The D’Agostino family name is quite literally written upon the Montana State football program.
Not only have multiple members of the D’Agostino clan played for the Bobcats — Mark D’Agostino was a standout linebacker at MSU who played his senior year in 1989 and his son, Johnny D’Agostino, caught 20 passes and a pair of touchdowns during a career that wrapped up in 2018 — but the family also endowed a scholarship for the football program and the MSU athletics weight room is called the D’Agostino Strength Training Center.
On the surface, most probably assumed Jake D’Agostino grew up around the Bobcat football program because of the connection of his uncle and cousins (Ryan D’Agostino, a linebacker out of Bozeman High, also spent a few seasons on the MSU roster in the late 2000s) to the program. While Jake was aware of Montana State and its rich football tradition, he grew up thousands of miles away.
Tom and Peg D’Agostino raised Jake and his younger sister, Nicole, in Wasilla, a town of about 10,500 located in the Anchorage metropolitan area about an hour drive from the heart of Alaska’s largest city.
That part of the D’Agostino family moved to Bozeman during Jake’s sophomore year of high school. Once he began competing in football and wrestling at Bozeman High, Jake quickly learned of his family’s legacy at MSU and became interested in a potential future with the Bobcats himself.
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“I definitely watched a bunch of Montana State’s games online when Johnny was playing (2015-2018),” D’Agostino said. “And my other cousin, Ryan, played. That gave me the initial interest.
“Then I talked to (MSU starting inside linebacker) Callahan (O’Reilly, a Bozeman High product), McCade’s (Bozeman running back) older brother and I talked to Johnny and they really loved the program. So when they really started recruiting me, that was definitely a factor.
“I really liked the coaches and I really liked (MSU head coach Jeff Choate) and I really like Bozeman. I’m new here but also staying here, with all my family, it will be awesome. That was all part of my decision.”
D’Agostino’s abilities as a calm leader, a steady hand under center during Bozeman’s run to the Class AA state title and his toughness — he’s also a wrestler in the grueling 182-pound weight class — helped first earn him interest from Choate and the MSU staff starting with an invite to MSU’s junior day in the spring of 2019. D’Agostino kept that interest as his senior year gained momentum and started becoming more interested in the Bobcats himself, attending MSU home games regularly as the Bobcats charged toward an 11-win season.
By the end of the fall of 2019, D’Agostino had earned a preferred walk-on spot on the roster. The 6-foot-1, 185-pounder was a second-team all-state selection at quarterback but will start out at safety with the Bobcats. D’Agostino made his decision less than two weeks after Bozeman won the state title in Butte the night before MSU steamrolled rival Montana 48-14 in Bozeman.
“What I love about Jake is that he’s a winner,” Choate said on December 18 when D’Agostino officially signed 11 days after committing to MSU. “He’s obviously a legacy in this program, but he’s a guy who was a role player and played some defense, played some wide receiver as a junior, then stepped into the starting quarterback role as a senior and led them to a state championship.
“We feel like he’s got position versatility. He could play quarterback, could play safety, could end up growing into a linebacker looking at his frame. He’s another in a long line of guys that we feel add value to our program.”
The latest D’Agostino had to wait his turn to rise through the ranks at Bozeman High, at least at quarterback. But when he got his shot, he rose to the occasion, leading the Hawks to their fourth Class AA state title since 2010. D’Agostino earned Class AA second-team all-state honors — 2019 Montana Gatorade Player of the Year Tommy Mellott out of Butte High was first-team — by throwing for 1,653 yards, 20 touchdowns and just five interceptions.
D’Agostino, who started at safety as a junior while current University of Montana gunslinger Kris Brown guided the Hawks under center, also showed his athleticism last season. He rushed for 582 yards, averaging 6.3 yards per carry and scoring a pair of touchdowns.
The Hawks rebounded from an anomalous 21-18 loss in Missoula the second week of the season to a Big Sky that didn’t win again, ripping off 10 straight wins, including an impressive 28-21 win over Sentinel in Missoula in the AA semifinals and a statement 49-28 victory over Mellott and the Bulldogs at Butte High’s legendary Naranche Stadium in the state title game.
“Here’s the reason I wanted Jake in this program: I watched my son (MSU third-year outside linebacker Jory Choate) go through (Bozeman High School) and they have more talent over there at Bozeman High the last three years than anyone in the state — and this year, McCade O’Reilly, who was probably the preseason Class AA MVP goes down before the season,” Choate said. “And Jake leads them to a state championship.
“There was a lot of reasons why but I’ll tell you this: if you don’t have a quarterback who’s a leader, you are not winning that state championship. I wanted Jake here because I knew the kind of kid he was.
“If he ends up playing quarterback for us or moving to another position and being a starter for us, he’s going to be a great Bobcat. Tremendous leader, highly intelligent and has a passion to be here.”
Bozeman made it’s run thanks to D’Agostino’s poise, the best offensive line in the state and the emergence of Asher Croy, a transfer from Huntley Project who thrived at running back in his lone season in AA. Croy, a University of Montana commit who’s father, Guy, also played for the Griz, rushed for 333 yards in the state title game.
“It was crazy, it was awesome because we all worked so hard and we prevailed through a ton of adversity losing McCade, losing the Big Sky game,” D’Agostino said. “It felt like all our hard work paid off in the end and that was super rewarding, winning the state championship.”
Croy’s exclamation point was accentuated by the fact that he replaced McCade O’Reilly, a running back and linebacker widely considered one of the best two-way players in Montana entering his senior year. O’Reilly, the younger brother of MSU starting inside linebacker Callahan O’Reilly, fractured his ankle during Bozeman’s Black-Red scrimmage before the season.
“A bunch of people stepped up into that leadership role,” D’Agostino said. “And McCade was still our vocal leader on the sideline. Asher stepped up in his place to play running back, which was huge.”
When D’Agostino officially joins the roster leading up to fall camp, he will be the ninth Bozeman High alum on the Bobcats. Brown, Croy and wide receiver Ryan Simpson also play for the Grizzlies. Under head coach Levi Wesche, the Hawks have produced the most Division I talent in the Treasure State over the last few years.
“I think Wesche runs a great program,” D’Agostino said. “He helps us become leaders and teaches us work ethic. There’s obviously good athletes but Wesche encourages us and gets the most out of us. He’s a great coach.”
Choate understands the importance of keeping local talent home. Defensive lineman Derek Marks and strong safety Brayden Konkol, two of Choate’s captains last season, hailed from right up the road in Belgrade.
Callahan O’Reilly led MSU’s fearsome defense in tackles last season. Senior wide receiver Lance McCutcheon seems primed for a big senior year while redshirt freshman Ryan Lonergan is one of the most promising young talents in the program, Choate said. That’s why he keeps recruiting the local high school so hard.
“When they are in your own back yard, you really get a chance to know these kids,” Choate said. “They are at our camps a lot. They come to a lot of our games. (Offensive line) Coach (Brian) Armstrong and I have kids in the high school. Even though it’s a big school, it’s a small little fishpond they live in. You know who they are as people and you realize in a hurry the type of guys you want on your program. We get to know them a lot better than other kids just because of the proximity and the connection between the two programs.”
D’Agostino knew about his own family connections to the program since he was a kid. That allegiance grew stronger once he moved to Bozeman. And now the future accounting major will get a chance to play for a program that already wears his last name.
“It was so exciting when I signed,” D’Agostino said. “I didn’t know if I was going to play college football but it was awesome being able to sign with Montana State. All the hard work had paid off and I’m so excited to be a Bobcat.”
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