BOZEMAN, Montana — Freddie Banks was a senior on the first North Dakota State team to earn a bid to the FCS Playoffs.
That Bison squad came to Bozeman to face a Montana State team that had just won a Big Sky Conference championship by beating Montana in Missoula, in turn denying the Grizzlies a playoff berth for the first time in 17 years.
NDSU dominated the fourth quarter that December afternoon in 2010, scoring 28 unanswered points to down MSU 42-17 in the second round at Bobcat Stadium.
The following week, Eastern Washington quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell hit Tyler Hart for a 25-yard touchdown in overtime to oust the Bison.
North Dakota State lost just two games over the next three years, tearing their way to three consecutive FCS national titles before Craig Bohl and his staff moved on to Wyoming. That staff included Brent Vigen, a former NDSU tight end who has spent the last 12 seasons as Bohl’s offensive coordinator at his alma mater, then with the Cowboys before taking the Montana State head coaching job nine months ago.
Although Banks was part of a group that laid the foundation for what became a peerless run of Bison success — the Bison ripped off eight national titles over the next nine seasons, losing just eight games along the way — he is not quick to take any credit for NDSU’s long, prestigious history.
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Banks knows that there was plenty of hard work put in before he ever arrived in Fargo. From the dominant Darrell Mudra squads of the 1960s that helped NDSU establish authority in the North Central Conference to the Earle Solmonson teams that owned the 1980s (helping Solmonson earn the head coaching job at Montana State) to Rocky Hager’s national titles after taking over for Solmonson in the early 1990s, North Dakota State did nothing but win for five decades before Banks and his teammates broke through for the first time at the championship level of Division I a decade ago.
So when Banks made his return to Montana State as the defensive coordinator of Brent Vigen’s first staff, he knew that hardly anything about an MSU program with lofty expectations needs an overhaul. On the contrary, Banks believes everyone involved with the Bobcat organization should expect to maintain the proud tradition of a team that has claimed 18 conference and three national championships.
“North Dakota State is just like here: there’s a history from way back when,” Banks said. “I wouldn’t say we built it up. There were tremendous teams that played way before us back in the ’60s that built that program. The same way here at Montana State.
“There is a tradition here of winning that goes way back before we got to Bozeman and it’s going to be here when we leave. We are just holding the torch right now.”
Vigen, Banks and the coaching staff are tasked with a much different set of factors taking over these Bobcats than the last three head coaching hires. Mike Kramer took over a Montana State program hoping and praying to end a 14-year streak of losing to the Griz and missing the playoffs.
The Big Human did help the Bobcats snap “The Streak”. In fact, Montana State beat Montana three times in four seasons between 2002 and 2005, sharing the Big Sky title each year. But Kramer was fired in 2006 as the program became shrouded in controversy after a drug dealing scandal culminated in a murder.
Rob Ash had to clean up that calamity and did so in short order, leading the Bobcats to three straight Big Sky titles with a run that started in his fourth season. But Ash too was dismissed, becoming the sixth straight Bobcat head coach to get fired. Ash’s Achilles heel: a 2-7 mark against both Montana and Eastern Washington.
Enter Jeff Choate, a dynamic yet chaotic head coach like none the Bobcat faithful had seen. Choate brought an FBS recruiting acumen, a peerless way of orating and a defined plan to do what most of his predecessors never could: fully own the Grizzlies.
Choate went 28-22 at Montana State, never finishing above third place in the Big Sky. But four straight rivalry wins, each complete with an unstoppable run game and capped with the crescendo that was MSU’s 48-14 win over Montana in Bozeman in November of 2019 helped Choate earn the nickname “Griz Slayer” before he abruptly left to take the defensive coordinator position on Steve Sarkisian’s staff at Texas.
That rivalry win in the final regular-season game the Bobcats have played sparked a run to the semifinals of the FCS playoffs that ended, fittingly, against North Dakota State.
So now enters Vigen and Banks, the two most dyed in the wool former Bison who help take over a roster flush with elite talent. From All-American linebacker Troy Andersen to physically impressive seniors like defensive tackle Chase Benson, offensive tackle Lewis Kidd, offensive guard Taylor Tuiasosopo and defensive end Amandre Williams, the number of experienced, talented and driven players on this MSU squad rivals any in the Big Sky or the FCS.
“Those guys are Bobcats all the way through,” Banks said. “They have been here their whole careers. They know the traditions and the first thing I learned was we better beat the Griz. You have to handle that game (laughs). We’ve been working on that into the summer and we will be ready for them.
“But even the way they work, their leadership, guys are leaders on the field and off the field.”
Benson was the first person to call Banks when he earned the right to replace Bobcat legend Kane Ioane, who took a similar position at Boise State. Andersen was the second to call. Then they showed up at his house to greet their new coach.
“It’s going to be fun being with those guys. They are smart. We are changing some guys around and they have welcomed it with open arms,” Banks said. “I hope that when you come to a place like Montana State, you don’t come here and just try to keep it the same. The goal is to make it better so that’s what we are trying to do and they understand that.”
Since taking over the MSU defense, Banks has implemented a 4-2-5 base scheme with influences from former NDSU defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, who’s brother, Kelly, quarterbacked the Bobcats to the 1984 national title and who is now the DC for the Oakland Raiders.
The scheme also has influence from Chris Kliemann, the former Bison defensive coordinator turned four-time national championship winning head coach turned Kansas State head man. Banks also acknowledges former North Dakota State play-caller and current Michigan State DC Scott Hazelton along with current Washington State DC Jake Digger as influences.
Between his time as a standout NDSU cornerback and his first D-I defensive coordinator gig, Banks, who is also MSU’s secondary coach, began his coaching career in 2011 at Division II Minnesota State-Moorhead. In two seasons he rose to the level of coordinator there, then coached cornerbacks at Nicholls in 2013 and 2014.
After one season in the Louisiana prep ranks, Banks coached the secondary at Midwestern State in 2016 and 2017, and cornerbacks at Stephen F. Austin in 2018 and 2019. In 2020, he coached cornerbacks at Nevada.
Even though Banks is in his early 30s and this is his first Division I defensive coordinator position, Vigen feels his new DC is more than ready.
“He’s ready for this job, ready for this task to lead not only a group of players but a staff and really implementing a new scheme that had some carry over but at the same time, was quite different than before,” Vigen said.
“I think the thing about Freddie is he knows what he wants and he can communicate that to the coaches and the players very well. He’s very meticulous, very detail-oriented and I think to play great defense, you can’t just gloss over things, whether that’s in your preparation or studying your opponents or on the practice field or the little things.
“Freddie has a really keen eye for how this defense is supposed to look and he won’t let this defense slip.”
The base alteration has been a primary story line of the last eight months for an MSU defense almost perfectly constructed to run the 3-4 scheme Choate favored. The 6-foot-4, 245-pound Andersen moves from Sam linebacker to the man in the middle. The 6-foot-4, 290-pounder Benson moves from nose to a more traditional defensive tackle spot. The 6-foot-3, 235-pound Williams, who’s father Tyrone played at Wyoming, moves from Buck end to strong end, as does Daniel Hardy, a hyper-athletic former outside linebacker who put on 20 pounds to get up to 240 on his 6-foot-3 frame.
MSU also added the safety duo of Jeffrey Manning Jr. and Tre Webb, a pair of FBS transfers that in turn allow the versatility junior Ty Okada’s of skills to be maximized. The Bobcat defense also features senior Tyrel Thomas, a four-year starter at cornerback who will not make the trip to Wyoming for MSU’s season opener this Saturday.
“What I love about Coach Banks is he brings what is necessary to practice,” Okada said. “He’ll need a little fire underneath him if that’s what we need. If we are doing our jobs and nothing much needs to be said, not much is said and everyone stays locked in.
“He’s great at reading the room and seeing what we need to have the most productive and best practice we can have. That’s what I’ve come to love about him so far.”
Every player experiencing a position tweak has high-level talent for the FCS level, which has helped mitigate any concern about the transition coming into Vigen’s first season at the helm. Now the Bobcats get a chance to prove it, starting with a showdown against Vigen’s mentor in Bohl and his former team in Wyoming as the Bobcats take on the Cowboys at War Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
“When I looked at our defense and who we are from a personnel standpoint and where we are from a culture standpoint, my goal is to be the No. 1 defense in the conference,” Banks said. “That’s pretty cut and dry. That’s the expectation.”
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