Findlay QB Ryan Montgomery doesn't disappoint in high school debut season

Nov. 15—FINDLAY, Ohio — If his freshman football season at Findlay High School was any indication of whether or not quarterback Ryan Montgomery measures up to his early college recruiting interest, the 6-foot-3, 185-pounder's passing talent did not disappoint.

"It's been awesome," Ryan Montgomery said of his first varsity season. "Obviously we've had our ups and downs, but it just shows how good of a group we are. It doesn't revolve around me.

"The potential we have on this football team is crazy. When I'm down on myself, my teammates help me pick my head up and we just keep on rolling."

Before he even took his first high school snap, or turned 15 (on Aug. 16), Montgomery already received a major Division I scholarship offer from University of Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, who liked what he saw at a Wolverines camp in early June.

Since that time, the promising Trojans QB has garnered five additional D-I offers, the latest a few weeks back from Ohio State University. The others are from Toledo, Notre Dame, Penn State, and Georgia Tech.

Last week, he received an invitation to the National Combine at the All-American Bowl in January at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

In addition to the talent Montgomery has shown, he is also the beneficiary of having an older brother — Findlay junior two-way lineman standout Luke Montgomery — who is one of the nation's top recruiting targets in the Class of 2023.

The brothers were able to team up on a Findlay squad that finished 9-4 overall this season, ending with a 13-0 loss last Friday in the third round of the Division I playoffs against fifth-ranked Springfield.

First-year Trojans coach Stefan Adams had a plan for Ryan Montgomery to transition into the team's starting varsity QB.

That trial turned out to be two games, as Ryan Montgomery was installed to the varsity spot and senior two-year starter Max Roth, another talented athlete, was shifted to wide receiver for the Trojans.

"We were at that point where the expectations were high this year with a lot of kids coming back, and a lot of playmakers," Adams said. "The plan all along was to make that change. Max Roth made it easy from day one. He said, 'Coach, wherever you need me, I'll play. If you want me at receiver, I'll play receiver.'

"My plan was to get through the first two games, let Ryan play JV and get his feet wet, and then see where we were in Week 3."

Ryan Montgomery was superb in his Week-3 varsity debut in a 49-0 win, albeit against a rebuilding Bowling Green team. But he then got something of a baptism by fire in back-to-back Three Rivers Athletic Conference losses to conference champion Central Catholic (41-6 loss) and runner-up Whitmer (40-6 loss).

After that double hurdle passed, Ryan Montgomery settled into his position and helped the third-place Trojans (5-2 TRAC) to seven consecutive wins before the playoff exit against a Springfield team that has reached two straight D-I state semifinals.

"There are talented kids that come through your program, and then there are kids who are just physically ahead of the curve," Adams said. "That is exactly what Ryan is. With how cerebral he is, he was able to get the job done.

"He has performed very well, and the numbers are there to show it. And, it's not just the [yardage] numbers. The touchdown-to-interception ratio is there to show it. He's been very smart with the football. When he makes mistakes, he comes over to the sideline and has legitimate football conversations about why."

In 11 starts, Montgomery was 173 of 299 passing (58 percent) for 2,420 yards and 29 touchdowns with seven interceptions.

Following the Central Catholic and Whitmer games, Montgomery had two 300-yard games, one five-touchdown game against St. John's, and two other four-touchdown performances.

He outdueled Fremont Ross stat-stuffer Kaden Holmes in Week 6, throwing for 344 yards and three scores.

He led Findlay to a come-from-behind win the next week over St. Francis in which he threw three of his four touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

"I would say that he has exceeded our expectations," father Mike Montgomery said of Ryan's play. "His poise and his demeanor have been fun to watch as parents. He is super focused and super competitive, and honestly when he was younger sometimes that got the best of him. He maybe didn't act in the most positive way after adversity.

"To see that be channeled, and not get the best of him, has been a real treat. If you can channel that focus and energy to the positive, then you have a chance to be pretty special. It's kind of happening first-hand here. If something bad happens, he won't show it. It's just move on to the next play. That's been neat."

Ryan Montgomery said getting familiar with varsity football helped him reach that level.

"I'm definitely very comfortable right now," he said. "I've been comfortable since the first game, but I was just a little nervous on that first drive and that first snap. After that I was just fine. We had a couple tough games where I didn't play too well or the team didn't play too well, but we just stuck together and won seven straight games. It couldn't be better."

As a testament to the freshman's rapid development and performance, Adams and his staff quickly adjusted the Trojans' offensive schemes to maximize the collective skill of the new mix of players.

The freshman QB thrived in this system.

"As we went go into the third round of the playoffs, he continued to be comfortable within the scheme," Adams said. "When he's comfortable, he always throws a nice ball. And, when you're comfortable and confident, you're that much better."

Ryan Montgomery is trying to stay grounded amid the early attention.

"I'm more of an under-the-radar kind of guy," he said. "I'm not too social. The main thing for me right now is my high school football team, and that's where my focus is. I don't let myself get too thick-headed. I stay humble."

Ryan Montgomery said he and Luke are Ohio State fans, but that won't likely affect their future choices.

"It's pretty cool getting an opportunity to play at a college like Ohio State, which has championship football year in and year out on top of the great education, and just getting a chance to maybe play together with my brother," Ryan said. "But one thing Luke wants me to know is that he doesn't want the choice of where he wants to go to impact my recruiting. He doesn't want his recruiting to impact mine. He wants me to go wherever best fits me."