Even though he’s from Idaho, Montana tight end recruit Joey Elwell has already had a little taste of the fierce rivalry between Montana and Montana State.
Elwell picked the Grizzlies over the Bobcats of Montana State, despite Jeff Choate’s staff giving him his first offer.
He also went to the same high school that produced current Bobcat redshirt freshman quarterback Tucker Rovig.
“I was looking at Montana State seriously,” Elwell said. “They were my first-ever offer, actually, so I was looking at them pretty seriously. I actually had a pretty good relationship with their coaching staff as well.”
Elwell was widely recruited by teams across the Big Sky Conference, and said that UC Davis was a serious contender as well.
In the end, though, the atmosphere around Missoula was too much to turn down.
“I just like the culture that coach Hauck’s bringing back,” Elwell said. “The facilities are obviously amazing, but you can’t base your decision solely on that. You’ve got to go look at the people and look at the environment, and it’s just a perfect fit for me.”
Along with Noah Ambuehl of Great Falls Central, Elwell is one of two tight end recruits the Griz have brought in this year, meaning it’s been a good stretch for tight ends coach Jace Schillinger.
Elwell, from Mountain View High School in Meridian, Idaho, is one of the prizes of Montana’s 2019 class thus far.
He’s the third-ranked recruit in the state of Idaho this year, according to 247 Sports, and eighth among all recruits that have committed to a Big Sky team, per HERO Sports.
Elwell described himself as a physical player first.
“I don’t mind doing the dirty work,” Elwell said. “A lot of times I don’t get many receptions, but when I get the ball, I try to make the most out of it. But when I don’t get the ball, I’m blocking for other dudes. I’m physical and smart. I think I watch a lot of film, and I really try to prepare for every game.”
That should fit well with a Montana team that’s tried to establish the run and use multiple tight ends under Hauck.
“I love that they’re using a lot of tight ends, and that’s what coach Schillinger kind of sold me on,” Elwell said. “‘Hey, we play a lot of dudes, so we’ll get you in here and you can learn the offense and have the opportunity to play because we use so many tight ends.’ Obviously, I love the three tight end stuff, love the blocking aspect of playing tight end, so it kind of fits me perfectly.”
Off the field, Elwell said he likes to hike and watch movies — Revenge of the Sith is his all-time favorite.
Elwell is just one of several recruits this year to pick sides on the ever-raging battleground that is the Griz-Cat rivalry.
Recent Montana defensive back commit Trevin Gradney also had a Montana State offer, and the Griz plucked quarterback Kris Brown out of Bozeman High in Choate’s backyard. UM defensive line recruit Garrison Poetzl from Billings Senior seriously considered MSU before committing to Montana.
On the other side, Tanner Trafton from Lewistown picked the Cats over the Griz, and Choate convinced tight end Ryan Lonergan, one of the best prospects in the state, to stay home in Bozeman rather than follow his sister, former Lady Griz basketball player Caitlin Lonergan, to Missoula. Montana State commit Holden Sampson, a standout offensive lineman at Helena High, received strong interest from Montana before choosing the ‘Cats.
For fans of the teams, watching recruits pick one side or the other is a fun game, something to compete in before the actual Brawl of the Wild.
For the recruits themselves, it’s about to get a lot more immediate.
“I went to the Cat-Griz game in Bozeman last year, so I saw that first-hand, but I think it’ll be a whole lot crazier this year in Missoula,” Elwell said. “I’m pretty excited for that. I bet I won’t fully grasp it until I’m on the field playing against the Cats, but I’m pretty excited for that moment.”
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