Thriving in the spotlight
Lobo recruit was star on Snoop Dogg team
CJ Montes, the University of New Mexico incoming freshman quarterback from Lancaster, California, visited Albuquerque for the first time last weekend and came away impressed with all the hoopla for the Cherry & Silver Game. An estimated 4,769 fans showed up for the Lobos’ spring game at University Stadium last Saturday.
Montes certainly is no stranger to the spotlight. He was the quarterback for the Pomona Steelers, also known as the Money Boyz, Snoop Dogg’s championship-winning youth football team that was featured on the Netflix show, “Coach Snoop.”
Montes came up big for the Money Boyz, helping lead the team of 13-year-olds to a national championship in 2016.
Snoop remembers Montes well — Snoop had said on the show that Montes reminded him of a young Snoop even though Montes has both
Online
See Snoop Dogg’s personalized video message of encouragement to CJ Montes at ABQjournal.com/ sports.
parents, Cip and Kiana, present in CJ’s life — and sent him a video before Montes made plans to move to Albuquerque by June.
“Shout out to my boy CJ Montes,” Snoop said in the video. “On his way to college, New Mexico. Double shout out to mommy and daddy for doing a great job of raising him. To all your coaches, your teachers, all your friends, all your family that helped you get this far in this journey. Much success to you, CJ. You’ve always been my favorite quarterback. Now go make us proud and get you some more experience.”
Montes — many call him “Money” — is determined to be a success story for one of those ‘where are they now?’ types of episodes that catches up with all the players on Snoop’s team.
“I just know how explosive we can be once everybody comes together,” Montes said of the Lobos’ offense. “The class we got coming in should be something really special, too. I just can’t wait to get up here.”
Montes believes he’s found a home at UNM, where he said he felt a sense of family, much like the atmosphere with the Money Boyz. Montes chose UNM because the Lobos showed great interest while other programs shied away.
Montes transferred to four different high schools. After starting out at La Salle Prep in Pasadena, he transferred to Arcadia, then to Long Beach Poly, and then for a stint at John Muir in Pasadena before playing his junior year at Paraclete in Lancaster.
When the Lobos recently landed graduate transfer quarterback Terry Wilson, who went 17-8 at Kentucky, a reporter asked Montes if there is any thought to enroll somewhere else.
“That was fine,” Montes said of Wilson coming to UNM. “The program needed a veteran quarterback who’s been there and has been on the big stage already. From the competition aspect of it, it didn’t matter to me. I mean, myself I’m a dog. Regardless of who it is, it could be Russell Wilson out there, I’m still going to go compete and try to win the spot.”
Montes’ determination intensified after he committed to the Lobos last year. And, interest in Montes picked up after his junior year when he gained 35 pounds of mostly muscle while working out with pro football players, including New York Giants speedy wide receiver John Ross, as part of his parents’ Top Notch Training (TNT) center in San Dimas. Montes is now 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds.
TNT is familiar to Lobo fans who followed former UNM cornerback D’Angelo Ross on his Pro Day in March 2019. His performance that featured a 4.32 in the 40-yard dash and a 39-inch vertical sparked attention from teams, including the New England Patriots, who put him on their practice squad.
Ross continues to work with TNT with the plan to make the Patriots’ roster this season. Montes has been working out with him.
“It was like it was meant to be,” Cip Montes said of his son going to UNM. “We trained D’Angelo Ross, a kid that was not expected to do anything at the Pro Day to the point that the scouts didn’t know who he was . ... For this to come back around, my son to be able to go to UNM, my son trained with D’Angelo that whole time, it’s just amazing. He’s excited and we’re excited as a family to do it as well.”
Montes opted out of his senior season at Paraclete during the spring because he said it was just too close to the fall and he wanted to make sure he would be fully ready to play for the Lobos.
This was supposed to be a big year for Montes and Paraclete. He was looking to improve upon his junior season when the dual-threat QB threw for 2,200 yards and 19 touchdowns. He had a strong backing from his coach, Dean Herrington, who has worked with notable QBs Matt Moore (UCLA, Oregon State) and Kyle Boller (California) who starred in college and played in the pros.
Herrington told the Los Angeles Daily News and the LA Times that Montes is a special player and insisted that he should be a Pac-12 recruit.
UNM coach Danny Gonzales, who was defensive coordinator at Arizona State for two seasons prior to coming back to his alma mater, agreed with Herrington.
“He’s a very, very talented young man,” Gonzales said of Montes. “He can throw the ball. He’s very athletic. He displays good leadership . ... That position alone you have to have tremendous character to be successful and to be the voice of the team, and to be a leader. He checked all the boxes for the recruiting process. Now it’s a matter of getting him here on campus and seeing him compete.”