BOZEMAN — As he stood on the Bobcat Stadium sideline watching as the hated Grizzlies gashed Montana State to the tune of 537 yards and 54 points, Brayden Konkol felt disgusted.
The Belgrade native spent his high school days starring just up the road, all the while dreaming of playing for the Bobcats. He watched as MSU rode a special group to three straight Big Sky Conference championships and four playoff berths in five years during Konkol’s high school years.
But as he stood on the sideline during the 2015 Cat-Griz game in Bozeman, the redshirt felt helpless, embarrassed and motivated. The former two-way Class A all-state player knew the MSU defense he watched flail in the open field was not the norm for a football program known for hard-nosed football most of the last 50 years.
Jamaal Jones’ 54-yard touchdown put the Griz up 24-7 four minutes into the second quarter. Ellis Henderson scored a 49-yard touchdown five minutes later, putting Montana up three scores, a cushion they would maintain in a 54-35 win to clinch the most recent playoff berth for the Griz. The loss also clinched Montana State’s first losing season since Konkol was four years old.
The rivalry loss resulted in the firing of longtime and successful head coach Rob Ash, the man who promised Konkol his time as a Bobcat would result in two guarantees: “A ring on my finger and a degree in my hand,” Konkol said.
As the final gun sounded and the Grizzlies celebrated on the Bobcat Stadium turf after cinching their fifth straight win in Bozeman, Konkol knew the feeling was not one he wanted to repeat.
“My freshman year, it was painful when we would score 50 points and lose,” Konkol said of a season that saw the Bobcats score at least 41 and as many as 50 points in three different losses and at least 35 points in two other defeats. “It was embarrassing. When the new coaches got in here, that was a fresh start. Everyone agreed we are not going to be like that anymore.”
In the first set of spring practices under new head coach Jeff Choate and new defensive coordinator Ty Gregorak (a defector from UM), Montana State started from scratch when it came to open-field tackling. Konkol picked it up right away.
“When Choate got here, our open-field tackling sucked,” Konkol said. “Those drills brainwashed me.”
The honed skill continued to improve to the point where Choate now calls Konkol the best open-field tackler on the team. That ability helped him earn a spot in the special teams rotation as a redshirt freshman in 2016. By the end of his first year, Konkol was one of MSU’s starting safeties next to veteran Bryson McCabe.
In the rematch with Montana in Missoula, Gregorak made an adjustment to make sure Konkol always kept his eyes on Jerry Louie-McGee, UM’s electric and elusive slot receiver and kick returner. Konkol had his best game to date, smothering Louie-McGee.
Konkol notched six tackles, including a signature tackle for loss that kept the momentum on MSU’s side in a 24-17 upset that cost UM a playoff berth. Louie-McGee finished with six catches for 29 yards.
“He’s such a shifty guy, great player, especially in open space and if you can tackle him, you can pretty much tackle anyone,” Konkol said. “That was a big confidence booster.”
That performance gave Konkol, a high school quarterback and linebacker, the assurance he could play safety at a high level. But a collection of injuries in MSU’s linebacker corps resulted in his move to Will linebacker the next spring.
The 6-foot-2, then-208-pounder did not miss a beat, instead quickly evolving into one of Montana State most physical, surest tacklers and most productive players. He finished his first season playing in the box with 83 tackles, third on the Bobcats. He also had 56 solo tackles, just six less than All-American Mac Bignell for the team lead. His two interceptions constituted 40 percent of the picks made by Montana State last fall.
Although Konkol produced right away — he had 11 tackles in his linebacker debut in MSU’s season-opening 31-0 loss at No. 24 Washington State — that game on the Palouse was an “eye-opener”. Playing in the front seven, Konkol had to shed blocks from Wazzu’s massive offensive linemen, including Cody “The Continent” McConnell, a 6-foot-9, 360-pound guard who earned consensus All-American honors the season before.
As Konkol enters his second full season as a starter, he’s back on the back end. With the graduation of All-Big Sky safety Bryson McCabe along with former captain Khari Garcia, MSU has a need for a physical safety. Konkol has solidified himself at the spot during a fall camp where position battles rage in almost every other defensive group.
“I think Brayden is a pretty good football player,” said Choate, using his standard line when he thinks one of his players is one of the elite players in the league. “I think he’s one of the most underrated players in this league on the defensive side of the ball. Wherever we put him on the field, he’s going to have an impact.”
“Any way you cut it, when it comes to our second and third-level players, he is one of our best and most experienced guys,” Gregorak added. “He really understands football and he brings a physical presence back there and a toughness. He’s one of our best tacklers. Making that move back, right now it’s best for him and absolutely best for this defense. He shows up every day.
“I love Brayden Konkol as a football player and as a dude. He’s a real football guy. He loves football.”
The rangy, long safety combines straight-line speed (Konkol said he ran as fast as 4.48 seconds in the 40-yard dash this summer), a love of physicality, a muscled frame (he weighed in at 212 pounds on Friday morning), a nose for the football and what his coaches recognize as one of the sharpest football minds on the roster to enter his junior year as an honors candidate.
Montana State safeties coach Kyle Risinger calls Konkol “one of the smartest football players and football people I’ve ever met.” Risinger said he can draw something up on the white board, point it out on film, show Konkol an adjustment during a walk-through or make a suggestion during a game and Konkol “replicates it exactly how we want.”
In MSU defensive meetings, Konkol can usually be found in the front row taking diligent notes. Risinger said he doesn’t just take the notes. He also studies them intently.
“And physically, he has everything you want,” Risinger said. “He’s 6-2, 215 pounds. The kid can run. He’s one of the fastest guys in our room. And he’s just smart. He utilizes his strengths, his physical strengths but also just being quick learner, a student of the game and really a football junky.
“I don’t know a lot of people who can start at Will linebacker and in the same game, be our nickel strong safety. That’s amazing. That’s a testament to the kid and how he prepares.”
Choate, who has made stops at Utah State, Boise State, Washington State, Florida and Washington as a defensive assistant before taking his first college head coaching job at Montana State, has seen the evolution of offenses in college football. To slow down the prevalence of up-tempo spread offenses willed with fast players, Choate wants safeties with range who can tackle in the open field. He’s found exactly that in a hometown product who continues to rise.
“In this league, what do you have to be able to do? You have to be able to get athletes on the ground in space,” Choate said. “I think from the time I have been here, he’s been able to do that. The other reason I say he’s so underrated is how many guys can go from starting at free safety, playing post or strong safety to linebacker then going back to safety in our nickel package and really not miss a beat? He’s been one of the more productive guys on our defense. I think that kind of separates him. He’s got a really good football IQ. The guy loves playing football, he’s physical and he has an NFL body for that position. It’s just a matter of him staying healthy, continue to mature and grow.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez or note. All Rights Reserved.
