Current NFL Players from the Big Sky State

The National Football Foundation estimates that more than 1.04 million students are participating in football at the high school level across 15,800 schools in the country (not counting private/parochial institutions), each chasing after a 7.8% chance to play at the collegiate level.

There are over 81,000 athletes in NCAA football across 773 schools. Each of these students holds a .41% chance of holding one of 2,016 spots on NFL Opening Week rosters. And Montana has a claim to 4 of those spots.

Alex Singleton

Alex Singleton was born on 12/7/1993 in Thousand Oaks, CA, and is currently 1 of 4 NFL players from there, and also earned All-Conference and county honors at linebacker, as well as All-CIF Northern Division.

After a 4-year stint at MSU where his redshirt was burned midway through his first year, he left MSU as one of the top linebackers in the FCS. After graduating from MSU he went through numerous spring trainings and tryouts until February 4, 2019, when he was activated by the Philadelphia Eagles.

He spent 3 seasons in the City of Brotherly Love before moving back west, where he is currently in his 6th season and plays for the Denver Broncos as their starting left-side linebacker.

Will Dissly

Will Dissly is from Bozeman, MT where he was born and went to high school, earning Montana AA Defensive Co-MVP and first team All-State at Defensive end and tight end as a junior and senior, Gatorade Player of the Year in Montana, and the second-ever Montana player to be named to the Parade team (honorable mention or otherwise), and leading the Hawks to 2 AA titles on his way to being named the #1 Montana recruit by ESPN.

In college, he played for the Washington Huskies as a defensive end. At WSU he played 5 years, 46 games, and earned himself a 2017 Academic All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention, as well as the Husky Excellence Award.

Dissly is currently playing for the Los Angeles Chargers in his 7th season after being released by the Seahawks in March, where he’s made 4 receptions for 42 yards through 2 weeks.

Troy Andersen

Troy Andersen currently plays for the Atlanta Falcons as their starting right-side linebacker. Born in Dillion, MT on 4/23/1999, he played for Beaverhead County High School and helped lead them to the Class A title in 2016. Other HS accolades include Class-A All-State QB as a junior and Senior, All-USA Montana First Team Safety and Defensive Player of the Year.

Andersen went to Montana State, where he played for 5 years as a running back and linebacker. Andersen is believed to be MSU’s first true freshman to start their first game at running back since 1990, as well as the quickest freshman to ever rush for 100 yards in a game.

He currently holds numerous MSU records, including the top spot of 5 single-season rushing records. After playing at MSU, Andersen was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons where he is currently in his 3rd season.

Daniel Hardy

Daniel Hardy is the last player on our list, born out of Beaverton, OR in 1998. Currently 25, Daniel came over to Montana via MSU after being an All-State receiver and linebacker his senior year of high school, and spending a year at College of the Siskiyous. His four years at Montana State netted him Second Team All-America and First Team All Big-Sky after moving to defensive end from linebacker his senior season, as well as the third-most tackles-for-loss in MSU history.

He was drafted with the 235 pick in 2022 by the Los Angeles Rams, where he was unfortunately placed on IR before the season and only managed 6 games played. He was waived on August 29th of 2023, where he was scooped up by the Chicago Bears 2 days later on the 31st and currently holds the #3 end spot on their depth chart.