Newest U of Montana Football Commit is the Son of Griz QB Great

Like father, like son? Well, Montana Grizzly football fans who revere the team's storied past can only hope so.

While it is not a long list, some players recruited from the state of Hawaii have undoubtedly left their mark on the University of Montana football program. That would include Tuufuli Upereza and Ray Brumm for those of you who can go back over 50 years. Others remember high-flying teams from the late '80s and 90's that featured the likes of receivers Shannon Cabunoc and Raul Pacheco.

Oh, yeah. There was one other dude from Hawaii who put up some pretty amazing video game-type numbers during his three years as the starting quarterback for the Griz. It was a career that ultimately led to his induction in the Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame in 2021.

Another Griz great, Scott Gurnsey, and I interviewed Brian Ah Yat during a football pregame show broadcast last fall, the week Brian was in Missoula for the Hall of Fame ceremony. Soft spoken with unmistakable passion and pride for UM, Brian was humbled by the honor being bestowed upon him.

His was a career (starter in '96, '97 and '98) that produced two Big Sky MVP seasons, over 10,000 yards of offense, and several school and conference record-setting performances, many that still stand to this day. You think about that now and wonder, how could the University of Montana have been his only college offer out of high school? But we're not complaining!

And yesterday (Thursday) it was announced that Kealii Ah Yat, Brian's son, has committed to the Grizzly football team, the first known commit for the Grizzly recruiting class of 2023. Any guesses what position he plays?

Kealii is a 6-foot-1,180-pound quarterback from Kamehameha Schools' Kapalama High School in Honolulu, Hawaii, preparing for his final season in the prep ranks this fall.

Pretty solid blood lines and, we assume, pretty solid coaching, too. Kealii's dad is the team's quarterbacks coach.

Congratulations to both father and son. Here's hoping for more great Ah Yat things for the Griz in the years to come!

LOOK: The story behind every NFL team name

Stacker delved into the story behind every NFL football team name. Overall team records, also included, are reflective of NFL regular-season games. There are some football teams with well-known nicknames—the Jets, for instance, are often referred to as Gang Green—but we also divulge how some teams’ official names are sparingly used (the Jets’ neighbors, the Giants, are actually known as the New York Football Giants). Sometimes a team name can tell you a lot about local history: The Vikings of Minnesota draw upon the area’s strong ties to Scandinavia, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are dripping in local legend related to Florida’s pirate past.

Let’s kick off the countdown with the folks who earned their nickname by buying boxes of used team jerseys.

Source: Newest U of Montana Football Commit is the Son of a Grizzly QB Great

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