C. J. Montes (born September 18, 2002) is an American football quarterback for the Fordham Rams. He previously played for New Mexico.

C. J. Montes
Fordham Rams – No. 8
PositionQuarterback
Class
Redshirt
Redshirt
Junior
Personal information
Born: (2002-09-18) September 18, 2002 (age 22)
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight205 lb (93 kg)
Career history
College
High schoolParaclete
(Lancaster, California)
Career highlights and awards

Early life and high school

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Montes grew up in Pasadena, California and initially attended La Salle College Preparatory.[1] After his freshman year he transferred to Long Beach Polytechnic High School.[2] Montes passed for 1,097 yards and 15 touchdowns while also rushing for 206 yards and a touchdown as a sophomore, but transferred after his first semester to John Muir High School.[3] He transferred again to Paraclete High School in Lancaster, California before the start of his junior year without having played at John Muir.[4] Montes passed for over 2,200 yards with 19 touchdown passes as a junior.[5] Montes's senior season was canceled due to COVID-19.[6]

College career

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Montes played in three games during his true freshman season with the New Mexico Lobos while maintaining a redshirt.[6] He made one start for the Lobos, completing 3 of 19 pass attempts for 11 yards with two interceptions and taking four sacks in a 36-7 loss to Colorado State.[7] As a redshirt freshman, Montes played in four games and started the final two games of the 2022 season.[8] He finished the year with 174 yards and one interception on 27-for-51 passing and rushed for one touchdown.[9] Following the end of the season, Montes entered the NCAA transfer portal.[10]

Montes ultimately transferred to Fordham.[11] He was named the Rams' starting quarterback prior to the start of his first season with the team. Montes completed 241 of 376 passes for 3,000 yards and 26 touchdowns with one interception and was named second-team All-Patriot League and was a finalist for the Walter Payton Award.[12]

Statistics

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Season Games Passing Rushing
GP GS Record Cmp Att Pct Yds Avg TD INT Rtg Att Yds Avg TD
New Mexico Lobos
2021 3 1 0–1 10 33 30.3 39 1.2 0 2 28.1 25 −10 −0.4 0
2022 4 2 0–2 27 51 52.9 174 3.4 0 1 77.7 22 4 0.2 1
Fordham Rams
2023 11 11 6–5 241 375 64.3 2,997 8.0 26 1 153.7 100 160 1.6 3
2024 0 0 0–0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
Career 18 14 6–8 278 459 60.0 3,210 7.0 26 4 136.3 147 154 1.0 4

References

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  1. ^ "Freshman C.J. Montes leads La Salle football to comeback win". Pasadena Star-News. September 2, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  2. ^ "Notes: Quarterback C.J. Montes transferred to Long Beach Poly after starring at La Salle as a freshman". San Gabriel Valley Tribune. July 5, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  3. ^ "Long Beach Poly quarterback C.J. Montes transfers to Muir". Pasadena Star-News. February 4, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  4. ^ "Amir Bankhead, CJ Montes looking to make Paraclete football a contender again". Los Angeles Daily News. August 7, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  5. ^ "Quarterback CJ Montes of Paraclete is bigger, stronger, better". Los Angeles Times. September 14, 2020. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Virgen, Steve (August 28, 2022). "UNM's Montes still growing through adversity". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  7. ^ "Colorado State allows just 76 yards in win over New Mexico". ESPN.com. Associated Press. October 16, 2021. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  8. ^ Wright, Rick (November 23, 2022). "Lobo QB Montes gets last start of 2022 -- and he's learned his lesson". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  9. ^ Benson, Bradley (January 4, 2023). "Sports Desk: UNM perfect no more". KRQE.com. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  10. ^ Wright, Rick (January 4, 2023). "UNM football: QB Montes enters portal". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  11. ^ Wright, Rick (January 12, 2023). "Lobos get two linebacker commitments; QB Montes decides on school". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  12. ^ "Former UNM QB CJ Montes lights it up at Fordham, is up for Walter Payton Award". Albuquerque Journal. December 20, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
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