Griz football adds 16 names to early spring roster
(Montana Sports Information) Montana Grizzly head coach Bobby Hauck and his staff added 16 players to the incoming class of 2025 on Wednesday – the first day of the early signing period.
The Griz built the base of this year’s recruiting class with one of the most highly ranked cohorts in program history, with more than half of the 16 signees rated as three-star prep prospects.
The state of Washington was highly represented with nine signees coming out of the Evergreen State. Four players from Montana joined the program, and one signee apiece came from Hawaii, Iowa, and Texas.
Positionally, nine players were added on the offensive side of the ball, with five of those nine added to the offensive line. They check in at an average 6-foot-5 and 280 pounds before getting into a college weight room. The Grizzly Defense added four defensive backs with a pair of linebackers and D-lineman added in for a total of eight newcomers.
"We continue to make high school recruiting the foundation of everything we do, and I think we've been able to put together a good class of high school seniors to join the Grizzlies next fall. They are quality young men that are good football players, and we feel really good about them," said Hauck.
"Now we're entering a phase where we will be looking the transfer recruiting piece. There is also the potential we might sign a couple more high school guys on the February signing date."
Montana will announce potential transfers into the program upon the start of the new semester, or when they have officially enrolled in school and arrived on campus.
Visit Montana's Signing Day Central page for film and bios of each of today's additions
2024 Early Signing Period Roster
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown / High School | |
| 1 | Brady Beaner | S | 6-0 | 185 | Anacortes, Wash. / Anacortes HS |
| 2 | Brock Beaner | S | 6-0 | 195 | Anacortes, Wash. / Anacortes HS |
| 3 | Cooper Buffington | DL | 6-4 | 240 | Winfield, Iowa / Winfield-Mt. Union |
| 4 | Forrest Carter | OL | 6-6 | 285 | Olympia, Wash. / Olympia HS |
| 5 | Chase Cook | RB | 5-11 | 200 | Red Lodge, Mont. / Red Lodge HS |
| 6 | Malaki Davis | TE | 6-5 | 230 | Tacoma, Wash. / Roosevelt HS |
| 7 | Deante Gentry | DB | 5-11 | 180 | Arlington, Texas / Lamar HS |
| 8 | Lincoln Hoefer | OL | 6-6 | 260 | Everson, Wash. / Meridian HS |
| 9 | Quinlan Hyatt | OT | 6-7 | 270 | Spokane, Wash. / West Valley HS |
| 10 | Kaikoa Kanakaole | OL | 6-5 | 330 | Kapa'a, Hawaii / Saint Louis HS |
| 11 | Logan Knaevelsrud | DE | 6-4 | 230 | Snoqualmie, Wash. / Mount Si HS |
| 12 | Colton Lentz | LB | 6-3 | 215 | Nooksack, Wash. / Nooksack Valley HS |
| 13 | Ezra Meyer | OT | 6-5 | 250 | Missoula, Mont. / Big Sky HS |
| 14 | Sage Salopek | DB | 6-0 | 175 | Seattle, Wash. / O'dea HS |
| 15 | Bridger Salvevold | LB | 6-2 | 210 | Culbertson, Mont. / Culbertson HS |
| 16 | Bridger Smith | WR | 5-11 | 180 | Kalispell, Mont. / Glacier HS |