BOZEMAN, Montana — Montana State returns 17 starters from last season’s playoff qualifier, including four starters along the offensive line, all three of its starting receivers, a record-setting starting tailback, two standout defensive linemen, four players in the secondary and both its kicker and punter.
Yet as MSU gets set to open up its fourth fall camp under passionate head coach Jeff Choate, plenty of rotation spots are yet to be decided. Here are the five most pivotal position battles that will play out in Bozeman in August.
“We have a seating chart right now rather than a depth chart,” Choate said. “Especially probably in the front seven. We have so much depth and a lot of guys that are close to each other in terms of their skill and ability level at linebacker. You are going to see a lot of guys rolling with the 1s. I think tight end is a similar position as well losing three seniors there and then d-line, we have a lot of depth so if a kid is playing really well, we can bump him up for a day or two because we knew we are going to have to play that guy in a game anyway.
“This is the first time we’ve had 104 healthy bodies. We didn’t start with anyone on the bike today. I walked by the bikes and they were empty and I was like, ‘That was a first.'”
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5. The battle for carries behind Isaiah Ifanse
Last season, Ifanse battled injuries for most of the final two months of his rookie campaign, yet still managed to become the first Bobcat true freshman to ever rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season.
In 13 games, the 5-foot-10, 190-pounder plowed his way to 1,025 yards and seven touchdowns. He averaged 5.2 yards per carry for a rushing attack that averaged 231 yards per game, the third-best mark in the league.
Ifanse, a former Washington Gatorade Player of the Year out of Evergreen State powerhouse Bellevue, is sure to be MSU’s No. 1 tailback barring injury again this season. The running back rotation after Ifanse for a team that ran the ball 65.5 percent of its offensive snaps is undetermined.
Troy Andersen, an explosive outside the tackles threat during his Big Sky Freshman of the Year campaign in 2017, will likely get carries out of the backfield again. The 2018 unanimous first-team All-Big Sky quarterback selection rushed for 1,412 yards and an MSU-record 21 touchdowns last season operating the controls of the Bobcat offense.
Choate has said throughout the off-season that Andersen, a Dillon native who missed spring drills after having shoulder surgery, will touch the ball 10 to 12 times a game. It remains to be seen in what fashion MSU gets its peerless star the football.
“We have to open our minds to not putting Troy in a box,” Choate said in July. “We’re going to use him (on offense) in ways that he’ll be able to positively impact any given game the most. He could line up at running back, he’ll take some snaps, he may play with Isaiah (Ifanse) in two-back sets, he may line up at tight end, he may split out as a receiver.”
If it’s not Ifanse or Andersen carrying the mail, a variety of other versatile play-makers will likely see touches at running back, wing back and Wildcat quarterback. That group includes senior quarterback-turned-wide receiver Travis Jonsen, senior captain wide receiver Kevin Kassis and fifth-year senior slashing back Logan Jones.
Last season, Jones played in just four games in an effort to earn a fifth and final season. The 5-foot-7, 185-pound scatback out of Kalispell Glacier missed most of the first two months of 2018 because of an abdominal injury.
He averaged 5.7 yards per carry on 21 touches and scored three total touchdowns despite his limited playing time. The former All-Big Sky kick returner is one of MSU’s most explosive athletes with the ball in his hands.
Jonsen, who caught 28 passes for 319 yards and a touchdown after moving from under center to the perimeter, also rushed 36 times for 199 yards (5.5 yards per carry) and five touchdowns out of Wildcat and spread triple option sets. Kassis, MSU’s leading receiver with 55 catches for 663 yards last season, also had 12 carries for 98 yards, mostly as the player taking the snap.
Behind Jones, a group of unproven players will vie for time, led by intriguing true freshman DeMareus Hosey. The 6-foot, 190-pounder rushed for 1,933 yards and 26 touchdowns on the way to Texas Associated Press second-team all-state honors at Northwest High in Justin, Texas.
Friday, Hosey looked the part, acclimating to the individual drills well, taking running backs coach DeNarius McGhee’s coaching efficiently and displaying top-notch vision to go along with quickness.
Other young running backs who have a chance to crack the rotation includes redshirt freshman Lane Sumner, a Huntley Project product, and Shane Perry, a walk-on from Danville, California who essentially outlasted classmate Justin Cauley for a roster spot following spring practices.
MSU’s running backs room also includes Karl Tucker II, a senior who played two years at wide receiver before moving into the backfield last season. The Great Falls C.M. Russell had seven carries for 21 yards and caught six passes for 27 yards last season.
In an era where teams across all levels of football favor multiple-back rotations, Andersen (206 carries) and Ifanse (197 rushes) accounted for nearly 74 percent of Montana State’s rushing attempts last season. The emergence of a third option behind those two stars could help keep Andersen and Ifanse fresh down the stretch in 2019.
4. Cornerback spot opposite Munchie Filer
When Choate took over before the 2016 season, he immediately and openly talked about what he felt was a talent and depth deficiency on the Bobcat defensive line and defensive secondary. Montana State has prioritized those two position groups in recruiting the last three cycles.
Despite that prioritization, the cornerback spots have been in flux because of a variety of factors.
Gregory “Munchie” Filer III came to Montana State from Compton College with a rudimentary knowledge of the complexity of Division I defensive schemes but a tremendous amount of upside.
By the second half of the season, Filer was a lockdown option at MSU’s boundary corner position. He finished his junior year with three interceptions, earned honorable mention All-Big Sky honors and enters his final campaign as a preseason All-Big Sky pick. The field corner position opposite Filer will be a crucial position battle for the Bobcats.
Junior Jalen Cole, a former 3-star recruit who ranked among the top prospects in the FCS coming out of Mater Dei High in Southern California, remains not on Montana State’s roster after suffering a head/neck injury against Montana in MSU’s regular-season finale. He has not been put on medical scholarship, meaning there remains a chance he could return to the MSU secondary at come point. He watched Friday’s practice from the rails at Dyche Field.
Redshirt freshmen twins Ty’Rese and Ty’Rhae Gibson came to MSU as a package deal out of Paramount High in Southern California last fall. Both flirted with playing time as true freshmen before redshirting. Ty’Rese was not on the Bobcat roster during spring while dealing with a minor disciplinary issue. Ty’Rhae remained on MSU’s roster and participated in spring ball.
Both Gibsons back on the roster and should compete with junior Tyrel Thomas, senior Damien Washington and perhaps a few true freshmen.
Thomas, a former 2-star recruit out of St. John Bosco Prep, broke into the starting lineup before Cole. He had a standout freshman season punctuated by a victory-sealing pass breakup to seal Montana State’s 31-23 win over Montana in Bozeman to cap the 2017 campaign.
But last season Thomas struggled with a hand and foot/ankle injury that cost him two starts and other periods of playing time. Thomas was not confirmed in attendance at Friday’s practice.
Thomas will have the inside track to start opposite Filer if he’s fully healthy. But the physicality and length the Gibson twins bring will help both push Thomas. Washington makes up for his lack of top-end speed with a high football IQ and a savvy demeanor that will help him earn snaps at both field cornerback and nickel back.
Former walk-on Level Price Jr. earned significant reps in spring ball that could help him fight for a spot on the two-deep. He was with the first-team defense opposite of Filer on Friday. Washington and Ty’Rhae Gibson took the second-team reps.
MSU also signed four cornerbacks during the recruiting season. Pending eligibility clearance, Dom Brown is the top among the incoming group who could push for playing time. Elijah King saw significant reps at nickel back on Friday.
3. Amandre Williams and the potential dominoes at Buck end
Last season, former Washington transfer Bryce Sterk wreaked havoc in his first season as a Bobcat, leading the Big Sky in sacks (8.5) and tackles for loss (17) during the regular season from his Buck end spot.
Montana State’s first defensive depth chart released in July at the Big Sky Kickoff media conference listed another Washington transfer as the starter at Buck: Amandre Williams. The 6-foot-5, 255-pound Sterk is listed as the starter at end.
If Williams, a 6-foot-2, 248-pound transfer from Washington, can master the Buck end position and solidify the starting job, it could help Sterk bump to strong end and give senior captain Derek Marks the inside track on starting at 3-technique defensive tackle. A front featuring those three plus nose tackle Chase Benson could cause some serious problems for opposing offenses with their pass rush abilities.
Choate said on multiple occasions during spring football that Williams could see snaps at tight end, full back and even quarterback on offense. He could also play Buck, end, Sam linebacker or even Mike linebacker. Before camp began, an interview request for Williams indicated he would be available on the same day as the linebackers, not Saturday when the defensive line is available.
The Buck end spot is a hybrid edge/linebacker position. If Williams plays a true linebacker spot, that means Sterk likely plays Buck and Marks will have to anchor the strong end position despite the fact that he is 6-foot-1, 250 pounds. Choate has consistently said he wants to get his best 11 players on the field. Jobman played Buck end two years ago as did Kanow.
Sophomore Kyle Finch should provide depth at Buck. Senior Marcus Ferriter is the most experienced option at strong end behind Sterk and Marks.
2. Mike and Will linebacker
The graduation of Grant Collins leaves the Bobcats a man down at Mike linebacker. An array of players return with game experience, making the position perhaps the biggest log jam on MSU’s roster.
“I think it’s going to be a heck of a battle, I really do,” Choate said. “If you look at it, we are four-deep at Mike and Will with veteran guys before you get to the freshmen. I think that’s a group that is a high-impact position and those guys are usually your most valuable guys on special teams. I could see us traveling a lot of those guys.”
Junior Michael Jobman notched 73 tackles at inside linebacker last season. But with the potential return of fifth-year senior Josh Hill, where will Jobman’s best role be found this season?
Hill, a 5-foot-11, 210-pounder out of Kalispell Glacier who plays much bigger than his listed size, missed all but one game last season. His cerebral abilities and nose for the football could be a huge boost to MSU’s linebacker unit if he returns fully healthy from the back surgery that thwarted last season. He practiced on Friday but Jobman took most of the first-team repetitions.
Chad Kanow, a 6-foot-4, 224-pounder who made waves as a special teams standout during his true freshman year in 2017, also struggled with injuries last fall. He played in four games, making 19 tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack but missed the final six games of the season. He started against Eastern Washington, Idaho and Weber State last season before being shut down because of an ailing knee.
During spring practices, sophomore Callahan O’Reilly took first and second-team reps at Mike linebacker. The 6-foot-2, 228-pounder is one of the strongest players on the Bobcat roster and has taken to playing defense after coming to MSU as a quarterback out of Bozeman High. He was the Bobcats’ starting Mike on Friday.
Nolan Askelson, the former Class AA Defensive Player of the Year out of Billings Senior, was a standout as a freshman while still maintaining his redshirt. During spring ball, Askelson was a menace, showing his aggressiveness and sideline-to-sideline ability.
Askelson and senior Walker Cozzie, a fifth-year player out of Helena Capital, took the bulk of the No. 2 reps during Friday’s opener. Cozzie, a 6-foot, 212-pounder, had 20 tackles in 10 games last season.
To increase depth, MSU added Blake Flovin from Foothills College in the winter. Last season, Flovin had 56 tackles, a sack and two interceptions. He was a redshirt at Holy Cross in 2016 before transferring to Foothills. Friday, him and true freshman Jaharie Martin took the majority of the third-team inside linebacker reps.
Martin comes to Montana State from Lakeland, Florida with as much hype as any freshman in the incoming recruiting class. The 238-pounder is shorter than his listed 6-foot-1 height. But he has Division I muscle structure and girth. He took reps with the No. 3 defense Friday until appearing to tweak a muscle in his leg late in the first practice.
The position battle will hinge on the continued improvement of Jobman and Askelson along with the continued health for Hill and Kanow.
“I saw a lot of things today — we aren’t in pads, so it’s hard to say — but Chad is a different guy,” Choate said. “He’s 230 pounds now, not 205 like he was a couple of years ago.
“Josh, it’s just so awesome to have him out there, for him and for us. It’s not a good thing to go through. He’s in a much better place. I’m so happy he has an opportunity he gets a chance to finish this thing out. We just have to keep our fingers crossed and be smart with him. We aren’t going to have a lot of contact with him. The presence he has in that linebacker room is something we sorely missed last year.”
1. The quarterbacks
The first domino in Montana State’s multi-year saga came when All-American Dakota Prukop transferred to Oregon before Choate had ever coached a practice.
The second domino: dual-threat Jordan Hoy, Prukop’s heir apparent during the end of the Rob Ash era, transferring to a junior college following spring football in 2016.
The third domino: former four-star recruit Tyler Bruggman getting the hook from the starting lineup in favor of 17-year-old true freshman Chris Murray midway through the 2016 season.
The 2017 Big Sky Freshman of the Year while playing linebacker and running back ended up setting the Big Sky Conference single-season record for rushing yards in a season by a quarterback. He earned unanimous first-team all-league honors despite throwing for just 92 yards a game.
That confluence of events plus the lack of progression by Tucker Rovig, the lack of readiness for Casey Bauman and Choate’s high demand for a trusted leader under center led to Andersen taking over at quarterback.
The 6-foot-4, 228-pound junior out of Dillon is back at Sam linebacker, at least for now. Friday, Rovig and Bauman took the bulk of the reps with MSU’s top two teams.
The fourth domino came when Murray — after making 16 straight starts that included a 7-9 record, a highlight reel of ridiculous runs and not much else — fell into academic purgatory leading up to the 2018 season.
“I think it’s going to be a very interesting deal,” Choate said. “In the perfect world, I’d like to make the decision following the first scrimmage (on August 10). I’d like to tighten up the timeline. But the competition will play itself out and we will evaluate that as a staff. I think it will come together the way it’s supposed to.”
Rovig, a 6-foot-5, 205-pound sophomore, struggled to put the ball on a rope or spin much of a spiral for most of the practice. He consistently struggled throwing on the run.
Bauman, a 6-foot-6, 235-pound redshirt freshman, showed improved command and swagger for most of the action. Although his throws did not show the extreme velocity they did last fall camp, his accuracy surpassed his competition.
“I thought both of them had good moments today,” Choate said. “And both of them had moments they wanted back. That’s the first day of fall camp.
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