Big Dogs

Sam Montgomery says that Miami is recruiting him the hardest. "They seem to be taking time with what they send me," he said. "Brochures and flyers are nice, but they write actual handwritten notes. I love how it's real there. They don't sugar coat anything. They are honest with you and coach Randy Shannon is doing a good job. I'd love to be part of their rebuilding team and help them win..."

Sam Montgomery, the 6-foot-5, 240-pound four-star defensive end from Greenwood, S.C., finished his junior season with 65 tackles, 20 tackles for loss and an amazing 20 sacks. He also had four fumbles caused and two recovered, one of which he took back for a touchdown. Greenwood High School finished the year with a 12-2 record and lost in the second round of the playoffs.

"I'm always running to the ball," Montgomery said. "I never take a play off. I love studying my opponent and I know what they are gonna do. I try to be smart and not just rely on my strength."

Strength is something that Montgomery says he'd like to improve. "I don't really know my bench, but I squat 310 pounds," he said. "I'm hitting the weights hard and I'm trying to get all my numbers up over 300 pounds. I'm almost there.

"I also want to improve my quickness and footwork," he said. "I'm also working on my technique, like my hands and cut blocks, stuff like that."

Montgomery, ranked as the No. 6 defensive end by Scout.com, says he can run a 4.45 forty and claims a 34 inch vertical jump.

"I don't have a set top five, but these are the big dogs I'm looking at," he said. "LSU, Miami, USC, Clemson and Auburn."

All five have offered (18 total) and Montgomery says he also has rides from South Carolina, Maryland, Alabama, Florida, Florida State and North Carolina State, among others.

Last weekend (April 12), Montgomery attended the Clemson spring game. "It was pretty fun," he said. "I liked just getting to chill and it felt like a place that I could come in and play early. I just felt really comfortable there."

He says that Clemson is just under two hours from his house, but maintains that distance will not be a factor. "I'll go close or far," he said.

Although he attended the Tigers spring game, Montgomery says that Miami is recruiting him the hardest. "They seem to be taking time with what they send me," he said. "Brochures and flyers are nice, but they write actual handwritten notes.

"I love how it's real there," he said. "They don't sugar coat anything. They are honest with you and coach Randy Shannon is doing a good job. I'd love to be part of their rebuilding team and help them win a national championship."

With distance not being a factor, Montgomery also lists USC as one of his favorites. "I've never been to California, but I like the coaches I've talked to," he said. "I'm not sure of their names, but they seem cool. They have a really good tradition too and win every year."

Montgomery lists both LSU and Auburn as one of the "big dogs" he's looking at, but surprisingly says he knows very little about them. "The only thing I really know about LSU is that they won the national championship," he said. "Honestly, I don't think I'd recognize the coach from a regular guy on the street.

"With Auburn I know even less," he said. "I just recently learned that their mascot is a cat."

Perhaps one of the reasons that Montgomery isn't too familiar with either of the Tiger teams is that he doesn't watch ESPN. "I'm a cartoon guy," he admitted. "I never watch ESPN. I guess I'm gonna have to start next year.

"I'll be recording and watching a lot of teams next season," he said. "I feel like if the schools are taking time to scout me and watch me, that I should learn as much as I can about them too."

Montgomery says he never followed a specific team growing up even though he's been playing football since he was five years old. "I started playing real young," he said. "I've always been a natural athlete. I started playing basketball at four."

In fact, Montgomery says he'd like to play basketball in college too. He plays forward and averages 16 points and 11 rebounds per game. "I haven't really gotten any interest in basketball yet, but I plan to work on that," he said. "I'm gonna try to play both sports. I'm a banger and can hit the boards real hard."

Montgomery says he isn't sure if he's going to attend any camps this summer, but he plans on participating in the Under-Armour / Scout.com combine at either Auburn on April 27 or Charlotte on May 10. He also plans to attend the South Carolina spring game on April 19.

"I'm gonna take my time," he said. "They have to have my field of study and a good business school. I want to be a CPA, so a good grad rate is important.

"I plan to walk around the community and get a feel for the football support and just how it is there," he said. "I also want a team that is on the same page and that all the players have the same goal and that should be to win a national championship."

Montgomery reports a 2.9 core GPA and is taking the SAT and ACT in May and June. "I'll take them a few times," he said. "I want to make sure that my grades are totally fine and not have to worry about that."