BOZEMAN — The Montana State Bobcats rode the momentum of two straight wins to end its 2016 season into an off-season filled with positivity.
But second-year head coach Jeff Choate did not buy the hype that surrounded his team following a 24-17 win over rival Montana in Missoula to cap an otherwise disappointing campaign.
“Hey, we’re a 4-7 ball club. That’s who we are,” Choate said following the Griz win. “We won a game today, and it’s an important game and certainly means a lot to our alumni and to our program and to the state of Montana, but I’m not naïve enough to think that we’ve arrived.”
During the off-season, Choate completed his plan of overhauling the roster and revamping the culture of the MSU program in his allotted 18-month time period. Choate added 38 new players to the roster, bringing the total of players in their first or second years in the program to 60.
Chris Murray, the reigning Big Sky Freshman of the Year/ by Brooks Nuanez
The Bobcats will start a sophomore at quarterback in Chris Murray, two sophomores on the offensive line in left guard Jake McFetridge and right tackle Mitch Brott, a sophomore at slot receiver in Kevin Kassis, two sophomores at inside linebacker in Josh Hill and Brayden Konkol and two sophomores in the secondary in cornerback Damien Washington and safety JoJo Henderson in MSU’s season opener at Pac 12 Washington State.
The Cougars meanwhile are the preseason No. 23 team in the FBS thanks to a deep, veteran roster led by Heisman hopeful quarterback Luke Falk, an offensive line featuring three seniors including NFL hopefuls Cody O’Connell and Cole Madison, a pair of senior running backs and a defense that returns nine of 11 starters, including All-American candidates defensive end Hercules Mata’afa and linebacker Peyton Pelluer.
“This will be an unbelievable challenge,” said Choate, who coached linebacker at Wazzu during the 2012 season. “I’ve been a part of some big first games, playing against Virginia Tech and against Florida when I was at Boise State University but as far as an opener goes, this is probably one of the more challenging openers I’ve ever been a part of.”
QUICK HITS
Location: Pullman, Washington
Nickname: Cougars.
Founded: 1890. The public research institution is also Washington’s land-grant university, offering programs in chemical engineering, veterinary medicine, agriculture, pharmacy, neuroscience, food science, plant science, mathematics, business, architecture, and communications. It is ranked in the top 140 universities in America with high research activity, as determined by U.S. News & World Report.
Enrollment: The university has 29,686 students and an endowment of $868.1 million.
Stadium: Martin Stadium – Built in 1972 and renovated five times since then, the venue named for former Washington governor Clarence D. Martin holds just shy of 33,000 people. Washington State averaged 31,675 fans during seven home games last season. WSU plays its first five games at home in 2017.
Washington State sixth-year head coach Mike Leach
THE TEAM (7-2 in Pac 12 play, 8-5 overall in 2016)
The Coach: Mike Leach. The man known as “the Pirate” in the coaching world enters his sixth season at Washington State. He is 29-34 with the Cougars, including 20-25 in the Pac 12. Leach lead Wazzu to a 9-4 record in 2015 that included a win in the Sun Bowl. WSU went 8-5 last season but lost three straight down the stretch, to Colorado, to Washington and in the Holiday Bowl to Minnesota.
Leach spent 10 seasons at Texas Tech. He led the Red Raiders to an 84-43 mark, including 47-33 in Big XII play. He played in a bowl in all 10 seasons at Tech, winning five of them.
THE OFFENSE
Luke Falk, quarterback, 6-4, 223 pounds, senior — The Heisman Trophy candidate has thrown for more than 4,400 yards two years in a row. The second-team All-Pac 12 selection last season enters his senior year with 10,640 passing yards and 89 passing touchdowns in his career.
The former walk-on from Logan, Utah completed 70 percent of his passes for 4,468 yards and 38 touchdowns last year. His passing yardage total ranked third nationally and third in school history while his touchdown total tied his school record set in 2015. He is a preseason All-Pac 12 selection, an All-America candidate and by all accounts one of the top quarterbacks in the country.
WSU senior QB Luke Falk
Tavares Martin Jr., wide receiver, 6-1, 183 pounds, junior — In Leach’s ‘Air Raid’ offense, there is plenty of chances to pile up catches. Despite being Falk’s second option behind senior Gabe Marks, Martin still managed to rank sixth in the Pac 12 with 64 catches last season.
Martin totaled 728 receiving yards and scored seven touchdowns as WSU averaged 362.5 passing yards per game last fall.
James Williams, running back, 5-11, 190 pounds, sophomore — Last season, Williams earned Freshman All-American honors by piling up 953 all-purpose yards, including leading the team with 102 carries for 584 yards and six rushing touchdowns.
The Cougars’ ability to run the ball — Wazzu averaged 120 rushing yards per game — combined with one of the most prolific passing offenses in college football have helped the team turn the corner under Leach.
Jamal Morrow, running back, 5-9, 203 pounds, senior — The 2016 honorable mention All-Pac 12 performer is as valuable for his ability as a ball carrier as he is for his skills as a pass catcher.
Morrow has 142 catches in his career, including 48 for 488 yards and five touchdowns last season. He also rushed for 575 yards and five touchdowns.
Cody O’Connell, offensive line, 6-9, 368 pounds, senior — The Wenatchee, Washington native became just the second unanimous All-American in Washington State history last season, joining former placekicker Jason Hanson (1989).
O’Connell is quite literally one of the biggest offensive linemen in the country. The offensive guard is on the preseason watch list for the Outland Trophy and many consider him one of the top offensive line prospects in next spring’s NFL Draft.
THE DEFENSE
WSU senior DE Hercules Mafa’ata
Hercules Mata’afa, defensive end, 6-2, 255 pounds, junior— Mata’afa has landed on the Hendricks Award watch list as the top defensive end in college football after two consecutive productive seasons leading Washington State’s much-improved front seven.
The native of Lahaina, Hawaii broke into the lineup as a redshirt freshman and notched 11 tackles for loss to go with seven sacks. Last season, he had 13.5 tackles for loss and five sacks to earn second-team All-Pac 12 honors.
Peyton Pelluer, linebacker, 6-0, 225 pounds, senior — The son of Scott Pelleur, a former Washington State standout and five-year NFL linebacker for the New Orleans Saints, enters his fourth season as WSU’s starting middle linebacker.
The two-time honorable mention All-Pac 12 selection has led the Cougs in tackles for the last two years, notching 101 stops and 11 tackles for loss in 2015 and ranking fourth in the Pac 12 with 93 tackles plus 7.5 tackles for loss last fall. Pelluer’s older brother, Tyler, played linebacker for the Montana Grizzlies.
Dylan Hanser, linebacker, 6-4, 236 pounds, senior — The only Montana-born player on Wazzu’s roster is from Billings Central. He is the son of former Wyoming standout Mitch Hanser and the brother of Montana State true freshman wide receiver Peyton Hanser.
WSU senior linebacker Dylan Hanser
The older Hanser brother was recruited to Washington State by MSU head coach Jeff Choate when Choate was the Cougs’ linebacker coach in 2012. Hanser grey-shirted that season before joining the team in the spring of 2014. Hanser has steadily climbed the depth chart, cracking the starting lineup as WSU’s Rush linebacker last fall for the final six games of the season. He forced three fumbles as a junior.
Jalen Thompson, safety, 6-0, 191, sophomore — The Freshman All-American had 51 tackles, three tackles for loss, seven passes defended, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery for a defense that gave up 26.4 points per game.
Photos by Brooks Nuanez and courtesy of Washington State athletics. All Rights Reserved.
