The value of a successful football team / visible football coach to your campus

[alabamagrizzly]

Mick Delaney didn’t recruit Wilson and Rob Ash did but he wasn’t a big time player until Jeff Choate arrived which made everyone else after Wilson go to MSU.

Im guessing Delany didn't recruit him cus he already had one Billings QB on roster. Ash recruited him cus Ash hot the leftovers and then they turned him into a blocking TE with two career reception.

 

[Copper Griz]

Paul Brott 300 pound 1st team all conference defensive lineman from Billings West would have helped our defense out a lot if he had come here so recruiting in state players specifically Billings and more specifically Billings West has been a problem.

No doubt Brott is a load to handle on the D Line. I still don’t panic on the in state kids. I understand the importance, but there are a lot of factors that go into recruiting Montana kids. Mainly, why kids chose one school to another. There are a lot of factors outside of playing football. I think the Griz are lagging for sure. I would like to see more emphasis and energy with high school programs. I have never appreciated how Bobby interacts with the press. I think it hurts. Image is everything and it would be nice to see a change.

 

[kemajic]

Paul Brott 300 pound 1st team all conference defensive lineman from Billings West would have helped our defense out a lot if he had come here so recruiting in state players specifically Billings and more specifically Billings West has been a problem.

#37 Trevin Gradney was from West. #37 Clay Oven is from Central.

 

[5280Griz]

#37 Trevin Gradney was from West. #37 Clay Oven is from Central.

Trevin Gradney wasn’t on the team in 2025. You can go on and on about the players from Billings West and Billings Central if including prior years. Junior Bergen went to Billings Senior but his dad used to coach at Billings West and he was around the Billings West program a lot as a child.

 

[Wolf777]

When talking about West or the other Billings high schools, it would be foolish to not look at the overall picture and understand what has changed, and how much ground has been lost. In the early 2000’s you had a coach at all three public high schools with UM ties as players in Klaboe, Lebsock and Sulser. Now you don’t and I don’t know how much work the staff has done to try and reconnect to those schools as a pipeline.

 

[5280Griz]

When talking about West or the other Billings high schools, it would be foolish to not look at the overall picture and understand what has changed, and how much ground has been lost. In the early 2000’s you had a coach at all three public high schools with UM ties as players in Klaboe, Lebsock and Sulser. Now you don’t and I don’t know how much work the staff has done to try and reconnect to those schools as a pipeline.

Paul Klaboe is actually a Bobcat. He played at MSU in the 70s but he supported his players going to whichever school was the best for them, which at the time usually was UM.

 

[5280Griz]

When talking about West or the other Billings high schools, it would be foolish to not look at the overall picture and understand what has changed, and how much ground has been lost. In the early 2000’s you had a coach at all three public high schools with UM ties as players in Klaboe, Lebsock and Sulser. Now you don’t and I don’t know how much work the staff has done to try and reconnect to those schools as a pipeline.

I think it would be helpful atleast with West to try to reconnect them as a recruiting pipeline. They are the largest high school in Montana, arguably the most successful high school football program in Montana and the high school that has possibly sent the most players to the Griz over the past 25 seasons. The West End of Billings is also continuing to grow. They have built new schools in the Billings West feeder area fairly recently. The Scheels on the West End resembles the Scheels in larger cities such as the new one in Chandler.

 

[kemajic]

Trevin Gradney wasn’t on the team in 2025. You can go on and on about the players from Billings West and Billings Central if including prior years. Junior Bergen went to Billings Senior but his dad used to coach at Billings West and he was around the Billings West program a lot as a child.

I didn't "go on and on" about anything. Since when doesn't a key player from '24 count as a recent West player? You're setting the rules to favor a narrative. You're all about narratives.

 

[5280Griz]

I didn't "go on and on" about anything. Since when doesn't a key player from '24 count as a recent West player? You're setting the rules to favor a narrative. You're all about narratives.

When is the last time before this season we didn’t have a West player on the roster? I don’t know the answer. As far back as I can remember there have usually been multiple impact players from West on the team.

 

[SoldierGriz]

Imagine if we got the Brotts and Dowlers all to UM. There used to be a time when UM was the preferred team for guys from Billings West. We won a championship in 2001 with a quarterback from Billings West.

...and Si Ryan ran through the BSC during his time with the cats...

BW dudes to the cats is very common and has been for years and years...

When was UM the preferred team for BW guys? Be specific and use a range of years, not a single season.

 

[5280Griz]

...and Si Ryan ran through the BSC during his time with the cats...

BW dudes to the cats is very common and has been for years and years...

When was UM the preferred team for BW guys? Be specific and use a range of years, not a single season.

I would say 2001-2015 UM was the preferred team for BW guys. MSU had some too but it seems like more impact players from BW went to UM during that time period.

 

[ElrodGrizzly]

I would say 2001-2015 UM was the preferred team for BW guys. MSU had some too but it seems like more impact players from BW went to UM during that time period.

....but didn't more impact players from EVERY Montana high school go to UM in that time period?!