For the one quarterback they brought in with the Class of 2019, the Montana Grizzlies went straight to one of the winningest players in the Treasure State.
Kris Brown was all-state and senior captain for the 11-1 Bozeman Hawks, whose one loss came to Kalispell Flathead in the state semifinals.
He committed to the Griz in October.
“I think they just kind of liked my style of play, they liked what they saw, and obviously we were having a great season,” Brown said. “We were 10-0 and when you’re on a winning team, the QB gets a lot of credit for that. I’m not saying that it was all me, by any means, but kind of getting to be the QB, being the leader of that team, definitely interested them.”
Brown didn’t get any interest from Montana State despite playing for the local high school team, and instead joined his Bozeman teammate – and one of his top receivers – Ryan Simpson at UM.
Brown also had offers from several NAIA schools in the Frontier Conference.
Montana has made a point this recruiting season of identifying players it really wants, regardless of their other interest, and going after them hard.
That was the case with Brown.
“UM got in contact with me halfway through the season, over the phone, and they were texting, calling every now and then,” Brown said. “I went to see them play vs. Drake, that was the first game I got to go to and watch them play, and then I fell in love with the stadium. … It was unique, because I’m right outside Montana State’s back door, you know. Just kind of seeing that they weren’t as interested in me but UM was, was definitely unique.”
The 6-foot-4 quarterback is one of the few players in Montana’s recruiting class who doesn’t have the ability to play multiple positions in college, as head coach Bobby Hauck pointed out at a press conference on Early Signing Day. Hauck went on to say, “Kris is just a gem.”
He threw for 2,843 yards as a senior with 31 touchdowns, and ran for another 500 yards and five scores — “It’s not my first option, but I think I can kind of be a little bit of a dual threat,” Brown said.
Playing on a team with as much talent as Bozeman — aside from Simpson, the Hawks also sent running back Joe Olson and tight end Ryan Lonergan to Montana State — also gave him a crash course in spreading the ball around.
“I know that if I do my part, then they’re going to do their part, and they’re going to make plays where most players wouldn’t be able to make plays,” Brown said. “It’s fun to play with guys that are that good, you just have confidence and you know that, if you can just get them the ball, if you can just find a way to make them happy, they’re going to show out.”
Brown was originally from California before his family moved to Bozeman after his freshman year to support his brother Kamden, who played two years for the Bobcats before a knee injury ended his career.
Despite that connection, he said that, after visiting Missoula over the summer, UM was one of his top schools, a feeling that only got stronger after he attended the Grizzlies’ early-season win over Drake.
“Obviously the stadium and that game day atmosphere, you can’t find it anywhere else in the Big Sky Conference,” Brown said. “I would say their coaching staff was a big part of it. … I’d say all of those things really added up and I knew it was where I wanted to go.”
