Tommy Mellott, Brody Grebe and Montana State teammates 'grateful' to compete at pro day

In his stance as a defensive end, Grebe was taught to keep his head behind his hands to make sure he wasn’t offsides. For the 40 — or a high school track race in Melstone — Grebe had to shift that weight forward toward the starting line.

Former Montana State quarterback Tommy Mellott also thought back to his track days at Butte High. Instead of preparing for the grueling nature of a 60-minute football game, he focused on drills that lasted less than 10 seconds.

Mellott’s best 40 time was 4.39 seconds and Grebe finished in 4.6 seconds at MSU's pro day Friday. Grebe said he had been in the high 4.5 range in training.

While he could’ve ran faster, Mellott said he resorted back to his “pretty high” mean fitness level, trusting his training in California over the previous three months and his years of work in Montana.

“You visualize it as you're training,” Mellott said. “You practice in situations that are stressful. You practice all those different aspects to it because it isn't as much emotionally (demanding) as it is physically."

Eight former MSU football players competed in the Bobcats’ 2025 pro day: Mellott, Grebe, punter/kicker Brendan Hall, offensive lineman Marcus Wehr, safety Rylan Ortt, offensive lineman Cole Sain, wide receiver Ty McCullouch and wide receiver Clevan Thomas Jr. Thirteen NFL teams and five CFL teams were represented by scouts in attendance.

Top marks included Mellott’s 40, vertical jump (41 inches) and broad jump (10 feet, 4 inches); Wehr’s broad jump (9-6) and bench press (29 reps); Grebe’s broad jump (10-4) and vertical (38); and Ortt’s three-cone drill/L-drill (6.89 seconds).

Friday was a chance to showcase position flexibility, whether it be Wehr shifting on the O-line or Mellott working out as a receiver and Grebe as a fullback. His position and fit at the next level is still up in the air, but Grebe was happy to take one step closer to a lifelong dream of becoming a pro athlete.

“For it to come around like this and give myself a chance today, not that anything's happened, but to give myself a chance, that was huge,” Grebe said. “And I'm really grateful to be in the position I'm in and the support that I've had to get to this point."

Grebe — who was slightly upset with his vertical Friday after clearing 40 inches in training — flew to Florida immediately after the FCS national championship game to begin the ramp up for pro day. He trained at the X3 Performance & Physical Therapy facility alongside 50 other prospects, including ex-Montana receiver/returner Junior Bergen.

Grebe roomed with Bergen, whom he holds "a lot of respect for," sharing memories and trash talk with his former rival.

With a 31.25-inch arm length and 77-inch wingspan at 6-foot-1, Grebe is undersized for an NFL DE. That led to Grebe doing fullback and off-ball defensive drills on pro day and even training as a long snapper.

“I thought it was important for me to do that stuff, to show versatility, especially for special teams,” Grebe added. “I think some of the scouts voiced that to me, that they're really happy about that.”

Mellott and Wehr trained in the San Diego area with Les Spellman, who has trained Olympians and first-round NFL draft picks, at the Spellman Performance facility. 

It helped that Spellman’s methodology largely mirrored that of MSU strength and conditioning coach Sean Herrin, Mellott said. Mellott also enjoyed rooming with Wehr, who is “extremely competitive” and operates at “a million miles an hour.”

“But he takes care of himself in a great way,” Mellott added. “I think I do as well, but I always like to do as much as I possibly can, which sometimes less is more. So we were a good little ice and fire there being able to kind of help each other out with that.”

Based on his experience at QB and rushing for 1,000-plus yards twice in his MSU career, Mellott said his versatility can be “invaluable” to an NFL team. He also sees a path modeled by former New England Patriots WR/returner Julian Edelman, who played QB at Akron and became one of Tom Brady’s top targets.

Mellott also has pictures of himself wearing Edelman’s jersey in the fourth grade and has always been drawn to Edelman’s career, he said.

“When I started here, people doubted my ability to play the quarterback position,” Mellott said. “After four years, I became the (FCS offensive) player of the year at the quarterback position. So that's the type of growth that I can have at whatever position it might be in (at the pro level).”

Hall wasn’t too focused on how he performed Friday given he was evaluated at the NFL scouting combine in February. It was a chance to see how Hall handled pressure, he said, such as fielding rapid-fire, simultaneous questions from NFL special teams coordinators. Hall also got a chance to punt — aided by advice from former Indianapolis Colts punter and current ESPN personality Pat McAfee — and kick off.

He also held for German kicker Lenny Krieg, who recently signed with the Atlanta Falcons (who former MSU linebacker Troy Andersen plays for). Krieg went 14 for 14 on kicks with Hall holding.

Back in Bozeman, Hall has balanced an 18-credit hour school workload with time punting and kicking at Bobcat Stadium and the North Dome. He’s incorporated all the feedback he’s received from coaches and scouts.

“It's not about hitting a 65-yard ball like we have seen here at Montana State,” Hall said. “It's about hitting that 50-yard ball and (the returner) fair catches every time.”

The most important focus for Hall on Friday was supporting his teammates, which included punting to Mellott so the former QB could get looks as a returner. Grebe said seeing familiar faces gave him an energy boost, and he couldn’t help but cheer on his teammates, who “mean the world” to him, during drills.

Mellott shared the same sentiment, and felt honored to witness the “very special” performances from his fellow Bobcats Friday.

“I'm very happy and privileged, obviously, to be with those guys,” Mellott added. “I'm not where I'm at today without those guys pushing me.”