BOOM! Jackson Presley ‘26

[Colter_Nuanez]

Did he project as a QB at MSU? Gotta love the flip!

He moved to Montana with offers from Florida State and Oregon as a freshman. He was the top rated frosh QB in the country. His parents are former soap opera/hollywood stars. He is one of the top QB recruits in the country….

He's done a little acting himself

https://www.oklahoman.com/story/enterta ... 540175001/

That's a really interesting article. What really stands out to me is that Jackson was recruited by big name colleges AS AN 8TH GRADER! That's really impressive.

Wonder what made them relocate to Kalispell? This could have multiple benefits for MSU moving forward. Will he major in film studies following in his dad's footsteps?

I believe one parent lives in Montana and the other was in Oklahoma. Probably a reason that he came, could be football opportunities, or could’ve just been personal.

For the last several years, Glacier’s OC has been Dustin Haines, a former quarterback at Oregon was worked on Scott Frost’s offensive staffs at Central Florida and Nebraska. He’s not listed in the website anymore or I would post his bio .

[Travelingcat]

Look, this is a fantastic commit, no question. And I obviously really hope we hold him. He would be a huge get and someone who would have an excellent chance to start for us.

But to pump the brakes just a tiny bit (in a way that could explain why he committed here)-- this was a guy who clearly had a lot of early exposure, and early development-- probably parentally driven(that's why he was getting big offers in 8th grade). When he moved out here, he may have fallen off recruiting radars a bit, but also, like a lot of early developers, he may not have progressed as much as some other kids. Certainly his national ranking, while really strong, has fallen off quite a bit from a guy who was getting the sorts of Power 4 offers he was getting. And he's been a very good QB here in MT, but not completely dominant (may be a function of his supporting cast).

Timing may play another role in his commitment. I think most would say that Lamson is our *most likely* starter the next couple of years. Obviously anything can happen, but this was a guy who was seeing the field at a Power 4 school-- so the chances he can win the job here seem pretty decent. If Lamson is our starter the next two years then Presely would have an excellent opportunity to win the job as a redshirt Freshman. If Wilson (probably the 2nd most likely) wins the job, you are looking at a guy who will be a senior when Presley is a RS Freshman. So again, timing is pretty good.

So, I'm obviously thrilled we can get a player with this type of reputation, but it may be that his level is a bit closer to our higher end QB recruits than it might look like on paper.

[VimSince03]

Look, this is a fantastic commit, no question. And I obviously really hope we hold him. He would be a huge get and someone who would have an excellent chance to start for us.

But to pump the brakes just a tiny bit (in a way that could explain why he committed here)-- this was a guy who clearly had a lot of early exposure, and early development-- probably parentally driven(that's why he was getting big offers in 8th grade). When he moved out here, he may have fallen off recruiting radars a bit, but also, like a lot of early developers, he may not have progressed as much as some other kids. Certainly his national ranking, while really strong, has fallen off quite a bit from a guy who was getting the sorts of Power 4 offers he was getting. And he's been a very good QB here in MT, but not completely dominant (may be a function of his supporting cast).

Timing may play another role in his commitment. I think most would say that Lamson is our *most likely* starter the next couple of years. Obviously anything can happen, but this was a guy who was seeing the field at a Power 4 school-- so the chances he can win the job here seem pretty decent. If Lamson is our starter the next two years then Presely would have an excellent opportunity to win the job as a redshirt Freshman. If Wilson (probably the 2nd most likely) wins the job, you are looking at a guy who will be a senior when Presley is a RS Freshman. So again, timing is pretty good.

So, I'm obviously thrilled we can get a player with this type of reputation, but it may be that his level is a bit closer to our higher end QB recruits than it might look like on paper.

I also think that it can't be understated how different true freshman recruiting is now. FBS programs who are on national radars (Boise State is a Top 20 program) have hefty NIL funds and load up rosters every year. This pushes the bigger schools away from a larger amount of high school seniors than ever before. Vigen talked about this last year but he said we would be getting more developed high school seniors as a result of the NIL. This could simply be a product of Jackson thinking he has a better shot to see the field early in his career at MSU vs. battling the ever changing QB room of a Power program. I don't know...just my two cents. I just think we are going to continue getting really good high school seniors until NIL slows down...if it ever does.

[lutecat]

Look, this is a fantastic commit, no question. And I obviously really hope we hold him. He would be a huge get and someone who would have an excellent chance to start for us.

But to pump the brakes just a tiny bit (in a way that could explain why he committed here)-- this was a guy who clearly had a lot of early exposure, and early development-- probably parentally driven(that's why he was getting big offers in 8th grade). When he moved out here, he may have fallen off recruiting radars a bit, but also, like a lot of early developers, he may not have progressed as much as some other kids. Certainly his national ranking, while really strong, has fallen off quite a bit from a guy who was getting the sorts of Power 4 offers he was getting. And he's been a very good QB here in MT, but not completely dominant (may be a function of his supporting cast).

Timing may play another role in his commitment. I think most would say that Lamson is our *most likely* starter the next couple of years. Obviously anything can happen, but this was a guy who was seeing the field at a Power 4 school-- so the chances he can win the job here seem pretty decent. If Lamson is our starter the next two years then Presely would have an excellent opportunity to win the job as a redshirt Freshman. If Wilson (probably the 2nd most likely) wins the job, you are looking at a guy who will be a senior when Presley is a RS Freshman. So again, timing is pretty good.

So, I'm obviously thrilled we can get a player with this type of reputation, but it may be that his level is a bit closer to our higher end QB recruits than it might look like on paper.

I also think that it can't be understated how different true freshman recruiting is now. FBS programs who are on national radars (Boise State is a Top 20 program) have hefty NIL funds and load up rosters every year. This pushes the bigger schools away from a larger amount of high school seniors than ever before. Vigen talked about this last year but he said we would be getting more developed high school seniors as a result of the NIL. This could simply be a product of Jackson thinking he has a better shot to see the field early in his career at MSU vs. battling the ever changing QB room of a Power program. I don't know...just my two cents. I just think we are going to continue getting really good high school seniors until NIL slows down...if it ever does.

That's a good point. He can potentially come here and play a year or two and then field solid P4 offers. He sits for a couple years in Boise or he comes here and plays earlier. Boise state has him play maybe as a junior and then there's potential his senior year after he proves himself. If he plays earlier here, the NIL deals start as a junior and are probably bigger.

[Travelingcat]

Look, this is a fantastic commit, no question. And I obviously really hope we hold him. He would be a huge get and someone who would have an excellent chance to start for us.

But to pump the brakes just a tiny bit (in a way that could explain why he committed here)-- this was a guy who clearly had a lot of early exposure, and early development-- probably parentally driven(that's why he was getting big offers in 8th grade). When he moved out here, he may have fallen off recruiting radars a bit, but also, like a lot of early developers, he may not have progressed as much as some other kids. Certainly his national ranking, while really strong, has fallen off quite a bit from a guy who was getting the sorts of Power 4 offers he was getting. And he's been a very good QB here in MT, but not completely dominant (may be a function of his supporting cast).

Timing may play another role in his commitment. I think most would say that Lamson is our *most likely* starter the next couple of years. Obviously anything can happen, but this was a guy who was seeing the field at a Power 4 school-- so the chances he can win the job here seem pretty decent. If Lamson is our starter the next two years then Presely would have an excellent opportunity to win the job as a redshirt Freshman. If Wilson (probably the 2nd most likely) wins the job, you are looking at a guy who will be a senior when Presley is a RS Freshman. So again, timing is pretty good.

So, I'm obviously thrilled we can get a player with this type of reputation, but it may be that his level is a bit closer to our higher end QB recruits than it might look like on paper.

I also think that it can't be understated how different true freshman recruiting is now. FBS programs who are on national radars (Boise State is a Top 20 program) have hefty NIL funds and load up rosters every year. This pushes the bigger schools away from a larger amount of high school seniors than ever before. Vigen talked about this last year but he said we would be getting more developed high school seniors as a result of the NIL. This could simply be a product of Jackson thinking he has a better shot to see the field early in his career at MSU vs. battling the ever changing QB room of a Power program. I don't know...just my two cents. I just think we are going to continue getting really good high school seniors until NIL slows down...if it ever does.

That's a good point. He can potentially come here and play a year or two and then field solid P4 offers. He sits for a couple years in Boise or he comes here and plays earlier. Boise state has him play maybe as a junior and then there's potential his senior year after he proves himself. If he plays earlier here, the NIL deals start as a junior and are probably bigger.

Yes, absolutely. This may also just be a kid who prioritizes getting to go to school closer to home and actually playing-- which is not at all of a crazy view of things, Base case, he comes here, starts 2 to 4 years and leaves a hometown hero (as opposed to possibly riding the pine at an FBS program). Upside case (For him), he blows the door off early here, develops college-level game experience, and signs a generous NIL deal at an FBS program with a need as an upper-classman.

[wbtfg]

I think we can all spin up multiple narratives about the what/why/when/where/hows of it, but I'm just happy to see another top Montana high school recruit decide to come to MSU.

Let the gris continue to be try to be Sac State - North....I love how Vigen is building the program with top high school talent.

[Prodigal Cat]

I think we can all spin up multiple narratives about the what/why/when/where/hows of it, but I'm just happy to see another top Montana high school recruit decide to come to MSU.

Let the gris continue to be try to be Sac State - North....I love how Vigen is building the program with top high school talent.

What do they say when you get all the lettered numbers in a row???? oh yeah, BINGO!

[iaafan]

I think we can all spin up multiple narratives about the what/why/when/where/hows of it, but I'm just happy to see another top Montana high school recruit decide to come to MSU.

Let the gris continue to be try to be Sac State - North....I love how Vigen is building the program with top high school talent.

When did Hauck essentially give up on Montana kids (or did kids give up on him?) and go full portal?

[MSU01]

I think we can all spin up multiple narratives about the what/why/when/where/hows of it, but I'm just happy to see another top Montana high school recruit decide to come to MSU.

Let the gris continue to be try to be Sac State - North....I love how Vigen is building the program with top high school talent.

When did Hauck essentially give up on Montana kids (or did kids give up on him?) and go full portal?

IMO, he knows he's nearing the end of his career and he desperately wants to win that one national championship before he retires. Using the transfer portal lottery and hoping you strike gold is a lot easier than actually recruiting and building your program for the long term like Vigen is doing at MSU.

[catatac]

I think we can all spin up multiple narratives about the what/why/when/where/hows of it, but I'm just happy to see another top Montana high school recruit decide to come to MSU.

Let the gris continue to be try to be Sac State - North....I love how Vigen is building the program with top high school talent.

When did Hauck essentially give up on Montana kids (or did kids give up on him?) and go full portal?

IMO, he knows he's nearing the end of his career and he desperately wants to win that one national championship before he retires. Using the transfer portal lottery and hoping you strike gold is a lot easier than actually recruiting and building your program for the long term like Vigen is doing at MSU.

Yep. And I see PR is spouting off about how the Cat football program is going downhill, lost so many good players and aren't hammering the portal hard like Hauck. It's going to be very disappointing for him and a lot of Griz nation to realize that Vigen has built a PROGRAM that does not rely on 30 drop downs per year to be competetive.

[John K]

It's gotta be a tough pill for Booby to swallow, losing such a high level recruit like that to MSU, especially considering that he comes from essentially the gris back yard, and his HS coach is former gris QB Grady Bennett. It's one thing to lose a recruiting battle for a kid like that to Boise State, but quite another to lose out to MSU. Who knows how long we'll have him, or how good he'll turn out to be, but just the simple fact that a recruit of that caliber was willing to give up an offer from an upper tier FBS program like BSU, to come to MSU is a big feather in the cap for the Bobcat program.

[tdub]

It's gotta be a tough pill for Booby to swallow, losing such a high level recruit like that to MSU, especially considering that he comes from essentially the gris back yard, and his HS coach is former gris QB Grady Bennett. It's one thing to lose a recruiting battle for a kid like that to Boise State, but quite another to lose out to MSU. Who knows how long we'll have him, or how good he'll turn out to be, but just the simple fact that a recruit of that caliber was willing to give up an offer from an upper tier FBS program like BSU, to come to MSU is a big feather in the cap for the Bobcat program.

I have to say that I know Grady personally and he’s actually a pretty good guy. We all have our faults and I realize there some massively varied opinions of him around. But if he’s doing right be his high school players, do you think he’s encouraging them towards Hauck and crew for QB development, or to Vigen? After watching the QB revolving door in Missoula, the answer is pretty clear.

[seataccat]

i

I think we can all spin up multiple narratives about the what/why/when/where/hows of it, but I'm just happy to see another top Montana high school recruit decide to come to MSU.

Let the gris continue to be try to be Sac State - North....I love how Vigen is building the program with top high school talent.

When did Hauck essentially give up on Montana kids (or did kids give up on him?) and go full portal?

He didn't give up on the Montana recruits. He essentially offered every high end recruit but none of them chose his program, hence his pulling 30 guys from the portal. It's hilarious how the gris fans are spinning that as a win.
I think this kid is the highest rated freshman recruit the cats have gotten since Jason Goodman during the Kramer years.

[MSU01]

I think we can all spin up multiple narratives about the what/why/when/where/hows of it, but I'm just happy to see another top Montana high school recruit decide to come to MSU.

Let the gris continue to be try to be Sac State - North....I love how Vigen is building the program with top high school talent.

When did Hauck essentially give up on Montana kids (or did kids give up on him?) and go full portal?

IMO, he knows he's nearing the end of his career and he desperately wants to win that one national championship before he retires. Using the transfer portal lottery and hoping you strike gold is a lot easier than actually recruiting and building your program for the long term like Vigen is doing at MSU.

Yep. And I see PR is spouting off about how the Cat football program is going downhill, lost so many good players and aren't hammering the portal hard like Hauck. It's going to be very disappointing for him and a lot of Griz nation to realize that Vigen has built a PROGRAM that does not rely on 30 drop downs per year to be competetive.

I love reading PR's comments. We all need a good laugh to lighten things up during the day. The Griz aren't good enough at math of course to realize that MSU actually recruits talented freshman players and therefore doesn't have the open roster spots to sign dozens of transfers like Bobby is doing.

[SparkCat]

I think we can all spin up multiple narratives about the what/why/when/where/hows of it, but I'm just happy to see another top Montana high school recruit decide to come to MSU.

Let the gris continue to be try to be Sac State - North....I love how Vigen is building the program with top high school talent.

When did Hauck essentially give up on Montana kids (or did kids give up on him?) and go full portal?

IMO, he knows he's nearing the end of his career and he desperately wants to win that one national championship before he retires. Using the transfer portal lottery and hoping you strike gold is a lot easier than actually recruiting and building your program for the long term like Vigen is doing at MSU.

Yep. And I see PR is spouting off about how the Cat football program is going downhill, lost so many good players and aren't hammering the portal hard like Hauck. It's going to be very disappointing for him and a lot of Griz nation to realize that Vigen has built a PROGRAM that does not rely on 30 drop downs per year to be competetive.

I love reading PR's comments. We all need a good laugh to lighten things up during the day. The Griz aren't good enough at math of course to realize that MSU actually recruits talented freshman players and therefore doesn't have the open roster spots to sign dozens of transfers like Bobby is doing.

I get a kick out of his comments as 95% of the time he’s just trying to raise hell over there with the few cat trolls that post and reasonable/neutral towards the Cats, gris fans. What’s really blows me away is how it’s like shooting fish in the barrel for him to create so much chaos there. He’s like the Alex Jones of football boards, and I’m sure he’d think that’s a compliment

[nanacat]

So didn't MSU get 8 of the top ten high school recruits this year? And now we're starting on 2026 with the top recruit in the state flipping to the Cats? Thats pretty cool and certainly a statement. If the guys to the west want to live and die by the portal, let 'em. Their loss. Not sure Bobby has it in him to build a program anymore. But Vigen is all about that. And honestly, after watching the success of home state guys the past several years, how would they not want to go to MSU? Sure, there are those who grew up griz and think they're the be all, end all, RTD, and all that, but if they want to play, want to become the next Troy, Tommy, Brody, Adam, Taco, they'll come to Bozeman.

[TomCat88]

i

I think we can all spin up multiple narratives about the what/why/when/where/hows of it, but I'm just happy to see another top Montana high school recruit decide to come to MSU.

Let the gris continue to be try to be Sac State - North....I love how Vigen is building the program with top high school talent.

When did Hauck essentially give up on Montana kids (or did kids give up on him?) and go full portal?

He didn't give up on the Montana recruits. He essentially offered every high end recruit but none of them chose his program, hence his pulling 30 guys from the portal. It's hilarious how the gris fans are spinning that as a win.
I think this kid is the highest rated freshman recruit the cats have gotten since Jason Goodman during the Kramer years.

There's a blast from the past! I remember that as well and it was a big deal. I think Goodman was at MSU for one year and then transferred to Washington. I think he finished up playing hoops at UGF (Providence). I think he was the first star-rated (2-star) recruit MSU ever signed. But they didn't star rate as many players back then as they do now.

I haven't paid all that much attention to Presley since it was a foregone conclusion that he was going to a bigger program. I watched his highlights from the AA state title game and his receivers sure dropped a lot of passes that game. I doubt that was the case all year, but I think he would've had a much better game, statistically, if his guys had hung onto the ball better, and maybe they win the thing.

[TomCat88]

So didn't MSU get 8 of the top ten high school recruits this year? And now we're starting on 2026 with the top recruit in the state flipping to the Cats? Thats pretty cool and certainly a statement. If the guys to the west want to live and die by the portal, let 'em. Their loss. Not sure Bobby has it in him to build a program anymore. But Vigen is all about that. And honestly, after watching the success of home state guys the past several years, how would they not want to go to MSU? Sure, there are those who grew up griz and think they're the be all, end all, RTD, and all that, but if they want to play, want to become the next Troy, Tommy, Brody, Adam, Taco, they'll come to Bozeman.

I've heard people say that Hauck wasn't recruiting Montana hard because he thought it was a weak class last year. Not a direct quote, so I'm not sure of the veracity.

MSU is having great success with in-state football players. Some of the best players on the team now and in the recent past are Montanans. Not only the best on the team, but some of the best football players the state has ever produced. It would be interesting to make a list of the top 20 players from Montana at UM and MSU over the past 6-7 years (since Andersen).

[Mtcatfan]

So didn't MSU get 8 of the top ten high school recruits this year? And now we're starting on 2026 with the top recruit in the state flipping to the Cats? Thats pretty cool and certainly a statement. If the guys to the west want to live and die by the portal, let 'em. Their loss. Not sure Bobby has it in him to build a program anymore. But Vigen is all about that. And honestly, after watching the success of home state guys the past several years, how would they not want to go to MSU? Sure, there are those who grew up griz and think they're the be all, end all, RTD, and all that, but if they want to play, want to become the next Troy, Tommy, Brody, Adam, Taco, they'll come to Bozeman.

I've heard people say that Hauck wasn't recruiting Montana hard because he thought it was a weak class last year. Not a direct quote, so I'm not sure of the veracity.

MSU is having great success with in-state football players. Some of the best players on the team now and in the recent past are Montanans. Not only the best on the team, but some of the best football players the state has ever produced. It would be interesting to make a list of the top 20 players from Montana at UM and MSU over the past 6-7 years (since Andersen).

That may be Hauck’s excuse for relying so heavily on the portal.

[PortlandCat90]

I think we can all spin up multiple narratives about the what/why/when/where/hows of it, but I'm just happy to see another top Montana high school recruit decide to come to MSU.

Let the gris continue to be try to be Sac State - North....I love how Vigen is building the program with top high school talent.

When did Hauck essentially give up on Montana kids (or did kids give up on him?) and go full portal?

IMO, he knows he's nearing the end of his career and he desperately wants to win that one national championship before he retires. Using the transfer portal lottery and hoping you strike gold is a lot easier than actually recruiting and building your program for the long term like Vigen is doing at MSU.

Yep. And I see PR is spouting off about how the Cat football program is going downhill, lost so many good players and aren't hammering the portal hard like Hauck. It's going to be very disappointing for him and a lot of Griz nation to realize that Vigen has built a PROGRAM that does not rely on 30 drop downs per year to be competetive.

Who/What is PR?