Brandon Casey signs NLI to play football at Montana
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE) Senior Brandon Casey signs his National Letter of Intent to play football at the University of Montana on Wednesday in the SHS weight room in front of friends and family. Pictured front row (from left): mom Anne Marie, Casey, sister Sarah and dad Bart. Back row (from left): SHS assistant football coach Jeremy Thielbahr, SHS head football coach Ryan Knowles and SHS assistant football coach George Yarno.
After announcing his commitment to the University of Montana in the middle of August, Brandon Casey finally made it official Wednesday.
The senior offensive lineman signed his National Letter of Intent to play football at Montana during the first day of the early signing period.
For Casey, deciding to become a Grizzly was a no-brainer.
“I love Missoula, I love the guys there and I love the direction their program is going,” he said.
Casey had a handful of offers from other Division I schools including Montana State, Idaho, Idaho State and Eastern Washington. And just two weeks ago, Casey received an offer from Oregon State.
The SHS three-sport athlete said when the Beavers offered him a scholarship he thought about it quite a bit, but never had second thoughts about choosing Montana.
“It was in my best interest to stay committed and it was where I wanted to go to school, simple as that,” he said. “I couldn’t argue with my gut.”
Several key factors that weighed heavily in Casey’s decision to attend Montana were the coaches, the facilities and the location.
Casey grew up a Vandals fan and his uncle played at UI so the two-time all-league lineman is turning the tide a bit on some family tradition, but he knows Missoula is the place for him.
“I have always been familiar with all the teams in the area so when I got the offer from Montana, it was kind of a dream come true,” he said. “It was exactly where I wanted to go.”
Sandpoint head football coach Ryan Knowles said Casey’s dedication to perfecting his craft is unmatched.
“His work ethic combined with his size are special,” Knowles wrote in an email. “There are not endless amounts of 6-foot-5-inch football players that have great grades and work hard the whole offseason. The number is very small.”
Knowles said throughout his career as a Bulldog, Casey was one of the hardest workers on the team and he can’t imagine a more deserving person to receive this opportunity.
“His coaches at Montana are very excited about him,” Knowles wrote. “They see him as a solution in the near future. Nothing will be given to him but he has the ability to earn time right away. He is very talented.”
Ever since he can remember, Casey has had aspirations of playing football collegiately and now its a reality.
“It’s just crazy to think that I accomplished it,” he said.