Stop us if you have heard this before, but Nate Montana has transferred to a new football program, his seventh different program dating back to his high school playing days.
We know that being the son of a legend in the same sport is certainly no easy task. They can’t all be Ken Griffey Jr. or Barry Bonds, right? Montana, the son of one of the top quarterbacks in NFL history, Joe Montana, has struggled to find his place on the football field. After walking on as a backup quarterback for Notre Dame under Charlie Weis, a lack of potential playing time behind Dayne Crist and Tommy Rees led to a decision to transfer to FCS power Montana, naturally.
Earlier this week the Montana program granted a waiver for fifth-year senior transfer, so Nate could pursue an opportunity to play elsewhere. The next stop on the Montana Transfer Conga Line will take him to West Virginia…. Wesleyan.
“He asked for a waiver as a fifth-year senior transfer, and he’s going to do that,” Montana head coach Mick Delaney said. “I just wish him good luck with everything. He wants to be on the field and he’ll get that opportunity there.”
To recap, Nate Montana started his college ball at Notre Dame in 2008, moved to Pasadena City College in 2009, back to Notre Dame in 2010, then to Montana in 2011 and will go to West Virginia Wesleyan in 2012. This should be the final stop on his tour of duty.
I know most of you have no clue what happens at the Division 2 level, except for a few of you out there, so allow me to tap back in to my roots a little bit and let you know how this works.
West Virginia Wesleyan is coming off back-to-back 9-2 seasons and went in to the spring trying to find a suitable replacement for graduating quarterback Adam Neugebauer, a Pittsburgh native who threw 79 career touchdowns and set school records for touchdowns (40) and passing yards (4,111) last fall. Neugebauer was the Super Region One Offensive Player of the Year and WVIAC Offensive Player of the Year. They used two different quarterbacks throughout the spring, with neither candidate really separating themselves in the quarterback competition. Nate will have to compete for the job, but it looks as though he should compete for the job as much as Russell Wilson did and Danny O’Brien will at Wisconsin.
As you can see, finding a quarterback who can produce is something the Bobcats are in desperate need of, and they will hope that Nate Montana can fill that hole. It has been a long, strange trip for Nate Montana but he may have finally found his chance to leave a mark on the football field. He needs this, and so does his new team.
Not to be outdone, Nate’s brother, Nick, is also transferring this off-season. Nick Montana transferred from Washington to Mt. San Antonio College.
Hey Nick, if you want to make a D2 switch to be closer to your brother, I can fill you in on all the hot spots in the town of Shippensburg. Call me.
Kevin McGuire is the managing editor of Nittany Lions Den and hosts the No 2-Minute Warning podcast. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.
