BOZEMAN, Montana — Isaiah Ifanse did not practice for two weeks, including Montana State’s bye week, leading up to MSU’s rivalry game with Idaho last October.
He was not listed as the starter on the depth chart entering the action. He did not warm up with the team. Yet when the Bobcats needed him, Ifanse delivered, just as he did throughout his true freshman season.
That October afternoon last fall, Ifanse converted four different first down runs despite playing on an ailing leg. He managed 13 physical carries, including one that sent Idaho middle linebacker Tyler Graham to the sideline seeing stars. He finished Montana State’s 24-23 win over the Vandals with 54 yards, earning the praise of his head coach.
“He will sacrifice anything for this team,” Jeff Choate said the following week. “It’s impressive to see a young kid like that not be selfish, ‘what do you need me to do, I’ll know it mentally, I’ll take care of the ball.’
“It’s impressive to watch.”
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Ifanse was never truly healthy over the next seven weeks. He managed just 23 yards against Weber State’s league-leading defense. But he jolted to 120 yards against Idaho State the following game. He set an MSU freshman single-game record with 227 yards and three touchdowns against Cal Poly. He galloped for 171 yards in MSU’s 35-14 win over Incarnate Word in the first round of the FCS playoffs.
And he finished his rookie season as the first player in Montana State history to rush for more than 1,000 yards as a true freshman.
“I would say the turning point for me was probably Week 3 against Wagner,” said Ifanse, referencing his breakout performance when he first surpassed the century mark, notching 146 yards in a 47-24 win. “That’s when I got in the film room more often and started taking care of the details.”
The most pertinent detail regarding the 5-foot-10, 190-pound former Washington Gatorade Player of the Year the entire off-season leading up to this month’s fall camp centered upon rest, recovery and managing his workload.
During his first official interview as a Bobcat — MSU has a policy that does not allow true freshmen to talk to the media — Ifanse said the biggest difference for him this fall camp from last August is “taking advantage of recovery and the treatment room so much better than last year.”
“Coming into practice, you don’t feel like half as sore as I did last year coming into practices,” Ifanse said, adding that senior captain wide receiver Kevin Kassis has taught him the importance of rehab and therapy on a consistent basis.
During spring practices, Montana State held Ifanse out of most live situations. That was by design.
“He had a lot of miles on the car last fall as a true freshman and I don’t want him to get beat up,” Choate said in April. “We will get him going in August. We know what he is capable of doing. We’ve been able to see that first hand.”
Less than a week into fall camp this year, Ifanse has shown tremendous discipline and quiet leadership, executing each and every practice rep with diligence and attention to detail. He has set the tone for a running backs group that is battling for carries behind MSU’s leading tailback.
“Isaiah is just so good at his reads,” MSU redshirt freshman Lane Sumner said. “He makes the right cut at the right time and he has a lot of patience in the backfield. He’s able to see what’s going on and then he makes his cut. That gives him an edge and a chance to have big-play ability. And he’s a hard-nosed runner who runs over dudes.”
Monday, Ifanse said that his favorite running back is Frank Gore. The comparison of the two is a good one on a relative basis. Like Gore, Ifanse has good but not great speed but he makes up for it with a fearlessness that helped him become one of the most productive prep running backs in the Northwest his senior year at Bellevue High outside Seattle.
Like Gore, Ifanse is understated and quiet in his demeanor yet runs with a mean streak, finishing defenders with authority at the point of attack.
“I’ll do anything for any of the 10 guys out there, my teammates,” Ifanse said. “That’s my motivation.”
During Monday’s practice, Ifanse once again showed his elite vision and his explosion after patiently reading the defense during a period of inside run drill.
“I was like, ‘Whoa, ok,” Choate said. “He is just so patient and he glided there, popped out the other end and was gone. You can’t coach that.”
Choate coached running backs for three of his six seasons at Boise State. He said it’s the most crucial position on the field to “not over coach guys. You have to let them be creative.”
Montana State knows Ifanse can be creative, explosive and punishing. Now begins the quest to turn him into a complete running back while not wearing him out.
“I think he’s a really instinctual, excellent football player as a running back,” Choate said. “I think he’s a willing and good blocker. But where he needs to improve is his pass catching to become a complete back.
“What does this guy do well? Does he really need a ton more reps at that? Let’s find out what he needs to improve on and manage our workload that way.”
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