Senior quarterback Justin Lamson led Montana State’s Gold team to a 30-14 victory in the Sonny Holland Scrimmage, which took place in Bozeman on April 25. The scrimmage marked the end of the Bobcats’ spring football practice and provided fans their first look at the team for the upcoming season.
The event began with a celebration of last year’s success, as members of the 2025 National Championship team received their rings. “It was great to recognize the ’25 team and get our rings out,” said head coach Brent Vigen about distributing championship rings before the scrimmage. “Getting that turnaround so today could be part celebration and certainly part spring game was the intent back in January, and I appreciate our equipment manager Justin Jessop for coordinating that.”
Lamson stood out during the scrimmage, throwing for 192 yards and rushing for another 43. He led four touchdown drives on his first four full possessions, including a passing touchdown to Carter Curnow and a rushing score. “I thought in particular in the last couple of scrimmages Justin has really performed well. When he’s playing like that there’s a different efficiency about the first offense than maybe any other unit,” Vigen said.
Other notable performances included senior running back Jared White, who rushed for 68 yards on 16 carries and scored one touchdown. The Gold team’s offensive line faced off against a defensive line that is replacing all four starters from last season. “I’d say maybe I’d give the edge to the O-line, but I did think we did a better job containing the run and then rushing the passer,” Vigen said.
Vigen acknowledged some challenges due to missing defensive players but expressed confidence moving forward: “We had a lot of missing pieces (on defense). That’s kind of where we’re at. But I know we’ll get those guys back, and we feel good about the defense moving forward.” Overall, MSU quarterbacks combined for over 250 passing yards while offenses totaled nearly as many rushing yards during Saturday’s action.
The Bobcats are set to resume official practices later this summer ahead of their August season opener at Utah Tech.
