Ryan Montgomery knows Findlay basketball’s going to be young this year. He’s a part of that youth movement, taking the court at Ohio State basketball’s recruiting camp Friday as an incoming high school sophomore.
But Montgomery already views himself as a leader. He knows he will have to step up and lead his basketball team when the time comes.
“I’m set,” Montgomery said. “I’m ready for that.”
Montgomery already knows what it’s like to play with a lot of eyes on him. Most of the time, that comes on the football field, where, for the 2025 quarterback, attention has exploded.
After starting the season on the bench for the Trojans, Montgomery entered the starting lineup and showed what he could do, playing alongside his brother Luke Montgomery: an offensive line commit for Ohio State in the 2023 class.
Ryan Montgomery got the attention of the Buckeyes too, offering him during his freshman season along with Notre Dame, Michigan, Penn State and Michigan State, where he camped the day before taking the basketball court with Findlay at the Schottenstein Center.
This summer, that attention turns south.
After participating in Ohio State’s 7-on-7 camp June 16, the 2025 quarterback will head south, visiting Virginia, North Carolina and Clemson, along with Tennessee and Georgia, who have already given him an offer.
“It is pretty nice because right now, I’m just trying to see as many places as I can as possible because you never know, I could fit somewhere where I haven’t been more than someplace I have been,” Montgomery said.
While on these visits, Montgomery said he’s looking at how he would fit in that school’s offense, and how he would bond with the coaching staff. But he even takes it a step further, bringing in those same leadership qualities he exuded when he took the floor with Findlay Friday.
He’s still a year away from making a college decision, wanting to make it official before his junior season, but Montgomery already strives to be a class builder for whatever college he ends up choosing.
“You don’t really want to commit somewhere where you’re not fully 100% sure you want to be there,” the 2025 quarterback said. “You have to be 100% sure you want to be there. When I’m committed, I’m committed. I’m not going to go anywhere else or do anything else.”
It’s something Montgomery sees Ohio State wanting, with quarterbacks coach Corey Dennis, offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson and offensive line coach Justin Frye each coming to watch a bit of Montgomery’s first game of the day against Princeton, something the 2025 quarterback thinks is awesome, especially for how young he is.
Ohio State is a place Montgomery feels like he could be that leader for. He feels its a place where he could help build the 2025 recruiting class.
“As a quarterback, obviously dream school was Ohio State,” Montgomery said. “Why wouldn’t you want to go to Ohio State? You’ve seen the quarterbacks they’ve developed. Like, why wouldn’t you want to go there?”
But it's something other programs have seen too, with Montgomery saying he's developed close relationships with Notre Dame offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tommy Rees and Michigan co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Matt Weiss.
Montgomery is getting used to the attention of being a high-profile quarterback in the 2025 class. But it’s something he’s taking day-by-day. He’s not ready to make the jump to the next level yet.
He still wants to be a kid, he said, spending time with his teammates on the football field and the basketball court, being that leader that he could be for his future college’s 2025 recruiting class.
“I need to take more initiative this year and just be more of a leader this year and just speak up when I need to,” Montgomery said.
