When they’re out on the recruiting trail, college coaches frequently gravitate toward checking out the quarterback, often times regardless of what kind of offensive numbers they put up. That’s even more true in the state of Montana, where many of the rural high schools play their best athletes under or behind center.
The rationale is simple: quarterbacks are usually some of the best athletes on the team, so even if they can’t make it at the position in college, there’s a good chance they can adapt to another spot in the lineup.
Montana State has had as much success converting prep quarterbacks into stars at other positions as any team in the nation. Dillon’s Troy Andersen became an early round NFL draft pick of the Atlanta Falcons as a linebacker. Ty Okada quarterbacked his high school team in Minnesota and is now on the roster of the Seattle Seahawks as a safety. Callahan O’Reilly was the Bozeman Hawks quarterback, then an All-Big Sky linebacker for the Bobcats and their most radical convert was probably Amandre Williams, who transferred from Washington to play defensive end.
James Campbell (quarterback to cornerback) and Brayden Konkol (quarterback to linebacker to safety) are two other former gunslingers turned first-team All-Big Sky defenders from the Jeff Choate era.
Last season’s Big Sky champion Bobcats featured former small-school quarterbacks Brody Grebe, a three-time All-American defensive lineman, and Rylan Ortt, a state champion javelin thrower at Missoula Sentinel who became a first-team All-Big Sky safety.
The most recent former signal-caller to explode onto the scene is AA powerhouse CM Russell quarterback Cole Taylor, who is now a 6-foot-3, 235-pound starting inside linebacker for the Bobcats. Taylor, a third-year sophomore, moved into the spot when starter Neil Daily suffered an injury early in MSU’s opener at Oregon.
MSU hasn’t missed a beat on defense with Taylor, who has multiple tackles for loss among his 13 tackles and forced a fumble last week in a thrilling 30-24 double-overtime loss to South Dakota State.
MSU head coach Brent Vigen knew it would be no small task to convert Taylor, but he saw the nature of his playing style and build being a good fit for the position.
“It’s reps and reps and reps and reps and reps because Cole didn’t play any defense in high school,” Vigen said. “We knew it was going to be a two-year project. Enough so, out of last fall, we thought this spring, it was either going to work for Cole, or we might have to put him at defensive end or something like that because we have to get him on the field. He was a really good special teams player last year and he needed to take that step defensively.
“It definitely was a lot of work switching from quarterback to linebacker,” Taylor said. “My coaches and teammates have been really positive with me this year and it’s been going great so far but I’m just looking to get better every week.”
Taylor didn’t quite understand what was going on when the MSU coaching staff first approached in recruiting and told him they wanted to offer him a scholarship with one caveat: that he play linebacker, not quarterback. He was used to having the ball in his hands every play.
“Now it’s my job to go out and get it back,” Taylor said. He did just that when he forced a first half fumble against SDSU that defensive tackle Paul Brott recovered.
“I think right away he was like “what are you talking about, coach” but we saw it in him, and we knew if he worked hard, he would make that transition and get there,” Vigen said. “That was a huge step for him to continue to put it all together.”
Many high school quarterbacks are obviously not Division I quarterbacks. While playing for the Rustlers, Taylor didn’t look like a linebacker playing quarterback. His name is among the history-rich immortals at CMR, which has had several great quarterbacks go through its halls, including former University of Montana star Dave Dickenson and Washington State’s Ryan Leaf, who was the No. 2 player taken in the 1998 NFL Draft. Taylor set school records for yards passing (412) in a game, completions in a career (312) and games (25).
Playing quarterback is usually a logical tool to help anyone make the switch from that position to the defensive side. That’s turned out to be the case for Taylor as well.
“Honesty, at first I didn’t see how playing quarterback helped me, but now that the game has started to slow down, understanding how the offense is trying to attack us is definitely something that is benefitting me now,” Taylor said.
Taylor’s biggest asset has been his ability to recognize where the ball is going as a play first starts to develop thanks to his years playing quarterback.
“I think that combination (quick trigger, fearlessness) has all come together,” Vigen said. “He’s really intelligent, knows the game playing quarterback all those years and can be really aggressive, but what does that look like? When should I pull my trigger on things? That was a process, getting him to go from a processor, a thinker, to more of a natural reactor has been this transition that is different for him not having played in any defense than maybe a guy who’s played all this linebacker. He might have a lengthier curve, but the athleticism, the size, that’s why we chose to do what we did and present that to him in recruiting.”
MSU linebackers coach Jody Owens recognizes one of the key traits that nearly all great athletes possess: his ability to be focused, yet relaxed while in the heat of action.
“When you come out to watch him, you see he’s all over the field making plays,” Owens said of Taylor. “He’s in the right spot, so I think a lot of it is confidence and (casualness). Cole’s definitely taken the next step and he’s right there.”
Not only did Taylor have to adjust to being a starter on the fly, but he had to go up with one of the top FBS teams in the nation in the University of Oregon, then take on the second-ranked FCS team in South Dakota State. He was third on the team in tackles against the Ducks with seven, then had 13 tackles against the Jackrabbits, including a tackle for loss and the forced fumble.
“Playing Oregon and South Dakota State has been a lot of good for us honestly,” he said. “Being able to play those two nonconference games was good, especially the South Dakota State game since it had a playoff atmosphere.”
“But then it’s the game experience that takes that confidence to another level,” Vigen said. “Cole isn’t to there, but that Oreogn game was a huge step for him.”
Replacing the injured Daily has obviously been bittersweet for Taylor. The four-man rotation of Taylor (Great Falls), Daily (Billings), Bryce Grebe (Melstone) and Ryan Krahe (Great Falls) is an all-Montana cast, so there’s an obvious tightness to the group.
Taylor used to go up against Krahe head-to-head when they were on the opposite sides of the crosstown rivalry in the Electric City with Krahe playing for Great Falls and Taylor at CMR.
Taylor’s efforts have stood out to Vigen, who said he noticed improvement starting back in spring camp and then through the fall.
“I think spring ball and having gone through spring ball for a second time and his confidence in how it’s supposed to play out, it built,” Vigen said. “And he really had a fall camp this year on top of that spring that took that growth to another level. And now what a game can do for him, that’s hard to quantify. But it is that step, all those lumps those guys take in practice and not doing things right, not seeing it consistently, and then it becomes clear so you can play faster.
“The performance Cole Taylor has stacked up now over two weeks has put him in a position to be a guy that we see out there. Neil will get back at some point, but Cole has certainly earned a role.”
The Bobcats play host to the University of San Diego Toreros this Saturday in their second of four straight home games. Kickoff is set for 1:00.
