During the final weekend for official visits with the dead period on the horizon, Montana State hosted six recruits as Jeff Choate and his staff try to round out its first recruiting class.
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On Sunday, Montana State received three verbal commitments, bringing its total to at least 22 players expected to sign National Letters of Intent on Wednesday. Chris Murray, a quarterback from Lawndale, California, and Billings Central wide receiver Jacob Hadley, each gave their verbal commitments to the Montana State coaches before heading home on Sunday. Dillon defensive end Kyle Finch also verbally committed on Sunday. Hadley and Finch brings MSU’s total of in-state commitments to 10.
Three-star Bellflower, California cornerback Mykal Tolliver and Bozeman linebacker Payton O’Reilly were the other two uncommitted prospects to visit. Previously committed Colstrip offensive lineman Jake Sessions and Boulder punter Jered Padmos also visited.
On Saturday, Skyline Sports confirmed that Darrius Mosley decommitted from MSU and is headed to Trinity Valley Community College, citing grade issues. The 6-foot-6, 270-pound offensive tackle was one of the first verbal commits in MSU’s Class of 2016. The Killeen, Texas native was recruited by Rob Ash and his staff. Choate took over on December 5 following Ash’s firing on Nov. 23.
On Sunday, Dawonya Tucker announced he is committed to Prairie View A&M. Tucker verbally committed to Ash’s staff but decommitted in December. A source with firsthand knowledge of the situation said the Terrell, Texas running back had given MSU a “soft verbal” but did not want to make the decision public. He announced his commitment to Prairie View A&M on Twitter.
Murray, a 6-foot-4, 195-pounder dual-threat quarterback, is the second quarterback for MSU’s Class of 2016. The Bobcats also signed Tyler Bruggman, a transfer most recently from Scottsdale Community College, who is already enrolled in classes and working out with the team. Over the last two seasons at Lawndale, Murray threw for 3,013 yards and 32 touchdowns and rushed for 2,045 yards and 30 more touchdowns. As a senior, Murray averaged 15.1 yards per carry, rushing for 1,239 yards and 14 touchdowns on just 82 carries.
Murray also held an offer from Eastern Washington. Murray said in a text message that he loved his visit to Bozeman this weekend. MSU also has an offer to Skyline (Sammamish, Washington) High quarterback Blake Gregory, who visited MSU in mid-January before visiting Weber State and UC Davis the last two weeks.
Over the last two seasons as the main receiver in Billings Central’s run-heavy offense, Hadley caught 58 passes for 1,074 yards and 13 touchdowns. He caught 11 touchdown passes in earning first-team Class A all-state honors for the 7-3 Rams. Haldey also had strong interest from and took an official visit to the University of Montana. Hadley joins Great Falls CMR product Karl Tucker and El Dorado Hills, California product Kevin Kassis as the wide receivers in this class.
Finch is a 6-foot-4, 215-pound defensive end/outside linebacker hybrid who piled up 99 tackles for the Beavers last fall. He averaged 8.3 tackles per game and notched six total tackles behind the line of scrimmage. He had a sack and forced two fumbles as the Beavers repeated as Class A state champions. Dillon posted a 21-19 win over Hadley’s Rams in the semifinals before beating Butte Central 29-28 in the title game.
Finch visited Bozeman last weekend and Montana in Missoula this weekend. Finch is the fifth defensive linemen to commit, joining Minneapolis product Lewis Kidd, Bozeman native Balue Chapman, Belgrade native Derek Marks and Helena star Chase Benson.
Tolliver is a 6-foot, 178-pound 3-star cornerback from St. John Bosco Prep, one of the top high school football programs in California and the country. He is friends and former teammates with Naijiel Hale, a 4-star recruit coming out of St. Bosco and a starter at Washington as a true freshman. Hale visited Bozeman last weekend and committed to Montana State last week. Tolliver also holds offers Army, Colorado State, Fresno State, Hawaii, Navy, Nevada, Northwestern, Utah State, Washington State Wyoming and New Mexico.
O’Reilly was a two-time first-team Class AA All-State selection at Bozeman High. The 6-foot-2, 218-pounder also has received strong interest from Wyoming, Colorado State, Miami (Ohio), Montana and Portland State.
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