BOZEMAN, Montana — As he jogged to the rail that borders Dyche Field, Kane Ioane’s smile was brighter than the August sun hanging in the Bozeman sky.
As Montana State wrapped up its second practice of its fourth camp under head coach Jeff Choate, Ioane is in the middle of an entirely different experience. Reporting to fall camp during the dog days of summer has been a part of Ioane’s life since his days a standout two-way star at Billings Skyview in the late 1990s.
Life is decidedly different for Ioane now. The Bobcat legend — Ioane was a four-time All-American selection at safety for MSU between 2000 and 2003 — has never loved anything more than football. The natural-born coach exudes an energy and enthusiasm for the game that is hard to miss and has not dissipated one single drop.
During Sunday’s first fully padded practice, Ioane’s bark was the first and loudest heard. But nothing, not even the cracking of the pads, can put a bigger smile on the face of Montana State’s new defensive coordinator like the smile he displayed when his 14-month-old daughter Avah toddled onto the grass at Dyche Field following Saturday’s practice.
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After two years away from his alma mater at the University of Washington, Ioane is back to a place he’s called home for nearly two decades. But this time, he’s balancing the challenge of taking Montana State’s defense to an elite level with his newfound responsibilities and devotion as a father and husband.
“This is the worst I’ve felt,” Ioane said with an endearing chuckle during a press conference at MSU’s blockhouse following Sunday’s two-hour, 20-minute practice. “I miss my daughter, I miss my wife (Kerri). It’s like, ‘Wow, what is happening?’ I haven’t had this feeling before.
“But I loved yesterday when my daughter came out onto the grass fields and was running around. I had to almost choke back a tear. That tugged on the old heartstrings a little bit.”
This month marks Ioane’s 17th fall camp at Montana State and the 20th consecutive August he’s spent either playing, coaching or influencing college football. The Eastside grandstands at Bobcat Stadium have a new paint job. The Bobcat football team has a decidedly different look in both personnel and attitude from the nine seasons under Rob Ash that preceded the most recent three under Choate.
And Ioane is back, but in a different form himself. The longtime linebackers coach had just one chance to coordinate Montana State’s defense. A unit with a large talent deficiency and limited continuity due to multiple coordinators, felt the brunt of opposing offenses for the duration of that 2015 season.
Other than that, Ioane has only worked with linebackers at MSU and as a defensive analyst the last two seasons for Washington coordinators Pete Kwiatkowski and Jimmy Lake.
Choate has called Ioane’s two-year apprenticeship in Seattle “finishing school.” The confidence from Ioane and the confidence from Choate and the rest of the staff in him — “”I think (the coordinator situation” is the best it’s been so far,” Choate said after Sunday’s practice — is apparent just a few days into Ioane’s second stint coordinating.
“I see a lot more command from him,” Choate said following Sunday’s session.
“He’s got good support around him and he’s got that core knowledge that he gained when he went to Washington. So he’s a lot more poised and he’s a lot more in command.”
Before the 2015 season, Ioane and former MSU defensive line coach Bo Beck spent much of July engaging in professional development under Justin Wilcox, the defensive coordinator at the time at USC. Montana State’s two up-and-coming assistants learned the nuances of a defense the Bobcats hoped to implement in Ioane’s first year as DC.
Meanwhile, eighth-year defensive coordinator Jamie Marshall seemed to have an inside track on a defensive position at a MAC school. When that fell through, he returned to MSU to share play-calling duties with Ioane. By the end of a devastatingly disappointing 5-6 season, the entire staff besides Ioane, Beck and running backs coach Michael Pitre had been fired.
That 2015 defense featured several players — end Tyrone Fa’anono, nose tackle Tucker Yates, inside linebacker Grant Collins, free safety Demonte King, corner back Tre’Von Strong — playing as freshmen who would go on to have solid careers at MSU or elsewhere. King finished his career at Arizona State. After spending last season at Utah, Strong will finish his career at Southern Illinois.
Objectively, All-Big Sky edge rusher Bryce Sterk has significantly more talent than Jessie Clark, MSU’s 2015 starting edge specialist. Captain tackle Taylor Sheridan was relentless and strong but incoming Washington transfer Jason Scrempos beings length, skill and athleticism not seen this decade on the interior of MSU’s defensive front.
Washington transfer Amandre Williams is also an upgrade on the edge compared to any player on that 2015 Bobcat defense. And new Sam linebacker Troy Andersen might be the best athlete the Bobcats have ever had…period.
Factor in that MSU will have two of the best safeties in the league in seniors Jahque Alleyne and captain Brayden Konkol along with a crew of cornerbacks led by edgy senior Munchie Filer III means Ioane is taking over a unit with leaps and bounds more talent than the one he co-coordinated in Ash’s final season.
“I walked into a very good situation,” Ioane said. “I’m very fortunate in that regard. I come back and I’ve got five seniors in the back end, really three of which are all-conference caliber players. We have a host of guys behind them that are hungry to be all-conference players.
“Up front, it’s one of the better-looking fronts that I’ve seen since I’ve been around Montana State in a long time, as far as the talent level, athletic ability (and) physicality, just how we look when we come off the bus. We have some guys who look dang good when we get off the bus and that’s awesome.
“Personnel-wise the pieces are there. It’s our job as coaches, as a defensive staff, to put the pieces in the right place.”
Despite his new loves at home, Ioane seems steadily focused on making sure this Bobcat defense reaches its potential.
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Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
