PHOTOS BY JASON BACAJ & BLAKE HEMPSTEAD
The steady improvement, ability to energize his team and renovate MSU’s offense, and a resiliency that broadcasts his toughness has Montana State quarterback Justin Lamson as a potential candidate for the Big Sky Conference’s most valuable player. Lamson is on pace to be one of the best quarterbacks, at least statistically, in MSU history after just nine games.
“I love working with Justin, I believe he brings a lot of grit and a lot of toughness to the offense,” MSU wide receiver Ryan King said. “I just feel like he’s a competitor. I know everybody probably saw him out there limping a little bit, but he got right up and made the very next play like nothing happened. So I feel like that toughness and that grit from a quarterback is what you need in a leader.”
Lamson’s improvement continues as he posted a career high for passing yards (331) in the Bobcats’ most recent game at Northern Colorado – a resounding 55-7 win over the previously No. 1 rated pass defense in the Big Sky Conference.
“I would say he really took another step forward today and that’s what we needed,” MSU head coach Brent Vigen said after the UNC game.
“I don’t even know if I got a 300-yard game in high school,” Lamson said. “That was a landmark that I know we wanted to hit. I know we probably could’ve hit it earlier in the year, but it was pretty cool when coach told me that. Hopefully we get more of those.”
Three hundred yard passing games are few and far between at MSU over the last 10 years. The last quarterback to be a steady threat of hitting that number was Dakota Prukop, who played for the Bobcats in 2014 and 2015 before embarking on a journeyman’s career in the Canadian Football League. MSU went to a heavy run offense in 2016 and it was the team’s bread and butter until the start of the 2025 season, when it became more diversified under new offensive coordinator Pete Sterbick and departure of one of the best running quarterbacks in FCS history in Tommy Mellott.
Lamson has also exhibited an element of timing into all the variables that have made him a standout.
Ahead just 20-14 against a pesky Idaho State, Lamson directed a touchdown drive and finished it off with a 7-yard run. During the drive Lamson would be sacked to put the team in peril of losing the ball and giving the Bengals a chance to take the lead. To make matters worse, the sack came after a false start put MSU in second and 16 situation. On the next two plays, Lamson ran for 12 and four yards to keep the drive alive. Four plays later he was in the end zone. With the defense stopping ISU he then threw a pair of touchdown passes as the Bobcats extended their lead to 41-14 before the reserves finished off a 48-14 win.
Just a week later, Lamson saw yet another pesky rival, Cal Poly, cut a 27-3 lead to 10 points at 27-17 midway through the fourth quarter. Another scoreless possession would put the MSU defense on the spot. Lamson didn’t waste a great kickoff return by Jabez that set MSu up at the Cal Poly 40. He would complete his only two passes of the drive for 14 yards, but his biggest play came when he sprinted down the sideline for 14 yards to give the Bobcats a first and goal on the Cal Poly 1. Two plays later, MSU had an all but insurmountable 34-17 lead with just 3:35 to play.
After a rough early-season game against South Dakota State saw him complete 18 of 23 passes for just 123 yards and no touchdowns, Lamson bounced back with a 23 of 26 showing against San Diego passing for 293 yards and three touchdowns in just three quarters of action. He completed just one of his first five attempts for five yards against Cal Poly and was seemingly throwing behind his receivers all night. He bounced back from that with a career day by passing for 331 yards against Northern Colorado the next week. He was 16 for 22 with three touchdowns and also rushed nine times for 57 yards and a score.
“We gotta continue to start fast, I think that’s important,” Lamson said. “We had those two drives where we didn’t score, so it’s just kind of the way the game flows and just being able to bounce back. We scored 34 points last week and to our standard that’s not good enough, ya know what I mean? For other teams that’s probably good enough, but we want more, and our coaches challenged us to do that this week, and we got the job done.”
The Bobcats ended up building a 55-0 lead and winning 55-7, but ever the self-evaluator Lamson still found areas that need work after MSU managed just 13 points until it found a groove with just 1:24 left in the first half. After an incompletion to start the drive, the Bobcats moved 85 yards on six plays in just :45. Lamson would connect on all three of his pass attempts for 55 yards and he also had a run of eight yards on the drive that gave them a comfortable 20-0 lead going into the locker room.
“It was pretty complete, but I still feel like we left a little bit out there in the first half,” Lamson said after the game. “You don’t get a touchdown on that last drive, and we don’t feel like we finished the (half well) and that’s how we’ve been all season. I know there’s going to be a lot (of things to fix) out there. We’re going to go watch film and there’s going to be a lot of corrections. Just chipping away at those little things.”
His passing performance against UNC would’ve been notable against any team but the Bears came into the game with the BSC’s No. 1 pass defense in terms of yards allowed per game (180.3) and pass defense efficiency (105.2). They were also third in the league in points allowed (24.3).
“I thought (Lamson) was opportunistic,” Vigen said. “We had an opportunity (for our receivers) to get behind (the UNC secondary) a bunch of times, which we haven’t done a whole lot of and he was able to connect several times. Just his ability to extend plays whether it’s a few throws on scrambles, a few scrambles for yards and he just continues to compete.”
After not throwing any touchdown passes in the first two games, his numbers have soared. He’s currently the No. 2 passer in the BSC based on passing efficiency. He has 16 touchdown passes against just two interceptions on the season. In league play he has 13 touchdown passes and no interceptions with a passer rating of 196.0, which is just 0.8 behind BSC leader Caden Pinnick of UC Davis, while no other BSC quarterbacks have a rating of 150.0. He hasn’t thrown an interception in his lass 112 attempts. Most remarkable is his completion percentage – he led the nation at several points this season – which is now fourth in the FCS at 72%. No quarterback in MSU history has had a completion percentage over 70% in a season.
He’s thrown for 1,909 yards (212 yards per game) and he’s rushed for 381 yards, scoring six touchdowns on the ground.
Most of all, Lamson has brought energy to the team that no one could have expected especially after the graduation of Mellott, who won the Payton Award for best player in the Football Championship Subdivision. Lamson’s hard work instantly impressed the players and coaches. His toughness since the season started has been inspiring. Lamson rarely goes into tackles with a slide as he regularly has a head of steam built up when he takes on would-be tacklers without hesitation.
Lamson was under a powerful microscope and some early season dips in his play had fans ruing the day Mellott graduated. Lamson was able to mentally navigate his way through those times and established his own identity that fans have gotten on board with as the season progressed.
“He’s playing at a high level and we need that to continue,” Vigen said.
Lamson will lead the Bobcats as they take the field at home for the time in nearly a month when they take on Weber State, which they haven’t faced since a 40-0 win in Ogden in 2023. Kickoff is set for 1:00 at Bobcat Stadium.
