Big Sky standout George Helms will be Lone Peak’s first-ever varsity Bobcat athlete
By Jack Reaney SENIOR EDITOR
It’s been close to three years since George Helms danced between tacklers for dozens of touchdowns with Lone Peak High School in Big Sky. From a small school and its often lopsided eight-man football matchups to a specialty high school in Florida and a NCAA Division I program at Elon University in North Carolina, Helms is now preparing to compete on Montana’s biggest football stage.
On April 18, he received a phone call from Montana State University head coach Brent Vigen, extending the official offer to join the Bobcats as a running back. He’d entered the NCAA transfer portal on April 16 after a redshirt freshman season at Elon.
Helms said it’s been a dream his whole life.
“It’s just crazy for it to finally come full circle like this, and make my dream come true,” Helms told EBS in a June 3 phone call. “It just feels crazy. It feels like I earned it, but it feels undescribable—almost surreal.”
Helms had a good feeling about his chances with MSU after speaking with coaches, and when Vigen said he’s excited to welcome him “back home,” Helms knew it was the right choice after two-and-a-half years on the East Coast showed him how much he wanted to be home in Montana.
Helms last played high school football in Montana in November 2022, his junior year at Lone Peak High School. He was all-conference and all-state that junior season, scoring 24 touchdowns with six interceptions on defense, and a half-dozen punt and kick returns. He had 35 total touchdowns and nine interceptions in his three-season LPHS career.
“As a lifelong bobcat fan, I am thrilled for George to be able to come back to MSU and become a member of Bobcat Nation,” Lone Peak head coach Dustin Shipman wrote in an email to EBS. “I think his hard work has paid off and MSU is where he has always wanted to land.”
Athletic Director John Hannahs added, “I am very proud of George and excited for his future at MSU. It is a great example of what can happen when you pour your blood, sweat and tears into something the way George has. Go ‘Cats!”
Forging a path
In the nearly three years since Helms wore Big Horn blue, he’s gained 37 pounds of muscle, now pushing 207 pounds.
“I think my body has changed a ton,” he said. “I’ve gotten a lot stronger, a lot faster, just developed a lot as an athlete in every way.”
He transferred for the second half of his high school junior year, and his senior year, at the athletics-focused IMG Academy in Florida. While he cherished his time at Lone Peak, the transfer helped him gain the exposure needed to play Division I football.
Elon also provided new opportunities to learn and grow, shaping him as a young man and exposing him to the world beyond the Treasure State.
“I loved Elon. Elon was a great experience,” Helms said, reflecting on mentorship from his running backs coach, and his teammate Rushawn Baker who recently signed with the New York Giants. “[They] helped me build from the ground up… How to play running back in college, just shaping me as a man and a football player.”
While Helms only played in one Elon game—logging two carries for 10 yards—his redshirt season means he’ll have four seasons of eligibility in Bozeman.
It’s an opportunity he’s been thinking about his whole life.
“I think that as a Montana kid—there’s no pro sports… everybody either focuses on University of Montana or MSU. And as a kid, you’re always looking at those guys,” Helms said. He idolized Montana natives-turned-Bobcat-greats like Tommy Mellott, who ascended from Butte to Bobcat stardom and was recently drafted to the Las Vegas Raiders; and Troy Andersen, the Dillon native who turned his versatile Bobcat career into four years running with the Atlanta Falcons.
“Seeing them around Bozeman was such an inspiration, because I always wanted to play there, and I always wanted to be like them,” he said.
Helms emphasized his gratitude to coach Vigen and the MSU football program for believing in him. “It’s crazy, and I’m so thankful for Coach Vigen and those guys for giving me an opportunity to come back home and play at Montana State.”
He also thanked his family for always believing in him—his mom, dad, and brother Will who pushed him hard.
George’s father, Jeff Helms, told EBS he developed “tremendously” at Elon to help create this opportunity.
“Obviously we’re proud of him, he’s worked really, really hard to get to where he is,” Jeff told EBS in a phone call. “I would say he’s worked extremely hard… He’s that kid that shows up early and leaves late, he’s been like that his whole career.”
George is grateful to everyone at LPHS for supporting his pursuit when he transferred away, and to Big Horn coaches Dustin Shipman and James Miranda, who understood his playing style as a Big Horn.
George said he’ll definitely attend some Lone Peak football games this fall to see his brother Will in his senior season. For the rest of the summer, he’ll be training at MSU with the goal of developing and learning the Bobcat offense as fast as possible so he can fit in with a strong running back room.
“We’re training hard, getting ready for next season.”
The Bobcats will look to build on last year’s record-breaking season and trip to the FCS Championship in Texas. Helms will look to carve out a role in the backfield.
