(RMC release)
BOZEMAN – Five Rocky Mountain College Battlin’ Bears showcased their talents in front of scouts Monday at Montana State University’s Pro Day with aspirations of continuing their football careers.
Jacob Bakken, Max Gray, Zane Guse, Darneail Jenkins, and Matt Larson all made the trip to Bozeman to participate in the event. Scouts from the Packers, Browns, and Jaguars all had the chance to watch the five in action.
“I am very excited for these five guys to be performing at Montana State. They are a great group of players and even better people,” said Rocky Mountain College head football coach Chris Stutzriem. “I have gotten calls on these guys from scouts and it is awesome to see these guys try and reach their goals of playing professional football.”
Jacob Bakken, Rocky’s starting quarterback, finished the 2018 season having thrown for 3448 yards and 35 touchdowns. He added an additional four touchdowns and 309 yards on the ground. Ranked No. 2 in the NAIA for total offense with 3757 yards, Bakken ranked No. 2 in total passing and No. 4 in pass efficiency. He earned First Team All-Conference and was the Frontier Conference’s Offensive Player of the Year while being selected Honorable Mention All-American.
Max Gray led the Battlin’ Bears in receiving for the 2018 season with 74 receptions for 1154 yards. He averaged 96 receiving yards per game. Gray ranked No. 9 in total receptions and No. 9 in total receiving yards. A First Team All-Conference, he was also selected First Team as part of CoSIDA’s 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-America NAIA Football Teams.
Another receiving threat, Darneail Jenkins finished the 2018 season with 737 receiving yards on 44 receptions. He pulled in 10 receiving touchdowns. He ranked No. 46 in total receiving yards and No. 47 in total scoring in the NAIA. He earned Second Team All-Conference honors.
Zane Guse was an important mainstay at offensive tackle for an offensive line that produced one of the best passing offenses in the NAIA last season. The Battlin’ Bears ranked No. 2 in total pass offense and No. 12 in total scoring offense. Second Team All-Conference, Guse was selected as the team’s Champion of Character.
Matt Larson, the punter for the Battlin’ Bears, earned the team a No. 1 ranking in punt yards per attempt at 42.5 yards. Individually, he ranked No. 2 in the NAIA for punt yards per attempt at 42.3 yards. Second Team All-Conference, Larson was selected 2018 AP NAIA All-America First Team.
“The great careers that of these players had here at Rocky is because they bought in to the process with the coaches and program. The whole Rocky campus is excited for their future,” added Stutzriem. “The best thing about these guys is they are all on track to graduate.”
Center Troy Bacon, an Honorable Mention All-American and First Team All-Conference, will attend University of Montana’s Pro Day tomorrow.
