Montana Tech football commit Wyatt DeVoss did it all for the Great Falls High Bison

Dating back to his early days with the program, the Great Falls High football team knew it had a special player in Wyatt DeVoss.

The physical tools readily available, DeVoss was on coaches’ radar as a freshman and earned his way into the varsity rotation as a defensive linemen in his sophomore season.

“He was one that stood out from his freshman year as someone that we could rely upon,” said Bison head coach Coda Tchida. “Even as a sophomore, we saw a really talented player. Raw talent, but the work ethic, just the want-to even in his sophomore year.”

The Montana Tech commit leaves Great Falls High as a program record-holder, recording 27 sacks in his career to own the official mark of 20 set by Kino Detrick in the 1990s.

“Coming in as a freshman, I had goals and wanted to get my butt in the weight room as much as I could and be coachable,” said DeVoss, who wore Great Falls High’s honorary No. 40 as a senior captain. “My senior year just to break the record meant the world to me. All that hard work paying off in the end, and all the support from teammates and coaches, everybody was all there. I feel that’s the only reason I could’ve done it, was the hard work that they put on me and all the grind.”

DeVoss joins the Frontier Conference program in Butte this fall under mentor Kyle Samson – the son of his former Bison head coach Mark Samson, who retired after the 2021 season. He recently played in the annual all-star Shrine Game in Butte with 18 other Tech recruits from across the state.

“It was another honor,” DeVoss said. “It was an exciting thing to be chosen, first of all. During that week of practice, it was like a whole other world, getting to connect with players from all around the state.”

The first-team All-State selection has the ability to rush inside and out, Tchida said, combining size, strength and speed to not only take on multiple defenders but to set the edge from the outside.

“Very stout, just built really well,” Tchida said. “And with that, he’s very quick. I can imagine offensive tackles don’t see him being fast off the line, but he’s very quick, very powerful. He can bend really well around the edge as well and take on double-teams.”

DeVoss stayed busy between football seasons, competing in basketball and track as well for the Bison. He played in all 18 games for the Great Falls High hoops team last winter, averaging over six points per game while shooting 78 percent at the free throw line.

He closed out his prep career at the end of May with an All-State throw in the discus, slinging a career-best of 157 feet, 1 inch to take sixth at the state meet in Butte.

While he enjoyed the throwing events in track and field, DeVoss said it didn’t come as naturally as some of his other athletic pursuits. To achieve all-state status was very rewarding, he said.

“To end it that way in the track season was very special to me because throughout high school I kind of struggled with the discus and shot put,” DeVoss said. “Discus was my thing and I enjoyed it a lot. Coaches just kind of tweaked a couple of things on my form, and it just kind of clicked. It was a very high, intense feeling of victory for me and I wanted to make them proud of me.”

DeVoss leaves not only a legacy of athletic accolades, Tchida said, as the example set will be reverberate to future Bison athletes.

“He was just a leader,” Tchida said. “He wasn’t a vocal leader, but he went out and worked his butt off every day for four years. For us coaches that preach over and over ‘dedication’ and ‘communication,’ ‘be in the weight room,’ he’s a spitting image of that guy, that hard work pays off and that’s why we preach it so much. He’s the one that our program can look to, not only this next year but in future years, that ‘this what you need to do if you want to be successful.’”

DeVoss is working this summer at a local car dealership as he prepares to report to Montana Tech camp in early August. As he moves on to the next chapter in his life, DeVoss said the lessons learned and friends made in his time at Great Falls High will always remain close to his heart.

“I’ve really enjoyed my high school career, the athletics, the friends, the connections,” DeVoss said. “It’ll all stay there for the rest of my life. I’ll always look back on the glory days with all the coaching and support. It’s just a brotherhood that you can’t forget.”

This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: Montana Tech commit Wyatt DeVoss leaves legacy at Great Falls High