Big Sky Conference

Choate’s vision for 2nd off-season not clouded by strong finish

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Editor’s Note: This is the third installment of a five-part series recapping Montana State’s 2016 season and previewing MSU off-season as Jeff Choate and his staff prepare for their second season together.   Part I    Part II

Ty Gregorak called the doldrums of a six-game losing streak “pure hell”. Jeff Choate showed visible frustration as the Big Sky Conference losses mounted. Veteran leaders like Gunnar Brekke and Chad Newell lamented the disappointments while trying to spin the heartache into a positive about the lesson that life can sometimes be unfair.

Throughout the 2016 football season, the Montana State Bobcats seemed to bounce back no matter how far they fell. A six-game conference losing streak put MSU at 2-7 entering the final two games of the season, the only two victories home wins over mismatched clubs from Bryant and Western Oregon during MSU’s non-conference schedule. The 0-6 start to league play marked the worst to a conference slate since 2000 for MSU.

But the Bobcats ended the season as a suddenly surging football team. Montana State found its offensive identity after a quarterback carousel clouded the intentions of Choate and offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham during their first season together. Once true freshman quarterback Chris Murray mastered a simple, run-heavy package behind an improving offensive line, the Bobcats ripped off two straight wins thanks to a dominant ground game.

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Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved. 

 

 

About Colter Nuanez

Colter Nuanez is the co-founder and senior writer for Skyline Sports. After spending six years in the newspaper industry with stops at the Missoulian, the Ellensburg Daily Record and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the former Washington Newspaper Association Sportswriter of the Year and University of Montana Journalism School graduate ('09) has cultivated a deep passion for sports journalism during his 13-year career covering the Big Sky Conference. In August of 2014, Colter and brother Brooks merged their passions of writing and art to found Skyline Sports.

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