2025 4-star QB Ryan Montgomery breaks school career passing record

The accolades keep on coming for Findlay (Ohio) four-star quarterback Ryan Montgomery. Less than a month after he broke his school’s long-standing single-game passing record that was held by future NFL Hall of Famer Ben Roethlisberger, the 6-foot-3, 210-pounder etched his name into the record books once again on Friday night.

In a 53-0 drubbing of Springfield (Ohio), Montgomery hurled for 367 yards and four touchdowns. In the process, he became the school’s all-time passing leader. Now with 6,280 career passing yards — as just a junior — Montgomery broke a mark that had stood for 21 years.

Montgomery is the No. 237 overall prospect in the 2025 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He’s also the No. 17 QB and No. 10 player in Ohio.

On Aug. 15, Montgomery trimmed his list down to five schools: Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Penn State and South Carolina. He’s the younger brother of current Ohio State offensive lineman, Luke Montgomery.

“I feel comfortable with the schools on my list,” Montgomery told On3. “Recruiting is like a marathon, so things can change because recruiting changes so fast sometimes, but Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Penn State and South Carolina are the schools I am focused on.”

Last weekend, Montgomery was in Gainesville to watch Florida defeat Tennessee for a monster win in the Swamp. Following the game, he told On3’s Chad Simmons that the Gators were “Top 3 for sure,” clearly making a big impression on the signal-caller.

“The atmosphere was better than advertised,” Montgomery said. “The fans were just constantly screaming the whole time. It was insane.”

Montgomery breaks down top five

Upon releasing his top five schools, Montgomery broke down each of his finalists with Simmons:

FLORIDA: “Florida has made me feel like a priority for over a year now. I have felt the love from Coach Ryan O’Hara. He is probably the coach I have talked to the most and I have a really good relationship with. I have done the most zooms with him out of all of the coaches recruiting me and his love shows. We talk a lot, it has gone on for a long time and I will get back down there for the Tennessee game this fall.”

GEORGIA: “Georgia is the new standard in college football. They are back-to-back national champions and that speaks for itself. I have a really good relationship with Coach Mike Bobo and Coach Kirby Smart. They have been in contact with me for a while and every time I am at Georgia, I love it even more. The development there is second to none and one thing that stood out to me in the spring, even though they have won two championships in a row, they practice like they finished .500 last season.”

MICHIGAN: “Michigan is a place I have visited countless times, so every time I am on campus I feel very comfortable. It is close in proximity, so that is nice and I have a great relationship with Coach Kirk Campbell. He is super-relatable, he is easy to talk to and I like him a lot. Then you have Coach Jim Harbaugh. He played at Michigan, he coached in the NFL and he has a lot of great experience.”

PENN STATE: “Penn State has been on me for a while. As most people know, I have connections there with Drew Allar, Ethan Grunkmeyer and my quarterback coach Brad Maendler, so there is already a comfortable feeling at Penn State. Coach Danny O’Brien has done a great job recruiting me too. I have visited four times and I’m in contact with him a lot. I’m really excited to see the big year they will have as I know Drew is a dude.”

SOUTH CAROLINA: “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. 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.”