BOOM! Jackson Presley ‘26

[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?

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?

An old geezer who is an expert liar (lawyer).

[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.

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?

At this point, he's basically just a meme.

[BelligerentBobcat]

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?

At this point, he's basically just a meme.

He’s arguably the most entertaining message board poster amongst our two fanbases. I’m a huge fan.

[VimSince03]

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?

At this point, he's basically just a meme.

He’s arguably the most entertaining message board poster amongst our two fanbases. I’m a huge fan.

I miss him posting over here with the 7-8 various aliases he tosses out.

[BigBruceBaker]

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.

Grady is a great dude. He cares a ton about his students.

[84CatGrad]

It’s a double edged sword. If he doesn’t start right away he’s gone after one year. If he starts and plays well he’s gone after one year unless his folks have so much money that NIL cash is unimportant.

We can worry about that when/if it comes. Enjoy good players.

Tis better to have recruited and lost than never to have recruited at all...

With all the discussion on the bball board this is my state of mind. One of the reasons I love college sports so much is getting super excited about high-school recruits and following them through the program and seeing if they live up to their perceived potential. Kinda takes the shine off when the best case scenario is we get one or two really good years and they leave...

I would argue the worst case scenario is we get one or two really good years and they leave.

That’s a damn good worst case scenario.

He is a state of Montana kid and I don't recall that we've ever had a Montana kid come to MSU then portal up (as opposed to portal down to a Frontier school or equal). Correct me if I'm wrong. That's why I feel more comfortable that he may stay. Montana kids tend to stick around.

[Bobcatsinmso]

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

He could also be considered as the Rachel Maddow of football boards, whichever poison you prefer.
Jack is a very successful missoula lawyer and big time gris donor. He is also a jock sniffing bobby apologist and self appointed expert on all things u of missoula, as in his world it was is and always will be the greatest institution ever. He is the kind of small guy energy dude that leaves you wondering if he was constantly bullied and forever has the "one day I'll get even" mantra. If your dog drops a duece on his lawn, do not bother to pick it up, he has people for that.

[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

He could also be considered as the Rachel Maddow of football boards, whichever poison you prefer.
Jack is a very successful missoula lawyer and big time gris donor. He is also a jock sniffing bobby apologist and self appointed expert on all things u of missoula, as in his world it was is and always will be the greatest institution ever. He is the kind of small guy energy dude that leaves you wondering if he was constantly bullied and forever has the "one day I'll get even" mantra. If your dog drops a duece on his lawn, do not bother to pick it up, he has people for that.

Oh I am completely aware of Jack, know hilarious stories from former gris players and how, in a nutshell, think he’s a creep.

[iaafan]

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.

Presley had a little drop off this year from his sophomore season. That may have been due to his WR crew. ??? Yes, his guys dropped a bunch of easy passes in the title game vs Capital.

Mehilish was phenomenal this past season for Capital High. One of the best QB'ing jobs in state history in my opinion. His numbers were unreal. 168-230-3 (73%), 2,862 yards, 34 TD passes. He ran for 850 yards on 124 carries (6.9) for 8 TDs. Won the state title. The jump he made from his junior year was incredible. He was just a 56% passer and threw as many InTs as TDs. Nearly doubled his passing yards.

The Bruins are really reestablishing themselves as a powerhouse. They've won two of the last three titles after a long drought since 2011. CMR and Capital have each won 13 titles since CMR won its first in 1975. CMR hasn't won state since 2009 with Jake Bleskin at QB.

Presley has led Glacier to back-to-back runner up finishes. Lost to Bozeman in 2023.

[BelligerentBobcat]

It’s a double edged sword. If he doesn’t start right away he’s gone after one year. If he starts and plays well he’s gone after one year unless his folks have so much money that NIL cash is unimportant.

We can worry about that when/if it comes. Enjoy good players.

Tis better to have recruited and lost than never to have recruited at all...

With all the discussion on the bball board this is my state of mind. One of the reasons I love college sports so much is getting super excited about high-school recruits and following them through the program and seeing if they live up to their perceived potential. Kinda takes the shine off when the best case scenario is we get one or two really good years and they leave...

I would argue the worst case scenario is we get one or two really good years and they leave.

That’s a damn good worst case scenario.

He is a state of Montana kid and I don't recall that we've ever had a Montana kid come to MSU then portal up (as opposed to portal down to a Frontier school or equal). Correct me if I'm wrong. That's why I feel more comfortable that he may stay. Montana kids tend to stick around.

I personally wouldn’t call him a real state of Montana kid, but that’s not really important anyways.

I very much believe the day is coming where a Montana native from MSU or UM transfers up. It’s been very close already, it will happen. Less likely to happen with those who were born and raised. Regardless, it’s just not something I’m going to worry about. Sad state of affairs when we get a good recruit and people automatically start worrying about how long he’ll stay. Just enjoy the ride.

[iaafan]

It’s a double edged sword. If he doesn’t start right away he’s gone after one year. If he starts and plays well he’s gone after one year unless his folks have so much money that NIL cash is unimportant.

We can worry about that when/if it comes. Enjoy good players.

Tis better to have recruited and lost than never to have recruited at all...

With all the discussion on the bball board this is my state of mind. One of the reasons I love college sports so much is getting super excited about high-school recruits and following them through the program and seeing if they live up to their perceived potential. Kinda takes the shine off when the best case scenario is we get one or two really good years and they leave...

I would argue the worst case scenario is we get one or two really good years and they leave.

That’s a damn good worst case scenario.

He is a state of Montana kid and I don't recall that we've ever had a Montana kid come to MSU then portal up (as opposed to portal down to a Frontier school or equal). Correct me if I'm wrong. That's why I feel more comfortable that he may stay. Montana kids tend to stick around.

I personally wouldn’t call him a real state of Montana kid, but that’s not really important anyways.

I very much believe the day is coming where a Montana native from MSU or UM transfers up. It’s been very close already, it will happen. Less likely to happen with those who were born and raised. Regardless, it’s just not something I’m going to worry about. Sad state of affairs when we get a good recruit and people automatically start worrying about how long he’ll stay. Just enjoy the ride.

Brian Buschini from Helena played for the Griz and transferred to Nebraska. He was honorable mention punter in the Big Ten as junior and senior. I can't think of any others.

[lutecat]

It’s a double edged sword. If he doesn’t start right away he’s gone after one year. If he starts and plays well he’s gone after one year unless his folks have so much money that NIL cash is unimportant.

We can worry about that when/if it comes. Enjoy good players.

Tis better to have recruited and lost than never to have recruited at all...

With all the discussion on the bball board this is my state of mind. One of the reasons I love college sports so much is getting super excited about high-school recruits and following them through the program and seeing if they live up to their perceived potential. Kinda takes the shine off when the best case scenario is we get one or two really good years and they leave...

I would argue the worst case scenario is we get one or two really good years and they leave.

That’s a damn good worst case scenario.

He is a state of Montana kid and I don't recall that we've ever had a Montana kid come to MSU then portal up (as opposed to portal down to a Frontier school or equal). Correct me if I'm wrong. That's why I feel more comfortable that he may stay. Montana kids tend to stick around.

I personally wouldn’t call him a real state of Montana kid, but that’s not really important anyways.

I very much believe the day is coming where a Montana native from MSU or UM transfers up. It’s been very close already, it will happen. Less likely to happen with those who were born and raised. Regardless, it’s just not something I’m going to worry about. Sad state of affairs when we get a good recruit and people automatically start worrying about how long he’ll stay. Just enjoy the ride.

I think bergan was pretty close and it took some late NIL money from UM to keep him. I've heard Oregon State was almost where he ended up for his senior year.

[catatac]

It’s a double edged sword. If he doesn’t start right away he’s gone after one year. If he starts and plays well he’s gone after one year unless his folks have so much money that NIL cash is unimportant.

We can worry about that when/if it comes. Enjoy good players.

Tis better to have recruited and lost than never to have recruited at all...

With all the discussion on the bball board this is my state of mind. One of the reasons I love college sports so much is getting super excited about high-school recruits and following them through the program and seeing if they live up to their perceived potential. Kinda takes the shine off when the best case scenario is we get one or two really good years and they leave...

I would argue the worst case scenario is we get one or two really good years and they leave.

That’s a damn good worst case scenario.

He is a state of Montana kid and I don't recall that we've ever had a Montana kid come to MSU then portal up (as opposed to portal down to a Frontier school or equal). Correct me if I'm wrong. That's why I feel more comfortable that he may stay. Montana kids tend to stick around.

I personally wouldn’t call him a real state of Montana kid, but that’s not really important anyways.

I very much believe the day is coming where a Montana native from MSU or UM transfers up. It’s been very close already, it will happen. Less likely to happen with those who were born and raised. Regardless, it’s just not something I’m going to worry about. Sad state of affairs when we get a good recruit and people automatically start worrying about how long he’ll stay. Just enjoy the ride.

Brian Buschini from Helena played for the Griz and transferred to Nebraska. He was honorable mention punter in the Big Ten as junior and senior. I can't think of any others.

Besides Goodman? Or are we just talking recently? Historically there has to be more than 2 than started at UM or MSU and transferred up.

[MSU01]

It’s a double edged sword. If he doesn’t start right away he’s gone after one year. If he starts and plays well he’s gone after one year unless his folks have so much money that NIL cash is unimportant.

We can worry about that when/if it comes. Enjoy good players.

Tis better to have recruited and lost than never to have recruited at all...

With all the discussion on the bball board this is my state of mind. One of the reasons I love college sports so much is getting super excited about high-school recruits and following them through the program and seeing if they live up to their perceived potential. Kinda takes the shine off when the best case scenario is we get one or two really good years and they leave...

I would argue the worst case scenario is we get one or two really good years and they leave.

That’s a damn good worst case scenario.

He is a state of Montana kid and I don't recall that we've ever had a Montana kid come to MSU then portal up (as opposed to portal down to a Frontier school or equal). Correct me if I'm wrong. That's why I feel more comfortable that he may stay. Montana kids tend to stick around.

I personally wouldn’t call him a real state of Montana kid, but that’s not really important anyways.

I very much believe the day is coming where a Montana native from MSU or UM transfers up. It’s been very close already, it will happen. Less likely to happen with those who were born and raised. Regardless, it’s just not something I’m going to worry about. Sad state of affairs when we get a good recruit and people automatically start worrying about how long he’ll stay. Just enjoy the ride.

Brian Buschini from Helena played for the Griz and transferred to Nebraska. He was honorable mention punter in the Big Ten as junior and senior. I can't think of any others.

Besides Goodman? Or are we just talking recently? Historically there has to be more than 2 than started at UM or MSU and transferred up.

The Griz also had Gabe Sulser transfer to Texas for his last season a few years ago. I think the last MSU player to do it was Tre'Von Strong who transferred to Utah, but that was pre-portal.

[AFCAT]

It’s a double edged sword. If he doesn’t start right away he’s gone after one year. If he starts and plays well he’s gone after one year unless his folks have so much money that NIL cash is unimportant.

We can worry about that when/if it comes. Enjoy good players.

Tis better to have recruited and lost than never to have recruited at all...

With all the discussion on the bball board this is my state of mind. One of the reasons I love college sports so much is getting super excited about high-school recruits and following them through the program and seeing if they live up to their perceived potential. Kinda takes the shine off when the best case scenario is we get one or two really good years and they leave...

I would argue the worst case scenario is we get one or two really good years and they leave.

That’s a damn good worst case scenario.

He is a state of Montana kid and I don't recall that we've ever had a Montana kid come to MSU then portal up (as opposed to portal down to a Frontier school or equal). Correct me if I'm wrong. That's why I feel more comfortable that he may stay. Montana kids tend to stick around.

I personally wouldn’t call him a real state of Montana kid, but that’s not really important anyways.

I very much believe the day is coming where a Montana native from MSU or UM transfers up. It’s been very close already, it will happen. Less likely to happen with those who were born and raised. Regardless, it’s just not something I’m going to worry about. Sad state of affairs when we get a good recruit and people automatically start worrying about how long he’ll stay. Just enjoy the ride.

Brian Buschini from Helena played for the Griz and transferred to Nebraska. He was honorable mention punter in the Big Ten as junior and senior. I can't think of any others.

Besides Goodman? Or are we just talking recently? Historically there has to be more than 2 than started at UM or MSU and transferred up.

The Griz also had Gabe Sulser transfer to Texas for his last season a few years ago. I think the last MSU player to do it was Tre'Von Strong who transferred to Utah, but that was pre-portal.

Tre’ was a walk-on at Utah.

[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.

Grady is a great dude. He cares a ton about his students.

Ya, I undersold it. He really is a great guy.

[PHAT CAT]

Okay, lets look back. Vigen had Carson Wentz at NDSU. Vigen had Josh Allen at Wyoming. Vigen had Tommy Mellot at MSU. Bobby has had who? Yeah, no one. I don't give a flying F what gris fans say. Um is not a place QB's go to advance their skills. It's were they go to later transfer. Now, I want to talk about Grady. I spent three days around him. Those are three days, I'll never get back. I'll leave it at that. Also, I have a really good friend who teaches at Glacier and said Jackson is a great kid. Welcome to Bobcat Nation, Jackson. Damn glad to have ya. Go Cats!

[iaafan]

Okay, lets look back. Vigen had Carson Wentz at NDSU. Vigen had Josh Allen at Wyoming. Vigen had Tommy Mellot at MSU. Bobby has had who? Yeah, no one. I don't give a flying F what gris fans say. Um is not a place QB's go to advance their skills. It's where they go to later transfer. Also, I have a really good friend who teaches at Glacier and said Jackson is a great kid. Welcome to Bobcat Nation, Jackson. Damn glad to have ya. Go Cats!

Excellent post. Hauck 2.0's best QBs played their best football after they left UM. He did have Sneed, but it appears he was successful on his own. Hauck 1.0 had some good, not great, QBs. Ochs, Bergquist and Selle.

Vigen's worst QBs have been better than Hauck's best QBs.

[iaafan]

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.

Presley had a little drop off this year from his sophomore season. That may have been due to his WR crew. ??? Yes, his guys dropped a bunch of easy passes in the title game vs Capital.

Mehilish was phenomenal this past season for Capital High. One of the best QB'ing jobs in state history in my opinion. His numbers were unreal. 168-230-3 (73%), 2,862 yards, 34 TD passes. He ran for 850 yards on 124 carries (6.9) for 8 TDs. Won the state title. The jump he made from his junior year was incredible. He was just a 56% passer and threw as many InTs as TDs. Nearly doubled his passing yards.

The Bruins are really reestablishing themselves as a powerhouse. They've won two of the last three titles after a long drought since 2011. CMR and Capital have each won 13 titles since CMR won its first in 1975. CMR hasn't won state since 2009 with Jake Bleskin at QB.

Presley has led Glacier to back-to-back runner up finishes. Lost to Bozeman in 2023.

Mihelish is a mystery to me. I guess he wanted to reunite with his buddies at Tech, but he had a phenomenal year, statistically and I thought he could be an outstanding QB at this level. I didn't get to see him play much, so I don't know much about whether or not his game would transfer to this level. Colter consistently called him the best QB in the state last year. I realize there's a lot more to it than just numbers, but he was simply phenomenal. CHS has had some great QBs. I gotta believe that Mihelish's was the best single season there.

Sorry to get away from Presley. Just watching his tape shows that he has a great field sense, IQ. Seems to know where to go with the ball and how to get himself into position to make passes.

[BelligerentBobcat]

I don’t think Mihelish is an FCS QB at a program like MSU or UM.