Chad Newell has run “power O” thousands of times in his football career. The first time the Montana State Bobcats ran the often used, effective running play this spring, it seemed entirely different to the MSU senior running back.
“I remember lining up the first day of spring ball, looking down to the o-line and it was the first time I didn’t see 75 standing in front of me and I was like, ‘Wow,’” the 2015 team captain and All-Big Sky Conference selection said in March. “It was weird. The first Friday, we installed power and put pads on and ran power right. The only person I’ve ran power right behind is No. 75. Ever.
“It’s odd right now but I find comfort in the fact that he will be back.”
MSU running back Chad Newell and guard JP Flynn during Gold Rush 2015
No. 75 is J.P. Flynn, the most accomplished returning player for the 2016 Bobcats. The 6-foot-5, 320-pound senior offensive guard has earned All-Big Sky honors each of the last three seasons, including first-team accolades each of the last two while starting 25 straight games at left guard.
Despite his decorated resume and NFL dreams, Flynn’s future hung in the balance as 2015 came to a close. Montana State ended last season’s nightmare campaign with a 54-35 loss to rival Montana at home. The loss sealed MSU’s first losing season since 2001. Toward the end of the game, Flynn suffered a brutal knee injury that tore the patella tendon in his right knee and required off-season surgery.
While Flynn recovered from the surgery, his mind fogged by the various painkilling drugs he temporarily used, more bad news came down the pipe: Rob Ash and most of his staff would not return. A week later, MSU quarterback Dakota Prukop, one of Flynn’s best friends on the team, announced he was transferring to Oregon.
The string of unfortunate events caused Flynn to question his future. He decided to accelerate himself academically in order to graduate this spring. He contemplated retiring from football all together and simply pursuing a graduate degree in mechanical engineering. But the thought of leaving unfinished business in Bozeman and the thought of leaving his teammates high and dry convinced him to stay.
Fast-forward to spring drills and Flynn has been an important cog for the Bobcats despite dressing sparingly for practice and engaging in no full contact drills. Throughout each of MSU’s 13 spring football practices, Flynn has stood directly on the field with the MSU coaches, barking out orders to the offense and taking players from an inexperienced offensive line unit under his wing.
MSU guard JP Flynn goes uptop with former offensive line coach Jason Eck in a game vs. Eastern Washington in 2015
“Coach on the field, Coach Flynn we call him,” first-year MSU head coach Jeff Choate said earlier this spring. “That’s a real powerful thing. You have a guy who’s played a lot of snaps. Physically, he needs time to get his body back. Being engaged mentally, that’s important. He’s done a really good job of taking some of those young guys off to the side and working with them, giving them tips from the cagey veteran.”
“J.P. is a guy these young guys can look up to,” added MSU junior left tackle Dylan Mahoney. “He knows his stuff. He’s the old guy around. He’s been through it all, knows what he’s talking about. A lot of us have treated him almost like a coach.”
The first week of spring drills, Flynn gave his teammates, particular Newell and senior running back Gunnar Brekke, good-hearted ribbings about not having to endure the five-week practice slate. But after watching a few sessions, Flynn missed the grind.
“At the beginning of spring, I was making fun of the guys, telling Chad how it was cool I get to sit out of spring ball and they don’t but about three practices in, I realized this is the last spring ball ever and I missed it,” Flynn said. “It’s sad to think I have to sit and watch from the sidelines but at the same time, it is a positive note. It gives me a whole new perspective for the game of football.”
The Bobcats are searching to replace every starter on the offensive line except Flynn. Left tackle John Weidenaar started all 49 games of his durable career at left tackle over the last four seasons, setting an MSU school record in the process. Center Joel Horn, right guard Kyle Godecke and right tackle Alex Eekhoff combine to start 107 more games over the last three-plus seasons, leaving MSU with plenty of experience to replace.
To compound the growing pains, the MSU offensive line is on its third coach in three seasons after an unparalleled stretch of consistency. Jason McEndoo mentored the MSU offensive line for 12 years, becoming the longest-tenured football coach in school history. But he left before last season to take a similar position at Oklahoma State.
Former MSU tackle John Weidenaar and quarterback Dakota Prukop with guard JP Flynn vs Sac State in 2015
Last fall, Jason Eck helped Weidenaar to All-America honors, Horn and Flynn to All-Big Sky accolades as MSU led the league in scoring offense. But the final results were too much to overcome and most of the staff was terminated.
In December, Choate became the 32nd head coach at MSU. He hired Brian Armstrong, a successful head coach in the Frontier Conference at Rocky Mountain College, to mentor the Montana State offensive line.
Flynn said Armstrong called him in for a meeting right after getting hired and asked for his help in bringing along the rest of a young unit that could feature several underclassmen starters. Armstrong told Flynn he “had full authority” to be essentially an extra assistant coach during spring drills.
“I asked them to open their hearts and minds and I tell them if they need anything, my door is open,” Armstrong said. “I really believe JP Flynn has been a huge part of that He’s a guy who is the leader of the group. He’s really embraced that.
“I’m a huge J.P. Flynn fan not only what he is going to bring to the table on Saturday afternoons in the fall but the kind of leader he is and the way he goes about his business and the way he’s led our room has been unbelievable.”
During the third week of spring drills, Flynn took the field in full pads and a helmet for the first portion of practice, the first step to returning to full health. Choate said if the season started on June 1, Flynn would be ready to go and penciled in as the starter at left guard for a third straight season.
Choate endured a torn his patella tendon in a car accident that ended his playing days at Montana Western in the mid-1990s.
Former MSU tackle John Weidenaar and guard JP Flynn vs Cal Poly in 2015
“I think it was big for him to have the confidence,” Choate said. “It was more symbolic for throwing a pair of shoulder pads and a helmet on for practice, getting back into that mindset that I’m going to be fine. Like any injury, you have to cross that bridge and say I’m ready to do this. It was cool to see him out there.”
Flynn knows when he really returns at the beginning of fall camp, his personal sense of urgency will be at an all-time high. He is gunning for his first All-America nod, an essential element for an FCS offensive lineman with NFL dreams. And he wants to right the ship for a program he’s given so much blood, sweat and tears to. He knows it will start with the group he is now the unwavering leader of.
“This is one of those groups that has a big question mark over their heads,” Flynn said. “I don’t feel any pressure on me. I feel an elevated pressure on this group. For this offense to succeed, it’s fundamentals of football. If you want to be good, you have to have a good offensive line. We know this group has to step our games up. We have a lot of work to do over the summer. Once we hit fall camp, we have to get better than we are now. We have an elevated pressure on us because we know there’s a lot of kids in this group that have to grow up quick, play fast, play well and play at the ability of a fifth-year senior starter. Now.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
