The littlest brother always sets the loftiest goals.
That’s Paul Brott. Montana State’s No. 41 makes no bones about his personal aspirations. The third Brott brother to stand out at MSU will be the first to tell you that he wants to be the best Brott of them all for the Bobcats.
The Brott clan is a proud and close-knit family. When Wilson Brott was a quarterback at Billings West High School, his grandfather would email statistics and evaluations to the local newspaper in Bozeman. When Mitch Brott was coming up at West High, grandpa made sure to let the journalists in Bozeman know that he was the best offensive line prospect in the state of Montana.
Both the projections proved correct. Wilson never played quarterback at Montana State, but he was able to evolve and develop enough to become a contributor first as a tight end and then as an offensive tackle.
Mitch Brott is one of the most accomplished and decorated offensive lineman in Montana State’s history, and that’s saying something given the stellar offensive linemen that have come through MSU during its Big Sky Conference era. Mitch started 50 consecutive games at Montana State. And if not for a global pandemic that led to essentially an erasure of pro days across college football in the spring of 2020, Mitch would’ve almost certainly gotten an opportunity in the NFL.
Montana State was Paul Brott’s only Division I offer. So to set a goal to join your brother on “The Wall”, also known as the place where All-American football players are commemorated forever, seemed lofty.
Yet here he is. Despite battling a busted ankle, despite having to sacrifice himself for the betterment of the Montana State defense, and despite giving up stats so Montana State can chase another Big Sky Conference championship, Brott is knocking on the door of accomplishing that goal.
“Ever since I got here (in 2022), Paul knew he wanted to be like Mitch. He knew he wanted to be on ‘The Wall’,” Montana State defensive line coach Nick Jean-Baptiste said earlier this season. “He knew he wanted to leave his legacy. He didn’t want to be known as those guys’ younger brothers. He wanted to be his own man. And he wants to make sure the Brott name is held in high regard.”
If a person were to only evaluate defensive performance based on tackles, sacks, interceptions and forced fumbles, Brott would finish his career with no postseason accolades. But that certainly will not be the case. It doesn’t matter that Brott only has 13 tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack.
The fact that he went from under-recruited defensive end to the heir apparent to Sebastian Valdez to playing next to Valdez in a consistent rotation with fellow weight room junky Blake Schmidt has helped Brott garner the respect of everyone in the Montana State football program.
The 6-3, 300 lb defensive lineman put on more than 90 pounds to become a prototype nose guard who wrecks the interior of opposing offensive lines. His former Billings West classmate Caden Dowler has made a variety of splash plays, particularly in November. And Brott said Monday he thinks Dowler is MSU’s best player. The junior captain safety is likely going to win Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
But make no mistake: Brott is the lynchpin, the fulcrum point and the most important player on Montana State’s league-leading and headline-garnering defense. If life were fair, he should garner votes for Big Sky Defensive MVP.
“Paul is definitely the heart and soul of this football team,” Montana State senior captain center J.T. Reed said. “No. 41 is so important always, but especially this year. Paul has set the tone for the attitude we want to have toward approaching a game and everything else we want to approach. He’s a tough son of a gun and sometimes, he can be mean, and that’s why I’m here. I’m not too mean (laughs). But he is the heart and soul of this football team and he has taken that with pride.”
On Saturday, he enters his final rivalry game against archrival Montana. He can see the light at the end of the tunnel for his college football career. He knows December and the pressure of the playoffs and a pursuit of another national championship are right around the corner.
“I think I’ve made it clear that I set a goal that I want to be better than both my brothers, definitely want to be on the wall with Mitch, definitely want to be an All-American and grow the Brott legacy here,” Brott said. “I take a tremendous amount of pride in leaving this place better than I found it.
“I followed in their path. Now I’m trying to leave it better than when we got here. And I want to be the best Brott to play here because that’s important to us as brothers.”
Brott’s reputation among those outside the MSU football program began to build when he took over as MSU’s full-time starting nose after Schmidt suffered a season and career-ending injury last fall. Brott made enough plays and caused enough havoc to earn second-team All-Big Sky honors. It was one step closer to his goal of joining Mitch on the All-American wall.
This last off-season, Brott doubled down again, making a goal to gain 20 points and enter the season above 300 pounds for the first time in his career. The former high school defensive end spent multiple off-seasons and training blocks eating himself sick. Eating became a chore, and a necessity.
With the graduation of 2024 Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year Brody Grebe following last year’s run to the national championship game, and the graduation of Schmidt, Brott realized quickly that he not only had a family legacy to uphold but that he also needed to be one of the leaders to help Montana State turn the page from Grebe, Tommy Mellott and the most decorated senior class in school history.
That has culminated into Brott wearing Montana State’s legacy number, something that no one could’ve predicted when he was a high school kid worn out on football and failure, wanting to walk away from the game to pursue his passion of basketball. Being No. 41 is not something even Brott could’ve predicted during the beginning part of his career.
He’s not only settled into wearing the legacy jersey. He’s rapidly become one of the faces of the football program. He has emerged from the shadow of his older brothers to carve out his own legacy at Montana State. And he’s done it in his own bull-headed, tough-minded, no-holds-barred style.
“When everyone says ‘it all starts up front’, they mean it but if it all starts up front and the middle seven or eight yards of your defense is controlled by an absolute animal in Paul Brott, it makes it much easier to be a defensive coordinator on game day,” Montana State defensive coordinator Shawn Howe. “Paul brings a certain intensity and motor that people just don’t feel good about threatening the middle portion of our defense and rightfully so, because of the work he’s put in and the way he prepares every week.”
Who knows if he gets All-American honors. Missing a game because of a swollen ankle is not ideal. Neither is getting double and triple teamed on pretty much every snap. But if there were a statistic for the impact a player can have on the toughness, attitude, and driving of a team, Brott would be a sure-fire All-American.
“Paul at his core, he wants to do whatever he can for this program and sell out for the team,” Vigen said. “I know he wants to make plays. And I think recognizing the last season and a half what that means, it doesn’t always mean you are filling up the stat sheet. It can mean a lot of things. That buy-in wasn’t super complicated in the beginning because it got him on the field but what it actually means has grown through the last three years as he has been a regular guy in the rotation until now, certainly one of our best players.”
He sets the tone first with his personality, then with his brute strength, then with his relentless motor. Every person in the Bobcat football organization will not only call Brott the hardest working player on the current 9-2 squad, but also one of the hardest working players they’ve ever seen.
It’s not just the calorie consumption or the bench press maxes. It’s the fact that the captain has leaned into it all. He seeks special attention from the MSU nutritionists to help his diet stay at least somewhat healthy and balanced while eating between 6,000 and 8,000 calories a day. He wakes up at 5 a.m. every single day to get his eating journey started. He’s also leaned into stretching, foam rolling, yoga and anything else that can help spark and expedite his recovery.
“He lives in the BAC (Bobcat Athletic Complex),” Jean-Baptiste said. “Whether it’s working on his flexibility in the weight room, whether it’s him working in the hot tubs or recovery, whether he’s up here with me or Coach Howe watching some film trying to be better at some things, understanding his opponent, getting better at his technique, he’s always in here.
“Sometimes, he is just here hanging out doing homework. He lives in this place. He always tries to find the edges, tries to find ways to make himself better. And he feels that in turn helps the team get better.
“He’s always been a hard-working guy, pushing himself as far as he can. He’s not going to sit there and make excuses for why he can’t do something. He is one of the hardest working people in this building.”
And Brott has found his voice, first in the defensive line room, then within the defense and finally, as the captain of the captains of the Montana State football program.
“He’s already loveable,” Howe said. “He’s one of the most loveable players I’ve ever been around. He’s grown into that even. He came here at first and was like, ‘If I’m going to be a leader, I have to be a tough ass. I’m going to have to get in people’s faces.’ And what he found out was the best way for him to make us a better defense is that he lifts everyone around him up too. He’s grown as a leader on top of the fact that he’s grown as a human and grown as a football player. The man is relentless in everything he does.”
Vigen has seen many defensive linemen have the discipline to put on the necessary weight to become a functional or even good player. But the discipline to rise before the sun every single day, dedicate yourself to the nutrition it takes to weigh almost 100 pounds more than your “natural” weight and do it for the good of the team is another level of dedication.
“He’s taken the work ethic to another level in the last year and a half,” Vigen said. “There is this maturity piece for him where he wants to be better than just good. He really wants to make an impact. He wants to be great. And to do that, he knew he can’t just be a good worker, he has to be a great worker.
“The nutrition takes work. He could do normal things and weigh 275 pounds and he would be ok. But he doesn’t want to be just OK. For him to be exceptional, he needed to take his nutrition seriously enough that he can really attack that. Not just so the NFL looks at him but so he can be the best Bobcat possible. That’s probably the approach the guys’ really recognize. It’s the complete commitment he has on and off the field.”
Montana was the 41st state in the union when it joined the United States in 1889. The university also suffered devastating losses during World War II. Among those who died in the war were 14 men who played on the Bobcat football teams between 1935 and 1941. That number did not include the entire starting lineup from the 1941 team, as was misreported in later years, but three of them played in 1941, and each of the “Golden Ghosts,” as national sportscaster Bill Stern called them, hailed from the Treasure State. One of those men, Al Zupan from Sand Coulee, played for the ’Cats from 1934-36 and died in the war in 1943. His brother Bill played on the 1941 team and was the only pre-war Bobcat to return to the field afterward.
Former Montana State head coach Jeff Choate remembers walking past a specific plaque that hangs outside the old football offices in Brick Breeden Fieldhouse. The plaque pays homage to the greatest generation, and a Montana State football team that suffered significant losses during World War II.
“There’s that plaque on the south wall near the facilities offices,” Choate said of the marker memorializing Montana State’s football players lost during World War II in an article that appeared in Mountains & Minds. “I’m kind of a manager-by-walking-around, and also a history guy, so I probably read that plaque 20 times.”
That plaque proved to serve as motivation to create a new tradition for the Bobcat football team. Choate and Montana State implemented its No. 41 legacy jersey tradition following the 2018 season. Grant Collins was technically the first No. 41 to pass the legacy number down to a teammate, although Brad Daly wore No. 41 before Collins did, meaning there was 10-year history of Montana-made defensive standouts wearing the jersey when Collins first passed it on to Brayden Konkol, a Belgrade native.
After an All-Big Sky Conference campaign as a senior in 2019, Konkol and Choate passed on the number to Troy Andersen, one of the greatest Bobcats of them all. But Andersen, a Dillon native now playing for the Atlanta Falcons, never wore the number as the 2020 season was called off due to the global pandemic.
Since then, Helena’s Chase Benson, Dillon’s R.J. Fitzgerald, Nolan Askelson of Billings and Brody Grebe of Melstone have proudly worn No. 41 for the Bobcats.
This year, Brott has dawned the legacy number. Vigen said after the Sonny Holland Spring Classic that the younger Brott has come by his love of Montana State University and its football program naturally.
“I think his passion for this program, obviously being the third in line after Wilson and Mitch, is evident,” he said. “He loves his place and I know he’s poured everything into becoming a really good player and leader for us.
Although the tradition is relatively modern and new, that plaque which motivated Choate is a constant reminder for Brott about those who came before who gave the greatest sacrifice so Americans in 2025 can live in freedom and pursue goals, both academic and athletic.
“That team, those men had to go to war and they had teammates dying at war,” Brott said. “We have it very easy compared to that. Those dudes were some tough dudes. WE are so grateful they died for their country. They are represented great by this team. And they held Montana and America to a very high standard and that influences our culture today. They were very selfless. That embodies our culture, too. They did what they did for the betterment of other people.”
Brott counts Benson as one of his football-playing idols and mentors. He tries to model his game after the former Helena High stud. Brott also said he learned plenty from Grebe when it comes to personal dedication as well as leadership style.
“Following his steps with No. 41, I love this number and I love representing this state and the 1941 team,” Brott said. “There’s a lot of honor in it.”
Following Montana State’s 30-24 double-overtime loss to South Dakota State, Brott was beside himself. He stewed and stewed, pacing the halls of the Bobcat Athletic Complex. Well after midnight and he still hadn’t taken his pads off. He just couldn’t stand knowing that Montana State had just lost the first regular-season home game in the Vigen era to a non-conference rival that’s been at thorn in the Bobcats’ sides for years.
At one point, he shuffled into the media room to vent. He proclaimed to anyone that would listen, ‘Mark my words: if we play those guys again, we aren’t losing.”
That’s been a consistent mentality that’s overtaken Brott, not just because of his quest to get on “The Wall” but because of his desire to help Montana State continue pushing forward.
MSU is working on a third Big Sky title in the last four seasons. Montana State has been to the national championship game twice in Brott’s career, losing to North Dakota State both times. Brott remains driven and holds his teammates to a high standard both by his example and by his word.
“Paul brings the juice, he sets the tone,” Montana State junior captain offensive lineman Titan Fleishmann said. “You talk about laser-focused. Paul is laser-focused all the time.
“Being around a guy who’s intense and focused all the time, that influences the whole team.”
And so much of that drive stems from where Brott came from.
Growing up in the Magic City the youngest of Craig and Gina Brott’s three sons, Paul remembers getting beat on and roughed up by his brothers. Wilson & Mitch used to shoot fireworks next to his ear as a form of playful torture.
Being the third in line made Paul irreverent and tough. It’s also given him a blueprint to pursue a memorable career. And it’s helped him be a leader for a team that’s on the brink of its third Big Sky Conference championship in the last four years.
“For Paul, as a Montana native, the third of three brothers who have played here, holding up both of those things is really important to him,” Vigen said. “He’s going to pour everything into it. He’s been a real treat because going back to the fall of 2021, he’s come a long, long way.”
Brott’s ankle is certainly not 100 percent. But you’d be crazy to think the captain would miss his final guaranteed chance to win in Missoula, hoist the Great Divide Trophy and secure another Big Sky Conference championship ring.
The pursuit of “the Wall” has become completely secondary to the pursuit of team success and the pursuit of continued momentum from the university.
Brott never hesitates when asked about his goals and aspirations. But he also would be the first to tell you that those who didn’t believe in him, as a high school athlete, as an undersized defensive lineman, as a little brother, are who he thinks about when he’s waking up at 5 a.m. to drink a protein shake and make his first of six meals for the day.
“The whole reason why I’m here is that I’ve worked my butt off is to prove these people wrong and show that I can play good football and I can be a better person,” Brott said. “In high school, I sat the bench for a few years. I had a buddy who would miss practice and he would play in games before me. But that drove me to work, work, work. And now we are here and it’s kind of hard to believe, but at the same time, it’s not. I have had great support. Whatever you put in, you will get out of Montana State and that’s what I love about this place.”
Vigen said if you would’ve told him back in 2021 that Brott would be the man carrying on the No. 41 legacy, he would’ve thought you were crazy. Vigen talks with great admiration for the growth he’s seen out of both his senior defensive linemen captains, Kenneth Eiden IV included.
Brott has put in the work. He’s helped elevate the program. He’s maintained and accentuated his family name. He’s been the anchor for the most dominant defense in the country. All that’s left is to check two more boxes: a win in Missoula and a run all the way to a national championship.
And for as much as Brott has given to Montana State, it’s what he will take with him after his Bobcat career ends that matters the most.
“I’ve been trying to grow as a leader and it’s been awesome to see the impact I’ve had on people,” Brott said. “The discipline mostly, though, is what I’ve taken from the last five years. It’s been a lot of personal growth since I’ve been here and it’s been a grind trying to do everything the right way.
“And all together, team-wise, winning all these games, building one of the best stretches in the history of Bobcat football, just the standard of this place…I am who I am because of this place. Not a lot of people believed in me when I was coming out of high school. This place gave me full belief and allowed me to grow into the man I am today. I’m very fortunate that Montana State had trust and belief in me. It changed my life.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez, Blake Hempstead & Jason Bacaj. All Rights Reserved.
