Like many top prospects in the state of Montana, Bobby Hauck had to hold off the Bobcats to sign Billings West standout Jesse Owens.
But Hauck, Montana’s head football coach, also had to compete with a collection of coaches from a completely different sport in order to sign the Class AA co-Offensive Player of the Year from the state champion Golden Bears.
Owens, a 5-foot-9, 175-pounder who earned first-team all-state honors at wide receiver and cornerback, is also one of the Treasure State’s best basketball players. He received scholarship offers for football during his standout senior season from Hauck and Montana State head coach Jeff Choate. But he seriously considered the attention he received from Rocky Mountain College and Montana State-Billings for his services on the hardwood.
One of the top players in the Class of 2019 from the Treasure State ended up choosing to play football for the Griz. Owens signed his National Letter of Intent with UM on December 19, one of 11 in-state recruits who joined Hauck’s Griz.
“It was tough because I had some other football schools offer me but not only that, I was getting looked at to play basketball as well,” Owens said. “The deciding factor for me was I couldn’t get over the atmosphere at Montana, the coaching staff and how bad they wanted me and that they came after me early. Those are things you can’t get everywhere. I feel like my playing style fits best at UM.
Owens caught 71 passes for 1,126 yards and 13 touchdowns as Billings West won its first Class AA state championship since 2006. As a junior in hoops last winter, Owens ranked in the Top 10 in Class AA by averaging 15.2 points, 3.0 assists and 2.1 steals per game, drawing attention from Frontier Conference coaches around the state as well as new MSU-B head coach Mick Durham, who spent 17 seasons at Montana State in the 1990s and 2000s.
“Montana showed me how bad they wanted me,” Owens said. “There was a period for four weeks in a row where a coach would come to the school or come into my house. I’d get texts every night, calls and it made me feel wanted. That’s what gave the Griz the edge over some of these basketball schools. The fact that I knew I was wanted was really important to me.”
During Hauck’s first tenure at UM from 2003 until 2009, he consistently recruited long-limped, athletic players to lineup on both the offensive and defensive lines, at linebacker and at tight end. Former All-Big Sky tight end Dan Beaudin was so athletically versatile, he competed at the Big Sky Conference championship meets as a thrower and practiced with Wayne Tinkle’s basketball team.
Other former Hauck standouts like defensive tackles Tyler Hobbs, Carson Bender and Austin Mullins, tight ends Willie Walden, Steven Pfahler and Greg Hardy were all also standout basketball players to name a few Griz front seven talents from last decade.
Skill players like Ryan Bagley, Eric Allen, Jeff Larson, Jabin Sambrano, Gerald Kemp and Trumaine Johnson were among Hauck players who were standout high school hoopers.
Hauck’s first full recruiting class of his second stint included a collection of varsity basketball talents. Owens and 6-foot-6 Bozeman High wide receiver Ryan Simpson each had a chance to play basketball at the collegiate level before Hauck landed their pledges less than a week before the early signing period opened.
“They have to choose at some point what the game they love the most is,” Hauck said on December 19. “I think a lot of us grew up really liking basketball. It’s more comfortable. It’s a controlled environment. You come in, shoot some shots with your buddy, it’s a pick-up game.
“Football, you are squatting and cleaning and running into people. There’s blood and broken bones. Outdoors and snowing or 95 degrees out. There’s a different mindset and that’s why football is not for everybody. You have to choose that path.”
Owens, Simpson, Missoula Sentinel athlete Elias Dewaters, Great Falls Central tight end Noah Ambuehl, Fairfield defensive back Ryder Meyer, Missoula Loyola outside linebacker Ryan Tirrell, Whitehall safety Max Feight, Whitefish offensive lineman Dillan Botner, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho athlete Kale Edwards and Renton, Washington defensive back Corbin Walker all played basketball in high school.
“These guys are definitely football players,” Hauck said. “Recruiting guys off the basketball court historically for us has been productive and these guys are all terrific basketball players.”
Although Owens could certainly contribute as a combo guard at the collegiate level, the shifty and speedy wide receiver realized on his visit to UM that he possesses the most upside with a football in his hands.
“I do think it’s style of play that mostly sold me on the football part,” Owens said. “The way I want to play, the way I think I will fit in best is with the University of Montana. They let me know that. They showed me packages I’d be in, stuff I’d run. Not only that, the atmosphere at Montana is crazy. No kid in their right minds wouldn’t want to play at Montana. That sold me too.”
Owens and Billings West cornerback Trevin Gradney started playing sports together in first or second grade, according to Owens’ estimation. The opportunity to continue their football careers together is a dream come true, Owens said.
Owens did not play defense during his high school career until this season. He showed his natural abilities at cornerback by earning first-team all-state honors playing on the other side of Gradney but said he finds “catching touchdowns a lot more fun than getting picks.”
“Growing up, I’ve always been taught that you are going to go where the team needs you so if that is on defense or special teams and I can come in and play as soon as I can in one of those spots, I’m not opposed to any of that,” Owens said. “Coming into play receiver, I haven’t been told when so I will be ready to go right away.”
Montana’s wide receivers lose senior captain Keenan Curran but return other top pass catches in senior Jerry Louie-McGee and juniors Samuel Akem and Samori Toure. UM is also expected to use Gabe Sulser in an elevated role after the former Montana Gatorade Player of the Year showed flashes of his explosive playmaking abilities last season.
Hauck listed a collection of the incoming freshmen he deemed physically ready to play. Regardless of if Owens cracks the rotation next season or not, he’s simply excited to find out what his football future holds.
“It was a little scary knowing the commitment. Every kid is a little nervous going into college but it also felt good,” Owens said. “I have my future secured and if I go and work, things will take care of itself.”
