BOZEMAN — Koby Duru came to Bozeman for the first time already leaning toward becoming a Bobcat.
During his official visit to Montana State’s campus in January, the talented wide receiver from Los Angeles quickly learned MSU was the perfect fit for him. He was among nine players on official visits the last weekend of recruiting season with National Signing Day less than two weeks away. And he wanted his new friends to join him on his new adventure.
With the first-ever early signing period in December, MSU head coach Jeff Choate and his staff locked up the in-state products they knew they had an inside track on, fortifying the initial prep signees with a group of transfers the Bobcats hope can make an instant impact in the Big Sky Conference. Between December 23 and signing day on February 7, Choate and his team went to work filling in the final pieces.
Since taking over at MSU in December of 2016, Choate had dedicated his internal efforts into improving the player experience, cultivating a culture of a tight-knit, tough team and rebuilding Montana State’s roster from an offensive powerhouse who struggled to get stops into a more complete football team tailored to play a more traditional style.
The past two recruiting classes had solidified the offensive and defensive lines while helping Montana State reestablish its recruiting footprint in Western Washington. The early signees for the Class of 2017 solidified further the type of long, lean, physical player Choate has put a priority on recruiting.
The Bobcats held more lofty expectations entering the third season under Choate’s direction in 2018. Montana State had a few gaps at skill position spots, positions Choate has emphasized can be filled by less experienced players if the desire and talent meet his expectations.
On the final recruiting weekend of the winter, the Bobcats swung for the fences, bringing in the Washington Gatorade Player, two other highly regarded recruits from the Seattle area, a powerhouse defensive tackle from one of Texas’s most successful high school programs, a workhorse defensive lineman from the Evergreen State, an offensive lineman who eventually chose the Bobcats over Arizona Stte and a prospect that might be the diamond in the rough from Montana, a state that has produced a proliferation of late-blooming prospects.
Duru served as the catalyst for the weekend. He had given an non-public commitment to the Bobcat coaching staff in December. A day in Bozeman was enough for him to know he was going to sign. After attending the annual rivalry basketball game between the Bobcat men and the archrival Montana Grizzlies, Duru started recruiting, particularly his fellow West Coast standouts Isaiah Ifanse (the Washington Gatorade Player of the Year at Bellevue), 3-star safety Malik Putney of Eastside Catholic in Tacoma and 2-star wide receiver Mekhi Metcalf of Garfield High at Seattle.
“During the trip, me, Mekhi, Isaiah, Malik were all just hanging out, became real close over the trip because those three are all from Seattle so they are West Coast,” Duru said. “I wanted them to come with me.
“The whole entire trip, Coach Choate was trying to get me to get everyone else on board. That was cool. And it worked.”
Of the nine prospects on that final visit, eight, including Duru, Ifanse, Putney, Metcalf along with 3-star defensive tackle James Williams of Aledo, Texas, 2-star defensive lineman Seer Dienes of Connell, Washington, Donny Long of Norco, California and Treyton Pickering, a late-blooming teenager with a monster 6-foot-6, 235-pound frame.
“The dominos all started to fall with me,” said Putney, whose name is not on the MSU roster with fall camp on the horizon. “…I remember talking to Isaiah, Koby and Mekhi and they all just kind of set off with me, saying, ‘Malik, if you commit, we are coming.’ I told Choate that same night when I had my meeting that I was waiting for UDub and if I didn’t get UDub, I was going to Montana State.
“It’s a package deal. We said if we were going to commit, we were all in together.”
Metcalf, the 6-foot-4 son of former NFL All-Pro kick returner who played for former MSU All-American cornerback Joey Thomas at Garfield, has known of players like Ifanse and Putney for years. Getting a chance to spend time with them along with other prestigious recruits.
“We were all definitely talking about coming together before we made our decision before we went on our official visit together,” Metcalf said. “We had a great time together. All the players gave off a great vibe.
“Coach Choate sold it. He’s one of my favorite coaches I’ve met during the whole recruiting process. He’s a guy who really cares about his players. When he came to my house on his in-home visit, I could tell my parents really liked him. He’s a really likeable guy, his personality is different from a lot of coaches. You can tell he’s willing to do anything for his players.”
“He told me with guys like myself, Malik and Isaiah, we will have a real shot at bringing a national championship to Bozeman. That is the overall goal.”
Despite piling up gaudy statistics for Bellevue High, one of Washington’s most storied prep programs, Ifanse’s offers were sparing. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound running back has exceptional vision but his size combined with the fact that his production came out of Bellevue’s vaunted Wing-T rushing offense kept Pac 12 suitors away.
Being in Bozeman with players from similar backgrounds and a similar region helped Ifanse know he wanted to become a Bobcat, even if he did make Choate sweat a little bit on signing day. He did not publicly announce his commitment, instead sending his National Letter of Intent as the final one MSU received.
“Everyone wants their splash and everyone deserves their day in the sun,” Choate said with a grin on signing day. “I think it’s an individual choice when and how you commit. We are glad Isaiah chose us.”
Ifanse joins a Bobcat team that will be without most of its rushing production from last year both because of graduation (Nick LaSane), retirement (Noah James) and academic issues (quarterback Chris Murray). Ifanse along with incoming fellow freshmen Sherod White of California’s Inland Empire, Justin Cauley of Venice and Lane Sumner of Huntley Project are all expected to compete for playing time during MSU’s upcoming fall camp.
“I definitely love competing and I’m excited to come in and show them what I got,” Ifanse said. “That’s been my goal since Day 1: come in and play as a true freshman.”
Like Ifanse, Duru has verbalized his goal of playing this fall. The 6-foot-2 pass catcher transferred to Bishop Amat High during his junior year, costing him games because of eligibility and, in turn, recruiting exposure. Despite a slew of suitors, MSU hung on to the guy who helped them shore up the impressive finish to Choate’s third recruiting class.
“He’s a heck of an athlete who is 6-2 and probably weighs more than 185 pounds,” Duru said. “Because he has good ball skills, he could have a chance to help us early. We were hoping we could hang on to him and we did.”
Putney and Long did not make it to campus for fall camp for yet to be determined reasons. Ifanse, Duru and Dienes all come to MSU with impressive resumes. But Williams, a 63-game starter on a team that played for three Texas 5A state championships and won two titles, might be the steal of the class.
The 5-foot-10, 305-pound brick house is the only true freshman currently listed on Montana State’s depth chart entering fall camp. He is listed as senior Tucker Yates’ backup at nose guard.
Williams committed to MSU last summer before de-committing in the fall and committing to Sam Houston State instead. Choate convinced Williams to come on the visit the final weekend, ultimately sealing the deal.
“We stuck with James and James stuck with us,” Choate said. “He’s a very good player. Two years ago, this guy was the MVP for the Texas 5A state championship game. He is a powerful, explosive guy who will make an impact instantly.”
Montana State returns a slew of players with game experience, particularly on the offensive and defensive lines and at linebacker. The aforementioned late signees will be joined by the early signee running backs, Compton College cornerback George “Munchie” Filer and talented freshmen twin cornerbacks Ty’Rese and Ty’Rae Gibson as newcomers who will push for playing time.
If a few of the rookies can contribute like the MSU staff hope they can, they could be the next piece to completing the puzzle for the Bobcats.
“I think we have a really good product to sell here and I think the reality of Bozeman is so much better to sell here that maybe what is in people’s mind’s eye,” Choate said. “When they get off that plane and spend some time in this community, they see what a special place this is.
“Those guys saw it. We really think they can help us.”
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