Missoula, home of the storied Montana Grizzlies football program, always held the edge in Jed Nagler’s mind as other Division I schools courted the versatile standout.
The town’s reputation for blue-ribbon trout fishing didn’t hurt either.
Nagler, an avid fisherman and standout senior athlete at Whitefish High School, will make his plans official on Wednesday and sign a national letter of intent to play college football at the University of Montana.
Feb. 3 is National Signing Day, marking the first time recruits can officially cement their college plans.
Nagler is leading this year’s class of local athletes making the jump to the Division I ranks. The entire recruiting class for Montana and Montana State will be announced on Wednesday.
Montana coaches, including head coach Bob Stitt, will be in Kalispell on signing day for an event showcasing this year’s class. The event, hosted by the Flathead Chapter of the Grizzly Scholarship Association, starts at 5:30 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn. Admission is $10.
Montana is boasting one of the best recruiting classes in the FCS, according to college football analysts. The Griz are expected to unveil quite the lineup of new players joining the team, which went 8-5 last season and lost in the playoffs to eventual national champ North Dakota State.
Regardless of the other incoming talent, the Griz are gaining one of the best athletes to emerge in the Flathead Valley in years. At 6-foot-4, 210 pounds, Nagler dominated the Class A ranks as a standout wide receiver, piling up 772 yards receiving and seven touchdowns during his senior season. He helped the Bulldogs win the team’s first state championship since 1979.
“We started preparing as soon as last year ended and we went to work every day in the summer,” he said last week. “It was a long, long football season but it was worth it … It was our time.”
Nagler is also a state champion high jumper and sprinter who can run the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds. As a junior, he won individual Class A state championships in both the 100 (11.15) and the high jump (6-5) and teamed up to capture two more gold medals with the relay teams. He also placed second in the 200 (22.54).
Two schools — Iowa State and Army — were even recruiting him as a decathlete in college. Other schools, such as Portland State and Montana State, pushed hard to attract the Whitefish standout.
But in the end, his childhood team won out.
“I grew up a Griz fan,” he said.
“I talked to coach Stitt and I really, really liked him and how they ran their offense. That was really the deciding factor plus it’s close to home and it’s Griz football.”