might surprise some people in a few years, and at the very least could bring some hard-nosed intensity to the practice field. I think it's a low-key win for the Griz.

 

[IntuitiveGriz]

I like this class of MT kids and I am very hopeful that they will be fueled by the fact they supposedly would have been overlooked if it wasn't for COVID. Give me an undersized Geno Leonard all day with a little extra motivation. This is the type of class with character and motivation and grit that builds the backbone of national championship teams. The fact they were signed with a low scholarship budget makes it even more special. Work hard and earn a bigger scholly down the road.

See, I think Bobby Hauck recruits all five of these Sentinel kids in any year, although they might not all sign. All five have strong family ties to Montana, dreams of playing for the Griz and come from a championship program - in other words, they check the primary boxes that Coach Hauck loves in in-state recruits.

The other thing worth noting is that if you stick around in Coach Hauck's program and you work hard, there's very few guys who make it to their fourth-year junior seasons who are not at the very least functional if not solid and most times, good to really good players. That's the trick in college football these days. You can get all the 3-star recruits you want but if they hit the portal after one semester, who really cares? Bobby knows that these Sentinel guys will stick around because of their love of the Griz, the accountability they feel from representing their hometowns and their family legacies. Leonard and Syvrud both said on my radio show recently that they don't care if they redshirt and don't play for years, they are just excited to play for the team and maximize their potential. That's the kind of dude Hauck wants.

I agree with your post.

I also have seen these players play the last 4 years (Sirmon 1) when playing Butte, and they are Big Sky level players for sure. Especially with the hard work that I am sure these proud Missoula kids will exude going forward.

 

[IntuitiveGriz]

Not 5 D1 kids in same class, but on same varsity graduating from Butte High in mid 87 to 89 and played for Da Griz:

DE Kyle Mirich
LB Paul LeProwse
LB Chad Lembke
DT Lance Allen
FS Todd Ericson

Joining the 89'rs at Butte High and also then with the Griz were the 92'rs:

DT Brian Toone
DE Randy Riley
QB/WR Josh Paffhausen

I still remember vividly Toone and Riley meeting at the QB for the go ahead 2 point safety in the NC.

In case you missed it or haven't been subscribing, here's our Griz Greats episode with Brian Toone. That safety is a key talking point in this entertaining interview:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5Hv4i20ploU2wgxnEJkM4w?si=vIR9mYoPShmRcUWuE9Ebcg

What a GREAT interview! Brought back a great time in life. Also gave me chills when he talked about the people of Butte--I also share that admiration. Great job, Colter and your sidekick.

 

[wbtfg]

It depends what you mean by “recruited”

Of the griz signees, I think MSU offered scholarships to Klucewich, Dietrick and Olson. I’m sure they recruited some others as walkons.

And on the flip end, out of the MSU signees the only ones Griz offered were Eiden, Bergen, Daily, and Reynolds.

Interesting how both schools view the various talent.

I believe UM also offered Kade Cutler.

 

[go96griz]

And on the flip end, out of the MSU signees the only ones Griz offered were Eiden, Bergen, Daily, and Reynolds.

Interesting how both schools view the various talent.

I believe UM also offered Kade Cutler.

Do you know why Comrade Choateski didn't offer the Lang brothers at least a preferred walk on, especially considering they were legacy?

 

[wbtfg]

I believe UM also offered Kade Cutler.

Do you know why Comrade Choateski didn't offer the Lang brothers at least a preferred walk on, especially considering they were legacy?

It was a numbers thing. MSU simply didn’t have room for them.

 

[grizindabox]

I was thinking some about this recruiting class and came to the conclusion it could be considered a throwaway. I am not saying that some might not work out, but they don't need any of them too. This class is grouped with last years as Freshmen, and you can recruit a full class next year and not miss a thing.

 

[IntuitiveGriz]

I was thinking some about this recruiting class and came to the conclusion it could be considered a throwaway. I am not saying that some might not work out, but they don't need any of them too. This class is grouped with last years as Freshmen, and you can recruit a full class next year and not miss a thing.

I see what you are saying, hadn't thought about it like that yet, but you possibly make some sense for the most part.

I do think there are some gems though (and a few others that might stick)--Britt, Olson, Brown, Klucewich, Detrick and McGourin.

I pulling for a couple kids with Butte ties...Leonards' cousin is LB Dan Orizotti from the 2001 NC team...Syvruds' uncle is LB Chad Lembke (Griz All-American) and my HS teammate.

 

[Griz RTD]

I was thinking some about this recruiting class and came to the conclusion it could be considered a throwaway. I am not saying that some might not work out, but they don't need any of them too. This class is grouped with last years as Freshmen, and you can recruit a full class next year and not miss a thing.

I see what you are saying, hadn't thought about it like that yet, but you possibly make some sense for the most part.

I do think there are some gems though (and a few others that might stick)--Britt, Olson, Brown, Klucewich, Detrick and McGourin.

I pulling for a couple kids with Butte ties...Leonards' cousin is LB Dan Orizotti from the 2001 NC team...Syvruds' uncle is LB Chad Lembke (Griz All-American) and my HS teammate.

Been off here for a bit. Don’t forget about the specialist kicker, Capser! Had interest from Colorado, Nebraska, Weber and more. Busted a lot of state records. Coaching staff are saying possibly best kicker recruit ever for Montana. His uncle played on the 95’ team. Is a 4.5 star guy and pretty surprised he didn’t go FBS. Uncle is an old friend and I imagine he had something to say about it.

 

[IntuitiveGriz]

I see what you are saying, hadn't thought about it like that yet, but you possibly make some sense for the most part.

I do think there are some gems though (and a few others that might stick)--Britt, Olson, Brown, Klucewich, Detrick and McGourin.

I pulling for a couple kids with Butte ties...Leonards' cousin is LB Dan Orizotti from the 2001 NC team...Syvruds' uncle is LB Chad Lembke (Griz All-American) and my HS teammate.

Been off here for a bit. Don’t forget about the specialist kicker, Capser! Had interest from Colorado, Nebraska, Weber and more. Busted a lot of state records. Coaching staff are saying possibly best kicker recruit ever for Montana. His uncle played on the 95’ team. Is a 4.5 star guy and pretty surprised he didn’t go FBS. Uncle is an old friend and I imagine he had something to say about it.

Yes, for sure, Casper has potential written all over him. :clap: :thumb: