BOZEMAN, Montana — The status of the 2020 college football season remains uncertain. But Jeff Choate is a recruiting machine. And despite uncertain times, he continues to add talent to his roster, including the additions of two transfers with Pac 12 backgrounds.
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On Wednesday, Skyline Sports confirmed that Montana State is expected to add transfers defensive lineman John Clark from the University of Washington and wide receiver Thomas Marcus Jr. from the University of Arizona.
In December, Choate and his staff signed 23 players, including North Carolina State transfer quarterback Matt McKay and American River (California) College wide receiver Naequan Parker. In February, MSU signed eight more players, including Oregon State transfer safety Jeffrey Manning Jr. and Laney (California) College wide receiver Tayvian Williams.
Choate spent two seasons coaching defensive line at the University of Washington and eight seasons total with recently retired former UW head coach Chris Peterson. Since taking over at Montana State before the 2016 season, Choate has added now six former Huskies, including Clark. Choate signed defensive backs Naijiel Hale and Darren Gardenhire, neither of whom panned out because of legal troubles, during his first year. He added Bryce Sterk, a two-time All-Big Sky player off the edge, two years ago. And the Bobcats added defensive tackle Jason Scrempos and edge standout Amandre Williams before last season.
Now enters Clark, a 6-foot-4, 290-pound former walk-on to the Huskies from Marysville, Washington. Clark redshirted at Washington Choate’s last season coaching in Seattle in 2015. Clark played in six games as a redshirt freshman in 2016, recording a tackle against Idaho. He played in the Pac 12 championship game.
Clark missed the 2017 season with an injury but played in nine games in 2018, making five total tackles and appearing in the Pac 12 championship game and the Rose Bowl. That was enough to earn him a scholarship entering the 2019 season but he suffered yet another season-ending injury during fall camp in August.
During his senior year of high school, Clark was a Washington 3A all-state selection by the Associated Press. He was an All-WesCo 3A North selection at both defensive end and tight end. He was also a standout baseball player, earning first-team all-league honors as a designated hitter in 2015 and second-team at first base.
Marcus Jr., a former 3-star recruit out of San Diego, last played at Arizona in the 2018 season. After choosing Arizona over Utah State, Marcus Jr. played in three games. He caught one pass for 17 yards against Oregon. Because he only played in three games, he was able to take a redshirt.
Leading up to last season, Marcus Jr. was dismissed from the team. The only reason given by head coach Kevin Sumlin was unspecified violations of team rules.
The 6-foot-4, 185-pounder earned a 3-star recruiting ranking as an athlete during his senior year at San Diego High. The four-year letterman played wide receiver, quarterback, safety and cornerback. He also earned four letters each in basketball and baseball.
During his senior year of football, he was an All-San Diego County selection after catching 23 passes for 464 yards and nine touchdowns while also running for 424 yards and nine more scores. He threw for 1,444 yards as a quarterback while catching 48 passes for 841 yards and 12 touchdowns as a wide receiver during his junior and senior years combined. He is expected to take over the role vacated by Travis Jonsen, a former Oregon transfer who was a first-team All-Big Sky Conference selection as an all-purpose player last season.
Marcus also had Division I interest in basketball according to his profile on Arizona’s website from 2018.
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