BOZEMAN, Montana — Jeff Choate beamed when Coy Steel’s name came up in the post-game press conference following Montana State’s 56-21 victory over Norfolk State last week.
“I love that kid, man,” MSU’s fourth-year head coach said. “He’s a great teammate and he’s so accountable.”
That dedication to his team and that accountability has helped Steel morph from little-known out-of-state walk-on from Sheridan, Wyoming to a rising star in the Bobcat football program. In his second start in place of injured sophomore Willie Patterson, Steel caught five passes for a team-high 80 yards, including two of Tucker Rovig’s four touchdown throws.
It’s the latest display of the progression and mastery of Montana State’s offensive system that has helped Steel go from no-name to impact player.
“He’s a really valuable guy for us because he’s super smart,” Choate said in the week leading up to the Norfolk State game, MSU’s final non-conference tune-up in 2019. “He’s a really, really bright young man and not just in the class room but between the white lines too.
“He can play any position so the route concept, regardless of it, the coverage is going to dictate where the ball goes,” Choate said following the NSU win. “The fact that he can be in multiple positions creates more opportunities for him and I think he maximized that today.”
Steel caught a 34-yard touchdown to cap a 21-point MSU spurt and gave the Bobcats a 21-7 lead a few minutes into the second quarter. He also caught a 13-yard score to put Montana State up 35-14 before the ground game took over (MSU rushed for 449 yards) and led the Bobcats to their third straight victory.
“He’s a really good route runner,” Rovig said. “The defender will never know if he’s going inside, outside or vertical. That’s something he’s just really good at is his route running. I always trust him he’s going to get open.”
From within the MSU football program, Steel’s name has been recognizable both for its originality and because of his ability to work. He made plays during his first spring as a redshirt freshman in 2018. Last fall, he pushed Patterson and senior Kevin Kassis for playing time at MSU’s inside receiver position.
More than anything, he helped out Choate. During the second half of last season, Choate dismissed passing game coordinator Bob Cole, demoted offensive coordinator Brian Armstrong and elevated former wide receivers coach Matt Miller to OC. Choate, who has coached running backs, linebackers, defensive line, defensive secondary and special teams during his career, took over coaching the wide receivers.
“Last year when I was trying to not screw the wide receivers up, he was probably the most valuable guy on our offense,” Choate said. “We were really down to three guys. We had Lance (McCutcheon), we had Kevin (Kassis) and we had Travis (Jonsen) at wide receiver. And then we probably had some guys who weren’t ready to play but they could maybe figure out how to play X or Z receiver.
“But Coy knew all the positions. When (senior) Johnny D’Agostino went down last in the season, that was a big loss for us because Johnny was that guy. Well Coy had to take a lot of those reps and he stepped into that roll.”
The 5-foot-9, 177-pound Steel came to Montana State after earning Wyoming Gatorade Player of the Year honors in 2016. He was also a standout in baseball and basketball. He was a two-time first-team all-state selection after leading Sheridan High to consecutive state championships.
“The more you can do, the more valuable you are,” Steel said. “I took it upon myself to learn more than my position. It helps when you know the entire concept instead of where one guy is supposed to be. I have learned that and grown off of that. I feel pretty confident that I can go in there and know what I am doing and know what my teammates are doing too.”
Perhaps most importantly, Steel has never lacked belief in himself.”
“I don’t think confidence has ever been an issue,” Steel said in an interview provided by Montana State sports information the third week of September. “I feel confident out there. Confidence comes from preparation. If you are confident, then the rest of your teammates are confident in you to go out and make plays.”
Steel has made several big plays already this season. He caught a 31-yard touchdown early in the second quarter of MSU’s eventual 45-10 loss to Texas Tech. That TD cut the lead to 14-7 with 10 minutes left in the first half. It also served as Montana State’s only trip to the end-zone that afternoon in Lubbock, Texas.
“At that point, it was a 14-7 game, so there was the aspect that that was a pretty good game and we had to keep making plays,” Steel said.
“You talk about coming in and redshirting, then last year, a different role and honestly, I wasn’t expecting that. I got put in a good position and Casey (Bauman) threw a good ball and I caught it.”
As it is for many walk-ons in the Big Sky Conference, the point of entry to play for Steel came on special teams. Last season, he caught one pass, which served as half as many tackles as he made chasing down kicks and punts.
His two tackles told only part of the story for his contributions on MSU’s kick teams.
During MSU’s resounding 38-17 victory over No. 12 Southeast Missouri State, Steel came off the edge and blocked a punt to end SEMO’s first possession of the game. Two plays later, Troy Andersen scored a 38-yard touchdown to give Montana State the lead for good.
“I embrace it,” Steel said of his special teams role. “I think it’s fun going out there as a guy who got to play offense and defense in high school, sometimes you miss going out there and tackle some people or make plays on the other side of the ball. It’s fun to be able to go do that in games.”
“Just like anywhere else, you make plays on special teams, you are probably going to end up getting more playing time. You have to go out and play your best whether it’s on special teams or on offense or any other role the coaches ask of us.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
