The Montana football team added its 12th commitment for the 2025 recruiting class earlier this week. Offensive lineman Kaikoa Kanakaole, from St. Louis High School in Honolulu, Hawaii, announced his commitment. He is rated as a 3-star interior offensive lineman by 247Sports and had also received an offer from Nevada, an FBS team in the Mountain West Conference.
Kanakaole is the ninth out-of-state commit in Montana’s Class of 2025. He joins a group from Washington that includes safeties Brady and Brock Beaner, linebacker Colton Lentz, and offensive linemen Quinlan Hyatt and Lincoln Hoefer, as well as running back Julius Gillick from California, defensive lineman Cooper Buffington from Iowa, and cornerback DeAnte Gentry from Texas.
The Griz have secured three in-state commitments: athlete Merek Mihelish from Helena Capital, wide receiver Bridger Smith from Kalispell Glacier, and running back Chase Cook from Red Lodge.
Appeal Denied
Montana safety Tyson Rostad, hailing from Hamilton, will miss the first half of this week’s game against UC Davis after the university’s appeal of his targeting penalty was rejected. The penalty was assessed during the game against Cal Poly when Rostad made contact with quarterback Bo Kelly; it was upheld upon review.
A targeting call during the first half results in a player’s disqualification for that game, while a call in the second half leads to a suspension for the first half of the following contest. According to NCAA rules, targeting involves making “forcible contact against an opponent with the crown of the helmet” or “forcible contact to the head or neck area of a defenseless opponent.”
Rostad, who is a backup safety, is 11th on the team with 24 tackles and tied for third with two pass breakups, along with one tackle for loss and one sack.
“Montana submitted an appeal regarding the targeting call, which was evaluated by the national coordinator of officials,” the Big Sky Conference stated in a release to 406 MT Sports. “A small committee, including other officials’ coordinators and the national coordinator, reviewed the case and confirmed that the targeting penalty was appropriately enforced. Consequently, the player will be sidelined for the first half of the game against UC Davis on Saturday.”
Professional Opportunity
Former Montana offensive lineman AJ Forbes has signed with the Fishers Freight of the Indoor Football League, the team announced on Thursday. Forbes was a three-year starting center for the Grizzlies from 2021 to 2023 and received All-Big Sky honors in his last two seasons.
The Fishers Freight, based in Fishers, Indiana—a suburb of Indianapolis—are the newest franchise in the Indoor Football League, having been announced as an expansion team in 2023 and set to begin play in 2025.
Leave a Reply