Former Helena High QB Carter Kraft commits to Montana Tech from Sacramento State

HELENA — Last year, Carter Kraft sat beside four Helena High football teammates in the Bengals’ gym, the only one not wearing Montana Tech colors. A record-setting quarterback, Kraft instead chose Sacramento State, a program his father once helped coach in the same conference he once played. Following a redshirt season, a body transformation, and a position change, Kraft is returning home, joining Kyler Larson, Brett Grange, Manu Melo and Ryan Frisinger in Butte as an Oredigger.

As seniors, that group pushed Helena High into the Class AA quarterfinals. Kraft retains four seasons of eligibility, joining a 39-member high school recruiting class Tech announced in February . Spencer Patton, Kraft’s defensive tackle teammate at Sacramento State and a Rocklin, California, native also announced his commitment to Tech Sunday.



@MonTechFootball @CoachKyleSamson @CoachMAllenFB @CoachThatcher @KodyTorgerson #Family #CountOnMe #DiggsFam25 ⚒️ pic.twitter.com/BCciMoC6wp Former Helena High players David Lowry, Shannen O’Brien and Carson Anderson also played for Tech last season.

“It’s gonna be awesome,” Kraft said. “Right when I announced I was gonna hit the transfer portal, I was flocked with a lotta love from all those guys..

. “Not [only] the ones I played with in high school, some kids I've played against or played with at the Shrine Game. Those are good dudes and they know how to compete and know how to win.

” West QB Carter Kraft of Helena throws a pass over the East's defense during the Montana East-West Shrine Game at Wendy's Field at Daylis Stadium in Billings. Kraft, Helena High’s single-game passing yards record holder, added roughly 15 pounds to his 6-foot frame in anticipation of playing linebacker at the NCAA Division I level. Tech announced Kraft as an athlete via Sunday’s commitment announcement on social media, and Kraft said he’ll likely play either linebacker defensively or a half-back type role offensively.

He and Tech’s coaching staff are still figuring out the finer points of what position best fits Kraft's skill-set. In addition to 4,652 career passing yards, 43 touchdowns passes and a 60.7% completion percentage, Kraft rushed for 685 yards and 12 combined scores his final two high school campaigns.

He was a second-team All-State selection as a senior. One thing is certain, Kraft doesn’t desire to join Tech’s ongoing position battle at quarterback . “I wanna put myself in the best position to compete, and they know that,” Kraft said.

“They know they’re getting a good competitor...

“I’ve kinda put the QB days behind me. I’ve transformed my body a little bit too much where it’s a little too late to go back [to quarterback]. I don’t have any aspirations of doing that again.

” Helena High's Carter Kraft throws a screen pass to Tevin Wetzel during a mud bowl crosstown game against Helena Capital at Vigilante Stadium. Kraft’s transfer comes days after his sister, Avery, committed to Carroll College women’s basketball following a redshirt season at Portland State. Kraft said he and his sister transferred for different reasons, adding a shift in culture at Sacramento State, a head coaching change, and a potential lost roster spot due to a looming 105-player roster cap without a grandfather clause for current players prompted his transfer portal addition.

“It’s just different,” Kraft said. “I don’t think you can fault the coaches or the players. Each of them have an obligation to win now, especially with all the money that’s starting to be involved.

.. “I’m excited.

I’ve got a new, fresh start coming with some very good teammates and buddies of mine, and some coaches that I feel like I align with more that know how to win.” Multiple Frontier Conference programs and some FCS teams reached out, Kraft said, but Tech’s on-field vision for his talent and a potential opportunity to contribute immediately drove a final decision. Helena High's Carter Kraft scrambles for a first down during a game against Missoula Big Sky at Vigilante Stadium.

“They have the more traditional culture of developing players into, not only successful men on the field, but also off the field,” Kraft said. “They aligned with me really well.” Kraft added he was excited to join the “rich tradition of football in Montana,” one he grew up witnessing first-hand as a Montana State Bobcats fan following his father’s playing days in Bozeman.

Despite the sands of NCAA collegiate football shifting underneath him, Kraft received the opportunity to dress for Sacramento State’s game against MSU last fall, inside the stadium his father once played. That, Kraft said, was his first true taste of what next-level football could offer. Now a new chapter awaits.

Helena High's Carter Kraft throws a pass during a game against Butte at Vigilante Stadium. “The competition has been very good for me,” Kraft said. “I’ve instilled some habits of working out multiple times a day and being better and better and better.

Those habits, I think, will carry on with me to Montana Tech...

“I just always wanted to chase the competition. It was good for me, I’m super glad I did..

.I figured some things out – what I was kinda looking for in my next school. It kinda helped me out in the long run.

” Kraft plans to finish the spring semester at Sacramento State before joining Tech for summer workouts. Currently studying finance, Kraft hopes to continue down a business degree path. Helena High's Carter Kraft breaks Helena Capital tackles on a quarterback keeper during a mud bowl crosstown game at Vigilante Stadium.

Tech posted a 9-3 (6-2 Frontier) record last season, falling to Dickinson State in the NAIA Football Championship Series Round of 16 in Butte. In a new-look 14-team Frontier, Tech will compete in the seven-team East Division for an automatic playoff berth that accompanies each division’s best regular-season record. The Orediggers begin their season on Aug.

28, at home, against Montana Western..