RED LODGE — Kougar Kappel didn’t need to waste time when it came to figuring out where to play his college football.
“As a Montana kid it's the Bobcats and Griz are always the two big teams. It's always been a goal to go to one of those schools," Kappel said. "The Griz were the first one to offer me, and when I got that I was like I don't really need to wait for anything else, so I committed right there and then."
“He just has really good football speed and awareness. He knows where to be on the field and how to take angles. He's naturally a God-given athlete there," Red Lodge coach John Fitzgerald said.
Kappel was the second commit of the class for the Griz, and will be joining a few former teammates when he gets to Missoula in former Ram weapons Owen Reynolds and Chase Cook.
“When he gets the ball he's been fortunate to play behind some really good football players the last few years, so they've paved that for him and he's grown into it and taken on a supportive role and last year was more of a leader role," Fitzgerald said. "Everything he's done to get where he's at right now has been done in the offseason."
There’s been a steady stream of division I football players from Red Lodge over the past several years, and it’s set a high expectation for the Rams.
“They kind of set the standard, right? They're present, and I think that's the biggest thing. They work hard to get kids involved. They work hard to get kids in the weight room and they're committed to the off-season program," Fitzgerald said.
"We're always going out on the field, even if practice is over, it'll be 7 or 8 and we'll turn on the lights and go throw around," Kappel said. "We're always pushing each other in the weight room and pushing each other to be the best that we can be."
Kappel and the Rams kick off the season in Glasgow on Friday night.
