MISSOULA — The Montana Grizzlies football program rounded out its 2022 recruiting class on National Signing Day as UM officially added 11 more players on Wednesday.
The 11 additions bring UM's total to 23 players for the 2022 class. In the early signing period in December, 12 high school players signed including 10 from Montana.
In the latest round of signees, Montana added some age and experience as UM signed six transfers from other college football programs, including four who join UM after spending last year with FBS teams.
UM added redshirt senior quarterback Lucas Johnson from San Diego State, Washington redshirt sophomore receiver Sawyer Racanelli, Washington State redshirt freshman offensive lineman Dylan Mayginnes and Nebraska redshirt sophomore linebacker Garrett Hustedt. Mayginnes is the younger brother of UM left guard Hunter Mayginnes, who was a third-team All-Big Sky Conference selection in 2021.
UM also added Idaho State redshirt senior transfer cornerback Jayden Dawson and junior college transfer cornerback Robert Whitehead who comes in as a junior.
Montana also added five high school recruits on Wednesday, which included Missoula Sentinel standout Drew Klumph as the lone Montanan of the bunch. Klumph was a two-year starter and an all-state safety and receiver for the Spartans during their back-to-back Class AA state championship runs. Klumph is also a state champion hurdler for the Spartans. He joins Spartan teammate Joe Weida as UM 2022 signees.
Also included in the high school signees was offensive lineman Ethan Barney of Sumner, Washington, linebacker Vincent Genatone of North Platte, Nebraska, defensive lineman Jareb Ramos of Centennial, Colorado and linebacker Cooper Walton of Johnstown, Colorado.
Griz coach Bobby Hauck held a press conference on Wednesday and said when evaluating transfers from other program, they look for certain traits similar to when they recruit players out of high school.
"Everybody we recruit, as far as we can tell are people that want to go to school, people that want to be part of a team, people that love the game and aren't afraid to be coached hard and have good work ethic," Hauck said. "Those are the personality traits we're looking for so like any job in any company, you're trying to find people that fit what you want personality-wise, and that's what we're looking for.
"I thought recruiting went well. I like this group of kids. I think they fit well with each other and our team. Roster spots and scholarships were in short supply and I think we managed that really well."
Because the Grizzlies — like all programs — continue to navigate recruiting during COVID, Hauck said the Grizzlies currently have 78 players on the team who are freshmen and sophomores with their eligibility. He added that if they were to add more players from this cycle, it would likely be older players with more experience.
During his press conference, Hauck also noted that UM will be getting spring football started on March 2 and added that the 2022 spring game will be in Hamilton on Friday, April 8 under the lights.
Below are details on UM's 11 new recruits signed on Wednesday from a UM media release. For more details on the previous 12 that signed in December, click here.
TRANSFERS
—Jayden Dawson - R-Sr., CB, 5-11, 185, Riverside, Calif. / Heritage HS / Col. of Idaho / Mt. San Jacinto / Idaho St.
2022 (Montana): Transferred to Montana in time to join the team for winter conditioning… Expected to add experience and depth to the Grizzly secondary with one season left to play.
2021 (Idaho State): Earned an All-Big Sky Honorable Mention in the fall of 2021… Was second in the Big Sky in passes defended behind Montana's Justin Ford with 13 breakups and 2 interceptions… Was Idaho State's fourth-leading tackler with 54 stops… Also tallied a forced fumble and a fumble recovery that he returned for 19 yards, as well as two tackles for loss... Named Big Sky Player of the Week on Oct. 11 after logging an interception (returned for 61 yards), eight tackles, one TFL, one forced fumble, and two PBUs for the Bengals in a win over #7 UC Davis.
2020-2021 (Idaho State): Earned first-team All-Big Sky honors at corner following the spring season, his first in the league at ISU… Logged 30 tackles (20 solo) in six games for the Bengals… Also tallied one tackle for loss, one fumble recovery, and four pass breakups.
2019 (Mt. San Jacinto): Named second-team Mountain League at corner… Logged 50 tackles (38 solo) in 11 games for the Eagles… Also broke up 11 passes and one interception with a return for 13 yards and two TFLs… Blocked one kick on special teams as well
2018 (College of Idaho): Earned second-team All-Frontier Conference honors in his first year at College of Idaho… Logged 73 tackles and 3 interceptions … Named Academic All-Frontier Conference
High School: 2013 CIF Southern Section Champion… 2016 first-team all-Sunbelt League as a defensive back… 2016 first-team all-county… 2017 Sunbelt Defensive Player of the Year… 2016 and 2017 All-CIF Southern Section at corner
Personal: Parents are Corey and Sonja Dawson
Quoting Coach Hauck: "Jaden is a guy that has competed at a high level in our conference. I think his veteran presence at corner will really help that group. He's a mature, accomplished guy, both on the field and in the classroom. We're excited to get him here."
—Garrett Hustedt - R-So., DE, 6-2, 230, Omaha, Neb. / Mount Michael Benedictine / Nebraska
2022 (Montana): Joined the Grizzlies in time for winter conditioning with three years of eligibility remaining… Making transition from inside linebacker at Nebraska to defensive end at Montana
2021 (Nebraska): Played in one game on special teams for the Huskers in a victory over Fordham… Named Academic All-Big Ten for a second-straight year
2020 (Nebraska): Added depth at inside linebacker but did not see the field in 2020… Named Academic All-Big Ten
2019 (Nebraska): Was a redshirt in his first season as a walk-on for the Huskers
High School: Ranked among the Class B tackle leaders in Nebraska for 2018, racking up 101 stops, including 44 unassisted tackles… Totaled 8.5 sacks for Coach Greg Wunderlich's team, helping the Knights to a 6-4 record… Added 30 receptions for 401 yards and two touchdowns on offense… An honorable-mention Class B all-state choice by the Omaha World-Herald and Lincoln Journal Star, and was a member of the OWH's All-Area team… In 2017, Hustedt had 95 tackles and three sacks, while adding 114 rushing yards, 436 receiving yards and two touchdowns on offense to earn honorable-mention all-state recognition… Was selected to play in the 2019 Nebraska Shrine Bowl… Also had scholarship offers from Augustana, Truman State, Washburn and Minnesota State-Moorhead.
Personal: The son of Matthew and Jennifer Hustedt of Omaha… Majoring in psychology… Has volunteered with a Day of Service, the Nebraska Football Road Race, Husker Heroes and local hospital visits.
Quoting Coach Hauck: "Garrett is a guy that runs really well and has a great energy for the game. I would liken him to Justin Belknap in terms of where he is walking in the door. Hopefully he can make his way on the field like Belknap did for us, and if he does, he'll be a really good addition."
—Lucas Johnson - R-Sr., QB, 6-3, 215, San Diego, Calif. / Mt. Carmel HS / Georgia Tech / San Diego St.
2022 (Montana): Joined the Grizzlies in time for winter conditioning and enrolled at UM for the spring semester…
2021 (San Diego State): Passed for 1,424 yards and 12 TDs while seeing consistent time under center in 12 of 13 games for the Aztecs… Went 8-1 as a starter and lead San Diego St. to its second-straight bowl win… Made 9 starts in 13 games for SDSU… Was top-ten in the Mountain West for total offense, averaging 123.5 yards per game… Led Aztecs to a Frisco Bowl victory over No. 24 Texas San Antonio with a career high 333 yards passing with 3 TDs while rushing for another score… Also rushed for 184 yards and a TD with a career long run of 54 yards against Utah in his first start of the season on week three… Went 18-24-1 (75%) for 192 yards and three TDs in a win at UNLV… Did not play in Mountain West Championship Game against Utah State… Returned to starting role in Tropical Smoothie Café Frisco Bowl, leading SDSU to a 38-24 win
2020 (San Diego State):
Mountain West Scholar Athlete
Mountain West All-Academic Team
Played in three games with one start ... Was 14-for-24 (58.3 pct.) for 184 yards and a touchdown, owning a 136.48 pass efficiency rating ... Also rushed eight times for 80 yards (8.0 avg.) with a 35-yard touchdown ... His 10.0 YPC average led FBS among quarterbacks (min. 8 att.) ... If you take away the two times he was sacked (for 13 yards), he rushed six times for 93 yards (15.5 avg.) ... Came on late to lead the Aztecs in the final two offensive drives of the game against Hawai'i ... Ran three times for a career-high 51 yards (17.0 avg.) with a then career-long run of 24 yards on the first drive, which used up a whopping 9 minutes, 1 second (9:01) of clock before Matt Araiza made a 36-yard field goal ... Then was on for victory formation as SDSU kneeled down to end the game ... Earned his first start as an Aztec at Nevada on Nov. 21, going 14-for-24 for 184 yards and a touchdown ... Also rushed five times for 29 yards, including a 35-yard touchdown ... The 35-yard run was the longest by an Aztec quarterback since Ryan Katz had a 67-yarder at Fresno State on Sept. 29, 2012 and the third longest by a SDSU QB since at least 1996 ... Had his first touchdown pass of the season and second of his career ... Recorded the first rushing touchdown of his career
2019: (Georgia Tech): Played in six games and made two starts for the Yellow Jackets… went 21-37-1 (56.76%) for 187 yards passing with one TD and a long pass of 33 yards… Rushed for 43 yards on 22 attempts…
2018: (Georgia Tech): Saw action in one game against Duke… Suffered a season-ending foot injury… Granted an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA.
2017: (Georgia Tech): Appeared in nine games as a backup behind starting quarterback TaQuon Marshall and, in the second half of the season, the holder on place kicks … Did not attempt a pass and only had one rush, a one-yarder in the season finale against Georgia (Nov. 25).
2016: (Georgia Tech): Was a Redshirt
High School: Passed for 5,474 yards and 49 touchdowns over his career at Mt. Carmel High, while adding 2,546 yards and 35 touchdowns on the ground ... As a senior, he totaled 3,737 yards, including 2,571 passing yards and 26 touchdowns, and 1,166 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns, while earning first-team all-CIF honors ... The MCHS team finished with a 9-4 record when he was a senior and made the 2015 Division II state championship game, the school's first appearance in a title game in 30 years ... Also garnered first-team all-region accolades as a senior and was the Palomar League MVP ... A three-time first-team all-league honoree and three-time team captain ... Amassed 2,104 yards (1,456 passing, 648 rushing) and 25 touchdowns (13 passing, 12 rushing) as a junior ... Was also the starting quarterback for the North squad in the 2016 Blue-Grey All-American Bowl in Tampa, Fla. ... Also was a four-year letter winner and three-year team captain in basketball, and earned two letters in track and field, captaining one season… Prepped under football coach John Anderson at MCHS
Personal: Parents are Lucas ("Jackie') and Cathy Johnson ... Father, Jackie, played professional football for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ... Sister, Alix, played softball at Arizona State ... Originally picked Georgia Tech over offers from San Diego State, Air Force, Montana and UC Davis ... Is working on a master's degree at UM… Plans on getting into football coaching after graduation.
Quoting Coach Hauck: "I recruited Lucas in high school at San Diego State. Mount Carmel High School was about 10 minutes from our house and we recruited him heavily, but he went to Georgia Tech. I'm glad we're back together. He had some really good performances last football season and we're hoping to help him continue his evolution and hope he can contribute for us at quarterback."
—Dylan Mayginnes [gogriz.com] - R-Fr., OL, 6-5, 298, Chandler, Ariz. / Hamilton HS / Washington St.
2021: Was a redshirt in his first season at WSU
High School: A two-year letterwinner at Hamilton High School… Named second team Arizona All-State as a senior, as well as being named Second Team All-Region and receiving an All-League Honorable Mention as a Junior… Led Hamilton HS to a state semifinal appearance and a 9-3 record with an
offense that averaged 421 yards per game… Named to Sports360AZ All-Academic Football Team honorable mention with a 3.23 GPA… Rated among Big-150 Arizona prospects… Rated three-star prospect by ESPN.com, 247Sports.com and Rivals.com… Rated No. 100 offensive guard prospect in the country by 247Sports.com.
Personal: One of four children of Todd and Cindy Mayginnes… Older brother, Hunter, plays
Offensive Line for UM… Has two younger sisters, Madison and Kylie… Uncle, Gregg Hansell,
pitched for the Dodgers, Twins, Brewers, and Pirates from 1995-99
Quoting Coach Hauck: "Dylan's a guy with a lot of ability. I think he's got a huge upside. If he comes in and performs like his older brother did last year, I think the Grizzlies team and fans will be really happy."
—Sawyer Racanelli [gogriz.com] - R-So., WR, 6-3, 210, Brush Prairie, Wash. / Hockinson HS / Washington
2021: Contributed primarily on special teams for the Huskies… Recorded 5 total tackles on the season… Played in 11 of 12 games, all games but UCLA… Logged two tackles against Arizona State, and one against Stanford, Oregon, and Washington State.
2020: Saw action in two games as a true freshman against Arizona and Stanford… Was a redshirt.
High School: Missed his senior season due to injury... Lead Hockinson to back-to-back Washington 2A State Championships in 2017 and 2018… Eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first three seasons, including 1,764 yards on 101 receptions and 21 touchdowns as a junior… Also had 207 rushing yards and 11 TDs and made 88 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and made two interceptions on defense… Named to the Tacoma News-Tribune all-state team (all levels) as a junior in 2018... Scored all six of his team's TDs in the 2018 2A state title game ... Just the fifth player in state history with 100 or more receptions in a season... Also first-team All-2A Greater St. Helens League as a junior... Made 66 catches for 1,345 yards and 21 touchdowns as a sophomore and 56 catches for 1,055 yards and 11 touchdowns as a freshman… Ranked the No. 21 "athlete" prospect in the nation and the No. 9 recruit in Washington by 247Sports... Rated the state's No. 8 recruit and the nation's No. 50 "athlete" by ESPN... Named to the Tacoma News-Tribune's "Western 100"... Participated in the shot put, long jump and sprints for his track team in high school... Also lettered in baseball and basketball… Prepped under coach Rick Steele
Personal: Father, Josh, played quarterback at Portland State... Brother, Canon, plays quarterback at Central Washington… Last name pronounced "RACK-a-nelli"
Quoting Coach Hauck: "Sawyer is guy that saw us up close and personal last September in our first game. He's a guy we were familiar with coming out of high school and we thought a lot of him. We're excited that he chose to leave Washington and join us."
—Robert Whitehead [gogriz.com] - Jr., CB, 6-1, 170, El Cajon, Calif. / Steele Canyon HS / Grossmont
2020-21 (Grossmont): Was Grossmont's sixth-leading tackler and led the team in pass breakups as a sophomore… In 8 games, collected 36 total tackles, including four for loss… Logged two interceptions and nine pass breakups for a Grossmont team that went 7-3 on the season… Also held offers from Wagner and Iowa Wesleyan coming out of Junior College, with interest from San Jose State and Azusa Pacific
2018-19 (Southwestern): Played in two games and logged one tackle as a freshman
High School: Ranked the No. 45 overall player in California at Steele Canyon by MaxPreps… A team captain… Had seven interceptions as a senior… Helped the Cougars reach the state 3-A playoffs and a the team's first San Diego Section title… Featured at both safety and cornerback… Played on varsity team for three seasons…
Personal: Comes to Montana with a 3.12 GPA
Quoting Coach Hauck: "Rob is a guy that that we watched a lot of film on, and he did a lot of good things. He played high school football on the south end of San Diego and then went to Grossmont College, where I thought he performed really well. He's a tall, long-armed corner, which lends itself to press coverage, which we like. So, I think he's a good addition to our secondary."
HIGH SCHOOL
—Ethan Barney, OL, 6-4, 280, Sumner, Wash. / Sumner HS
2022: Barney will join the Griz in time for fall camp in '22
High School: Rated a 2-star prospect by 247Sports… A three-time starter on the offensive line, which the coached noted to be one of the best in school history.
Personal: Also held offers from Central Washington and San Diego.
—Vincent Genatone, LB, 6-1, 205, North Platte, Neb. / North Platte HS
2022: Genatone is set to enroll at the University of Montana as a true freshman in the fall of '22.
High School: Named to the All Nebraska Omaha World-Herald football team… Earned Super-State first team honors and collected 136 tackles as a senior, including fourteen and a half for loss… On offense, rushed for 911 yards and 13 touchdowns… Won a class A state wrestling title as a junior… Also lettered in track running sprints... Also held offers from South Dakota State, Southern Miss, North Dakota, and Northern Arizona, and received interest from Nebraska, Cal, Boise State, and Washington... State Champion wrestler as a senior at 195 pounds... Ran a 10.87 in the 100M on the track... Also competed in the 200M and 4x100 relay
Personal: Moved to Nebraska from Casper, Wyoming, as a junior in high school
Quoting Coach Hauck: "Vince comes from a football family, and has a lot of Montana roots in his extended family. He's a really athletic guy. In track, he ran a 10.87 in the 100-meter last year. I don't know how many state wrestling champs around the nation have also run a 10.87. So, we're excited about Vince and he's got chance to be a very dynamic player for us."
—Drew Klumph, ATH, 5-11, 175, Missoula, Mont. / Sentinel HS
2022: Klumph will join the Griz in time for fall camp in '22.
High School: Helped his team to an undefeated regular season in his senior year… Two-time State Champion…Served as a two-way starter for Sentinel in his senior season, collecting 46 tackles on defense and recording 27 catches for 501 yards and six touchdowns according to MaxPreps… In track, he was ranked top 10 in the state of Montana his junior year in both 110m the 300m hurdles… 2021 State AA boys track and field team champion… Carried a 4.0 GPA
Personal: Twin brother, Tanner, plans to run at Minnesota after receiving Montana's Boys Cross Country Gatorade Player of the Year.
Quoting Coach Hauck: "He's a versatile athlete. He's a state track and field champion. He's one of the best track athletes in the state, also very energetic football player. He can play all the skill positions on both sides of the ball and we'll figure out where that goes."
—Jareb Ramos, DL, 6-4, 273, Centennial, Colo. / Arapahoe HS
2022: Will come to Missoula and enroll at Montana in the fall of '22.
High School: Rated a 3-star prospect by 247Sports… Earned 5A First Team All-State honors his senior season… Three-time letterwinner on the Arapahoe football team… According to MaxPreps, Ramos totaled 42 tackles, seven for loss, and three sacks his senior year… Also lettered in track and field.
Personal: Received offers from Colorado State, Colorado State Pueblo, Eastern Washington, Idaho, Pennsylvania, San Diego, and Northern Colorado…
Quoting Coach Hauck: "Jareb was in a similar situation as Cooper Walton [gogriz.com] and got caught up in a coaching change. He was looking for a place to go and he is a big athletic kid. Certainly, a guy that is physically mature for his age. We just don't find many kids with his stature that have his athletic ability."
—Cooper Walton, LB, 6-1, 205, Johnstown, Colo. / Roosevelt HS
2022: Walton is set to join the team for the '22 fall season.
High School: A three-time All-State Player for Roosevelt High School… Earned First Team All-Conference honors four times… Was a two-time North Valley League Defensive Player of the Year… Racked up 94 tackles as a senior… Totaled 386 tackles, 49 for loss, 13 sacks and five interceptions in a four year varsity career… Rated as a 2-star Linebacker by Rivals
Personal: Also held interest from Colorado State, Northern Colorado, and Colorado State Pueblo
Quoting Coach Hauck: "Cooper's from the northern part of Colorado, and not too far from Fort Collins. He was earlier committed to Colorado State. That situation changed with the coaching change and we were there to scoop him up. I think when he came on his visit, he found that Montana was going to be a really great place for him. We're excited to have him."
