'I felt like I could do something here'

If you follow Findlay High School sports, college football or are on Twitter for more than five minutes, you've probably seen the name Luke Montgomery pop up at some point. And with good reason. The junior was a stalwart on Findlay's offensive and defensive lines, lines that helped the Trojans finish with a 9-4 record and reach the 2021 Division I regional semifinal, where they lost to Springfield, 13-0. He was named first-team all-Ohio offensive linemen last season, second-team all-Ohio defensive lineman in 2020 and as a freshman was named honorable mention All-Ohio on the defensive side of the ball. Ironically, it wasn't until 2019, when he was a freshman, that he truly felt like he belonged on a football field. "After playing my seventh-grade year, I didn't even know if I wanted to play my eighth-grade year. My dad talked me into playing again, so I did. My seventh-grade year was more of me trying to get the feel of it, and so my eighth-grade year, I kinda knew what I was doing and got better," Montgomery said. "Then my freshman year, I didn't know when I was going to play; and then I got put on the varsity stage in my first game as a defensive end. "After that game, I felt like I could do something here. Then these last couple of years, it's really taken off and I've really matured in the football aspect." He isn't the only one who's felt like he's matured in the football aspect since then, either. With his size and athleticism, Montgomery has had the attention of high-level college football programs since 2020, including Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame and Alabama. "I don't think you'll find a more explosive guy for his size in the country," Findlay high school head coach, Stefan Adams said. "You add that to his motor because he's got a great motor. He's very-handed, which is a very good thing for a lineman because it's one of those deals, too, that when he gets his hands on you, you're done." Ranked the 73rd player in the Class of 2023 and first in the state on 247Sports, Montgomery will make his decision on where he will next play today at Findlay High School. The 3 p.m. announcement and signing is open to the public. "We did the three-o-clock timeslot because we were hoping that kids getting out of school would want to stick around for the event, great; and if not, that's fine," Luke's father, Mike Montgomery said. "But we wanted to give the kids that option versus having it at night where kids leave and it's hard to get back to school." Luke Montgomery was a well-known commodity before making it big as a lineman, though. He played for the North Coast Blue Chips 14U AAU basketball program with LeBron James Jr. It's paid dividends, and then some for the top lineman. "Basketball really helped me because you're always moving your feet really quick. That helped me get those more fast, quick-twitch muscles, being able to move laterally—and of course, forward and backward—but overall, it helped me," Luke said. "Playing in the post, making post moves, especially for me because I'm not the most athletic kid when I was playing on that stage. So I had to do more fundamental things like pump fakes and having great footwork." Basketball didn't just help him with those little things like footwork, but his dad says it prepped him for what was thrown at him during the recruiting process. "I think, one, for him was when he got selected to play for the Blue Chips on LeBron James' organization, he kind of had to grow up overnight but he handled that well," Mike said. "With travel, time, missing out on his life, not getting a ton of playing time—sometimes he would, sometimes he wouldn't—but all that being said, it really set the stage for him being in the spotlight like he is now." And if anyone can empathize with his son, it's certainly his father. Much like Luke will be doing soon, Mike Montgomery played college football for Miami (OH). Even so, the paths have been forged in very different ways. "It's funny because it's night and day, right? With the internet, everything's changed and that's with everything across the board, but it's not even comparable," Mike said. "All the stories, interviews, phone calls, texts, all of those things are pretty much non-stop, for Luke now especially because the coaches are now proactively allowed to get after him. "Once in a while, I'll ask him "Who's got out to you today?' And he'll go, 'Dad, it's more than we can count.' Then I'll go 'Who are the head coaches?' He'll say, 'This guy, this guy and this guy,' and that's pretty amazing." "You get text messages, you go to the campus and you're with the coaching staff breaking down and looking at film," Luke said. "What's really crazy is sometimes I'll go to a place, and they've had my film broken down. Their O-line or the head coach has literally sat down and broke my film down with me and just showed me what I can work on. "In my opinion, that shows how much they want you; and if they want you bad enough, they'll come find you." That's just a small part of what's driving his decision as there where he'll be taking his talents. What's the biggest? "I would say the brotherhood and culture of the team," Luke said. "Coaches leave every once-in-a-while—and there's the transfer portal, I know that—but you're going to be with those kids however long in college. You gotta love your teammates, gotta be there for your teammates and they gotta be there for you." Initially, Montgomery was going to make that announcement in May, but it was pushed up nearly three months. Just don't read too much into it. "I was ready and I thought this was the best time to announce it because I wanted to be able to recruit other kids," Luke said. "For me, I wanna build the best class ever and I think that starts from teammate-to-teammate or recruit-to-recruit. Sometimes I think it's better than coming from a coach because you have that feeling and you're talking to kids constantly about wanting to be their teammate. "So, wherever I'm going, I'm going to recruit the heck out of them, maybe to the point where it'll annoy them. But I am there to help make the best class ever, win national championships and have some fun." That comes as no surprise to Montgomery's head coach. "I think he has the power and the kind of personality to do that," Adams said. "He's got a charming personality, he captivates any room he walks in, he's got infectious personality and he's just a well-grounded, well-rounded young man." Five of the top college football programs in the country —Ohio State, Michigan, Clemson, Notre Dame and Oklahoma — top the list of that highly-recruited 'well-grounded, well-rounded young man.' Thursday afternoon, Montgomery will let everyone know just which one he's headed too.