MISSOULA — The recruiting cycle charges on, and while Montana football fans are focused on this coming fall, the Grizzlies already have their eyes, and motion, working on the next crop of high school senior recruits.
In recent weeks, Montana's first commits for the Class of 2027 have emerged, and they're all from UM's backyard right in Missoula, as Sentinel's Sam Sirmon and Big Sky's Quincy King and Eli Kasberg have all pledged their football futures to the hometown Griz.
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"Just that this community, man, it's insane. It's awesome. I love it," Kasberg said. "And I would be stupid not to pick the Griz, you know, like it's just awesome here and I love it."
Sirmon was the first to commit, which came at the start of March.
It's a fit like a glove for an athlete who comes from a long line of Grizzlies, and now gets his turn to leave his mark and add to the family legacy. His older brother, Danny, is currently a tight end on the team while his father, David, played on UM's 1995 national championship team.
"Just as a kid, I wanted to play there, watching my dad," Sirmon said. "In our house, we have a kind of shrine of like football stuff, brother's rings, my dad's ring, like old jerseys, and looking at that, old pictures of him playing at Montana. I've always grown up wanting to play linebacker, wear No. 45, and play for the Griz."
King's commitment followed soon after, as the Eagles nose tackle saw an explosion his junior year.
A standout wrestler at Big Sky, King grew about 40 pounds in between his sophomore and junior years, kept his athleticism, and was a force on the gridiron this past fall for Big Sky's defense. As a wrestler, including this past year at heavyweight, King is a two-time third-place finisher for the Eagles.
"I remember watching the Griz players and I was like, dang, these guys are huge," King said. "Like, it was a different experience to see these, like, massive guys play. So I thought that was awesome and I knew I could go out there and play with those guys when I'm older and bigger and more mature."
Earlier this week, Big Sky quarterback Eli Kasberg followed suit as the third commitment to the Grizzlies, after helping lead the Eagles to the Class AA semifinals this past fall. He also recently helped lift the Eagles to a third-place finish at the state basketball tournament in Billings.
"I just felt very thankful for all these coaches trying to talk to me and gain a relationship with me and I just was like, my main group of people, my mom, my dad, my sister and coach (Matt) Johnson, I was, like, just trying to figure out their opinion on everything," Kasberg said. "Of course, it's my decision at the end of the day and I just want to play. I want to be a Grizzly."
New Griz head coach Bobby Kennedy has highlighted recruiting local Treasure State talents as an early priority of his tenure.
So far through his accepting of the job, from not losing players to transfer and netting future commitments from Montana, Kennedy is starting to build his foundation, starting with these first three seniors-to-be as this recruiting class begins to take shape.
"It's awesome. I'm super excited to have them," Sirmon said of his future teammates. "They're going to be great teammates, great additions to the Griz, and it'll be super fun playing against them (next season), have some future teammates. But, I mean, I could not be more happy to have other Missoula guys going."
"It was amazing. It made me really happy," King added. "And I just can't believe I put all this work in and it's finally paying off. And yeah, it makes me feel very happy about myself. I'm ready to play. I'm ready to show off. And I'm ready to show everybody who I am."
