MISSOULA — Bobby Hauck’s torrid pace on the recruiting trail continued Wednesday, this time hitting close to home.
Hauck, Montana’s head football coach for all of five days now, earned his second verbal commitment already. Wednesday, Missoula Big Sky quarterback Levi Janacaro committed to the Griz to play fullback. Hauck offered the local product a partial scholarship.
[restrict paid=”true”]The 6-foot-1, 218-pounder put together one of the most prolific seasons in Class AA history last fall, leading Big Sky to a school-record eight regular-season victories thanks to his bruising, physical style. Janacaro had a preferred walk-on offer from Montana State and received heavy interest from Montana Tech.
“I’ve always wanted to be a part of the Coach Hauck coached Griz so this is a dream come true,” Janacaro said in a phone interview following finishing basketball practice on Wednesday night. “I’m on cloud nine.
“I always knew I could or that I can play at this level and I just hoped the coaches would see that, too.”
Janacaro said he ran into Montana offensive line coach Chad Germer at the Sentinel basketball game. Germer told Janacaro Hauck wanted to meet with him on the morning of Saturday December 2, the day after Hauck’s official hiring. Janacaro had a conflict but rescheduled for Sunday night. Janacaro went to his office and met Hauck after he returned from a recruiting weekend in the Flathead Valley.
“He told me he was going to bring back to the toughness to Montana that they’ve been lacking the last couple of years and he said I would be a great part of that recruiting class, that culture,” Janacaro said on Wednesday night. “When he said he was going to offer me, the running backs coach Coach Green called me and said they had offered, and I was ecstatic.
“From his tenure here the first go-around, I know he’s a winner and a hard-ass but in a good way. I know he will boost his players to embrace the challenge and they will be better men for it.”
Janacaro earned first-team all-state and Western AA Offensive MVP recognition after setting a Big Sky single-season record with 1,952 yards and 29 touchdowns. He also completed 53 percent of his passes for 1,257 yards and 10 touchdowns. Janacaro rushed for 1,407 yards and 18 touchdowns, giving him Big Sky’s career records for touchdowns and rushing yards in a career, moving past former Griz Beau Donaldson in the record book.
“One thing that gets missed in athletics is the heart,” Big Sky coach Matt Johnson said earlier this fall. “It’s one thing you can’t measure. Levi has as much heart as you will find.”
In a season filled with memorable moments — the Eagles earned the No. 2 seed in the Class AA playoffs for the first time – Janacaro’s 15-yard fourth down touchdown run as time expired to cap a comeback 44-40 win over crosstown rival Sentinel etched his name in Missoula high school lore forever. He finished that game with 161 rushing yards and 341 yards of total offense.
Janacaro set Big Sky’s single-game rushing record with 285 yards against Billings West the week prior, breaking Carter McGrath’s 14-year-old mark. Janacaro has proven his merit rushing the ball.
“My sophomore year, I had a meeting with (Big Sky offensive coordinator) Coach (Dan) Nile and he asked me what I wanted to be remembered as when I graduated and I told him I wanted to be the best players who came through Big Sky,” Janacaro said. “I think and hope I did that.
Now he will transition to learning fullback and most likely spending most of his career lead blocking for ball carriers instead of being one.
“I’m super happy for him and I think he’s very deserving of this,” Johnson said on Wednesday. “I think over the last two years he’s proven he’s a player who can make a big impact for them.
“He’s a winner. He’s the type of kids who is going to help improve the people around him as well. He’s a tough kid who knows how to work hard and he proved on the big stage many times that he could make plays. He’s an unselfish kid and he is not worried about where he plays as long as he can contribute.
Janacaro is the 16th verbal commit secured by Montana for the Class of 2018, including the 10th from Montana. Janacaro joins fellow Garden City products safety David Koppang of Missoula Loyola and wide receiver Nick Germer of Missoula Sentinel as Griz commits.
“Rivals turned into family congrats on the commitment bro going to be a hell of a next few years #gogriz,” Germer Tweeted in response to Janacaro’s announcement.
Former Missoula Sentinel quarterback Mitch Roberts, a redshirt freshman wide receiver for the Griz, followed suit by tweeting “Congrates dude, excited to be teammates with ya! Good choice #gogriz”.
Now Janacaro will be teammates with Germer, Roberts and a collection of other in-state products, including 2018 verbal commits Drew Turner, Max Morris and Jackson Pepe of Kalispell Glacier, Billings Senior standout Gabe Sulser, Helena Capital offensive lineman Conor Quick and Missoula Loyola safety David Koppang, all players Janacaro already knows.
“Most of the guys that are in my recruiting class I already know so being friends with most of those guys, it’s great that I get to join them at Montana,” Janacaro said.
Janacaro prepped for eighth-year head coach Johnson, an Anaconda native who played linebacker for the Griz for two years in the late 1990s. Johnson helped Janacaro navigate the recruiting waters and kept him believing in himself.
“He was big help throughout the whole thing and he told me to not shut anything out and keep my options as open as I could in case something I wanted to work out ended up not,” Janacaro said.
The new early signing period begins on December 20. National Signing Day remains the first Wednesday in February. Janacaro can’t wait to sign his name on the dotted line and become a Griz officially.
“It’s like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders because this process has been stressful,” Janacaro said. “Now that it’s done, I’m super excited to get to work and hang out with my new teammates and bond. I’m super excited for college in general.”
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