If all goes according to plan, Beau Sandland will be the first Montana State Bobcat to hear his name called in the NFL Draft since Mike Person in 2010.
The 6-foot-6, 260-pound tight end was physically dominant at times during his lone season in the Big Sky Conference in 2015. The former Miami transfer caught nine touchdowns and earned All-America honors as MSU led the Big Sky in scoring offense.
Replacing such a prodigious talent seems like a daunting task. Sandland is the second straight first-team All-Big Sky tight end MSU hopes to replace. Tiai Salanoa earned the recognition as a senior in 2014.
[restrict paid=”true”]To complicate the challenge, Montana State’s tight ends are working under B.J. Robertson, the former head coach at Montana Western, a veteran mentor who is brand new to coaching the tight end position. Robertson replaces Daniel DaPrato, a ball of energy and one of the most popular coaches on former head coach Rob Ash’s staff.
Robertson’s main objective is to bring along his group of four players in hopes of at least equaling Sandland’s production. The affable MSU coach is confident his group can get it done. So is new head coach Jeff Choate.
“We have a number of guys there who are very talented,” Choate said earlier this spring. “Coach Robertson has done a great job in a short amount of time working with that group. You look at the experience Austin (Barth) has and a kid like Curtis Amos, I think the expectations have been pretty high and he’s struggled to find his groove and now he’s starting to find his role. Woody Brandom has consistently improved throughout the spring. And Connor Sullivan might be pound for pound one of our better athletes.”
Barth, a 6-foot-5, 255-pound former quarterback from Columbia Falls, is finally the main man among Montana State’s tight ends. The sure-handed, athletic yet bruising senior was MSU’s third tight end in 2014 when Salanoa and Lee Perkins played frequently together. Last season, Barth emerged as a consistent No. 2 threat behind Sandland, catching 13 passes for 103 yards and proving to be MSU’s best blocking tight end.
During Saturday’s Triangle Classic scrimmage, Barth showed his array of skills, catching a touchdown on a corner post route and on a wheel route, the first time he had ever run either pattern, he said.
“He’s a heck of a player, a great athlete,” MSU junior quarterback Tyler Bruggman said following the Triangle. “He can go up and get the ball and he’s physical down in the trenches when we need help in the run game. He’s a heck of a player and a huge part of our team.”
“Guys like Austin, you just have to give him a chance and he’ll make a play.”
Barth has shifted seamlessly into serving as one of Montana State’s leaders. Each practice during the almost completed spring sessions, if Barth isn’t grinding in the trenches or catching passes over the middle, he has his arm around Sullivan, coaching him up or he is in Amos’ ear with words of encouragement.
“I call him Coach Barth because he’s helping me a ton, helping the young guys and that’s a great sign of a leader,” Robertson said. “Coach Choate always talks about me, unit, team and Barth has got himself plugged in and he brings the unit along. He’s going into education. He wants to be a teacher. He wants to go into coaching and teaching so he will already be well versed in that.”
Barth has particularly gravitated toward Sullivan, a converted wide receiver trying to learn the nuances of playing with his hand in the dirt. The 6-foot-4, 240-pound sophomore out of Ennis had a standout fall camp at wide receiver last fall and earned time in 10 games as a redshirt freshman, catching five passes.
One of the first things Choate did at the beginning of spring drills was reassign several young players. Choate moved running back sophomore Tavon Dodd to cornerback and sophomore Grant Collins from middle linebacker to defensive end.
He shifted the burly Sullivan to tight end and moved former tight end Wilson Brott to left tackle.
“Playing small school ball, it took him awhile to adjust. He was trying to keep weight off and play slot receiver,” Choate said of Sullivan. “We’ve turned him loose on the dining hall and he’s up to about 245. I think he’s going to be a great player at that position.”
Sullivan was used primarily as a blocking receiver last season as MSU rushed for more than 225 yards a game in Tim Cramsey’s spread triple-option offense. His blocking skills are still good but he’s learning how to use them on the line of scrimmage.
“That’s a big learning curve,” Barth said. “When you are blocking corners who are 165 pounds and you have to go to blocking d-ends who are 250 pounds, it’s a big difference. I think his feet have gotten a lot better. His hands are getting better. You just have to get that punch down, that placement. It’s a lot to learn. I’m hoping I can help him as much as I can.”
Amos and Brandom give MSU two more young players who came to Bozeman as highly-touted recruits. Amos, a 6-foot, 225-pounder from Burleson, Texas, was a three-start high school recruit, a tight end/h-back hybrid with the ability to crush defenders with his blocking ability. Brandom, a 6-foot-4, 223-pounder out of Santiago High in Corona, California, is a former offensive tackle that earned a three-start designation despite playing tight end for less than two years in high school. Brandom caught a pair of touchdowns in the Triangle Classic, including a 77-yard catch-and-run for a score.
“Woody is young but he’s learning, a good athlete who’s dad was a coach,” Robertson said. “Curtis is kind of the middle of the group, he’s like Barth where he’s been around it and he has a good feel for it, played a lot of tight end. There’s a few sets where we are using him going across the formation. He does really excel in those situations.”
Amos, Sullivan and Brandom could all contribute to the Bobcats in 2016, but the key will be Barth. The fifth-year senior has waited his turn and is ready to embrace his opportunity to lead the Bobcats.
“You watch him interact with those young guys and that’s very encouraging,” Choate said. “He’s a leader in all the right ways. The way he conducts himself, like what we always talk about is it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. He gets that. I’m really pleased with him.”
[/restrict]Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
