Jered Padmos has been coming to Montana State games since he was in fourth grade. As he sat in former MSU head coach Rob Ash’s office last October, he could hardly believe his ears.
Ash offered Padmos, a senior at Jefferson County High in Boulder, a half scholarship to punt and kick for the Bobcats the weekend Ash’s Bobcats defeated Sacramento State at Bobcat Stadium. Padmos accepted on the spot.
[restrict paid=”true”]“It was an absolute dream come true,” Padmos said in an interview in October of 2015. “I’ve been watching the Cats since I was little. I couldn’t believe it but I was super excited.”
But the dream became cloudy a few months later when Ash was relieved of his duties on November 23. Montana State head coach Jeff Choate was hired on December 4. Montana State had 10 verbal commitments to sign National Letters of Intent in February. Padmos was uncertain if his offer remained.
He played phone tag with Kane Ioane, one of three members of Ash’s staff retained by Choate. He received a message from recruiting coordinator Bo Beck telling him to “remain patient throughout this time.”
Padmos asserted that he remained committed but did not know if MSU still had a scholarship available for him. Last week, new MSU director of high school relations B.J. Robertson reached out to Padmos and stayed in contact with him throughout the week. Last weekend, Robertson attended one of Padmos’ basketball games and assured Padmos he still had an offer.
“It was a huge relief to know they still want me,” Padmos said last week.
The 6-foot-2, 175-pounder is an all-around athlete for the Class B Panthers. In two years as Boulder’s starting quarterback, Padmos threw for 1,552 yards and 15 touchdowns, rushed for 365 yards and seven touchdowns and caught a pass for 16 yards. As a senior defensive back, he notched 25 tackles, a tackle for loss and grabbed two interceptions. On the basketball court, he is averaging 9.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game for the 5-3 Panthers. He is also a varsity golfer and basketball player.
But it’s as a special teams specialist where Padmos really shines. Over the last two seasons, he averaged 39 yards per punt on 58 kicks, including a long of 66 yards. He pinned opponents inside the 20-yard line 14 times. He averaged more than 60 yards per kickoff, notching 71 touchbacks during the last two seasons. In his varsity career, he drilled 113 of 135 extra points and 14 of 24 field goals. He has hit from 47 and 44 yards during games the last two years and drilled 8-of-11 field goals his senior season.
“He’s almost a touchback every time,” Jefferson coach Clint Layng said told Troy Shockley of the Helena Independent Record. “Having a team start on the 20 every time is huge. He’s kicked three field goals this year from 40-plus yards, too, he’s had an excellent year at safety for us, and has really been playing well at quarterback in the last few weeks.”
Former Montana State cornerbacks coach Michael Rider and special teams coordinator Daniel DaPrato were Padmos’ primary recruiters before being let go. Padmos was also getting serious interest from Washington State and had a recruiting trip to Pullman planned in October before Ash offered him a spot on the Bobcats. Padmos plans to major in elementary education.
“I love the atmosphere there,” Padmos said in October. “I’ve been around it since I was young. The coaches have been recruiting me have been awesome. I love the energy from (Michael) Rider and (Daniel) DaPrato, just watching DaPrato on the field, it makes me want to play for those guys.”
Montana State loses punters Trevor Bolton and Jake Bleskin from last year’s squad. Junior Luke Daly and redshirt freshman Devon Tandberg are the two specialists remaining on the roster.
“Playing just special teams will be a change but that’s what the ‘Cats asked me to do,” Padmos said. “They started looking at me as a kicker when I was just going into you junior year. After my junior year I wasn’t the best punter and they asked me to become a better punter so that’s what I focused on all summer. I became a way better punter. It will be a change coming from playing offense, defense and special teams where I almost never come off the field to hardly getting to play at all.”
Padmos should compete for MSU’s starting punter job upon joining the team for fall camp in August. He is thrilled that the opportunity still remains despite the coaching change.
“This is what I’ve always wanted and it’s such a relief that I still get a chance to go to Montana State,” Padmos said. “Like I said, it’s a dream come true.”
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