They may not be stars yet, but the prep football players that signed with the University of Montana yesterday sure have a lot of them next to their names. The Grizzlies signed at least four players that are considered two-star (out of five stars) players by the analysts at Rivals.com.

Montana head coach Bobby Hauck puts on a National Signing Day introduction for the public every year. This year he'll probably need to bring a supply of throat lozenges or some backup speakers as UM has signed 33 recruits after a large senior class depleted the roster.

Capital High's Jared Hunt and Helena High's Josh Stuberg - two-star athletes on Scout.com - highlight the University of Montana's 2008 football recruiting class.

Hunt, the Class AA offensive MVP, played quarterback for the Bruins, but was taken by the Grizzlies to play defensive back. He led the Bruins to back-to-back AA state championships as a two-year starter at quarterback. Hunt is also a top hurdler in the AA ranks and stars on the local prep hockey team.

"He's just a real good athlete that played all kinds of different positions," UM coach Bobby Hauck said of Hunt. "We hope he's the next in a long line of quarterbacks we've taken that have turned into great safeties. He's also capable of being an emergency punter, if needed, so we like his versatility."

Stuberg, who played in just four games his senior season, was a Class AA All-State first team selection at cornerback and second team selection at receiver as a junior. Another versatile athlete, he played running back during his senior season and is a key reserve on the Helena High basketball team.

"Stuberg is a good looking athlete who's had an extremely impressive career," Hauck said. We plan to play him at linebacker and he projects to be a very dynamic player with his athletic ability."

"I really like the coaches and the program, and I'm real excited to play in the Big Sky Conference," Stuberg said. "It's great to stay in Montana and play with and against all those guys from Helena."

Hunt and Stuberg will join fellow Helenans Mike Ferriter and Ryan Fetherston on the UM roster.

The Grizzlies apparently saw no need for an immediate fix on defense or special teams where they brought in just one transfer to fill one of the 10 vacancies in those areas. Of the 33 recruits UM brought in only two (a linebacker and a receiver) are transfers from junior colleges or FBS schools.

Twelve new players are from Montana and eight are from California.

"It's an extremely large class and it covered our board well," Hauck said. "When you lose a senior class like the one we had that was the winningest team in I-AA football over the last five years, you just hope that this class can have a five-year streak like that."