Montana State targets top 2027 recruits after championship run

Montana State is not recruiting like a program content to rest on one ring. With spring ball over and official visits beginning, the Bobcats have already gone after two 2027 targets with national-caliber résumés in Kingston Anetema and August Saunders, a clear sign that the defending FCS champions intend to keep shopping at the top of the market.

That approach fits a program coming off the most important win in school history. Montana State beat Illinois State 35-34 in overtime on Jan. 5 to win its first FCS national title in 41 years, and that kind of championship pedigree changes the pitch in a hurry. The Bobcats are using it the way elite programs should: not to defend the past, but to widen the class of athlete they think they can land.

Anetema is the more complete early evaluation case. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound athlete from Mesa High School in Arizona got his Montana State offer on May 6 after talking with cornerbacks coach Jordan Lee following the Mesa Public Schools spring football showcase at Westwood High School, where about 100 players took part. 247Sports lists Anetema as a 2027 athlete from Mesa with a 0.8400 composite rating and logged the Montana State offer on May 7. The offer sheet already stretches far beyond the subdivision, with Colorado State, California, Connecticut, Florida International, Oregon State, Boise State, Navy, Northern Arizona and North Dakota State all in the mix.

The production matches the profile. Anetema caught 39 passes for 471 yards and five touchdowns on offense, and he added 26 tackles, five pass breakups, two interceptions, two tackles for loss and a fumble recovery on defense. That is the kind of two-way tape that usually sends a recruit into a national free-for-all, not a quiet regional chase.

Saunders gives Montana State another window into its recruiting ambition. The 6-foot-2, 165-pound corner from Corona Centennial in California picked up his offer on May 8 after speaking with Jordan Lee and running backs coach Josh Firm. His list already includes Sacramento State, Arizona State, Connecticut, Southern and San Diego State, and On3 lists him as a 2027 defensive back and safety prospect from Centennial High School in Corona.

The bigger story is not just the names, but the geography and the caliber. Montana State is reaching into Arizona and Southern California for players who already have Power Four and high-end Group of Five attention. That fits a staff that added Lee on Jan. 26 and has leaned into a deeper, more national approach under Brent Vigen. The Bobcats’ 2026 class, with 18 signed high school players and one transfer, already showed the program can stack bodies; these early 2027 offers show it wants more than depth. It wants conference control, playoff staying power, and enough talent to keep the championship window open.