With Montana State beginning its second fall camp under Jeff Choate this week, Skyline Sports will break down MSU’s roster by highlighting prominent battles for playing time in each position group.
No. 9 of the countdown of most important Bobcat position battles: Punter
No. 6 — Backup wide receiver spots
The players: Chris Murray (6-2, 185 sophomore from Inglewood, California); Brady McChesney (5-11, 170-pound sophomore from Kalispell) Luke May (6-1, 205-pound redshirt freshman from Whitefish); Tucker Rovig (6-5, 190-pound true freshman from Boise); and Callahan O’Reilly (6-3, 210-pound true freshman from Bozeman).
Montana State sophomore starting quarterback Chris Murray/ by Brooks Nuanez
What’s at stake: Murray is the reigning Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year and one of the most explosive runners in the league. It’s very unlikely that any of the four less experienced Bobcat quarterbacks beat him out completely.
But pushing Murray during fall camp will be essential for his progress. In terms of pure throwing ability, all of the upstart quarterbacks have better arms that Murray. May likely has the strongest arm on the team while Rovig is the most polished fundamentally. McChesney is the best decision maker while O’Reilly, despite clunky mechanics, has a knack for converting whenever the coaches demand situational excellence.
Murray will be the man under center when Montana State opens its season at Washington State. But don’t be surprised if the Bobcats play multiple quarterbacks in 2017 like they did in 2016 and throughout spring drills.
How they fared in 2016: Murray struggled mightily to throw the ball as a true freshman, completing just 44 percent of his passes for 778 yards and six touchdowns. He threw eight interceptions.
His electric ability with his legs made him a serious problem for opposing defenses however. He rushed for team-highs 860 yards and 12 touchdowns, averaging 6.2 yards per carry and scoring more long rushing touchdowns than any MSC quarterback in recent memory. His 142-yard, two-touchdown performance in MSU’s season-ending 24-17 win over rival Montana in Missoula sealed his Freshman of the Year honor.
McChesney, the 2014 Class AA Offensive MVP as a senior at Kalispell Glacier, has not thrown a pass in his Bobcat career. Yet he earned a scholarship in the off-season for his leadership skills.
May, who led Whitefish to the Class A state title in 2015, threw javelin at Minnesota last year.
Rovig led Mountain View High in the Boise area to back-to-back state championship games, including a victory in the title game as a senior.
In his lone year as a starter at Bozeman High, O’Reilly earned Class AA second-team all-state honors and led Bozeman to the playoffs.
Montana State sophomore Chris Murray/by Brooks Nuanez
The case for Murray: Murray’s elite skills — his ability to stretch the pocket and his breathtaking running in the open field — are among the best in all the Big Sky. If he can become even a serviceable passer — all indications are he’s improving — he will be difficult for defenses to handle.
Murray’s aptitude grasping the MSU offense has improved as has his arm strength. His fundamentals continue to get better. His decision making, his leadership, his command; all the things the coaching staff wants out of the young quarterback are improving incrementally. But Montana State can not be one-dimensional offensively and hope to improve on last season’s 4-7 record. If Murray can’t get up to speed throwing the ball, another quarterback will throw at least a handful of passes a game.
The case for McChesney: McChesney will certainly be the backup quarterback in terms of traveling with the Bobcats, standing next to offensive coordinator Brian Armstrong or quarterbacks coach DeNarius McGhee and helping signal in the play calls. But if Murray were to go down, it’s still an open competition between all four other signal callers as to who might enter the game.
McChesney has the best knowledge of the offense. Because of the exodus of quarterbacks to other programs — Dakota Prukop to Oregon, Jordan Hoy to Old Dominion after a stop at Fullerton JC — or to other positions (Ben Folsom now plays safety), McChesney is the old man in the quarterback room as a third-year sophomore. That experience and his poised demeanor should carry him to a secured spot among MSU’s top three quarterbacks.
Montana State true freshman quarterback Tucker Rovig/by Brooks Nuanez
The case for Rovig: Rovig is Choate’s first quarterback recruit, the first commitment for the Class of 2016. His height and frame help him stand out among his fellow gunslingers and his smooth throwing motion is impressive for a teenager.
The key for Rovig will be picking up the offense. If he can master what Armstrong and McGhee want from MSU’s quarterbacks, he could find himself with a package or two to operate when the bullets are live on game days.
The case for May: When arm strength, diversity, toughness and physical strength are all accounted for, May might actually be Montana State’s best athlete at quarterback.
The track and field standout spent last year throwing javelin at Minnesota. He missed football so he returned to the Treasure State as a walk-on at MSU. So far in camp, he’s show good competitiveness and a rocket arm. Like Rovig, the progression and subsequent ascent up the depth chart will be key if he wants to secure a spot on the travel roster. He might have the best chance to travel of any quarterback as Choate said earlier in camp he plans to try him on special teams as well.
The case for O’Reilly: O’Reilly is the most raw of the group but has been the most pleasant surprise. In third down conversion and red-zone situations, he seems to always fire a strike.
O’Reilly would best be served by redshirting but if he continues to perform, he could crack the depth chart as a rookie.
What they must accomplish during fall camp: Murray and McChesney will be on the bus or airplane wherever Montana State travels. The rest of the competition comes down to who makes the most of their No. 2 repetitions during fall camp practices.
MSU sophomore Brady McChesney/ by Colter Nuanez
McChesney took the majority of the No. 2 snaps on the first few days. Because Choate wants a body of work, the other three have taken their turns with the backup offense for a day so far this week.
“What we are trying to do is give everyone a chance to run with the 2s right now until we get through that first scrimmage,” Choate said Tuesday. “We have to have a body of work to judge. That’s why we are giving these guys turns. We know what Brady can do. We have to give Chris a chance to make sure he’s sharp and ready to go. But we have those three young guys that we need to give them a chance to run with the 2s to see what they can do.”
Also on the roster: Redshirt freshman Kamden Brown is expected to join the 104-man roster when school begins.
