Montana State University signed three in-state high school football players to scholarships on Wednesday and two are familiar faces in the Flathead Valley – Columbia Falls’ Austin Barth and Polson’s Vince DiGiallonardo.
Montana State and Montana announced their 2012 recruiting classes on National Signing Day, when universities can officially sign recruits. The Bobcats added only two in-state players with scholarships this year. The Grizzlies added seven, but none were from the Flathead Valley.
Barth and DiGiallonardo were two of the first Bobcat additions, signing letters of intent early in the morning. The Bobcats also picked up Frenchtown’s Jackson Mahlum. Montana State head coach Rob Ash has some very nice things to say about our local talent, especially Barth, who he described as a top player in this year’s recruiting class.
“Austin was the leader of the pack in our recruiting this year,” Ash said in a statement. “He committed last spring, so he’s been a Bobcat for almost a whole year now. He’s an outstanding talent as a quarterback, has a big arm, and is very poised. He’s an outstanding basketball player and is very athletic for his size.”
Ash had similar praise for DiGiallonardo.
“Vince is an extremely versatile and talented athlete who can play any of a number of positions,” Ash said. “We recruited him as a free safety, and think he’ll be a very heady, smart, diverse athlete back there. He could also help us on special teams in the return game.”
Click here to view the list of MSU’s scholarship players in this year’s recruiting class.
The Grizzlies signed seven Montana players to scholarships. Here’s the full list of Montana’s recruiting class, while the in-state signees are listed below. The Flathead chapter of the Grizzly Scholarship Association is hosting its annual Grizzly Football Social at the Hilton Garden Inn in Kalispell tomorrow. It begins at 5:30 p.m.
“I like this class,” Grizzly Head Coach Robin Pflugrad said in a statement following Signing Day. “It is an excellent class in terms of speed – overall speed at each and every position. I think it’s an excellent class in growth potential. All of the linemen we signed are three-sport athletes, and they are hovering around 6-5, 260. To remain around 260 and run track and play basketball is an impressive feat.”
Montana Grizzlies 2012 Recruiting Class
In-state signees
Brady Gustafson, qb, 6-7, 210, West HS, Billings
Bo Harris, dl, 6-3, 260, Fairfield HS
Caleb Kidder, de, 6-5, 240, Capital HS, Helena
Zach Peevey, de, 6-3, 230, Hellgate HS, Missoula
Ben Weyer, ol, 6-4, 275, Bozeman HS
Ryan Burke, wr, 6-4, 195, Central Catholic HS, Billings
Clint LaRowe, ot, 6-5, 250, Miles City
Stay Connected with the Daily Roundup.
Sign up for our newsletter and get the best of the Beacon delivered every day to your inbox.