Editor’s Note: Montana State announced the addition of 11 preferred walk-ons to its roster when fall camp opens in August. This is the second part of a series of profiles about each of the late additions to the Bobcats.
One letter helped Austin Barrette achieve his ultimate goal.
Barrette first heard from Montana State after breaking into the starting lineup at Southern California powerhouse Santa Margarita Catholic High as a sophomore. Montana State linebackers coach Kane Ioane continued to show interest through a standout junior season that helped the inside linebacker’s stock rise. But when Montana State had an abrupt change to its football coaching staff, communication with the Bobcats ceased.
[restrict paid=”true”]As 2015 turned to 2016, the All-Trinity League player wondered if Montana State was still in the cards. At 5-foot-11, 220 pounds, the offers from elsewhere were sparing. As National Signing Day approached, Barrette had a list of schools to choose from — he held offers from Jacksonville, Holy Cross, Stetson (Florida) and Wagner — but his top choice, MSU, was not one of them.
Barrette sat down with Traison Lewis, his 7-on-7 coach who helped him work on his pass coverage techniques throughout his career. As they weighed his options, the four schools on the other side of the country from his California home seemed like a stretch, both financially and socially. Barrette still wanted to attend Montana State but he had no idea his status with MSU after Jeff Choate took over for Rob Ash in December.
When Lewis learned of Barrette’s interest in the Bobcats, he picked up his phone and called Choate. The two coaches have had a relationship dating back to Choate’s previous three seasons as an assistant on Chris Petersen’s staff at Washington. Lewis’ “Body By Tra” training program and his 7-on-7 team consistently helps athletes earn scholarships. His 2012 7-on-7 squad had nine Division I football players, so Lewis certainly has clout in West Coast football circles.
“He right then and there got on the phone with Coach Choate and we conferenced him right there in the gym,” Barrette said. “We stayed in contact for the next five or six weeks. He always answered my calls. But Signing Day came and went.”
Barrette began to strongly consider Jacksonville, an academically oriented private school that plays FCS football in the non-scholarship Pioneer League. Then he got the news he had been waiting for.
“The day I was supposed to commit, I got an email from Montana State admissions about my financial package,” Barrette said. “With no offers five or six weeks after Signing Day, I applied to 14 schools. I did all the FAFSA and I found out that I basically could go to Montana State on a full ride because of my academics.”
Because of a score of 28 on his ACT and a high GPA, Barrette will end up paying just $10 out of pocket each year.
“The second I found that out, I called Coach Choate,” Barrette said. “From an academic standpoint, I felt very comfortable with the biology and psychology options and I felt very comfortable with Coach Choate. When he found out I had an academic scholarship, he offered me a chance to walk on. I couldn’t believe it.”
While a standout in the classroom – Barrette plans to major in University Studies his first two years as he decides between psychology, biology or business – the linebacker was also highly productive on the football field. He was voted the top junior inside linebacker in the Trinity League, one of America’s best prep football conferences after piling up 91 tackles in 2014.
As a senior, Barrette played inside and outside linebacker in Santa Margarita’s 3-4 scheme. He notched 79 tackles, including 48 solos and five sacks for one of the nation’s most storied programs. Santa Margarita has one three CIF titles and most recently captured the California Division I state championship in 2011. NFL players like quarterbacks Carson Palmer and Chris Rix and wide receiver Brian Finneran along with All-NBA guard Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors are alums of the private Catholic school.
Despite producing at a high level and learning from an NFL veteran – former New York Giants and Jets linebacker T.J. Hollowell, an All-America at Nebraska, coaches Santa Margarita’s linebackers – the offers were slow to come for Barrette.
“I think it’s my height,” Barrette said. “At 5-foot-11, that doesn’t exactly stand out. Other than that, I’m not sure. What people say about my size and speed is open for opinion but I have videos of me running 4.5 40s, jumping 36-inch verticals, squatting 500 pounds and benching 315 pounds. I have speed and it’s something I use to my advantage.”
Barrette has enough speed that he even lined up at safety and nickel back early during his senior season. But he certainly prefers playing in the middle of the front seven.
“I’m very comfortable inside the box,” Barrette said. “I can go against 320-pound linemen and push them back and setting the block and making the tackle. That’s something I’ve always felt comfortable with. Every single week, I’m going against some four or five-star offensive tackle or five-star running back or slot backs I’d have to cover. Really, what you are going to see out of kids especially on my team and throughout the Trinity League is our fundamentals and love of the game. I really used that to my advantage as well.”
Aside from the football program and the prestige of the school, Barrette has several other connections to Montana State. MSU running backs coach and recruiting coordinator Michael Pitre coached in the Trinity League, first at Santa Margarita then at Servite High before pursuing college coaching. During his last trip to Southern California, Pitre stopped by and pointed himself out to Barrette in a few of the team photos that hand on the Santa Margarita walls.
Barrette’s family also calls Neal Smith, a Hall of Fame Bobcat defensive end in the mid-1990s, a close friend. Smith, a Polson product, notched 19 sacks during a first-team All-America season in 1997. His 35.5 career sacks are still among the most ever by a Bobcat.
Now Barrette will get a chance to carve out his own niche at Montana State.
“I couldn’t imagine a better feeling than when I got off the phone with Coach Choate,” Barrette said. “Add the academic side to it and it was a no-brainer. I didn’t even have to tell my dad I was committing. He just knew. I couldn’t imagine being in a better position than to come play for Coach Choate and Coach Ioane. I really feel comfortable with both of them and I feel we can make something great.”
[/restrict]Photos courtesy of Austin Barrette. All Rights Reserved.
