BOZEMAN — Montana State will open its season under the lights on Thursday. So naturally, Jeff Choate decided to have his team use its “bonus” practice following the end of the third fall camp under his direction as a practice under the lights.
“I think it was awesome,” Choate said in his first game week press conference of the year on Friday morning. “Just being under the lights changes the dynamic. They were a little bit sluggish at first but probably our most energized practice of the fall thus far, which was exciting to see.”
The atmosphere will be entirely different with a sea of Bobcat gold blanketing the stadium for the annual “Gold Rush” game. The event lives up to any game day tradition he’s been a part of, including the Florida-Georgia rivalry he experienced during his one season in the SEC.
“This game is on par with any game I’ve been a part of in terms of how people come out, get into it,” Choate said. “Everybody has their t-shirt on. Everybody is appropriately pre-functioned to make sure the stadium is where it needs to be for the volume. Montana State fans get it.”
And while the Bobcats will have close to if not more than 20,000 strong supporting them as they open the third season under Choate’s guidance, the opponent is not coming into Bobcat Stadium as the underdog, at least if you ask MSU’s leader.
“This is a really good road team,” Choate said. “They were 6-2 on the road and only 2-2 at home last year. One of those losses was at North Dakota State and the other was in the playoffs at Weber State.
“I think this team is clearly favored coming in here. They have a battle-tested quarterback. They have been a very successful team, an eight-win team last year. We were picked eighth in our league. Let’s just call it what it is. We are not out here saying, ‘We’ve arrived.’ You talk about pressure; I don’ think it’s a lot of pressure to live up to No. 8 in the conference. That says what people think of where we are at. Now we have the opportunity to go show the strides we’ve made.”
Although the Leathernecks are under the direction of a first-time head coach in Jared Elliott, the team has made the FCS playoffs twice in the last three seasons. Last fall, WIU’s four losses came against No. 10 South Dakota, at No. 2 and eventual national champion North Dakota State, to South Dakota State and at Big Sky champion Weber State in the FCS playoffs.
Big Sky Breakdown: Jeff Choate press conference, Western Illinois
The Leathernecks are battle-tested with a roster that features 20 seniors, including three-year starting quarterback Sean McGuire, dynamic two-sport athlete (baseball) offensive weapon Steve McShane, versatile linebacker Quentin Moon, veteran safety Xavier Rowe and disruptive likely future NFL defensive lineman Khalen Saunders.
Montana State returns four of five starters on its offensive line along with senior tight ends Connor Sullivan and Curtis Amos along with junior captain wide receiver Kevin Kassis. The rest of the players that touch the ball on offense are almost certain to be new or in new roles, starting with likely first-game starting quarterback Troy Andersen, a dynamic running back and linebacker as the Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year last season.
Defensively, the Bobcats return a glut of depth on the defensive line but will be working in a set of new linebackers. The secondary returns talent and received an influx of competitiveness during the off-season but the story of the Bobcats so far in 2018 centers on a noticeable upgrade in physical talent but a question mark as to if and when the team will put that talent together into victories.
“We’ve gotta play a game,” Choate said. “I know this: first games are always going to have some things that are going to come up. We always talk to our guys: what is going to show up in a first game? Poise is one of the things that is going to show up. It’s going to be a great environment we are going to play in and both teams are going to be ready to play. That’s not a question.”
Montana State press conference: Jeff Choate on Western Illinois
QUICK HITS
Location: Macomb, Illinois
Nickname: Leathernecks
Founded: 1899 as the Western Illinois Normal School. Like many similar institutions of the time, Western Illinois State Normal School focused on teacher training for its relatively small body of students. As the normal school grew, it became Western Illinois State Teachers College.
Enrollment: The University has 9,083 students and an endowment of $51 million.
Stadium: Hanson Field – Built in 1950 and expanded to its current capacity of 16,368 in 2007, the multi-purpose stadium is home to the Leathernecks’ football and track and field teams. From 1996 through 2004, Hanson Field was the training camp home of the National Football League’s St. Louis Rams. In four home games, the Leathernecks averaged 3,477 fans per game during an 8-4 season that culimated in a second straight playoff berth.
THE TEAM (5-3 in Missouri Valley play, 8-4 overall)
The Coach: Jared Elliott, first season at Western Illinois. Before Charlie Fisher took the WIU head coaching job in 2016, former Montana State head coach Rob Ash was a finalist to become the head coach of the Leathernecks. Elliott served as Fisher’s assistant head coach and offensive coordinator for two seasons before Fisher joined Herm Edwards’ staff at Arizona State in the off-season. Elliott has never been a head coach before. He helped WIU senior quarterback Sean McGuire to All-Missouri Valley recognition each of the last two seasons.
THE OFFENSE – Players to watch
Sean McGuire, quarterback, 6-3, 228, senior — The sturdy, strong-armed senior captain enters his final season with 27 consecutive starts under his belt. Last season, he earned honorable mention All-MVC honors by throwing for 2,852 yards and 25 touchdowns, the second-most scoring strikes in WIU history.
“He’s very efficient and smart,” Choate said. “Kind of the undisputed leader of that team. It’s funny this day in age – I can get online and see his interview and the way he handles himself, you can tell he has a lot of confidence in his abilities and the way some of his teammates defer to him, you can tell he’s the guy in the locker room that makes that thing go.”
McGuire has 6,925 yards and 51 touchdowns in his career thus far.
“The biggest edge they have on us is that veteran leadership at quarterback,” Choate said.
Steve McShane, running back, 5-8, 185 pounds, senior — The Freeport, Illinois native is the rare two-sport athlete that crosses over between the gridiron and the diamond.
As a junior last spring, McShane hit .317 with 45 hits, seven doubles, two triples and 14 RBI to earn first-team All-Summit League honors on the WIU baseball team. That was on the heels of earning second-team All-Missouri Valley honors for the second straight season as a versatile running back who can also catch the ball out of the backfield.
McShane rushed for 582 yards and a team-best seven touchdowns while also catching 31 passes for 307 yards. He also averaged 18.5 yards per punt return. As a sophomore, he rushed for 917 yards, second-most in the MVFC and led the team with eight touchdowns. He enters his senior season with 2,359 yards from scrimmage and 19 total touchdowns.
“He is one of the most versatile players at this level anywhere in the country,” Choate said. “He’s a threat as a receiver, a runner and a punt returner.”
WATCH: Steve McShane 2017 highlight film
THE DEFENSE – Players to watch
Khalen Saunders, defensive tackle, 6-2, 310 pounds, defensive tackle — The ferociously strong interior defensive lineman from St. Louis has NFL aspirations after earning first-team All-MVFC honors as a junior. He had a productive campaign last fall, notching 57 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks while also forcing three fumbles.
“The best player I’ve seen on film as an interior defensive lineman since I’ve been here at the FCS level is (Saunders),” Choate said. “He’s a really, really good player. He creates a lot of problems regardless of who he plays. A lot of teams choose actually not to block him and freeze him at the line instead of moving him because they are not going to move him. When he wants to go, he’s a problem for everybody. He’s an All-American player.”
Quentin Moon, linebacker, 6-2, 232 pounds, senior — The Indianapolis native ranked a distant second behind two-time All-American Brett Taylor, a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award last season and now a prospect with an inside track on making the Minnesota Vikings’ roster this season.
“Big, physical guy, kind of a thumper at inside linebacker, tough guy,” Choate said. “He was overshadowed a little bit by (Taylor) last year, who is playing for the Vikings right now. He’s a guy who has the ability to come into his own and take control of that defense.”
With Taylor’s production gone — he had an absurd 162 total tackles last season — Moon will be counted on to pick up the slack. Moon followed up his 88-tackle, six tackles for loss sophomore season with 70 tackles and 11 tackles for loss last season. He also has four sacks and three interceptions over the last two seasons and has been an honorable mention All-Missouri Valley selection each season.
Photos by Brooks Nuanez and attributed. All Rights Reserved.
