Two SEC programs are in ‘fantastic position’ with 2025 4-star QB Ryan Montgomery

Findlay (Ohio) four-star quarterback Ryan Montgomery has compiled a hoard of offers as one of top signal-callers in the 2025 cycle. On Aug. 15, he trimmed his list down to five schools: Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Penn State and South Carolina.

Following along his brother, Ohio State offensive lineman Luke Montgomery, during his recruiting process turned out to be a jumpstart for Ryan, who was on campuses from the get-go. After taking plenty of time to mull on his offers, he pulled the trigger on taking the next step and whittling his list down to his top contenders.

“I have been in this for a while now with Luke being my brother, so that sped things up a year starting with him,” Montgomery told On3’s Chad Simmons. “What I have seen on visits and the relationships I have built with schools and staffs and now is the time to narrow it down a little bit.”

Montgomery has taken visits galore to Michigan, totaling nine stops in Ann Arbor, including his most recent trip at the end of July. Penn State and Georgia have each had four visits, while Florida and South Carolina have also welcomed him on campus.

On Thursday, 247Sports national recruiting analyst Steve Wiltfong broke down Montgomery’s recruitment on the “Wiltfong Whiparound,” explaining why a pair of SEC programs may have separation from the pack as the top two schools in the QB’s recruitment.

“Ryan Montgomery was one of the first prospects to emerge nationally from the Midwest in this recruiting class. So even though he’s got a long way until the early signing period, he’s been going through this process for a couple years now,” Wiltfong said. “He’s been able to attend a lot of camps, make a lot of game visits. He put out that top five and I think he’s doing that in hopes of making his college decision sometime this calendar year…

“There’s two schools that i’m looking very closely at right now for Ryan Montgomery: looking at the Florida Gators and the South Carolina Gamecocks and he has visits set up for both,” he continued. “These are the two programs that I think out of the five are in fantastic position going into the fall.”

Montgomery has ‘clicked’ with Florida analyst Ryan O’Hara

The Florida Gators are in the midst of one of their best recruiting cycles in some time. McKinney (Texas) five-star safety Xavier Filsaime and Willis (Texas) five-star quarterback DJ Lagway spearhead the No. 3 class in the nation, per the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Ranking.

Montgomery could kickstart the Gators’ 2025 cycle with a commitment, building the momentum that Billy Napier and his staff are finding on the recruiting trail. A visit to UF in the fall is in the cards for the QB as he continues to build a relationship with offensive analyst Ryan O’Hara.

“He’s gonna get back down to Gainesville when Florida hosts Tennessee in September,” Wiltfong said. “His relationship with Coach O’Hara is phenomenal. They zoom all the time, a lot of X’s and O’s talks. He’s really clicked with him and thinks he can learn from him and then likes the program trajectory under Coach Napier.”

“It should not be a surprise that Billy Napier’s program made the cut,” wrote Gators Online recruiting analyst Corey Bender. “All in all, mutual interest is clearly very high right now.”

South Carolina Gamecocks “on the rise”

While it may not be to the level of Florida, South Carolina has also made some hay on the trail this cycle, currently holding the No. 18 class in the country. The Gamecocks have also added a five-star in Washington D.C. Friendship Collegiate Academy EDGE Dylan Stewart.

Like Napier, Shane Beamer is trying to build something special and get his program out of the middle of the pack in the SEC. Montgomery has clicked with the head coach, along with new offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains.

“He’s gonna get back down to South Carolina in October when Florida is on their campus. The relationship with Coach Loggains, he loves what Coach Beamer’s doing with the program, that’s another one he sees on the rise,” Wiltfong said.

Montgomery made a quick pair of stops in Columbia in April and May. His third stop could even witness the Gamecocks defeating Florida, which could always play a part in a final decision, if a heavy enough impact is left on his visit.

“A big thing with South Carolina is Coach Shane Beamer. He is one of my favorite head coaches and I have been in contact with him a lot. I like his plan for South Carolina, his approach and his style really fits me. Coach Dowell Loggains is one of my favorite coaches too,” Montgomery told Simmons. “He will talk about anything, he will be completely honest and he has some NFL background. I think South Carolina is on the rise, and with their success on the recruiting trail, I see them doing big things in the coming years.”

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