Mount Healthy grad David Montgomery’s NFL Draft stock on the rise

INDIANAPOLIS – David Montgomery’s backfield inspiration started with video tapes. 

Before YouTube became the go-to, Montgomery used his grandfather’s VCR to watch clips of Barry Sanders, Eric Dickerson and Walter Payton mesmerizing fans and evading NFL defenders. 

That helped build the foundation of a future professional running back. 

“I tried to pattern my game off those guys, definitely legends who led the way for me,” Montgomery said. 

Sanders, Dickerson and Payton were all first-round NFL draft selections. Montgomery, the former Iowa State and Mount Healthy High School star, is in the conversation to join his heroes in April.

He’s a “no-brainer as a second-round pick,” according to NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah. Montgomery could move into the first round with a fast 40-yard dash at this week’s NFL Combine. 

“He’s one of my favorite players in this draft,” Jeremiah said. “… I try and go through and highlight four or five guys at every position that I just kind of like, these are my kind of guys, and if you’re running a team, I’d want somebody like this, the way they play the game with the passion, the toughness. There’s just something about them, I’d want them on my team, and David Montgomery is one of those guys for me.” 

Many people – even those who lined up against Montgomery – have expressed a similar special feeling about the 5-foot-11, 216-pound standout from Cincinnati. 

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Winton Woods High School coach Andre Parker remembers well a hotly contested state playoff game against Mount Healthy in 2015. The Warriors, stacked with fellow 2019 NFL draft prospects Mike Edwards and David Long Jr., stuffed Montgomery, playing quarterback then, on the ground. 

“We stopped him from running the ball,” Parker said. “But he found a way to beat us.” 

Montgomery did that by throwing a touchdown pass with a minute to go to secure a 13-10 victory. 

Perhaps time spent at quarterback in high school limited his collegiate options. He signed with Iowa State instead of offers from Illinois, Purdue, Indiana, Marshall and Miami University, furthering an underdog status he carries with him to this day.

In-state Ohio State and nearby Kentucky weren’t options, but Montgomery didn’t need the Big Ten or SEC to reach his potential. 

“I wouldn’t say that’s the sole reason why I have a chip on my shoulder,” he said. “I’ve had a chip on my shoulder my whole life because of what I came from. Was it a part of it? Yeah, for sure. That was OK, but it has definitely made me into the man I am today.” 

A first-team All-American in 2017 and 2018, Montgomery piled up 2,925 yards rushing and 26 touchdowns in three seasons at Iowa State. He led the country in broken tackles both as a sophomore and junior, a nod to what he picked up from the legends he studied as a kid. 

“Being shifty, being able to shake people, being able to run through people,” said Montgomery about what he learned. But it’s more than that and, for the man himself, hard to describe. 

He says he doesn’t know why tacklers have such a hard time bringing him down. He doesn’t plan moves ahead of time. From Montgomery’s point of view, things play out on the football field and long gains just happen. 

“Vision, patience, stop-start quickness,” Jeremiah said. “He’s got a lot of natural instincts as a runner.” 

Scout Inc. ranks Montgomery the No. 4 running back in the 2019 draft class. Listed on his profile: above average intangibles, agility, acceleration and durability. 

His best attribute, competitiveness, is graded as exceptional. 

That, he said, comes from home. 

“That’s what we do in Cincinnati, we just try to claw and scratch at what we can get at,” he said. “… just being able to give kids back home hope to understand that it’s possible. You’ve just got to have the right mindset and you can’t live to the standards that everybody creates for you. You’ve got to create your own. I was able to create my own and still creating my own trying to live out my dream and give kids back home hope.” 

A team in the first round could be moved to take Montgomery, according to Jeremiah, if he runs in the 4.4 range. Top-end speed is among the only question mark teams could have. If that’s created a high-pressure situation, Montgomery isn’t showing the effects. 

“Just run,” he said. “The time is going to be what the time is going to be, so just going to have fun with it, go run and have fun playing ball.”

It helps that in the grand scheme, whether he’s selected among the first 32 picks or the second round, Montgomery has established himself as a player who teams can build an offense around.

Creating that type of opportunity, according to Montgomery, has always been the goal. 

“I think,” Jeremiah said, “he’ll be a day-one starter.”