Big Sky Conference

Billings Senior LB Askelson commits to Bobcats

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Jeff Choate’s words on Tuesday resonated deeply with Noah Askelson.

The Billings Senior standout linebacker and running back attended Montana State’s ‘Junior Day’ earlier this month to watch MSU partake in one of its 15 spring football practices. He fielded an offer for a partial scholarship that day, his first Division I offer.

The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder wants to study engineering in college, so the scholarship offer was certainly intriguing given MSU’s prowess as a top notch engineering school. Tuesday evening when Choate, Montana State’s second-year head football coach, called Askelson, it sealed the deal.

The first-team Class AA all-state linebacker and second-team all-state running back from Montana’s reigning state champions gave his verbal commitment to Choate during the call. He is the second commitment for MSU’s Class of 2018, joining fellow in-state product Joe McElroy, a two-way lineman from Missoula Loyola.

Nolan Askelson/ by Travis Clarke

Nolan Askelson/ by Travis Clarke

“Yesterday on the phone with Coach Choate, he reiterated the offer, made sure I knew what was going on and upped it a little bit. I couldn’t turn it down,” Askelson, who is slated to play inside linebacker at MSU, said on Wednesday afternoon.

“Just being down there, the atmosphere, all the coaches seem like great guys. I know their whole philosophy, what they look for in their players would be a great thing to be a part of. The team, when you get down there, you see how they all work together and how they treat their players. It’s just really hard to say no to because they are genuinely good people. I think what they have going down there, they are building something special.”

Last season, Askelson rushed for 668 yards and five touchdowns for an offense that led the state in scoring offense and total offense. He also caught six passes for 60 yards and a touchdown for an attack that also featured Montana Gatorade Player of the Year Nathan Dick at quarterback and Gabe Sulser, widely considered the state’s top prospect, as a versatile slash slot receiver and running back.

Askelson was a key cog on Senior’s explosive offense but the lynch pin of its defense. Defensive statistics are not available but Askelson led a Broncs’ defense that helped Senior win all 13 of its games. He was one of three outside linebackers in Class AA to earn first-team all-state recognition. And he helped Senior win its first state championship in more than 40 years.

“I couldn’t have done it with a better group of guys,” said Askelson said, who also had an offer from the University of Mary and strong interest from Montana “The brotherhood we built throughout the season and the season before, losing in the state championship really drove people harder and brought us together more I think. I think that was what it was: how close we all were. We didn’t want to let each other down because that’s how much we meant to each other. We are all brothers and you don’t want to let your brother down.”

MSU director of high school relations BJ Robertson/ by Colter Nuanez

MSU director of high school relations BJ Robertson/ by Colter Nuanez

Askelson started receiving text messages from MSU director of high school operations B.J. Robertson during his standout junior year. His recruitment picked up after the season and came to a head this spring.

Now Askelson hopes to become a sort of recruiter himself, especially when it comes to Sulser. The 5-foot-9, 165-pound stick of dynamite piled up nearly 2,000 yards from scrimmage and scored 144 of Senior’s 497 points last fall. He was also a first-team all-state selection as a cornerback, kick returner and punt returner. He currently holds offers from Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Montana State and North Dakota State.

“I’ve known Gabe since I was four years old,” Askelson said. “We’ve been best friends for pretty much as long as I can remember. Getting him to commit to the ‘Cats would be awesome for us. Hopefully, I can help work on him and other people I come across next year. I think that will be good that I committed early because now when I play other kids next year, I can talk them into it a little bit.”

In recent years, Senior has become a hotbed for Division I talent. For most of Billings’ three AA high school history – Skyview is the most recent to open, in 1987 –Paul Klaboe’s West High Golden Bears and Ron Lebsock’s Falcons at Skyview have produced more future Bobcats and Grizzlies. But that has shifted thanks to the foundation laid by Mark Sulser and carried on by current head coach Chris Murdoch.

“When Coach Murdoch came in there, he built on what Coach Sulser had and he built a tradition, a legacy really,” Askelson said. “Every senior class that would graduate, they would leave their impact on the program, their legacy. All the under classmen wanted to carry it on, build on it and get better and better. Murdoch prides us on outworking people, out-hustling people. Murdoch has put together a great program and it has helped us get over the top.”

Billing Senior quarterback Nathan Dick/contributed

Billing Senior quarterback Nathan Dick/contributed

Dick earned a scholarship from the Grizzlies. Sulser is the next hot prospect in-state star that could garner Pac 12 interest. Keaton Anderson earned Class AA Defensive Player of the Year honors as a senior safety last season. He is signed with the Bobcats and will join the team in June.

“I had talked to (Anderson) about it,” Askelson said. “Keaton is a great kid, great player and it would be sweet to get to play with him some more. I love Keaton. He’s a great leader. He’s a great kid and he definitely had an influence.”

Askelson himself is not sure what sort of engineering he will pursue, but he knows that’s his desired major. He is the third in-state product to commit – Missoula Sentinel wide receiver Nick Germer, UM offensive line coach Chad Germer’s son, is going to the Griz—and Askelson couldn’t be happier to have the decision out of the way before his senior season.

“This is a weight lifted off my shoulders,” Askelson said. “It’s a relief and it feels good. It takes some financial pressure off my parents and my family. And I think it’s going to be fun next year. I can be loose and have fun with it without having to worry about if people are liking what they see and if they are recruiting me. It will be fun to go out to do it for the rest of the team, for Senior and for the legacy they want to leave.”

Photos attributed. All Rights Reserved.

 

About Colter Nuanez

Colter Nuanez is the co-founder and senior writer for Skyline Sports. After spending six years in the newspaper industry with stops at the Missoulian, the Ellensburg Daily Record and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the former Washington Newspaper Association Sportswriter of the Year and University of Montana Journalism School graduate ('09) has cultivated a deep passion for sports journalism during his 13-year career covering the Big Sky Conference. In August of 2014, Colter and brother Brooks merged their passions of writing and art to found Skyline Sports.

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