The alignment was nothing the Montgomery boys weren’t already used to.
During four-star offensive tackle Luke Montgomery’s commitment ceremony on Thursday at Findlay High School, 2025 quarterback Ryan Montgomery stood slightly behind his older brother, as they had done in offensive formations many times in the previous year on the football field. Alongside the rest of the Montgomery family in front of a Findlay backdrop, Ryan patiently waited for Luke’s announcement that he’d be committing to Ohio State.
Lets goooooo! @lukeMonty8 https://t.co/ANZLsPr8w6
— Ryan Montgomery (@RyanMonty2025) February 17, 2022
He already knew Luke was Ohio State-bound two weeks ago, and his only duty on Thursday was to stand by his big brother’s side as Luke told the world his decision, then unveil a red Ohio State shirt underneath a Findlay High School jacket with big white letters reading “Family.” Each of the Montgomery family members in attendance donned such a shirt.
It was his brother’s big day, one Ryan was thankful to see come true because he said Luke deserved it for how much work he puts in. But a few minutes into his commitment press conference, Luke suddenly thrust Ryan back into the recruiting limelight. A reporter asked the elder Montgomery if he planned on becoming a leading peer recruiter for the class of 2023 now that he’s given his verbal commitment to Ohio State. Luke flashed a smile.
“One-hundred percent. And this little guy right here,” Montgomery said, pointing his thumb directly behind him at Ryan.
With one Montgomery now in the saddle and headed to Columbus, the attention will now naturally turn to the next Montgomery on OSU’s wish list: the 6-foot-3, 180-pound gunslinging Ryan. Last season, Ryan started the majority of Findlay High School’s games at quarterback and received offers from seven programs even though he’s only a freshman.
One of those came from Ohio State and was delivered by Ryan Day himself. While presenting the offer, Day told the younger Montgomery just how rare it was for the Buckeyes to give a scholarship offer to a high school freshman.
Moments after Luke committed, one had to wonder: Will Ryan follow his brother to Ohio State and also play for the Buckeyes one day? Perhaps. But if he lands in Columbus, it’s not going to be purely because Luke is there.
“It doesn’t,” Ryan said when asked if Luke going to Ohio State would have any bearing on his college decision. “Obviously the idea of playing together in college would be pretty cool, but I’m just going to go to the best place that fits me. He’s going to Ohio State, the place that best fits him. I don’t feel any pressure (to go to OSU because of Luke), but I know that pressure is going to come to me. But I don’t feel any pressure.”
Ryan is grateful to be currently sharing the field with Luke at Findlay. In 11 starts for the Trojans as a freshman, Ryan completed 173 of 299 passes for 2,420 yards, 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions, all with his 6-foot-5, 270-pound older brother protecting him up front. That dynamic wasn’t without playful jabbing, though.
“Luke has said multiple times, ‘Ryan, if you’re not nice, I’m going to give that defensive end a free shot,’” said Mike Montgomery, the father of Ryan and Luke. “But it always comes back to ‘If I let somebody sack my brother, my mom’s going to kill me.’ So, it’s not worth letting Ryan get hit because mom will pounce if that happens. Joking aside, it’s really been awesome as a father to watch. I didn’t know Ryan would play that early. He had a good year and to have one more year with both boys with this coaching staff, it’s going to be a fun season.”
Ryan has also gotten to experience life on the recruiting trail alongside Luke, accompanying him on a plethora of visits and getting to see firsthand what the process is like before his own recruitment even starting ramping up.
“He’s been a great role model to me and I’m getting an idea of how it’s going to be like for the next couple of years,” Ryan said.
Ryan’s recruitment is likely going to unfold differently than Luke’s, however. Even though they’re related, they have their own personalities.
“One of the funnest trips I’ve had as a father was taking both boys down south in June when everything opened up,” Mike said. “We went to Alabama and Clemson and all these schools. Ryan got to see it and meet all these coaches early in the process and see how Luke handled himself. He’s really learned a lot from watching Luke in the media, but Ryan’s his own animal. He’s a different personality than Luke, he’s a little more introverted whereas Luke has never been a stranger. Obviously he’s also a quarterback compared to a lineman, so his recruitment will be a little different I think.”
Being a quarterback often means making a commitment sooner than prospects at other positions, since premier programs usually only take one signal-caller per recruiting cycle and want that player to be a leader in the class. Ryan is very aware of this, and noted that 2023 five-star quarterback Malachi Nelson committed after his sophomore season to Oklahoma. That could be a timeline Ryan himself follows, which would put him on pace to commit sometime between the winter of 2022 and summer of 2023.
“That’s obviously the ideal time to commit, especially for quarterbacks,” Ryan said. “Every school takes one quarterback … that’s kind of what I’m thinking, but I don’t know if that’s for sure going to happen. You want to commit early as a quarterback to get that class going.”
Mike has told his son he’s comfortable with Ryan’s recruitment playing out however long it needs to.
“I could see that,” Mike said about Ryan potentially committing after his sophomore season. “He asked me that today as well. I told him ‘It’s going to be up to you whether you go right to the end or you want to wrap this thing up next year.’ It’s all about feel. In the meantime, my job is to see if I can get you to any school and get as many touch points with these coaches. I could see that happening, it wouldn’t surprise me.”
Ryan’s visit schedule is already shaping up. In March, Ryan plans to attend spring practices at Notre Dame, Michigan and Ohio State. In the summer, he plans on visiting primarily southern schools such as LSU, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia. Because he might make a commitment after his sophomore year, all of those visits will be important for Montgomery – though it won’t be his first visit to most of those schools.
“I’m definitely one step ahead of the game thanks to my brother,” Ryan said. “I’ve gone to a lot places that he’s gone, this year I’m really going to go hard in the summer and get down to a couple of schools.”
