The beginning of Montana State’s second semester brought roster transition to the Bobcat football program, MSU head coach Jeff Choate said Monday.
Cornerback Darren Gardenhire, a junior who started for the Washington Huskies in 2015 and contributed to last season’s College Football Playoff squad, and Boise State freshman running back Jake Roper have each enrolled at MSU. Roper redshirted at BSU last season, while Gardenhire is tabbed for a redshirt season in 2017 to satisfy NCAA requirements before playing as a senior in 2018.
Gardenhire, from Long Beach, California, Cabrillo High School, started a pair of 2016 games as a junior and nine as a sophomore. In 2015 he logged 45 tackles, intercepted one pass and broke up eight others, and recovered a fumble as a sophomore. He played in 11 games this season with 13 tackles, 1.5 for a loss, an interception, two pass breakups, a fumble forced and one recovered before leaving the team.
“Darren is a young man I was with at Washington who is a talented cornerback and a very competitive kid,” Choate said. “I think his presence will create competition not only among the defensive backs but with the wide receivers, too. The kids he’ll compete with in practice will benefit from Darren being in the program.”
Roper concluded an outstanding prep career at Boise’s Rocky Mountain High School in the fall of 2015, leading his team to a state title and earning 5A All-Idaho First Team honors. He earned 5A All-SIC First Team honors, and was chosen for the District 3 East-West All-Star Game. Roper, 5-10, 180 lbs, rushed for 1,454 yards and 20 touchdowns as a senior, including 308 yards and five touchdowns in the championship game.
Choate also announced several position changes. Sophomore Woody Brandom returns to tight end from defensive end, where he finished the 2016 season, and senior Devin Jeffries moves to tight end from defensive end, as well. Redshirt freshmen Sean Opland (running back to linebacker), Lewis Kidd (defensive line to offensive line) and Jacob Hadley (safety to linebacker) also begin transitioning between positions. In addition, junior receiver Jayshawn Gates, sophomore linebacker Blake Sylvester and sophomore fullback Dylan Stenseth are no longer on the roster, Choate said.
