On National Signing Day, Montana State head coach Jeff Choate announced a class of 27 new Bobcats, including a collection from untapped recruiting grounds.
The Bobcats signed two players from Florida and one from Georgia. MSU strengthened its pipeline from California’s Trinity League and reestablished itself in Boise.
Montana State also received official letters from Eastside Catholic (Sammammish, Washington) offensive lineman Brody McKnight and Franklin Pierce (Tacoma) wide receiver Willie Patterson in the greater Seattle area. Sheldon (Eugene, Oregon) defensive end Kyle Rygg also signed, helping MSU to reestablish its footprint in the Pacific Northwest. Former head coach Rob Ash and his staff recruited the area sparingly in recent years.
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“You have to have a presence in the I-5 corridor right now in this league,” Choate said. “You have to stop waiving the white flag over there and say, ‘If they don’t go to Washington or Washington State, they go to Eastern Washington. Well, there’s a lot of really good football players over there and it’s an area that fits us.”
A week after NSD on February 1, Montana State has already been aggressive in the Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area. As of February 13, Montana State has offered 12 prospects from the Class of 2018, including 10 from the I-5 Corridor.
Choate spent two seasons as the defensive line coach at the University of Washington in Seattle before becoming MSU’s head coach in December of 2015. Choate also spent a season at Washington State and six more at Boise State, recruiting the Westside of Washington extensively throughout.
Montana State’s primary recruiter in the Seattle-Tacoma area is associate head coach and linebackers coach Kane Ioane. Defensive line coach Byron Hout and wide receivers coach Matt Miller are MSU’s primary Oregon recruiters.
The early string of offers includes scholarship extensions to six skill position players all receiving interest from the area’s Pac 12 schools. MSU offered Graham-Kapowsin running back Micah Smith, Bethel tight end Jarrell Anderson, Sumner athlete Tre Weed, Mill Creek wide receiver Daniel Arias, Woodinville receiver Nash Fouch and Rainier Beach running back/wide receiver Anthony Stell over the last week.
The Bobcats also extended offers from three of the Northwest’s top defensive backs during the same initial push for 2018. MSU offered Eastside Catholic safety Malik Putney, Garfield High safety Jovan McConico and Mount Si cornerback Jesiah Irish since National Signing Day.
Smith is a 6-foot, 190-pounder with a 3-star rating. He earned 4A All-South Puget Sound League honors by rushing for 1,654 yards and 20 touchdowns as a junior. Montana State is his first offer.
Anderson is a 6-foot-4, 221-pounder who is a 3-star recruit. He was a first-team all-league selection as a wide receiver playing 4A football and is considered among the top 15 prospects in the state of Washington by Scout.com. He had 713 receiving yards and scored six touchdowns as a junior. He has received interest from UC Davis, Northern Arizona, Oregon State, Missouri, Colorado, Eastern Washington, Washington and Washington State. Idaho and Montana State are his two known offers.
Weed is a 6-0, 185-pound speedster who is unrated but has a profile on Scout.com. He was a first-team 4A SPSL selection at running back and defensive back for Sumner. As a junior, he piled up 2,350 yards and scored 30 touchdowns. On defense, he snared seven interceptions. Montana State is his first offer.
Arias is a 6-4, 190-pounder with a two-star rating. He was a first-team All-WESCO selection as a wide receiver after catching 49 passes for 1,030 yards and 12 touchdowns. The second-team all-league defensive back also claims to run a 4.48 in the 40-yard dash. He attends Henry Jackson High in Mill Creek. Montana State is his first offer.
Fouch is a 6-3, 183-pounder who is a three-star recruit. He was a first-team All-King County selection as an athlete, a Seattle Times all-area selection at defensive back and he is considered a top 100 player in the state by Battle Prep. Last season, he notched 41 catches for 555 yards and nine touchdowns while also intercepting six passes and piling up 146 return yards. Montana Sate is his only offer.
Stell is a 5-10, 170-pound burner who will likely play running back or slot receiver at the college level. Last season, he earned All-City recognition for his 3A high school by catching 20 passes for 490 yards and eight touchdowns while rushing for 237 yards on 43 carries. He holds offers from Oregon State and Montana State.
Putney is considered one of the top defensive back recruits in the Seattle area. The 6-1, 195-pounder is a 3-star recruit who has already earned all-league honors twice. He is receiving strong interest from Washington after notching 57 tackles, intercepting three passes, breaking up 12 more and forcing three fumbles as a junior. He is from the same high school as Montana State offensive linemen McKnight and junior center Alex Neale.
McConico is a 6-foot, 180-pound safety with a 3-star rating. He plays for former Montana State All-American defensive back Joey Thomas at Garfield High in Seattle. He holds an offer from BYU and from MSU.
Irish is a 6-foot, 172-pound cornerback who Northwest Prep Report calls the fastest player in the state of Washington. He is a 3-star rated player who also has an offer from BYU despite the fact that no defensive statistic are available.
Montana State has also extended known scholarship offers to prospects, including two from the Pacific Northwest. MSU has offered Skyline High (Sammammish) offensive and defensive lineman Matthew Cindric and tight end Cole Ramseyer, a standout at Coeur d’Alene High in northern Idaho.
Cindric is a 6-foot-4, 260-pounder from one of Washington’s football powerhouses. He has earned All-KingCo honors each of the last two seasons on both lines. As a sophomore, the 3-star rated prospect had nine sacks and 12 tackles for loss. Last season, he has three sacks and 12 tackles for loss. He is one of the 10 highest ranked lineman in Washington. He holds offers from Washington State and Montana State.
Ramseyer is a 6-4, 225-pounder who caught 45 passes for 434 yards and three touchdowns last season. He had 18 catches for 405 yards and four touchdowns as a sophomore. He has received strong interest from Idaho and an offer from MSU.
Montana State’s 12th known offer is to Great Oaks (Temecula, California) linebacker Jack Lamb. The 6-foot-4, 215-pounder picked up an offer last fall when Montana State was recruiting linebacker Chad Kanow, who signed last week. Lamb has offers from Cal and Cal Poly along with MSU.
MONTANA STATE RECRUITING BOARD: MSU scholarship offers
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Photos by Brooks Nuanez and contributed. All Right Reserved.
