BOZEMAN — Hunter Parsons went on one recruiting visit when he was a standout during a pandemic-riddled high school career.
And although he had to wait his turn behind a stacked line of Montana State stud defensive ends, he never considered making another visit or going to another school.
This day and age, patience and loyalty sometimes seem like a thing of the past. You aren’t playing? You transfer. Things aren’t going your way? You hit the portal.
Parsons was a standout for several spring ball sessions in a row at MSU. It seemed that every Sonny Holland Spring Classic, media members would be looking at each other, saying, ‘Who’s No. 45 again?’ Oh, that’s Hunter Parsons! That guy is gonna be pretty good.’
And he has been good. He has carved his way into the rotation by the time his fourth season of college football season rolled around. He played in all 16 games during Montana State’s run to the Big Sky Conference championship and the FCS title game.
But this season, Parsons has been a revelation. And he’s become a fan favorite, too, both for his all-conference level performance during his final year and because of his unforgettable sack celebration where he imitates Maximus from the iconic Russell Crowe movie “Gladiator”, symbolically asking the Bobcat faithful, “ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?”
“The fact that he’s this good five years in is a true testament to mental toughness and determination,” Montana State defensive line coach Nicholas Jean-Baptiste said earlier this season. “When he came in here, he was behind some pretty good defensive ends who have been around here. And it’s not even waiting his turn – it’s more so taking advantage of the opportunities that have come his way.
“But he’s continued to build that trust. And now, this is the guy going into his senior year, we can trust, him, we can lean on him and we can cut him loose. We hoped we could put him on the opposite side of Kenny (Eiden) and that’s come true.”
Following Montana State’s 30-24 double overtime loss to South Dakota State — the last defeat MSU suffered this year as the ‘Cats take an 11-game winning streak into the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs tonight against Stephen F. Austin — as one of Parsons’ best games of his career. He continued to build on that breakout game.
Parsons sustained a high level, earning honorable mention All-Big Sky Conference honors a few weeks ago. He has been one of the most disruptive edge players in the Big Sky, rolling up 9.5 tackles for loss and four sacks among his 32 total tackles.
“It’s not that he hasn’t worked hard, it’s not that he hasn’t had ability, it’s just that he hadn’t had a regular opportunity,” Vigen said. “He was a late bloomer. He had good length and athleticism but he was a year behind because he was a grey shirt under Coach Choate and that staff.
“He’s worked real hard. He’s been a great team member. And I can’t say enough about how steady his approach has been. To see him out there having the impactful performances he’s had, that’s become the expectation. It’s not just “oh, that was his best game, that was his high point against the ‘Jacks.’ No, he’s followed it up with an unbelievable string of consistency.”
Zac Crews is a former Montana Gatorade Player of the Year that’s one of the most talented in-state recruits the Treasure State has had in recent years. He’s a 6-foot-4, 240-pound freak show with long arms, crazy bend and superb agility. Parsons has performed well enough to make sure it’s still a platooning rotation at defensive end rather than getting overtaken by the rising junior.
“And Hunter has had to play well because really for him to be on that field as much as Zac Crews, that certainly was going to be a question. And Hunter has made it not a question,” Vigen said. “We have been able to play all three (Eiden, Parsons, Crews) as starters. And that’s kept tread on the tires for all three.
“Hunter’s emergence and having seniors — we don’t have that many of them (8) — but when you have a guy who has that kind of senior year that’s sort of out of the blue, you need that to be the team you want to be and the team we have become. With the small number of seniors we have had, his performance has been pretty dang critical.”
Now the 6-foot-4, 245-pound defensive end is an all-conference player for the No. 2 team in the country chasing a national championship before his football career comes to an end.
“I’m really excited about Friday night,” Parsons said on Wednesday. “Stephen F. Austin is a great team and they are good up front with a great quarterback, a great running back and we have a real challenge. Not really looking past this. I know there are more games past that but we aren’t looking down the road. We are focused on the task at hand (tonight).”
Having to wait your turn is a common factor for wanting to leave. But so is a coaching change. Neither influenced Parsons when it came to his loyalty to Montana State.
Instead, Parsons has stayed despite the fact that he was buried in a defensive ends group featuring an NFL Draft pick, another multiple time All-American and a hometown hero.
Parsons’ recruitment to Montana State “was a little weird” because it was happening during the time that Covid-19 made everything a little weird.
Parsons was a fringe FCS recruit after a junior year in 2019 at Spanish Springs High in Sparks, Nevada just outside of Reno. He rolled up 51 total tackles, including nine tackles for loss and five sacks after notching four sacks as a sopohomre the year prior. In 2020, the season was abbreviated and Parsons had 31 tackles, two sacks and two forced fumbles.
It was enough to get the attention of Montana State head coach Jeff Choate, who, ironically, is the head coach at Nevada-Reno now. Kane Ioane, who is Choate’s defensive coordinator at UNR, was Parsons’ primary recruiter.
When Parsons came to Montana State, he elected to grey shirt, meaning he could not join the team until after the first semester of what would’ve been his freshman first semester was complete.
“I had two real scholarship offers coming out of high school – one from Montana State and one from Tarleton State,” Parsons said. “I took a visit out here and I love the mountains and the outdoors, so I really fell in love with it fast. It wasn’t very hard decision for me.”
Parsons didn’t even dabble with the thought of Stephensville, Texas. He was sold on Montana State. And despite the packed position group, Parsons has waited his turn and is now maximizing his opportunity.
“My first season, I wasn’t playing much but I think that’s what comes with playing behind such great defensive ends,” Parsons said. “When I first get here, we have Daniel Hardy (NFL Draft pick) and Amandre Williams (University of Washington transfer). Then (three-time All-American) Brody (Grebe) and (all-league) Ben (Seymour) took over and led the way. Kenny (Bozeman native Kenneth Eiden) was playing more than me at that point.
“But learning from those older guys, that helped us. And I give so much credit to Coach (Shawn) Howe and Coach (Bap), they’ve really helped me get to the point of where I’m at right now.”
Every Montana State defensive lineman talks about the standard. It’s something Howe has emphasized. It’s something the late Bo Beck emphasized. It’s a reverence for history that includes tremendous players like Bill Kollar, Mark Fellows, Neal Smith, Caleb Schreibeis, Brad Daly, Hardy, Grebe and dozens of others that helps make MSU’s defensive front is bigger than one individual or one particular year’s defensive front.
“They have set the standard for us to play and uphold,” Parsons said. “I remember one of the first days I got here, Coach Howe talked about the standard and what it means to uphold that and what it means to be a Bobcat defensive lineman.
“Day in and day out, watching those old guys work toward the standard, that has elevated all of us.”
Vigen would be the first to tell you that if Parsons could become a starter, that would be an achievement and a pleasant surprise. The fact that he’s had an all-conference senior season has helped buoy an MSU team that graduated nearly three dozen seniors last season and has just eight seniors on its current roster.
Parsons has been a disruptive bookend to Eiden in a strong rotation with Crews on a defensive line that plays four defensive ends and four defensive tackles on its best days.
Howe proclaims that Parsons has “gotten better every single day I have known the guy.” That steady improvement has made him an irreplaceable cog in the machine that is Montana State’s nationally elite defense.
“He’s every defensive coordinator’s dream: He’s a redhead who wants to flat out play hard, work hard, prepare hard,” Howe said. “Hunter’s thing for years is we knew he was really good, he’s always flashed but he’s been stuck behind such good players. Now he does more than flash. He helps us control the line of scrimmage.
Parsons says that his family back in Reno is what motivates him. That and the bond he’s built with his defensive line brothers and the rest of the Bobcat football team.
He remembers looking up to the seniors that helped lead MSU to the national title game for the first time since 1984 back when Parsons was a freshman in 2021. He remembers having his first consistent success last season, compiling 19 tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack for a Bobcat team that won a school record 15 games in a row before losing 35-32 in the title game to North Dakota State.
But this year is different for Parsons and his fellow seniors. They are knocking on the door of another Final Four trip again. They might get another shot at Montana after beating their archrivals in Missoula in November for the first time under Vigen. And a trip to Nashville looms with just two more wins.
He will graduate this weekend with a degree in construction management technology. He already has a job lined up in Reno.
For tonight, though, Parsons is squarely focused on the task at hand even if the future is alluring and even if he was reflective when talking to Skyline Sports just a few hours after taking his last final.
“I’ve matured tremendously over the last five years,” Parsons said. “Thinking about where I was when I got here as a freshman in 2021 as a 215-pound 18-year-old kid. I feel like I am a really better version of myself, now. I think all the coaches and all my teammates around me to be a better man and a better football player.
“The biggest lesson I’ve learned is to be where your feet are. I didn’t get a lot of playing time my first couple of years and I just kept telling myself to be where my feet are. Don’t think about where you are going to be at in the next couple of years. Just work toward the goal that’s in front of me right now. And that’s helped me get to where I’m at right now.”
