With the No. 3 team in the nation visiting Bobcat Stadium, upstart Montana State trotted on to the field clinging to a 14-7 first quarter lead.
The man under center, electric true freshman quarterback Chris Murray, had just ripped off a 70-yard touchdown run to give MSU the lead for a brief moment against perennial Big Sky Conference powerhouse Eastern Washington. During the third offensive series of his second career start, Murray took the field with several fellow Bobcat teenagers.
Redshirt freshman Mitch Brott protected his blindside at left tackle that October Saturday last fall. True freshman Kevin Kassis flanked him as MSU’s primary slot receiver.
On the other side of the football, true freshman nickel back Damien Washington tried his best slow down EWU senior All-American wide receivers Shaq Hill and Kendrick Bourne. Redshirt freshman cornerback Chris Harris took his turns opposite senior John Walker trying to slow down all-time great EWU wide receiver Cooper Kupp. Up front, redshirt freshman Marcus Ferriter and true freshman Derek Marks tried their best to put pressure on Eastern quarterback Gage Gubrud, the eventual Big Sky co-Offensive MVP with Kupp.
MSU sophomore wide receiver Kevin Kassis (85)
The Bobcats hung for one half against the Eagles, who would go on to claim their fifth Big Sky title in seven seasons and race into the semifinals of the FCS playoffs. But Montana State eventually dropped that contest 41-17 as the youth and inexperience of the MSU roster in Jeff Choate’s first season glared once again.
Montana State endured a six-game losing streak to begin the league campaign before ending 2016 on a high note. The Bobcats won their home finale 27-13 behind Murray’s first turnover-free afternoon as the starting quarterback. The following week, Murray rushed for 142 yards and two touchdowns as the Bobcats posted a 24-17 victory over rival Montana in Missoula.
A season ago, Choate played nine true freshmen — Murray, Kassis, Washington, Marks, linebacker Jacob Hadley, wide receiver Karl Tucker II, kicker Gabe Peppenger, punter Jered Padmos, running back Anthony Pegues — from his first recruiting class.
As Montana State opens fall camp Thursday, Choate expects young players to be leaned on heavily in his second season. MSU’s latest depth chart features most of the sophomores who played as true freshmen last season (Tucker had foot surgery last spring while Hadley tore his ACL in April) along with a collection of their classmates who redshirted in 2016. MSU has 32 new players on its roster since the end of last season.
Billings Senior safety Keaton Anderson/ by Travis Clark, contributed
Choate and his staff proved in 2016 they are not afraid to play true freshmen. That could be the case in 2017 as well. Cornerbacks Jalen Cole and Tyrel Thomas along with defensive back Keaton Anderson will all push for playing time, perhaps even starting positions. Because of Hadley’s injury, rookie linebackers Troy Andersen, Chad Kanow or Tadan Gilman could all challenge for spots on the two-deep, Choate said.
“Jacob Hadley was a tremendous positive surprise for us in the spring,” Choate said. “That was a tough loss in the spring game because I know we would’ve killed to have a Sam linebacker who looked and moved like Jacob when I was at the University of Washington in our 3-4 system.
“When he went down, that changed some things for us. Now, a lot of that is going to depend on (redshirt freshman) Balue Chapman, guys like Tadan Gilman, Troy Andersen, Chad Kanow, some of these freshmen that are coming in and playing the linebacker position. One or two of those guys is going to have to play just for depth purposes.”
Defensive end Travis Yates seems physically ready and could contribute. Wide receiver Willie Patterson could push for time on the perimeter. Lance McCutcheon, a wide receiver from Bozeman, has had the best summer of any newcomer, Choate said, and is listed third on the two-deep at slot receiver, the only true freshman on the initial chart.
Future Montana State quarterback, Mountain View High School (ID) quarterback Tucker Rovig/by Mark Curtis
Not even Murray, the 2016 Big Sky Freshman of the Year, is safe. He will be tough to beat out, but incoming freshman Tucker Rovig, a 6-foot-5 pro-style quarterback who earned a three-star rating as a star in Boise, will certainly push Murray.
“Last year being thrown into the mix, it was like, ‘Whoa, what’s going on,’” Murray said with a smile in his first-ever meeting with the media last spring.
“Last year, we had (offensive lineman) J.P. (Flynn), we had (running back) Chad (Newell) and I knew this was still their team. This year, as the quarterback, I know I have to lead and make this my team.”
It all amounts to a roster that features 15 seniors – four brought in by Choate from the junior college ranks last season — along with 28 true freshmen, 19 redshirt freshmen and eight more true sophomores.
“It’s a very different roster than it was a year ago and we have a lot of young and new players that we have to indoctrinate into our program and we are going to be counting on those guys,” Choate said in an interview with Skyline Sports at the Big Sky Kickoff media conference in Park City, Utah in mid-July. “We are going to have some young men who redshirted a year ago or played limited roles a year ago that will have to step into significant roles now. A lot of unknowns and a very, very challenging schedule, especially out of the gate.”
Montana State will practice once a day for the next month — the NCAA passed a bylaw banning twice-a-day practices in the off-season — leading up to its September 2 opener at Pac 12 Washington State. The season schedule offers no reprieve as defending Missouri Valley Conference champion South Dakota State comes to Bozeman in Week 2 before MSU takes an early bye. By mid-October, MSU will have played at reigning Big Sky co-champions North Dakota and Eastern Washington and hosted 2016 playoff team Weber State with an October 7 home date against Portland State in the middle.
Montana State head coach Jeff Choate/ by Brooks Nuanez
“You play a Heisman candidate (WSU quarterback Luke Falk), a Top 25 team, the runner-up in the Pac 12 North at Washington State, you turn around and get a Top 5 opponent who was the Missouri Valley Conference champion a year ago in South Dakota State,” Choate said. “And then we get a chance to catch our breathe (bye) and then we just roll on through and play three other playoff teams from a year ago and two of the three on the road.
“I think we will be tested early and often and I think our season is going to come down to a handful of things. One of those is going to be how we handle the adversity that is going to come our way.”
Perhaps the most crucial position battle that will play out during fall camp over the coming weeks is the fight to defend the perimeter in defensive coordinator Ty Gregorak’s defense. Walker, a graduate transfer from Colorado, proved to be one of the league’s most aggressive and competitive cornerbacks in his only season at Montana State. He, along with Harris (left the team), former starter Tre’Von Strong (transferred to Utah), and former Washington transfer Naijiel Hale (dismissed for drug distribution allegations) are no longer Bobcats.
The group features senior Bryce Alley, a starter at times for each of the last three seasons. The cornerbacks also have oft-injured junior Braelan Evans and Washington fighting for time.
Cole, a three-star recruit from Trinity League (California) powerhouse Mater Dei, is widely considered one of the top recruits in the Big Sky. Thomas prepped at St. John Bosco, a private school also in the Trinity League that has competed for the prep national championship the last three years. Anderson is among the best in-state athletes joining the MSU roster, a former Class AA Defensive Player of the Year from Billings Senior.
It’s likely Cole, Thomas and Anderson will lean on the veterans for guidance. It’s also likely Washington will have to assume a leadership role as he’s been through the process most recently.
MSU sophomore Damien Washington/ by Brooks Nuanez
“The biggest challenge is probably adjusting to speed and the physicality of the game,” Washington said after a practice during spring football in April. “I learned a lot about playing corner, what it takes to be a DB and my true role in the defense.
“I was familiar with the defensive concepts but what I learned here was the ‘why’ we do stuff. It makes the technique easier to play.”
Like the cornerbacks, the MSU receivers also have a few standouts in their group to look to for guidance. Seniors Mitch Herbert and Justin Paige both played key cogs as true freshmen on Montana State’s last playoff team in 2014. Kassis and Tucker both played significant snaps last season.
“I was a little quiet coming in,” Kassis, who caught nine passes last season, said in the spring. “The big thing for myself was more confidence. These guys are great. I came in quiet and they broke me out of my shell. I am really surrounded by a good group of guys.
“I’m blessed to have a guy like Mitch, a guy I’ve learned a lot from.”
Montana State’s defensive line should get a shot in the arm simply from revitalized health. The group loses inspirational leader Matt Brownlow to graduation. Woody Brandom a recruited tight end who played spot duty at defensive end, left the program in the spring. But All-Big Sky tackle Zach Wright returns to anchor the interior next to nose tackles junior Tucker Yates and senior Brandon Hayashi, both who battled injuries last season.
At end, Tyrone Fa’anono is back for his senior year after missing all last fall with a foot injury. He should ease the burden shouldered by Marks, a 6-1, 245-pound Belgrade product who surprised just about every observer by cracking the rotation as a 220-pound true freshman last fall.
MSU defensive end Derek Marks (95)
“It was a little bit of a surprise,” Marks said in the spring. “I had talked about Coach Choate and Coach Hout last spring about possibly playing so I was sort of expecting it. Then going into Idaho, I thought I was going to redshirt. I ended up playing, ended up competing and that’s the way it worked out with injuries and stuff.”
“It’s a lot different than I thought it was going to be, just the atmosphere, playing in a game, the preparation is the biggest thing. The mental part wasn’t too bad. If you simplify the game, look to the sideline, get the call, compete, try to make plays. I just try to do my job.”
While an assortment of true freshmen played in 2016, Choate has stated his intention is to redshirt all rookies if possible. Players like defensive tackle Chase Benson, Buck ends Michael Jobman and Kyle Finch, outside linebacker Balue Chapman and offensive linemen Taylor Tuiasosopo and Lewis Kidd all redshirted last season and are all expected to push for playing time.
“It was nice to take half a year off and finally get healthy, get in the weight room, get bigger, learn the defense,” Chapman, a Bozeman product who put on 10 pounds to get up to 205, said in the spring. “Overall, it was pretty helpful.
“We are a great class. A lot of the guys are from Montana so I’ve played against a lot of them already. And the guys from out of state, I’m super stoked about. We have really good chemistry as a group.”
Montana State redshirt freshman linebacker Balue Chapman (35)/ by Brooks Nuanez
The 6-foot-4 Jobman, a Huntley Project product, is up to 225 pounds. The 6-3 Finch, a Dillon native, is up to 220 pounds. The 6-3 Benson, a Helena High product, is up over 250 pounds. Tuiasosopo, the biggest of Choate’s first recruiting class, is holding steady at 315 pounds. The 6-foot-6 Kidd has packed 20 pounds onto his frame to get up to 285 pounds.
“We really maintained the relationship between the guys who were playing and the guys who were redshirting because of the weight room,” Hadley, a Billings Central product, said in the spring. “We were in there Tuesdays and Thursdays working out. We still built really good relationships between the guys who played and the guys who redshirted. That was a really good deal.”
Hadley and Pegues had the most unique experiences of their classmates. Hadley played in the first three games of 2016 before multiple injuries and surgeries cost him his season. He was able to get a redshirt. Pegues played a decent number of snaps in MSU’s first four games before not playing at all the final two months of the season. MSU petitioned the NCAA and Pegues received his redshirt as well despite notching four carries last year.
“It was a really good experience to get in those first three games, really get a feel for what game day is like here in Bozeman with the team,” Hadley said weeks before his knee injury. “Then got injured and it was great to build a relationship with the redshirt freshmen in the weight room over the winter and toward the second half of the season. I kind of got the best of both worlds last year.”
MSU running back Anthony Pegues (26)
“It was definitely frustrating but I just enjoyed being there with Chad (Newell) and Gunnar (Brekke), being able to get behind them,” Pegues, a native of Frisco, Texas, said in the spring. “Even though I wasn’t playing, I was able to watch what they are doing, learn from them. When they are playing, I was able to talk to them and see what they were seeing. I still talk to them to this day, asking for advice. That helped me as a running back to sit there, talk to them, understand what they are seeing, get their point of view on stuff.”
Most if not all of Montana State’s incoming freshmen would not see the field in 2017 if it were up to Choate. The second-year head coach has talked constantly about changing the culture of the program he inherited. Part of that process is roster over turn, meaning Montana State will likely lean on a collection of teenagers once again.
They are talented but we are going to need some of them so we have to bring them up to speed a lot faster,” MSU senior linebacker and captain Mac Bignell said at the Big Sky Kickoff. “That’s the job of the leaders in the room is just grabbing those guys early, building good habits and getting them ready to play because we are going to need them.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
