Analysis

DEFENSE: Bobcats release first two-deep depth chart of Vigen era

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BOZEMAN, Montana — Montana State finished its first set of spring football practices under new head coach Brent Vigen on April 23.

A few days later, Vigen released his first depth chart as the leader of a Bobcat team that enters the fall of 2021 with sky-high expectations after 2019’s run to the FCS Final Four.

“You watch the film on Sunday and it brings some clarity to the performance,” Vigen said on Wednesday. “Very pleased walking off the field. Thought it was pretty consistent.

“The depth chart is a starting point like if we were playing this coming Saturday to at least give guys a baseline of where they are at.”

The two-deep includes a reshuffling of a talented offensive line, a defense featuring five defensive backs and a pecking order for the Bobcat quarterbacks, among other highlights and position shifts.

Returning starters like junior running back Isaiah Ifanse, senior defensive tackle Chase Benson, senior wide receiver Lance McCutcheon and junior middle linebacker Callahan O’Reilly occupy familiar spots.

Other returning All-Big Sky Conference talents like senior honors candidates Troy Andersen, Amandre Williams, Lewis Kidd, Taylor Tuisosopo, Ryan Davis and Daniel Hardy are starters once again but at new positions.

Returning all-league juniors like Connor Wood, Zach Redd, Tyrel Thomas and Ty Okada are also acclimating to newer roles.

And a variety of first-time starters won jobs while other returning contributors are no longer atop the depth chart.

Here’s a look at Montana State’s spring 2021 depth chart and analysis about the defensive portion.

DEFENSE

New Montana State defensive coordinator Freddie Banks/ by Brooks Nuanez

Montana State’s defense was among the best in all of college football the last two months of the season. If not for a handful of gash plays, the Bobcats basically gave up five points and less than 200 yards per outing during a six-game winning streak that helped them earn a semifinal berth in the FCS playoffs for the first time in 35 years.

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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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