Matt Rensvold and Tanner Wilson grew up dreaming of someday becoming Montana Grizzlies.
They started tagging along to Polson High School football practice with their fathers, each coaches for the Pirates’ varsity, before they ever attended school themselves. Wilson and Rensvold have spent their entire lives competing with each other always building toward the goal of one day playing college football.
Last spring, their dream started to form into a reality. By July, with Rensvold already committed, Wilson earned an offer from the Griz himself. It took him less than 24 hours to commit, giving Polson its first future Grizzlies since Kirk Murphy finished his career in 1991. Both will sign with Montana in February of 2016.
[restrict paid=”true”]“We’ve been running around here since we were three years old together,” said Rensvold, a 6-foot-4, 210-pounder recruited to play H-receiver. “I either see Bobcat fans in Polson who are like, ‘I’m disappointed’ or wanted me to come to the Bobcats but they always congratulate me. But the Griz fans are excited, which is so cool.”
“He was so excited when I got an offer too,” added Wilson. “We’ve been best friends since I moved here. His dad coaches with my dad. When he committed, we talked about going and playing college ball together. It would be fun. When I got that offer, he was excited and he wanted me to come. I had already known it was exactly what I wanted to do.”
Rensvold, a Class A standout as a tight end, linebacker and power forward, started receiving attention from Bob Stitt and his UM coaching staff after he led the Pirates to a third-place finish at the state basketball tournament in Missoula last season.
A few months later, Rensvold and Wilson along with a collection of their football teammates came to Missoula for Montana’s 7-on-7 tournament. The Pirates won the contest. Rensvold received an offer for a full tuition waiver shortly after.
“That’s kind of where they saw my football skills,” Rensvold said. “I never went to any other camps. The coaches at the University are pretty much what made me decide to go, the coaches and the atmosphere. They made me feel like family right away. Playing in Missoula in front of all those people, the community, being so close to home, that all helped me make my decision.”
On July 1, Rensvold committed to Montana. He is one of seven in-state products already verbally committed before their senior seasons who will sign with Montana next February. The Polson duo joins Billings West twins Brayden and Bryson Deming, Columbia Falls athlete Trevor Hoerner, Thompson Falls lineman McKenzie Holt and Sidney athlete Michael McGinnis.
When Rensvold committed, Wilson did not have an offer from Montana or anyone else. But he did hold an invite to UM’s individual camp on July 30. After seeing him throw in person one more time, Stitt pulled the trigger and offered the 6-foot-3 quarterback.
“Matt had already committed there and I already wanted to go to the Griz. I always thought that would be a sweet thing to do,” Wilson said. “I slept on it for a night and made my decision the next morning.
“I think I throw a pretty good ball, or at least I hope so. They told me they like the way I throw the ball, they like my mechanics and how I spin it. I think if I work hard and get into the system, I should fit in.”
In Polson’s quarterback sprint out offense, Rensvold plays tight end. In Stitt’s spread offense, the H receiver is often put in motion and used as a blocker or while running routes similar to a tight end in a pro-style offense. Rensvold said making his decision before his senior season was “like a ton of bricks off my chest”, adding that Stitt’s recruiting pitch was a key to him committing early.
“He was all about it,” Rensvold said. “They have that new weight room coming in. They have those new facilities coming in. He’s excited to get Montana kids down there. He wants Montana kids more than anything. He was super excited when I was committed. He was a great guy and a big part of me making my choice because he was so enthusiastic.”
Last recruiting season, Montana State poured nearly all its recruiting resources into in-state prospects. Jeff Choate was hired in December and three months later signed a class of 16 prep players, including 10 from Montana. Stitt signed 31 players and five from Montana, including top-tier prospect Jed Nagler from Whitefish and two-way Class AA all-state lineman Trace Bradshaw, a Bozeman High product also recruited by the Bobcats.
This recruiting season, MSU has garnered commitments from Dillon athlete Troy Andersen along with the Kalispell Glacier standout lineman Jaxen Hashley and linebacker Tadan Gilman. Montana has an early jump in the in-state recruiting race. Not that either Polson player would’ve considered MSU either way.
“The ‘Cats recruited me but they didn’t throw me an offer,” said Wilson , the son of Polson head coach Scott Wilson, himself a UM alum. “I wouldn’t have considered them over the Griz, definitely not. If it would’ve been my only one, maybe. But definitely not over the Griz.”
“They didn’t really keep in contact or anything,” added Rensvold said. “I probably would’ve considered them a little bit if they were going to talk to me. But I’ve been a Griz fan since I was a little kid. If the Griz were going to offer me, I was going to the Griz all the way.”
Neither Rensvold nor Wilson knows what they will study in college. They want to concentrate on chasing Class A championships on the gridiron and the hardwood first. But a summer filled with life-changing decisions certainly affirmed a dream for both.
“It hasn’t really sunk in that I’m going to be a Griz completely but when I get through fall camp and the summer is over, I bet it starts to,” Rensvold said. “It means a lot, it honestly does. Since I was a little kid, all I wanted to do was go play Division I football somewhere and playing for the Griz, I’ve been to many games and it’s been my dream to always go play for them.”
“It’s really an honor,” Wilson said. “That first day I committed, I had so many people super excited about it and I’m super excited about it. It’s such a cool opportunity. I always dreamed of doing it, going and playing for the Griz, Division I football but I was kind of unsure if I was good enough. I kept work, kept throwing the ball and it’s paid off.”
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