Eastlake TE heading east

Austin Reifeis, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound tight end/defensive end prospect from Eastlake High School in Redmond, Wash., verbally committed to Montana Sunday over offers from Hawaii, Idaho State and Illinois State.

"I wanted to let you know that I committed to Montana (Sunday)," Reifeis told Scout.com via text.

Reifeis took his official visit to Missoula this past weekend, and he gushed about it. "Definitely walking through the (Washington-Grizzly Stadium) tunnel and out onto the field with the Appalachian State game playing on the big screen," Reifeis said when asked about a highlight. "It gave me goosebumps!"

First-year head coach Robin Pflugrad is working overtime to find players to finish up his first recruiting class, and Reifeis had nothing but great things to say about the former Oregon, Washington State and Arizona State assistant.

"He's amazing," Reifeis said of Pflugrad. "He's such a good guy, and really seems like he's here for us players, and to stay around for a while, not just here to win and then move on to a BCS program."

One of the reasons Pflugrad recruited Reifeis to Missoulas was his versatility. He was a two-way threat under coach Gene Dales at Eastlake. "They said they really like me at tight end, and that's where I'll start off playing," he said. "But if it didn't work out there, they could easily see me at LB or D-end."

And in the end, what was it about Montana that got Reifeis to commit? "It was everything," he said, matter-of-factly.

Austin Reifeis Scout.com profile