The journey will continue for the journeyman.
Montana State quarterback Tyler Bruggman made stops at Washington State, Louisville and Scottsdale Community College before landing in Bozeman as Jeff Choate’s first prized quarterback recruit last January. Now Bruggman is on the move again.
Bruggman, a senior-to-be who just finished spring football at MSU with a solid showing, has informed Choate, MSU’s second-year head coach, that he will forego his senior season in favor of pursuing an advanced degree closer to his hometown of Phoenix.
“Tyler is a great person and an excellent student and he wants to begin work on his MBA degree,” Choate said in an MSU press release. “He brought us stability, and we appreciate that. I know our coaching staff wishes Tyler nothing but the best in his future.”
MSU cornerback Chris Harris (8) takes on running back Anthony Pegues (26)
Sophomore cornerback Chris Harris, who started two games last season, is also leaving the Bobcat program. The 6-foot-2, 195-pounder missed part of spring drills with an injury but returned for the Sonny Holland spring game. He played in five games and notched nine tackles in his Bobcat career.
Montana State walk-ons offensive lineman Kyle Murack and wide receiver Mitchell Edge have also left the program. Choate indicated that Murack, a 6-5, 245-pound preferred walk-on from Conrad is moving into an off-field role with the football program. Edge, a 6-2, 175-pounder, joined the Bobcats during the spring. He caught a pass in MSU’s Sonny Holland spring game.
Bruggman, a 6-1, 195-pounder with a rocket arm, joined the Bobcats just a month after Choate’s hiring. The head coach and the quarterback had a history; Choate helped lure the former four-star recruit to Pullman when Choate was the linebackers coach on Mike Leach’s staff at Washington State.
Bruggman spent the 2013 season as a redshirt at Wazzu. During that year, fellow redshirt Luke Falk, now entering his third year as a starter on the Palouse, emerged as a real threat to run Leach’s vaunted “Air Raid” offense. Bruggman saw the writing on the wall and transferred to Louisville.
MSU quarterback Tyler Bruggman scrambles out of the pocket against Bryant
He sat out the 2014 season per NCAA rules. He fell behind on the depth chart once again, prompting another transfer. Bruggman returned home and played one season at Scottsdale Community College.
Meanwhile in Bozeman, MSU All-American quarterback Dakota Prukop announced his intention to join the Oregon Ducks as a graduate transfer just weeks after Choate took his first head coaching job. Prukop joined the Ducks in January, leaving Choate in need of an immediate fill in with just three other quarterbacks — redshirt freshmen Jordan Hoy plus walk-on redshirts Ben Folsom and Brady McChesney — on his roster.
Bruggman joined the team in January and quickly rose to a leadership role despite his newness to the program. He looked like the clear front-runner to start under center in Choate’s first season after spring drills last year, especially after Hoy left the program.
Bruggman looked solid in MSU’s 20-17 season-opening loss at Idaho and in wins over Bryant and Division II Western Oregon. But he threw three second-half interceptions in MSU’s 19-17 homecoming loss to North Dakota to kick off Big Sky Conference play. Bruggman was never the same.
Against Sac State, the mobile right-hander threw incompletions on seven of his first eight passes, prompting Choate and former offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham to use Chris Murray in a more elevated role. The electric true freshman ripped off a pair of 60-yard touchdowns during a night that saw him rush for 187 yards and three touchdowns all told. But MSU lost 41-38 that night, the second of what would become six straight Big Sky losses.
Montana State quarterback Tyler Bruggman
Bruggman started against NAU and again struggled to move the offense whatsoever as MSU fell behind 20-0. Murray led back-to-back touchdown drives late in the second half but also threw the game-sealing interception in MSU’s 20-14 loss. That game also doubled as Harris’ first career start.
Murray made his first career start the following week at Weber State but a slew of turnovers doomed MSU, pinning the Bobcats in a 42-14 halftime hole in a 45-27 loss. Murray would not relinquish the starting role again, eventually rushing for more than 860 yards and 12 touchdowns to earn Big Sky Freshman of the Year honors despite starting just five games.
Bruggman saw his role continue to dwindle, throwing eight passes, including an interception in a 41-17 home loss to eventual Big Sky champion Eastern Washington. Bruggman was 2-of-6 for six yards in MSU’s uninspired 38-21 loss at Southern Utah to cap the losing streak.
The MSU coaches elected to employ a power run game offensive strategy to snap the skid. MSU rushed for 258 yards and threw just 14 passes, none by Bruggman, in a 27-13 win over UC Davis in its home finale.
Montana State Chris Murray (8) vs. Weber State in 2016/by Brooks Nuanez
Against rival Montana, the Bobcats ran the ball at will. Murray rushed for 142 yards and two touchdowns, MSU piled up 368 yards on the ground and completed just two passes in a signature 24-17 victory that cemented Murray as the quarterback of the present and future.
Bruggman finishes his career with 888 yards, six touchdowns and six interceptions. He completed 46.6 percent of his passes and had an efficiency rating of 97.2.
Montana State’s quarterback position currently includes Murray, McChesney and redshirt freshman preferred walk-on Kamden Brown of Covina, California. MSU adds Tucker Rovig, a 6-5 pro-style quarterback with mobility outside the pocket, from Mountain View High in the Boise area along with Bozeman High product Callahan O’Reilly in the fall.
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
