A quartet of prep standouts, including three slated to play in the trenches in college, are slated to be among the visitors brought in by the Montana State football team this weekend.
The Bobcats will host at least four recruits on official visits to Bozeman beginning on Thursday. Montana State hosts rival Montana for a hoops double-header on Saturday. MSU signed 16 players, including four mid-year transfers, during the first-ever early signing period December 20 through December 22.
“Prioritizing those early commits and getting them to the finish line on the 20th was our strategy and developing a list and developing relationships and continuing building lists at different positions where we have a need and focusing on that after the 1st of the year when the contact period starts again,” MSU third-year head coach Jeff Choate said.
After a dead period in January, contact opened back up last week. MSU did not host any official visits last weekend. MSU is expected to host this weekend recruit this weekend and perhaps any remaining in-state prospects next weekend leading up to National Signing Day on February 7.
Montana State will finish up its third recruiting class under Choate with a new recruiting coordinator. Michael Pitre, who has also served as MSU’s running backs coach the last four seasons, will move on to Oregon State to fill the running backs assistant opening on Jonathan Smith’s staff. MSU third-year wide receivers coach Matt Miller will serve as the recruiting coordinator moving forward.
On Wednesday night, Skyline Sports confirmed that Norco (California) High offensive lineman Donny Long, Garfield (Seattle) High wide receiver Mekhi Metcalf, Connell (Washington) High Seer Deinis and previously committed Aledo (Texas) defensive tackle James Williams will make official visits to Bozeman this weekend.
Williams, a 5-foot-9, 303-pound wrecking ball, committed to Montana State on July 23. He chose the Bobcats over offers from Army and Air Force after a junior that saw him finish with 107 tackle, 11 tackles for loss and eight sacks. Aledo won the Texas 5A Division II state title.
The man known in his neck of the woods as ‘Big Game James’ wrapped up his high school career as a four-year starter with 63 straight starts under his belt. He finished his senior year with 107 tackles, 19 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks. Aledo came up just short, losing 20-19 to College Station in the 5A D-II championship game, the lone loss during a 16-game season.
With his senior season still in progress, Williams did not sign during the early period. On January 2, he de-committed from Montana State.
“I want to thank the Montana State coaching staff for recruiting me and believing in my abilities, and for giving me an opportunity to play there. Talking this process ou with my mom, I am making a better decision for myself and my family. With that being said, I have decided to decommit and open my options up!” Williams posted on Twitter.
Long is a 6-foot-4, 280-pound offensive lineman who helped Norco to the second round of the CIF Southern Section playoffs each of the last two seasons. The two-time all-league and All-CIF selection garnered interest from Air Force, Colorado State and Duke thanks to 86 total pancake blocks.
The athletic left tackle is also a two-year letterman in basketball. His good footwork is accompanied by sizable power. He says he squats 500 pounds and deadlifts 475.
Long hails from the same high school that produced former Stanford standout running back Toby Gerhart. Cam Sutton, a 6-foot-6 wide receiver at Riverside Community College spent two seasons at Montana State after graduating from Norco.
Metcalf is a 6-foot-4, 182-pound wide receiver at Garfield High in Seattle. The 3-star recruit currently holds offers from Montana State, Northern Iowa and MSU’s Big Sky rivals Idaho and Weber State. He’s also received interest from Nebraska.
The son of former NFL All-Pro kick returner Eric Metcalf — Eric returned 10 punts and two kicks for touchdowns, third in NFL history during his 13-year NFL career — caught 78 passes for 1,038 yards and five touchdowns over the last two seasons at Garfield. His prep coach is Joey Thomas, an All-American corner for the Bobcats before being selected in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft.
Deines is a 6-foot-2, 260-pound lineman from Connell, Washington. The three-sport athlete medaled at the Washington 1A State track meet in shot put and discus while also qualifying for the WIAA State wrestling tournament as a heavyweight.
Deines earned Class 1A first-team all-state honors from the Seattle Times as an offensive and defensive lineman as a senior. Last spring, he threw the shot put more than 54 feet to take second at the state track championships. Last winter, he qualified for the state tournament and won his first round match before losing to the eventual state champion in the heavyweight bracket.
His recruiting profile claims he can bench press 330 pounds, squat 46o pounds and deadlift 500 pounds.
Sources say several more visitors will be confirmed later in the week.
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