MISSOULA — Montana's Junior Bergen and Montana State's Marcus Wehr are among nine players from the Big Sky Conference to earn a place on the East-West Shrine Bowl 1,000, an annual watchlist of the top NFL prospects that are all-star game eligible in the coming season.
The list is compiled by the Shrine Bowl’s team of scouts and coaches, with four different levels of college football represented. The Shrine Bowl is an annual all-star event that will this year take place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on January 30, 2025.
Players will be coached by NFL coaches, in an NFL facility, and will have access to NFL-level resources, player-friendly schedules, and opportunities at the highest level.
Bergen, a 5-foot-11, 180-pound senior from Billings Senior High, earned three places on the preseason All-Big Sky team as a receiver, punt returner, and all-purpose player, the league announced from its kickoff event in Spokane, Wash., last week.
In 2023 he set a school record with an FCS-best three punt return touchdowns in a single season and tied the Big Sky record with the fifth return TD of his career. As a receiver he totaled 791 yards and five touchdowns. Add it all up and Bergen is coming off a year where he posted 1,680 all-purpose yards, a top-10 single-season total in program history.
Wehr, a Billings Central High alum, also earned preseason All-Big Sky recognition at offensive tackle last week.
The 6-4, 292-pound senior is coming off a first-team All-America season for the Bobcats in which helped the team rush for a Big Sky-leading 292.4 yards per game and finish with the conference's No. 1 scoring offense at 39.9 points per game.
Also named to the East-West Shrine Bowl from the Big Sky were Cal Poly edge rusher Elijah Ponder, Eastern Washington receiver Efton Chism, Idaho cornerback Abraham Williams, Northern Colorado edge David Hoage, Portland State QB Dante Chachere, Sac State O-lineman Jackson Slater, and UC Davis running back Lan Larison.
(Editor's note: Portions of a University of Montana news release were used in this report.)
