by Rusty Ellis
Monterey senior Matthew Montgomery signed his official NLI on Friday to continue his academic and athletic career at the University of the Cumberlands this fall.
It comes on the heels of a senior season that saw Montgomery help lead the Wildcats to a 10-3 record and a berth in the Class 2A State Quarterfinals. Montgomery threw for 1,124 yards, ran for 820 and contributed 26 total touchdowns for Monterey.
MHS head coach Scott Hughes has plenty of positive things to say about Montgomery in his time in the program, and it all began with how he led the team.
“He’s got natural leadership skills, and he’s just a great young man to be around,” Hughes said. “As a coach, he’s been a blessing to know on and off the field…when you go back and look at the body of work he put together when he arrived in the spring of his eighth-grade year, and just the hard work and dedication that he’s had, being able to get to this point in his career is just such a testament to him and his dedication to the sport and what he wanted to accomplish.”
And Hughes doesn’t have any doubts as to whether or not Montgomery is ready to play at the collegiate level.
“I think this school’s a great fit, I think the community they are in fits him to a T,” Hughes said. “I can definitely picture him having success there, I think he will have success there…his work ethic and dedication will separate him. He’s a guy that thrives under pressure and is wanting to be pushed. The more competition he’s been in, that’s where he’s found success. This next chapter of his football career, it’s going to be special.”
Photos by Ben Craven / Herald-Citizen
