(Editor's Note: Montana Tech Athletics release)
BUTTE -- Montana Tech head football coach Kyle Samson announced the 2021 recruiting class today. The class contains 24 total commitments arriving at Montana Tech next fall.
"This is our first full recruiting class as a staff and I am very proud that we have been able to bring in some of the top recruits in Montana and in the northwest," said head coach Samson. "And we are also very proud to add another three hometown kids from right here in Butte."
The class includes 17 signees from Montana and seven from out-of-state. There are six athletes coming to Butte from Washington and one from Colorado.
"All of them are great competitors and will represent our program very well in the classroom, the community, and on the field. These recruits are not only good athletes, but great leaders in their schools and communities."
The trenches on both sides of the ball make up the largest position groups addressed. Defensive backs and skilled positions were also added on the incoming roster.
"We feel like we have some great skill guys coming in on both sides of the ball that will be great additions to our offense and defense. We are extremely excited about our fronts on both sides of the ball in this class. You win championships upfront with your o-line and d-line and we feel that these two groups have the potential to be very special here at Tech."
"I really want to thank our coaching staff for doing a tremendous job to get these student-athletes to Tech. We have great coaches on our staff that truly value relationships and have done a great job of identifying players that will be great fits for our team and our culture. I can't thank them enough for all their time and effort. I also want to personally thank all of our campus community for helping us in our recruiting efforts as well. The whole Tech community is a big reason why these young men have chosen to come to Butte."
"We want to welcome these great young men and their families to our Montana Tech Family and look forward to seeing all of them this fall."
Tel Arthur LB 6-1 218 Missoula, Mont. Frenchtown HS
High School: Played prep for head coach Ryan Nelson at Frenchtown HS. Selected all-state at fullback. Selected all-state at middle linebacker. Named Class A Defensive Co-MVP. Chosen to play in the East-West Shrine Game.
Personal: Tel, the son of Jodi and Rob, plans on pursuing a degree in Business.
Tate Bowler WR 5-11 165 Manhattan, Mont. Manhattan HS
High School: Played prep for head coach Chris Grabowska at Manhattan HS. Two-time second team all-conference selection at wide receiver and defensive back. Selected second team all-conference at athlete. Chosen to play in the East-West Shrine Game. Selected second team all-conference in basketball. Named Academic All-State nine different times in three sports.
Personal: Tate, the son of Jen and Zach, plans on pursuing a degree in Civil Engineering.
Banner Cetraro WR 6-2 180 Butte, Mont. Butte HS
High School: Played prep for head coach Arie Grey at Butte HS. Selected honorable mention all-conference as a junior. Named Academic All-Conference three times. Member of National Honor Society and Science National Honor Society.
Personal: Banner, the son of Niki and Bryan, plans on pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering.
Caden Cross OL 6-1 265 Bonney Lake, Wash. Sumner HS
High School: Played prep for head coach Keith Ross at Sumner HS. Selected honorable mention all-league.
Personal: Caden, the son of Melissa and Matthew, plans on pursuing a degree in Business and Information Technology and Management of Natural Resources.
Elijah Eckles K/P 5-9 160 Bozeman, Mont. Bozeman HS
High School: Played prep for head coach Levi Wesche at Bozeman HS. Selected first team all-conference and first team all-state kicker. Selected first team all-conference and second team all-state punter.
Personal: Elijah, the son of Iris and Richard, plans on pursuing a degree in Civil Engineering.
Kaimen Evans DB 6-2 190 Raynesford, Mont. Belt Valley HS
High School: Played prep for head coach Jeff Graham at Belt Valley HS. Selected first team all-conference at running back, quarterback, and linebacker. Chosen to play in the East-West Shrine Game. Selected all-conference in track & field. Placed third in 400m at state track meet.
Personal: Kaimen, the son of Kalie and Matt, plans on pursuing a degree in Construction Technology.
Jace Fisher DL 6-5 305 Troy, Mont. Troy HS
High School: Played prep for head coach Luke Haggerty at Troy HS. Four-year letter winner. Received Student Mentor Award.
Personal: Jace, the son of Danel, plans on pursuing a degree in Applied Health Science.
Payton Gonser DB 6-1 175 Great Falls, Mont. Great Falls HS
High School: Played prep for head coach Mark Samson at Great Falls HS. Selected first team all-conference and second team all-state safety. Chosen to play in the East-West Shrine Game. Finished in sixth place at 2020 state wrestling tournament.
Personal: Payton, son of Amber and Grant, plans on pursuing a degree in Business and Construction Management.
Cameron Hunter OL 6-3 270 Lake Stevens, Wash. Lake Stevens HS
High School: Played prep for head coach Tom Tri at Lake Stevens HS. Selected honorable mention all-league offensive tackle.
Personal: Cameron, son of Lisa Hunter-Brunson and Shannon Brunson, plans on pursuing a degree in Nursing.
Bode Jensen DB 6-0 200 Castle Rock, Colo. Ponderosa HS
High School: Played prep and team captain for head coach Jaron Cohen at Ponderosa HS. Selected second team 4A Metro League and second team 4A Southern League. Named first team Academic All-State two times. Member of National Honor Society.
Personal: Bode, son of Amber Wood-Jensen and Mark Jensen, plans on pursuing a degree in Environmental Engineering. Bode is the son of Montana Tech Hall of Fame quarterback Mark Jensen.
Jayden Jones OL 6-6 300 Federal Way, Wash. Todd Beamer HS
High School: Played prep for head coach Darren Mckay at Todd Beamer HS. Selected second team all-league offensive line and defensive line. Selected honorable mention all-region offensive line.
Personal: Jayden, the son of Melissa Laurie, plans on pursuing a degree in Liberal Studies.
Egan Lester ATH 5-11 175 Butte, Mont. Butte Central HS
High School: Played prep for head coach Don People at Butte Central HS. Two-time all-conference selection in football. Chosen to play in East-West Shrine Game. Selected all-state in track & field in 1600m relay. Named Academic All-State in football, basketball, and track & field. Member of National Honor Society.
Personal: Egan is the son of June Pusich-Lester and Ed Lester.
Tyler Little DL 5-11 240 Helena, Mont. Capital HS
High School: Played prep for head coach Kyle Mihelish at Capital HS. Selected second team all-conference as a junior and first team all-conference and first team all-state as a senior. Chosen to play in East-West Shrine Game.
Personal: Tyler is the son of Renee and Tedd.
David Lowry DB 5-10 175 Helena, Mont. Helena HS
High School: Played prep for head coach Scott Evans at Helena HS. Selected honorable mention all-conference as a sophomore. Selected second team all-conference and honorable mention all-state as a junior and senior. Placed third at state track & field meet in 4x400m relay. Chosen to play in East-West Shrine Game. Named Academic All-State.
Personal: David is the son of Kimberly and David.
Jack Marcille DL 6-2 245 Helena, Mont. Helena HS
High School: Played prep for head coach Scott Evans at Helena HS. Selected honorable mention all-conference defensive line. Selected first team all-conference and first team all-state special teams. Named Academic All-State two times.
Personal: Jack, the son of Lisa and Chris, plans on pursuing a degree in Business Management.
Jaymn Medlock RB 5-11 185 Billings, Mont. Billings West HS
High School: Played prep for head coach Rob Stanton at Billings West HS. Two-time all-conference and all-area selection at St. John's HS in Michigan. Selected all-conference in wrestling and track & field at St. John's HS in Michigan as a junior. Selected all-conference and second team all-state as a senior at Billings West HS. Chosen to play in East-West Shrine Game. Named Academic All-State four times. Member of the National Honors Society.
Personal: Jaymn, the son of Rebecca Miller, plans on pursing a degree in Biological Sciences.
Mayson Phipps OL 6-2 275 Fort Peck, Mont. Glasgow HS
High School: Played prep for head coach Patrick Barnett at Glasgow HS. Three-time all-state selection at offensive line and defensive line. Chosen to play in East-West Shrine Game. Placed third as a sophomore and second as a junior at state wrestling meet.
Personal: Mayson, the son of Teneil and Steve, plans on pursuing a degree in Metal Fabrication.
Duncan Richardson DL 6-3 240 Huson, Mont. Frenchtown HS
High School: Played prep for head coach Ryne Nelson at Frenchtown HS. Selected first team all-conference offensive line as a sophomore. Selected second team all-conference offensive line and first team all-conference and all-state defensive line as a junior. Selected first team all-conference and all-state offensive and defensive line as a senior. Led Montana in tackles by a defensive lineman and ranked third nationally. Chosen to play in East-West Shrine Game. Named Academic All-State four times. Member of the National Honor Society.
Personal: Duncan, the son of Denielle and Casey, plans on pursuing a degree in Pre-Professional Health.
Malik Said DL 6-3 250 Bothell, Wash. Bothell HS
High School: Played prep for head coach Tom Bainter at Bothell HS.
Personal: Malik, the son of Karen and Ghalib, plans on pursuing a degree in Computer Science.
Angel Sanchez III DB 5-11 195 Tacoma, Wash. Puyallup HS
High School: Played prep and captain for head coach Gary Jeffers at Puyallup HS. Selected second team all-league. Received the academic Presidential Award.
Personal: Angel, the son of Patricia and Angel Jr., plans on pursuing a degree in Engineering or Nursing.
Ben Swanson LB 6-2 210 Helena, Mont. Helena HS
High School: Played prep and captain for head coach Scott Evans at Helena HS. Selected second team all-conference and second team all-state defensive athlete as a junior. Selected honorable mention all-state running back and full back and first team all-conference and second team all-state safety. Chosen to play in East-West Shrine Game. Named Academic All-State.
Personal: Ben, the son of Kathy and Dave, plans on pursing a degree in Business and Natural Resource and Land management.
Stephan Sweeney LB 6-4 220 Issaquah, Wash. Issaquah HS
High School: Played prep for head coach Joshua Brookshire at Issaquah HS. Selected second team 4A Kingco All-League defensive lineman as a junior. Led the Kingco League in sacks.
Personal: Stephan, the son of Krista Owen and Aaron Sweeney, plans on pursuing a degree in Business and Information Technology.
Jace Thompson ATH 5-10 175 Fort Benton, Mont. Fort Benton HS
High School: Played prep for head coach Jory Thompson at Fort Benton HS. Two-time first team all-conference and all-state linebacker and running back. Chosen to play in the 8-Man Bob Cleverly Classic All-Star Game and the East-West Shrine Game. Selected second team all-conference in basketball as a junior. Placed third in pole vault at Class C state meet as a sophomore. Named Academic All-State all four years.
Personal: Jace, the son of Marni and Jory, plans on pursuing a degree in Business Management.
Christian Vetter RB 6-0 180 Butte, Mont. Butte HS
High School: Played prep for head coach Arie Grey at Butte HS. Selected all-conference. Chosen to play in the East-West Shrine Game. Named Academic All-State. Member of the National Honor Society.
Personal: Christian, the son of Crissy and Rody, plans on pursuing a degree in Electrical Engineering.
