On the first play of Montana State’s spring football finale, Chris Murray sailed a deep post throw over the head of walk-on wide receiver Mitchell Edge.
Murray and the Bobcat offense would not waiver thereafter.
The sophomore gunslinger announced his presence on the next throw, rifling the football to sophomore Cam Sutton for a 22-yard gain. The MSU offense’s third play from scrimmage during Saturday’s Sonny Holland spring game in front of more than 1,000 fans resulted in senior running back Nick LaSane rumbling for 28 yards, the day’s longest jaunt, deep into the starting defense’s territory.
For the first time in a long time, the Bobcat offense was on the move. Murray showed his revamped mechanics and improved arm strength for the rest of the bluebird afternoon, completing eight straight passes at one point, including a dart to sophomore Kevin Kassis for an eight-yard touchdown to cap the first offensive possession. The reigning Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year threw a strike to Kassis on a flag route for a 21-yard touchdown on his last throw of the day, a laser that served as one of the most impressive throws of the 18-year-old’s young career.
MSU quarterback Chris Murray (8) looks for space
All told, Murray completed 10-of-13 passes for 107 yards and the two scoring strikes, showing more poise, pocket presence and polished footwork than at any time during an electric yet sporadic rookie season.
“I thought Chris was efficient in the passing game, made some good decisions and the last touchdown he threw to Kevin was a very, very good pass,” MSU head coach Jeff Choate said. “They were playing Cover 2, the corner was sagging underneath it and if it doesn’t have the right velocity and trajectory on it, it’s a dangerous throw. But you could see his maturity and his growth today. That was on full display.”
Senior quarterback Tyler Bruggman completed 5-of-8 passes for 119 yards, including a 51-yard bomb to Kassis, who finished with four catches for 87 yards. Bruggman also found Mitch Herbert over the middle, allowing the senior to make a leaping catch, shrugged off a tackler and raced 42 yards, part of his four-catch, 71-yard day. He also found Sutton for a seven-yard touchdown following Kassis’ long reception.
“I feel like we definitely improved as an offense throughout this spring ball,” Murray said. “That’s the only thing we can do, especially into the summer. We really can’t take no days off. We have to have those reps each and every day.”
The enhanced passing game was the story of the day as the Blue (offense) team posted a 38-26 advantage over the White (defense) on Saturday afternoon. The key factor in the offensive progression stemmed from Murray’s improvement.
MSU quarterback Chris Murray (8) looks down field
“I think pre-snap, Chris is more comfortable where he is going to go with the ball and that helps everything else,” Choate said. “That confidence in his decision making allows him to play a little faster. And the other thing is his feet are so much better. He is so much calmer in the pocket. He’s no longer a frog in a frying pan. He’s not going 1,000 miles per hour and he’s more decisive when he takes off and runs.”
The 94-minute included four 10-minute quarters using a running clock except for the last two minutes of each half. The offense received six points each for its three touchdowns and one point each for Luke Daly, Gabe Peppenger and Devon Tandberg’s PATs. The offense received three points for field goals, but Daly and Peppenger each missed first-half attempts. Peppenger, MSU’s starter as a true freshman with Daly suspended, did hit a 33-yard field goal as the first half clock expired on the play after Herbert’s long reception.
“Everyone was just dialed in,” Herbert said of the offensive performance. “We knew it was time to step up and make some plays. Throughout our whole position group, everyone stepped up and did their thing.”
“We know we have the ability to make plays and it showed today,” added Kassis. “It’s a great start going into the summer.”
The offense also received three points for explosive plays — run plays for more than 12 yards, pass plays for more than 16 — of which the offense (Sutton catch, LaSane run, two Kassis catches, Herbert catch) had five. The offense also converted a pair of fourth downs, worth four points each, on a Justin Paige catch and a Noah James run.
MSU linebacker Balue Chapman (35)
Following the Triangle Classic spring game, Choate expressed displeasure with MSU’s receivers’ ability to make plays. He was pleased with that group’s ability to meet his challenge on Saturday.
“Yesterday morning, the receivers slept walk through practice,” Choate said. “We got things cleaned up, came out to play today and did some awesome things. That’s what we expect out of Mitch and Kevin and Justin Paige. We expect those guys to be play-makers and that’s what they expect out of themselves as well.”
The defense scored nine of its 26 points on a single play. Redshirt freshman quarterback Kamden Brown, taking his turn operating the second-team offense, threw into coverage toward Sutton. Senior cornerback Bryce Alley, taking reps because of MSU’s lack of depth in the secondary, broke up the attempt. The ball bounced into the air briefly before settling in redshirt freshman Sam linebacker Balue Chapman’s hands. The Bozeman native did the rest, racing his way untouched for a 55-yard touchdown return.
“The interception was sweet but I had the easy part,” Chapman said. “Bryce Alley had the coverage, made a play and I just ran it back.”
Chapman has taken as many reps as any Bobcat defender this spring. The former Montana Gatorade Player of the Year has acclimated nicely to his position at Sam after playing running back and defensive end in high school.
“That 10,000 hour rule, you have to go out there and get repetitions and turns,” Choate said. “Him having the ability to do that really has improved his game. He is a splash player – a guy even in limited reps who gets interceptions or TFLs. That’s how I define Balue – he’s very explosive.”
MSU wide receiver Kevin Kassis (85) returns a kick
The Bobcat defense also earned three points by forcing a Bruggman incompletion on fourth down, two points on redshirt freshman defensive tackle Chase Benson’s touch sack of Murray that would’ve been up for debate had Murray not been wearing a red non-contact jersey and 12 more points for forcing four 3-and-outs on a day where the offense converted six of its 13 third-down tries.
“We (the defense) are making strides,” MSU junior Buck end Grant Collins said. “We are coming out every day with the mindset to get better. That’s exactly what we’ve done. One of the things we started last year was banding together, becoming brothers and create the kind of culture we want on defense, which is physical and attacking offenses.”
Alley, senior safety Bryson McCabe, sophomore linebacker Josh Hill and sophomore cornerback Chris Harris each notched tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
While the passing game looked better than it has at any time under Choate — MSU averaged 14.4 yards per completion and the quarterbacks connected at a 68-percent rate — the Bobcat defensive front seven proved stout against the run.
Murray struggled to throw the ball but proved unstoppable in space and on the edge during his breakout freshman season. The Inglewood, California native rushed for 860 yards and 12 touchdowns despite starting just five games last season. During MSU’s first two scrimmages this spring, Murray gave MSU’s defense fits with his legs. Saturday, with the aid of a quick whistle, the Bobcat defense contained Murray, holding him to 33 yards on eight carries with a long of 11 to convert a third down.
MSU cornerback Chris Harris (8) takes on running back Anthony Pegues (26)
Kassis rushed for 21 yards on two carries, including nearly scoring on an option before senior safety West Wilson drove him into the turf for a seven-yard gain with one of the hits of the day. Take away two Murray scrambles (netting 21 yards), Kassis’ two rushes and LaSane’s opening 28-yard run and the defense allowed just 78 yards on 34 carries, or 2.2 yards per rush.
Sophomore Anthony Pegues carried the ball a scrimmage-high 12 times for 30 yards. Boise State transfer Jake Roper managed 17 yards on six carries. LaSane had just four yards on his other two carries.
“We had our ups and downs but that’s the game,” Collins said. “We bounced back and didn’t let one play define us. We came out better in the second half and made some stuff happen.”
On Monday, Choate said he was ready for spring ball to be over. Montana State’s second-year head coach said he thought his players echoed his sentiments. Saturday, he said he feels 12 practices, not the allotted 15 by the NCAA, is “the sweet spot” both because of player burn out as well as the risk of injury.
The already long injury list for the Bobcats got even longer on Saturday, particularly with the potential loss of a rising star. On one of James’ three carries (the junior finished with 14 yards), the 219-pounder from Kalispell trucked through redshirt freshman Jacob Hadley as Hadley was buried by a block from junior left tackle and fellow Magic City native Wilson Brott.
The 6-foot-6, 220-pound versatile and unique athlete from Billings Central has had one of the standout springs of any Bobcat. He tackled Pegues and Roper behind the line of scrimmage on the second series of the scrimmage, adding to his impressive TFL total over the last five weeks.
MSU running back Noah James (22) takes on linebacker Jacob Hadley (42)
But after going heads up with James, Hadley limped to the sideline before laying down on trainer Rob Higgs’ table to have his right knee thoroughly examined by both Higgs and team surgeon Alex LaGrande. Shortly after, he left Bobcat Stadium on crutches, a look of dismay painted on his face.
“Man, that sucks. It doesn’t matter what it is, who it is, you hate to see that happen to anyone,” said Chapman, who has been locked with Hadley in the fiercest position battle of spring ball thus far. “I hope Hadley is all right.”
Not long after, Stephens caught one of his four receptions and endured a tackle at the knees by fellow sophomore Damien Washington. He too limped to the sideline, lay down on the training table had his knee examined. But Stephens walked around on the sideline before the end of the session and appeared to be fine.
Montana State will finish spring football with its 15th and final practice on Monday. The session is fully closed to both fans and the media and will be used for the coaches to ensure the players know how to conduct player-run practices that will span between the final week of April and the opening of fall camp in August.
Coaches are not allowed to be in direct contact with players during that period so maintaining continuity and carrying momentum built during the recently completed five-week session is crucial. But Choate echoed his sentiments from earlier in the week that he and the rest of his team are ready for a welcome break.
MSU wide receiver Keon Stephens (86) stiff arms cornerback Braelen Evans (5)
“I thought it was what the spring was,” Choate said. “As our roster becomes more mature, I think I’d like to tighten the spring up a little bit. Especially at the FCS level in the spring time, you don’t have a lot of bodies anyway so you have a lot of guys taking a lot of turns and it starts to wear on them a little bit, not just physically but they get mentally fatigued as well. For us to be able to maximize our ability to let these guys have some time to get their bodies right and really focus on their academics, I think that might be a direction we will look to go.
“But now, it’s all up for grabs. This is all off the books now and it’s time to start looking forward to August.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
