One of the best players on one of the nation’s most visible teams is hardly talked about, even though he’s one of Montana State’s steadiest performers.
You hardly ever hear from him because he’s one of the quietest players on the Bobcats.
But Burke Mastel’s story is at the same time rare yet quintessential: the Class B star turned scout-team punching bag turned stalwart for the defending national champions.
The kid from Whitehall who grew up a basketball player before his sheer mass and a move to Red Lodge turned him into a football player has forged a career that reflects his personality — quiet yet constant and consistent, particularly after becoming “an elite big guy in the weight room,” according to MSU head coach Brent Vigen.
In a season where Montana State has had to learn to deal with a massive target on its collective back while suffering an utter rash of injuries, particularly to some of its best players, Mastel has not been immune. But he missed only a single game, then returned to anchor an offensive line that’s gotten markedly better as the season has progressed, which has also become a trademark of the Bobcats under Vigen.
“Physically, he’s done a really good job of capitalizing on the God-given size and athleticism, but not necessarily being ready-made by the time he stepped onto campus here,” Vigen said. “(Strength) Coach (Sean) Herrin has done a really good job with him really becoming an elite big guy in the weight room. … A guy that becomes something that maybe he didn’t have any idea that he could become when he was 16, 17 years old.
“He’s been one of our most solid guys the last few years. And he’s got a bunch of good football in front of him, and I hope he’s just hit his stride this year.”
The fifth-year senior grew up in Class B Whitehall (population 1,106) until his mom got a new job that moved the family to Red Lodge (population 2,561). He thought of himself more as a basketball player than a football player until growth (and girth) gave him a lineman’s body and Red Lodge head coach John Fitzgerald — a fullback for the Montana Grizzlies during their 2001 national championship season — helped start to mold him.
“There’s not much to do in Whitehall other than play basketball with your friends,” Mastel said with a chuckle. “Whitehall is more of a mining, cowboy town, whereas Red Lodge has a lot more going on with the tourism and skiing.”
When Mastel first arrived on the Montana State campus as a high school camper, he didn’t have any aspirations to play college football. But he’d always had an affinity for the Bobcats.
“Had a Fathead in my room,” Mastel said. “I wasn’t going to play college football unless I played here.”
After two years of taking his lumps on the scout team against some of the best defensive linemen in program history, the 6-foot-5, 310-pounder got his first shot. He made his first career start at guard against Mercyhurst in September 2024. He would make 12 more consecutive starts as Montana State ripped off 15 straight wins before losing 35-32 to North Dakota State in the national championship game.
Entering last season, Vigen and MSU offensive line coach Matt Smith planned on moving Mastel to center after the Bobcats graduated standout, experienced centers Justus Perkins and Cole Sain following that Big Sky championship season.
But a broken hand late in the offseason caused MSU to shift JT Reed from guard to center, where Reed would stay on the way to earning All-Big Sky Conference honors. With Mastel out of the lineup for the first three games of the year, MSU reshuffled its entire offensive front, moving Cedric Jefferson from left tackle to right tackle, Reed to center, Titan Fleischmann from right tackle to right guard and inserting Everett Carr at left guard.
But when Mastel returned, he solidified his role as a guard again, starting 13 consecutive games on the way to earning honorable mention All-Big Sky honors.
“I think it’s just a testament to the way he works,” Smith, MSU’s second-year offensive line coach, said when asked about Mastel’s trajectory. “Anybody around here will tell you he doesn’t talk very much. Just kind of a no-nonsense guy. He’s just gonna go and put in the work. He doesn’t say too much, doesn’t show too much emotion at times. But the guys know he’s gonna get his thing done.”
Mastel has obvious size. He’s built up his strength to become one of the strongest players on the Bobcats. But it’s his attention to detail that makes him a possible next-level prospect.
“One thing I think that would surprise some people is just how technical he can be, and how many questions he asks about this fit and this fit and his footwork here and his hand placement there,” Smith said. “Some guys do get bored with the basics, and I don’t think he does.
“He’s an all-conference guy at the very least. If you put some weeks together, he has the ability to be an All-American, and I do think he’s got a shot at the next level. There’s no doubt in my mind.”
Fitz, the Fathead and “here or nowhere”
One thing that followed Mastel from Whitehall to Red Lodge was his Champ the Bobcat Fathead, which he kept on his bedroom wall.
But he had never really considered playing college sports, particularly not football. Fitzgerald, who played collegiately and has coached a collection of players who have gone on to play in college, was the first person to “give me the idea that I was good enough to play at the next level,” Mastel said.
When he first showed up at a Bobcat football camp, though, Vigen could see his uncertainty along with his potential.
“There’s a big athletic guy that maybe doesn’t see that this is in the cards for him, but we do,” Vigen said. “We present an opportunity… there’s a raised level of confidence.”
Mastel was an all-conference offensive lineman as a junior and a senior, but he was actually all-state on the defensive line as Red Lodge made back-to-back Class B playoff appearances.
When he arrived on campus in 2022 with every intention to redshirt, he got a baptism by fire that was extreme, even for a small-town kid from Montana coming to Division I.
You see, Montana State’s defensive line has a decades-long reputation as one of the most formidable in the nation. And during Mastel’s first two years, freak shows like defensive tackle Sebastian Valdez and Brody Grebe were manning the trenches. Valdez is a 6-foot-4, 305-pound man-beast built like the Incredible Hulk who’s now with the San Francisco 49ers. Grebe was an All-American three times over and one of the most decorated defensive linemen in Montana State history. And if not for injury, Blake Schmidt also would’ve been an all-conference selection on the interior defensive line.
“All those guys were just studs,” Mastel said. “It was a big shock. I definitely got my butt beat pretty much every day. Every day, actually, for the first two years.”
Valdez, particularly, provided a stern test. “I couldn’t block him. I literally couldn’t do anything against him,” Mastel remembered. But now that Valdez is playing with the best in the world for one of the best teams in the NFL, Mastel doesn’t feel so bad.
By the time he was entering his second season, and especially his third year in Vigen’s program, it started to click.
“You don’t come in looking like that as a freshman, especially from small-town Montana. So credit to him and his work ethic to get stronger, build up his body and fight his way onto the field,” Montana State senior defensive end Zac Crews said.
Montana State’s plan to play Mastel at center was not knee-jerk, but rather stemmed from his previous experience with the football in his hand. He played center his first few years of high school and worked in at the spot his first few years at MSU, too.
“We had full intention of playing him at center before he got hurt, but it was really, really steady once he was back,” [CONFIRM: Vigen or Smith] said.
Mastel says he likes having his hand on the ball and “being the guy who gets to pretty much tell everyone what to do,” but affirms that he prefers guard, the spot where he’s now made 37 career starts.
Smith says Mastel’s ability to become an all-conference type player at guard has unlocked the whole group, allowing MSU to get its best five on the field. And Mastel knows that if Montana State is to make yet another playoff run under Vigen, the offensive line will play a pivotal role.
“We talk about it all the time in our room. Like, we have the keys to the car,” Mastel said. “We like doing hard things.”
Vigen and Smith both say Mastel still has his best football in front of him. His Pro Football Focus grades this season indicate he will again be in line for all-conference honors.
Before he focuses on his football future, though, he’s trying to live in his football present. Montana State travels to Greeley to take on Northern Colorado in the penultimate game for the Bobcats before the 125th edition of the Brawl of the Wild.
Even though Mastel played for a former Grizzly in high school, he never once considered being anything but a Bobcat. He did, however, consider not playing college football at all. Now he’s a key cog on a Bobcat team trying to become the first Big Sky Conference squad to win consecutive national championships.
“I’m so lucky to have my dream school have the success and the culture here,” he said. “The thing I’ve learned the most is just how hard you’ve got to work to be able to do cool things… in front of the best fans in the country. So I never take that for granted.”
