BOZEMAN — Jeff Choate swiftly leveled punishment against his suddenly troublesome senior running back on Thursday.
Montana State’s second-year head coach wasted no time announcing the penalty for Nick LaSane, a fifth-year senior and MSU’s slated starter in the backfield entering the 2017 season. Literally seconds after the first of Montana State’s 29 fall camp practices ended, Choate talked at length about the mistakes made by LaSane that resulted in two arrests in six weeks and a heavy-handed suspension from the head football coach.
Montana State head coach Jeff Choate/ by Brooks Nuanez
“One of the things we want to do is eliminate distractions and to be quite frank, that’s why we wanted to address it right away,” Choate said. “There was some thought about (LaSane) coming in when school starts, but I felt like that would even become a bigger distraction when we are already playing games. Let’s deal with it, let’s talk about it, let’s get it out of the way and let’s move forward.”
Moving forward means the 5-foot-11, 220-pounder out of Dallas, Texas will be suspended for the first four games of his senior season. LaSane, who is eight credits away from graduating with a degree in criminology, will also lose a portion of his scholarship in his final semester at MSU.
“Our goal here obviously is to handle thing in an up-front fashion and address issues as quickly and as sternly as we feel like is necessary,” Choate said. “It’s a tough balancing act when you’re looking at a young man that has eight semester credits left to get his degree, and that’s our No. 1 goal here is to make sure he gets to the finish line. If football can help him do that and this can be a lesson that we can utilize to improve his life, we’re certainly going to take advantage of that.”
LaSane landed himself in hot water initially when he was arrested and charged for driving under the influence of alcohol on June 10. Roughly six weeks later on July 21, LaSane was arrested on charges he disrupted a peace officer after refusing to show identification following an early-morning incident at the Rockin’ R Bar in downtown Bozeman.
Choate said LaSane served an internal suspension this summer from team activities following the DUI arrest. Between the incidents, LaSane was required to meet with athletic director Leon Costello and dean of students Matthew Caires. Choate said LaSane was issued a stern set of rules for the remainder of his senior year between incidents by the coaching staff. Because of the details of the second arrest coupled with LaSane’s acknowledgement, accountability and remorse for his wrong doing, Choate elected to keep him on the roster.
“If I didn’t feel like he was in a position to be remorseful and accept responsibility for the things that happened, then my decision might’ve been different in terms of working with him and keeping him here,” Choate said.
MSU senior running back Nick LaSane
LaSane earned FBS interest after an all-district junior year at Lovejoy High in 2011. But he suffered a torn ACL his senior year. Montana State was the only school that continued heavily recruiting the powerful, athletic tailback.
Since arriving on campus in 2013, the ripped 21-year-old has waited his turn in a crowded MSU backfield. First, he re-tore his ACL, costing him his first season. After rehabbing, he returned in 2014 but was the odd-man out in a group that included Shawn Johnson, Anthony Knight, Chad Newell and Gunnar Brekke. In 2015, he was the distance No. 4 rushing option behind Newell, Brekke and stud quarterback Dakota Prukop. Last season, he toiled behind Newell, Brekke and freshman quarterback Chris Murray.
LaSane entered his senior year with 80 carries for 452 yards and three touchdowns in his career, including 35 carries for 263 yards and a score last season. Many involved with Bobcat football, both internally and externally, expected 2017 to be LaSane’s year to shine.
“My expectations are set really high. I want to go above and beyond. I want to show you guys what I can really do,” LaSane said during spring drills. “I’ve had to wait patiently behind and lot of Montana State greats, and I’m ready to take the reins.”
“Nick’s been waiting his turn a long time. He’s got an opportunity now to do what he came here to do, which is to be the guy that’s packing the rock for us,” Choate said in April. “I just think it’s a heck of a story. There’s a lot of guys that don’t persevere through that.”
Instead, LaSane will sit out of Montana State’s non-conference matchups at Washington State and MSU’s home opener against South Dakota State. MSU has a bye in the third week of the season, meaning LaSane will also miss Big Sky Conference games at reigning champion North Dakota and at home against Weber State, a 2016 playoff qualifier.
MSU running back Noah James (22) takes on linebacker Jacob Hadley (42) during the Sonny Holland spring game in April
With LaSane taking a back seat during practice — he did not receive any first or second-team repetitions during Thursday’s fall camp opener — and a seat on the bench during games, the Bobcats will have to reshuffle their crowded backfield. Thursday, redshirt freshman Jake Roper and fourth-year junior Noah James took the majority of the first-team reps. Logan Jones, a true junior and like James, a Kalispell Glacier product, looks like he’s back to full strength after an injury-riddled and trouble-filled sophomore campaign. Redshirt freshman Anthony Pegues is also expected to compete for time in the rotation.
The competition for carries will also include Saddleback Community College transfer Edward Vander, a 6-foot-1, 205-pounder who Choate said has a “very similar skill set” to LaSane. Thursday, true freshmen Tyrel Burgess (5-8, 160 of Haines City, Florida), and Troy Andersen, a strapping 6-foot-3, 215-pound phenom from Dillon also took reps with MSU’s top two offensive units.
Andersen, widely considered the top prospect in the state of Montana in the last recruiting class, was originally recruited to play linebacker.
“Obviously we intended for him on the defensive side, but when you’ve got a dynamic athlete like that I think you have to take advantage of the things that he does well,” Choate said before adding he instructed offensive coordinator Brian Armstrong to “script some things to get the ball” in Andersen and Burgess’s hands more in the coming weeks.
While Montana State’s running backs were likely to operate as a committee regardless of LaSane’s status, Thursday’s announcement was a somber way for an otherwise positive first day of fall camp to end.
“We don’t ever bury our head in the sand around here,” Choate said. “We are always very up front with the rest of our team when there is an incident that occurs. Whether it’s us or someone at the University of Oklahoma or someone at the University of Michigan, we always have the opportunity to help these young men understand that things are different for them. They chose to be student-athletes here — that puts them in the limelight,” Choate continued. “They’re in the spotlight — I am, they are — and we have to accept responsibility and understand that we’re held to a higher standard.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
