Editor’s note: This is the second installment in a series breaking down the Montana State Bobcats following the third spring under head coach Jeff Choate and his staff. Today’s installment addresses linebacker Chad Kanow trying to break into the lineup as a sophomore after a standout freshman year on special teams.
FIRST INSTALLMENT: Bobcats still searching for Murray’s main competitor
SECOND INSTALLMENT: McGhee acclimating quickly to coaching MSU running backs
THIRD INSTALLMENT: Tucker II transitions smoothly to RB for Bobcats
BOZEMAN — Jeff Choate almost cannot contain himself when Chad Kanow’s name comes up.
“Chad Kanow, I love that kid,” Montana State’s head coach said during an interview in April. “He is a ball playing Jesse, I’ll tell you what.”
The rangy, quick linebacker had exactly zero Division I offers when Montana State came to the table following his all-area junior season. The scheme Kanow played in at Great Oak High in Temecula, California required him to blitz and tackle the ball carrier. That’s all.
But that singular scheme helped him hone his natural instinct of finding the football and a pure tackling ability reminiscent of former MSU All-American linebacker Alex Singleton.
“He’s not the guy in the weight room, he’s not the kid (MSU strength and conditioning) Coach (Alex) Wilcox is going to go, ‘That’s my favorite guy’ because he’s not physically imposing and he’s not a weight room guy. He’s kind of a surfer dude.
“But as far as guys who will snap on you and hit you, he might be the most physical guy on the roster. We are going to have a hard time keeping him off the field.”
During Kanow’s senior season in high school, his stock rose rapidly as his highlight film became more impressive by the week. He totaled 84 solo tackles among his 113 tackles in 11 games, averaging more than 10 stops per contest. He had 20 tackles for loss, five sacks and five quarterback hurries, also forcing three fumbles. That production was good enough to help him receive an offer from FBS Nevada.
The 6-foot-4, 210-pounder ended up signing with MSU. During his first fall camp, Choate and defensive coordinator Ty Gregorak moved Kanow around a bit, eventually trying him at Buck end. The thin teenager had a hard time holding the edge against the run. But in pass rush situations, he was among if not the best pass rusher during the three-week stretch leading up to the season.
Even though he switched to Will linebacker once the season began, his fall camp performance earned him a role on special teams as a true freshman where he starred. The top kick coverage player on the Bobcats, Kanow notched eight special teams tackles and scored a touchdown when he fell on a blocked punt in MSU’s 30-22 win over Portland State.
“In high school, I blitzed every play and in college, it’s different because I actually have to drop back into coverage, make reads,” Kanow said when asked about his first season as a Bobcat. “And the pace of everything is a lot faster. But special teams comes natural to me. You just have to run down and find the football.”
Kanow lacks the true girth needed to play inside linebacker at the Division I level but he makes up for it with good quick-twitch in small spaces, rangy strides and a good ability to run. His physicality at the point of attack and his wiliness to hit also make him a rising star in MSU’s linebacker group.
“Playing linebacker comes way more natural,” Kanow said. “Being a Buck, you have to deal with linemen way more so that was definitely hard during fall ball.
“Tackling, it’s always come pretty naturally to me. When I see the ball, I just attack it. I’ve always been like that.”
To finish off his first year at Montana State, Kanow was thrust into an elevated role during MSU’s recently completed set of 15 spring football practices. With returning starting junior inside linebackers Josh Hill and Brayden Konkol limited or out after having off-season surgeries, Kanow took the bulk of the first-team reps at Konkol’s Will linebacker spot.
“Chad is really seizing all the reps and opportunity this spring and he’s getting better every practice,” said Gregorak, MSU’s DC who also doubles as the linebackers’ coach. “He’s a true freshman still. Every rep is so valuable for those guys.”
This spring, Kanow was part of an upstart group long on height and length, short on experience. Troy Andersen, the 2017 Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year for his work as a two-way standout last fall, slid into the opening left by All-American Sam linebacker Mac Bignell. Michael Jobman, a 6-foot-4 Huntley Project product who dabbled at Buck last season, took most of the No. 1 snaps at Mike with Hill out. Kanow took the Will starter reps, receiving relief from steadily improving redshirt freshman Tadan Gilman, like Hill a Kalispell Glacier product.
“We are limiting Josh this spring so when you look at our first group out there, you have Troy into the field, Michael Jobman at middle linebacker and then Chad Kanow so you are talking about 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 and large, big athletes running around. Then you put (defensive end Bryce) Sterk in (laughs). He’s a big, strong, running dude. That’s a good looking front seven, there is no question about it.
“I love the way those young guys are all going about their business. They are taking notes in meetings. As young dudes, they all want to take the next step and grow as a unit. It’s a young, talented group.”
Kanow acknowledges that learning the playbook and the demands of a college system was his biggest challenge transitioning to the college game. He said he shared that struggle with his fellow young linebackers as Jobman and Andersen switched positions and Gilman played defense for the first time since his junior year of high school after quarterbacking Glacier as a senior.
“I think they made huge strides, I think we all made huge strides,” Kanow said. “Coming in together, I think we were all struggling last year learning the playbook. Everyone got a lot better during spring ball.”
The laid back California product also admits that being away from his parents for the first time was a challenge, especially when it came to learning how to handle the academic rigors of Montana State. He had to learn study habits on his own while absorbing all the changes that come with being a college freshman.
He says his primary goal for the off-season is to gain weight. He knows his pass drops are still a work in progress and he knows his frame needs mass. But he is also confident in his ability to compete at the FCS level after making plays to the delight of his teammates throughout last season’s 5-6 campaign.
The work Kanow put in during the spring and the repetitions he took at the Will linebacker spot will certainly prove valuable fo rhte Bobcats, whether that means next year or down the road. Kanow himself simply wants a chance to show what he does best: chase down ball carriers and take them to the ground.
“I can’t really say yet what my hope for next year is but I’m just going to do what I do every day, work hard and try to get some game reps at Will,” Kanow said. “I hope me and Konkol can have a good season together, learn from each other, rotate reps and learn. The best guy will get the most reps, I know that, so I’m trying to prove I’m worth seeing the field.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
