Grant Collins has always had an innate ability to rise the occasion. 

That ability helped Collins find himself as the head of the spear for one of the most iconic plays in the history of the Treasure State’s fiercest rivalry. Trailing 22-0 in the belly of the beast known as Washington-Grizzly Stadium, Collins and the Montana State Bobcats never wavered during the 118th rivalry showdown with Montana. 

Behind Troy Andersen’s relentless battering ram style at quarterback, the Bobcats rallied back to cut the UM lead to 25-22 with six minutes to play. 

Facing its biggest defensive possession of the year, Collins responded. The former Class AA Defensive Player of the Year from Bozeman High punched the ball out of Montana star quarterback Dalton Sneed’s grasp. For good measure, the original No. 41 recovered it. 

 Three minutes later, Logan Jones scampered in from 13 yards out to give Montana State its first lead. But the quest for a third straight win over Montana — something the Bobcats had not done since the early 1980s — was not finished. MSU needed one more stop. 

Collins and the Bobcat defense responded with the goal line stand of the century. Montana drove the ball inside the Bobcat 10-yard line thanks in part to a 50-yard kick return to Malik Flowers. Collins and Michael Jobman stuffed Adam Eastwood just a yard away from the goal line. 

Facing third-and-goal, Montana called time out. Then, with the teams lined up, former MSU head coach Jeff Choate called time out of his own. The play went off anyway, with officials racing to the line of scrimmage to blow it dead, and Eastwood’s run across the goal line was not allowed.

 Facing, again, the most important play of the year — and for Collins and many of his Montana-made defensive comrades, the biggest play of their entire careers —  Montana State’s defense stood strong. 

Sneed handed to Eastwood. Sophomore tackle Chase Benson, a quiet giant from Helena, blew up the interior of the Grizzly line. Senior nose tackles Tucker Yates, a former heavyweight state champion wrestler from Colstrip, crashed into the void. 

Collins knifed in to cut Eastwood in half, drilling the UM running back alongside Yates, causing the ball to pop out. Defensive end Derek Marks, a future preacher from Belgrade, recovered the ball. The Miracle in Missoula was complete.

“Some of it seems like a little bit of a blur right now, but clearly we talked about it all last week, but last night in particular, about ‘Hey, if you want to be remembered, you make a play in this game,’” said Choate, who led MSU to four straight wins over Montana before leaving to become the defensive coordinator at Texas. 

“I think this is a game in general that will be remembered for a long time, for the courage of the young men that fought in it and for the excitement that was provided. And I’m so extremely proud of our defensive unit for getting that stop.”

The iconic play is archived in the rich history of the rivalry by the documentary of the same name: “The Miracle in Missoula”. The play helped the Bobcats secure their first playoff appearance since 2014 and their first under Choate. It also served as a moment of affirmation for the fortitude and perseverance that Collins displayed through his injury-riddled but ultimately unforgettable Bobcat career. 

That same toughness, that same drive and that same knack for the embracing the moment have guided Collins since his football career ended. He jumped at the chance to pursue an opportunity at Raytheon when he used a personal connection and an open door at a career fair at Montana State into landing a job with the premier defense contractor and industrial corporation. 

Collins moved to Massachusetts outside of Boston, where he worked on high security projects as a systems engineer, specifically focusing on the development of radar systems and radar capabilities. 

His career with Raytheon led him to McKinney, Texas a few years later, which made it a quick trip for him to watch MSU in the 2021 national championship game. But Collins has always been drawn back to Montana, so when the opportunity to go into business with his father, Shane, and his teammate and friend, Brayden Konkol along with Konkol’s father, Josh, came about, Collins jumped at the opportunity. 

Living back east was interesting, very different than living out here. I’m not a big city guy so I missed Montana,” Collins said. “The further outside of Boston I could get, the better it was. And I liked it there. But that’s how I knew I needed to get back to Montana.”

Montana is what made Collins who he is. He is a ** generation Montanan who’s family lineage runs deep in the Gallatin Valley. 

Collins received recognition locally at a young age. He was an all-state linebacker at Bozeman High School his sophomore, junior and senior years, earning Class AA Defensive Player of the Year honors after leading Bozeman to on an undefeated state title run as a senior in 2013. 

Collins was the USA Today Montana Defensive Player of the Year a Great Falls Tribune Superstate choice. He was chosen for the Montana Shrine and the Mon-Dak All-Star games.

Those accolades were accompanied by a shoulder injury that turned into a plague of injuries. 

Yates got used to the sight throughout their parallel careers. Every time he would walk by the Montana State training room, most of the time he saw Collins. 

“Sometimes, he’ll have as many as five ice packs all over his shoulders and knees. It’s like, ‘Geez, Grant, are you alright man?” Yates said with a respectful chuckle. “I mean, you have five ice packs on you.

“We’ve had conversations before and I’ve asked him if he is going to hang it up this last spring and this last fall camp when he hurt his shoulder again. He has said no. Every single time.”

Since breaking into the starting lineup at middle linebacker as a redshirt freshman in 2015, Collins was a marvel of recovery. He had his first shoulder surgery when he was still in high school, an operation that derailed any plans to travel around the Northwest and solidify the interest he was already receiving from Pac 12 schools.

Collins had three more shoulder surgeries since his prep days. Through a coaching change and subsequent position change, he hardly ever had an off-season to gain weight and strength. Instead, he’s dedicated most of his free time to the training room and rehab lifestyle.

During the 2017 season, Collins suffered a particularly violent injury on a sideline tackle against Eastern Washington. That shoulder rip cost him the rest of his junior season, snapping his string of 28 straight starts despite a switch to Buck end for about a dozen games between his sophomore and junior seasons, his first two years playing under Choate and his staff.

Collins missed all of spring football the following spring and most of fall camp. After being in and out of the lineup the first month of the season, he didn’t miss another start his senior year. 

All season long, Choate has made comments about “just trying to get Grant to Saturday” every single week. The grizzled veteran made his 37th career start in that iconic rivalry game in 2018. 

“I have never been around a dude who had more reason and more excuses to hang it up than he has,” Montana State defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Ty Gregorak said. “Not one. He’s fought through it all. It’s crazy to think we are here. I remind him every day how many days he has left guaranteed so he can embrace that.”

During his seven seasons coaching linebackers at Montana, and four more as UM’s defensive coordinator and now three years with the Bobcats, Gregorak has coached some of the best players the Treasure State rivalry has seen. He helped Caleb McSurdy and Zack Wagennman earn Big Sky Defensive MVP honors and played a hand in Tyrone Holmes winning the 2015 Buck Buchanan Award in Gregorak’s final season in Missoula.

Over the last three years, Gregorak worked directing with Collins first at Buck end in 2016, then as MSU’s thumping Mike linebacker for three games last season and the last nine this fall. That resilience has impressed a linebackers’ coach who’s playing career ended at Colorado because of shoulder injuries.

“Grant is committed to football and he wasn’t going to let the game break him,” Gregorak said. “Which it has. Physically, it has broken him down. It’s been truly amazing to watch him overcome all this stuff with his shoulders. He’s a beaten up old man. I’m really proud of him fighting through like he has.”

As Collins got ready to tape it together for one last showdown with his hated rival, Choate also said he had left a significant impression. 

“I have more respect for that kid than any player I’ve ever coached and here’s why: how he goes about his practice habits,” Choate said in an interview in August. “He is fanatical. He only knows one speed. He understands that effort is the price of admission. He gets all of that. But when you look at what this young man has been through, how much he must absolutely love the game of football.

“Going back to his junior year of high school when he started having these shoulder surgeries, almost every single year he’s had to endure that. Then fight through that, come back, go through the pain of the rehab, go into the weight room, try to build his body back up knowing that, quite honestly, the way his shoulders are constructed, it’s probably going to happen again.

“A lot of guys get one of those and they are like, ‘I’m good, Coach.’ I think clearly, if you look up passion for football in the dictionary, there’s a picture of Grant Collins. He plays the game the right way and I have a tremendous amount of respect for him and his toughness.”

Like his father before him, the lessons learned from football have provided a blueprint for Grant’s life. He always dreamed of working with his father, and now that’s a reality. 

Working with the Konkols has been an added bonus. The foursome’s shared vision is fueled by pride in their Montana roots and a commitment to serving their community.

“One of the biggest things that transitions from football is the attention to detail, the work ethic and priding ourselves on our work,” Collins said. “We want to be the best. A lot of contractors want to get it done. We want to make it perfect. We care very much about getting it right and making sure it does what it’s supposed to.”

“I think sports in general, the work ethic, the attention to detail, the competitiveness helps,” Collins said. “The teamwork, too. Collaborating with Josh, Brayden, my dad, being able to work together and be on the same page as everyone is awesome.”

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