BOZEMAN — Bozeman felt familiar to Derryk Snell the first time he visited the Gallatin Valley last summer. Bozeman feels like home after spending the weekend on his official visit at Montana State.
The Chugiak High (Eagle River, Alaska) standout senior first came to Montana State’s campus for the Bobcats’ individual football camp last June. There, the physical and athletic 6-foot-2, 230-pound athlete caught the eye of MSU offensive coordinator Brian Armstrong.
Snell’s recruitment ramped up during a senior year that culminated with him earning Alaska’s Gatorade Player of the Year award. As a running back, Snell earned the Alaska Football Coaches’ Association Offensive Player of the Year honor as a running back and first-team all-state honors as a middle linebacker as well.
By October, Snell became the 15th prep prospect to give his verbal commitment to Montana State. Last weekend, he came back to Bozeman, this time as one of six committed recruits on his official visit. The impression his trip to Southwest Montana left the second time around resonated even more deeply with the future Bobcat tight end.
“I love it and it’s almost exactly like Alaska except football,” Snell said with a laugh. “It’s beautiful there. I’m definitely going to enjoy it while I’m there.
“The scenery and the weather is exactly similar. With all the mountains surrounding us there and here, it’s exactly like up here. I can’t wait.”
Even before Armstrong and the Bobcat coaching staff offered a scholarship, Snell was intrigued by Montana State. He held only one offer — a Division II opportunity from Western State in Colorado — before Armstrong came calling earlier last fall.
“As soon as he offered, I knew I was going to commit,” Snell said. “I only had one other offer from Western State in Colorado and it’s hard up here. To get a Division I offer was unbelievable. It’s my dream to go play Division I. It’s my family’s dream so when he offered, it was unbelievable.”
The last (and for the record only) player from Alaska to play for the Bobcat football team is Scott Harry. The former walk-on tight end was an All-Big Sky selection in football and basketball, the only MSU player to ever earn that distinction since the league’s founding in 1963. The Homer, Alaska native stood out on the 1996 MSU men’s basketball team, the last Bobcat team to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
No official stats from Snell’s career are available — “We don’t use MaxPreps up here much,” Snell joked — but his accolades speak for themselves. He earned the Alaska Football Coaches’ Association Offensive Player of the Year honors his junior and senior seasons. He is widely regarded as the top player in the state of Alaska, a reputation he takes great pride in earning through hard work.
“It was a huge honor to get (the Gatorade POY) but kids were like, ‘Derryk is going to get it, Derryk is going to get it,’ so I guess people expected it but it was still super exciting,” Snell said. “I woke up at 4 a.m. when I got the email and I was freaking out. It was a cool accomplishment that I’m proud of.
According to the stats provided by Snell and collected by his high school head coach Roger Spackman, Snell rushed for 1,374 yards, piled up 823 receiving yards and scored 38 total touchdowns. He also totaled 67 tackles during Chugiak’s 9-1 campaign, a season that fell short in the semifinals of the Alaska High School Division I playoffs. Chugiak lost 75-62 to Service (Anchorage) High.
Chugiak plays in the Railbelt Conference with teams from Fairbanks, Anchorage, Palmer, Kenai and Wasilla. The road trips range from as long as seven hours to Fairbanks or just 20 minutes to Anchorage, Alaska’s largest metropolitan area just 15 miles from Eagle River. Chugiak currently has 1,152 students, comparable to a Montana Class AA high school.
At Chugiak, the team ran a spread offense with triple option and run-pass option elements that are similar to what Montana State currently operates under Armstrong.
“We ran triple option, ran a lot of RPOs and that’s what Coach Armstrong has been talking about,” Snell said. “That’s what he wants to run. He said he could put me at that tight end position and in the slot. I like to hit, too so playing on the line should be fun.”
During the official visit, Snell toured around campus, checking out the Jake Jabs Business building — he wants to major in business marketing at MSU — and checking out the various athletic facilities.
Snell spent the weekend on campus with California recruits running backs Sherod White and Justin Cauley, twin brother cornerbacks Ty’Rae and Ty’Rese Gibson and Nooksack Valley, Washington quarterback Casey Baumann. All the players on campus had previously committed to the MSU coaching staff. They had all been in touch with each other before meeting in person.
“We all got together really quickly because we have had a group (text) message together for a long time,” Snell said. “Once we got down there, it was like seeing each other normally, ‘Hey, what’s up man.’ Me and Justin (Cauley) want to room together so hopefully we can.”
Snell will come 2,615 highway miles (about 44 hours) south from his hometown for his college education. He said his parents — his mom, Jonnie, works for the Eagle River school district while his father, Mike, is a power lineman — love Bozeman and are excited for his new opportunity, especially since they will be able to watch him play on television whenever they can’t make it to Montana. Snell said he “loves” Montana State head coach Jeff Choate for his energy and enthusiasm, adding he and his fellow recently visited recruits hope to help “MSU win a national championship.”
The NCAA added a new early signing period which begins in one week on December 20. Snell said he plans to sign the first moment the opportunity is available. It will affirm a dream come true to become a Division I football player.
“I’m a Bobcat right there when I sign so I will be excited to do it and be a part of something great,” Snell said. “I can’t wait.”
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