BOBCAT SPRING BALL NOTEBOOK: observations from first padded practice under Vigen

BOZEMAN, Montana — Upon walking into Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, the first position group Skyline Sports saw after more than a year of not watching any sort of Montana State practice was the MSU linebackers.

And of course, now that he is working with the group full time, MSU senior captain and All-American candidate Troy Andersen is the first player we noticed.

Andersen donned a helmet and pads but not full leg pads or pants on a day the majority of the Bobcats wore full pads for the first time this spring. He appeared at the same time ripped and thin, certainly an anomaly for a player listed at 6-foot-4, 237 pounds. Andersen is expected to move to weak-side linebacker this season and play Will in MSU’s revamped 4-3 scheme under new defensive coordinator Freddie Banks.

Saturday, the Dillon native participated in individual drills but did not participate in the full-contact team portions of the practice that included scrimmage-like elements. Andersen moved decently well but is still clearly hindered from the knee surgery he had during a beyond strange off-season. Andersen’s initial procedure got re-routed because of an avalanche and then delayed all together when the pandemic hit.

Andersen also sported a large black brace on his right knee on Saturday.

“I know everyone wants to know Troy’s progress,” Montana State first-year head coach Vigen said. “Troy is getting reps mentally and in controlled settings. I really like his progress.”

Montana State’s practices the next month leading up to the Sonny Holland spring game at Bobcat Stadium on April 24 will likely be difficult to fully evaluate. Vigen is taking over for a head coach in Jeff Choate who abruptly left during a bizarre year that kept Montana State almost completely off the field from December of 2019 until March of 2021.

The Bobcats are flush with talent but much of that talent will have light practice loads with occasional days off over the next month. Andersen did not participate in the team portions of Saturday’s practice. Junior running back Isaiah Ifanse, who when healthy is one of the best running backs in the country, did not practice Saturday. Senior defensive tackle Chase Benson, a senior All-American candidate who Vigen said “is going to be just as formidable in a four-man front as he was in a three-man front”, did not practice on Saturday.

Others who did not participate on Saturday included: defensive linemen junior Byron Rollins and Tyson Regimbal along with freshmen Brody Grebe and Trey Yates.

Others who were limited included: junior wide receiver Tyrone Marshall and senior offensive lineman Taylor Tuiasosopo, who dinged his shoulder and did not return.

Freshman running back/linebacker Jaharie Martin was not in attendance because he was attending a wedding back home in Florida.

Montana State sports information also included the retirement of John Clark, a graduate transfer defensive tackle who previously played at Washington, and Chacho Ulloa, a graduate transfer safety who previously played at Arizona.

Jacob Hadley, a talented but often injured player from Billings who moved around to several different positions, has retired, as has linebacker Chad Kanow.

Montana State will practice nine more times, including scrimmages each of the next two Saturdays leading up to the Sonny Holland spring game on April 24.

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“You can see the team growing each time we take the field and that’s a good thing,” Vigen said. “I couldn’t be more pleased with the effort, the enthusiasm we’ve had for two weeks and we just need to keep that moving forward to the next three.”

Here are some quick-hitting thoughts from Colter Nuanez’s notebook following Saturday’s session (in order of observation):

• Troy Andersen, No. 15 – limited lateral movement, still explosive and fast. Curious how he does playing in the box playing Will? He’ll have to get healthy.

• McCade O’Reilly, No. 43 — officially playing linebacker. Looks healthy after suffering an injury his senior year at Bozeman High.

• Nolan Askelson, No. 34 — Looks much bigger, listed at 230 pounds which is only a 10-15 pound gain from 2019 weight but looks much stronger.

• Jory Choate, No. 32 — Still playing linebacker. Running with the 2s. Wonder what he thinks with his dad no longer as the head coach?

• Callahan O’Reilly, No. 47 — Coming into his own as a leader. Looks comfortable getting guys lined up. You can tell Bobby Daly likes coaching him.

VIGEN ON LINEBACKERS: “The linebackers are settling in. It’s not a world of difference for them but it’s a different structure, it’s different fits. They certainly are the guys who are running the show. Callahan has done really well to this point.”

• Ryan Lonergan, No. 87 — Looks great. They have to find a way to get him the ball. Really good athlete.

• Ryan Davis, No. 48 — Big, strong and tough. Can they get him involved? Or is he just the power tight end?

• Derryk Snell, No. 45 — Really good player. They have to figure out how to use him. This offense looks like it will highlight the TEs more. Tweaked a muscle, stretched it out, came back in and caught a touchdown.

• Tyrone Marshall, No. 6 — Looks thick, still hilarious. Has the sideline laughing with his jokes and dance moves.

• Elijah Elliott, No. 13 — Big-time juice. They will find a way to get him the ball. He has to be involved in the offense. Got a glut of the first-team touches at running back with Ifanse out, ahead of DeMareus Hosey & Lane Sumner.

VIGEN ON ELLIOTT: “He has some juice. I think Elijah is a guy we can utilize in a bunch of different ways. We can give him the ball in the backfield but he’s also a guy who can catch it and do some things out in space. He has a burst and he has a toughness to him even though he’s a little undersized.”

• Holden Sampson, No. 70 — HUGE. Must’ve put on 40-50 pounds since his time as a standout in Helena. Now listed at 286 pounds.

• Taylor Tuiasosopo, No. 51 — Taking bulk of reps at center. Probably his best NFL position? Still moves well. Tweaked his shoulder and did not return.

• Dylan Porter, No. 62 — was a depth guy in 2019, now looks like he’s challenging to be one of the top seven or eight OL. Playing center with the 2s.

• T.J. Sessions, No. 72 — Loved him when he was a freshman before he hurt his knee that first fall camp. Super talented, moves well. A lot of times guys his size are sloppy when they are young. He is very smooth and powerful.

• Shayden King, No. 64 — Former grey shirt from Big Tiber is HUGE. He is technically still a true freshman so his 6-foot-5, 301-pound frame is head-turning.

• Connor Wood, No. 66 — Looks back to full health. Only OL who could handle Amandre Williams in one-on-ones. Still trying to figure out why they moved him to guard?

• Zach Redd, No. 59 — You could argue he’s been the steadiest performer on their entire team the last season. Is he a better fit at guard than center?

• Justus Perkins, No. 65 — Finally has the girth to play on the interior offensive line. The 285-pounder could be in the mix to crack the two-deep at center.

• Boe Eaton, No. 97 — Does not look like a freshman. Getting plenty of first-team reps at DT with Benson on the sideline.

• Kyle Rygg, No. 93 — He’s waited his turn. Is now his time to rise? With Benson out, he’s running with the 1s. He looks all of the 6-foot-5, 270 pounds he’s listed at.

• Amandre Williams, No. 3 — Choate was so good at finding dudes who just looked the part, looked different. Williams is one of the few guys left on the roster that fits this bill.

• Daniel Hardy, No. 44 — Looks comfortable coming off the edge as an end. Very explosive, lean, great bend. Hardy is another quick-twitch player who looks like a Choate guy.

• Blake Schmidt, No. 92 — Choate hyped him up a lot. He looks way bigger and is now listed at 286. Running with the 2s, holding his own. If he improves, will be in the mix for a chance to start on the inside. He has the size and strength.

• No. 88, 96 and 95 are all incorrect numbers — No. 88 was playing defensive line with the second unit but is definitely not tight end Ethan Bullock. No. 96 is not Amandre Williams but was also getting reps with 2^nd DL. No. 95 is not Sebastian Valdez, a highly touted freshman defensive end. No. 50 does not appear to be walk-on linebacker Cooper Thomas; No. 50 is playing with the defensive line and looks the part. Might be Ben Seymour, the JC defensive tackle?

• Michael Jobman, No. 91 — He looks so much more nature playing defensive end before the ball is snapped. Can he pick it up? He was tough at inside linebacker and produced but his best upside has been at defensive end. Tough change heading into senior year. Always thought it was weird Choate didn’t think of him as an edge?

VIGEN ON DEFENSIVE LINE: “We are still developing that depth on the inside. We need to keep coming there.

“On the edges, I think Amandre Williams and Daniel Hardy are two guys who jump out and this move to a four-man front accentuates their ability more and more. If you have both those guys on their respective edge, you really have something.”

• Miles Jackson, No. 31 — You can tell he’s smart. Picking up the scheme fast, running with the No. 1 defense. Short, not great length but runs well and seems to see the game sharply. The best of the young corners – will challenge to start.

• Devin Davis, No. 12 — Tall, long and raw. At first, confused him with Eric Zambrano, another tall (6-foot-1 like Davis), long and inexperienced corner who could threaten for playing time.

• Tylor Bohanon, No. 10 — Tall, long. It was clear that’s where Choate was shifting his focus for his corners. First corner recruits were guys like Jalen Cole and Tyrel Thomas, really talented and aggressive players who are super undersized. Can these tall, long guys stick their nose in there and tackle someone?

VIGEN ON SECONDARY: “I think we have a real deep group in the secondary. I think corner, nickel, that’s one in the same, their ability to play both and that’s something we are working toward. That can be a limiting factor in any defense: how much you trust those guys on the edge to play on islands.

“We are only a couple of weeks in but I think we have a group of guys who can do it but at the same time are willing and able tacklers as well because that’s part of it. But at the same time, they understand from a zone perspective how they fit into things. They have a good combination of ability and an eagerness to allow their games moving forward.”

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