BOZEMAN — Montana State head coach Brent Vigen doesn’t look at the six additions to his 2024-25 Montana State recruiting class as a unit separate from the 24 players that joined the Bobcat football program in December.
“This group is a continuation of the group we signed back in December,” Vigen said. “Relative to the high school recruits, all four were ongoing recruiting situations that just needed some more time to play out. We were on all four of them going back into the summer and fall.”
Press conference: Montana State coaches Brent Vigen, Pete Sterbick meet with media on signing day
In addition to a pair of mid-year transfers that enrolled at Montana State in January — Bryant Meredith from Fullerton College in California and Ife Ohalete from Blinn College in Texas — Vigen announced the addition of four prep athletes on Wednesday. Receiver Jaxan Lieberg from Helena becomes the 11th Montanan in this class, while defensive back Tim Thomas II and defensive end Major Thornhill arrive at MSU from Texas. Kicker Michael Rubich is from Rock Springs, Wyoming.
“We do feel that this rounds out our high school recruiting for this cycle and are extremely excited about the group in its entirety,” Vigen said. “It is a collection of highly competitive young men who possess the type of character we are looking for. Many of them excelled on both sides of the football in high school and a good number of them are multi-sport athletes.”
Vigen said that the group adds a blend of versatility and experience.
“The three defensive backs all bring a level of versatility to the DB Room and the two JC transfers bring college football experience immediately to the roster," he said. "We look for both Ife and Bryant to compete within our safety/nickel room this spring.”
Vigen said that the process of enhancing the Bobcats never ends.
“We are always recruiting and while we have begun to look forward to the 2026 class, we will continue to evaluate of current roster to determine whether we will have any more additions before we get to the fall," Vigen said.
January transfers
Bryant Meredith, DB, 5-10, 175, Jr, Pleasant Hill, CA (Fullerton College/NAU/De La Salle HS)
Player notes: Logged 31 tackles at Fullerton College in 2024, including six for a loss, while breaking up eight passes and forcing a fumble... he recorded nine total tackles as a freshman in 2023... Meredith transferred to Fullerton from NAU, where he redshirted in 2022... as a senior at De La Salle High he recorded 32 tackles, one for a loss, with three interceptions... his De La Salle squad compiled a 28-4 record in his three varsity seasons. From safeties soach Jody Owens: “Bryant is very, very twitchy, explosive, and has some position flexibility. He can play anywhere on the back end. He’s very physical at the point of contact, that’s something that stands out, and I think he has a chance to be a really good, competitive player for us in the near future.”
Ife Ohalete, DB, 5-11, 185, Jr, Austin, TX (Blinn/Lake Travis)
Player notes: His 70 total tackles were second on the Blinn team in 2024, and he recorded one for a loss... he played high school football at Lake Travis in Austin, Texas, and at St. Thomas More, a prep school in Connecticut. From safeties coach Jody Owens: “I’m excited about Ife. He plays extremely hard. He’s kind of been through the ringer a little bit, but he’s a really smart kid and is really in tune. He has the ability to tackle and to provide position flexibility, and he’s a physical player. We’re excited to get him going and see where he fits.”
February high school additions
Jaxan Lieberg, WR, 6-3, 185, Fr, Helena, MT (Helena)
Player notes: Two-time first-team all-state in Class AA at Helena High... also an all-state choice in basketball and track and field. From receivers coach Sam Mix: “I had the chance to see Jaxan play live this year and came away very impressed. He’s a long athlete who does it all for Helena from playing wideout to kicking to punting to defense. He’s very competitive, fast, and provides a length element that is needed in the room.”
Michael Rubich, K, 6-0, 190, Fr, Rock Springs, WY (Rock Springs)
Player notes: Earned first-team 4A all-state honors at kicker... first-team all-conference kicker, second-team all-conference punter. From specialists coach Marcus Monaco: “Michael comes from a really big Bobcat family, and he performed well at our camp last summer. He won the field goal section of our kicking competition and was able to perform really well in the combo aspect. He is a quality kickoff guy, is a capable punter, and had really good accolades this year in his capacity both as a kickoff and field goal kicker and as a punter. That he loves what Bobcat football can be is awesome and he’s a really talented player coming out of high school in Wyoming. There’s room for growth and development and I’m excited to see what he can do. He’s a talented kid.”
Tim Thomas II, DB, 5-11 190, Fr, Houston, TX (College Park)
Player notes: Recorded 30 tackles as a senior last fall... intercepted two passes... 37 tackles, including two for a loss, as a junior... qualified for the Class 6A state track meet as a junior with a 300 hurdles mark of 37.58, while posting an 11.19 mark in the 100. From safeties coach Jody Owens: “Tim is playing corner in a lot of his film, and I really like his athletic ability. He shows flashes of being able to do a lot of different things as far as being physical, as far as being able to go up and make plays on the ball. He’s an elite trackster running the 300 hurdles, he’s made it to state down in Texas, and I’m excited about what he can become and how he can grow within the Bobcat family.”
Major Thornhill, DE, 6-3, 210, Fr, Gunter, TX (Gunter)
Player notes: Earned first-team all-state honors twice... helped lead Gunter to a pair of state championships. From defensive line coach Shawn Howe: “Major was a guy who was very, very high on our list at this time last year, he had a lot of Division I attention, and it ended up looking like he might have a home at a service academy. His recruitment opened back up and we saw it as an opportunity to get one of the top players on our board, and it worked out. He comes from a really, really good football program, won a lot of games, and is an explosive athlete and absolutely loves football. He can make all kinds of plays athletically. He has shown tremendous toughness, he played hurt all year, and he absolutely loves to play football. He’s a football guy, he loves studying the game, he loves playing the game, he checks off all the things we pride ourselves in the D-line room here.”
