Joe McElroy has a lot on his plate, both in the focused sense of the amount the growing teenager eats and in the broad sense of an incredibly busy schedule.
The four-sport athlete —not only is McElroy a Class B all-state talent in football and a starter in basketball at Loyola but he’s also a dual-sport spring athlete who participates in track and tennis — has learned footwork, competitiveness, time management and dedication during his three years at Missoula’s private Catholic high school.
Despite growing up in Missoula, McElroy has also been a fan of the Montana State Bobcats his entire life. The first weekend in April, McElroy was one of dozens of junior prep prospects who attended Montana State’s “junior day” showcase. That Saturday, McElroy toured the MSU campus, learned about the prerequisites for nursing school and earned himself a scholarship to play offensive line for the Bobcat football team.
Less than two weeks later, the Missoula native became MSU head coach Jeff Choate’s first verbal commitment for the Class of 2018. The 6-foot-4, 240-pounder is slated to play offensive line for the Bobcats.
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“Not only the values they teach, but academically, it was where I was thinking about going anyways for nursing so it was definitely my top school and now that I get to play my favorite sport there too, it’s awesome,” McElroy said between classes on Wednesday afternoon. “It takes one thing off my plate.
“I’ve been a Cats fan all my life. My grandfather went there. It’s exciting to be able to play for a team you’ve always liked. It feels like a dream come true, an awesome feeling.”
McElroy earned Class B first-team all-state honors as an offensive tackle and a defensive end as the Rams won 11 straight games before losing 31-28 to Eureka on a “Hail Mary” as time expired in the state championship game.
In basketball, the Rams lost in double overtime in the Class B semifinals to Malta, 90-88. In tennis, McElroy and Curtis Williams are the Rams’ No. 2 doubles team. And in track and field, McElroy throws the shot put and the discus.
“Right now, I have track right after school then I go to tennis after that,” McElroy said. “A day like today, I go to track, tennis, then lifting. It takes a while to get used to it. I pack some snacks so I don’t use energy throughout the day.”
McElroy has been training with former Montana Grizzlies’ All-Big Sky Conference tight end Steven Pfahler at Pfahler Sports Specific in Missoula since the spring of his freshman year. The training has taught him discipline while also helping him add mass uncommon for Class B linemen.
“Steve had helped me a ton,” McElroy said. “I began lifting there my freshman year in March so it’s already been almost two years. Getting big, getting a lot of strength built up with him has helped me as much as anything.”
His experience at Loyola has taught him a great deal too, McElroy said. When he visited the Montana State campus and then met with the football coaches — director of high school relations B.J. Robertson was his primary recruiter — he felt parallels between his moral foundation and what he hopes to find at Montana State.
“I went down there, walked around the campus, felt right,” McElroy said. “I know the values they teach match up with the values that Loyola and my family have taught me. Character, your attitude, your team, those are values I’ve learned at Loyola along with pride, heart, tradition and intensity. It all clicked. We always preach about your character on and off the field and so do the Bobcats.”
McElroy’s highlight film shows a player with tremendous explosion, fluid hips and good lateral movement, the last of which he attributes to his basketball and tennis training. While a great many of his highlights are of him sacking quarterbacks or stuffing ball carriers, he will play on offense at the Division I level. And he’s looking forward to it.
“I love the offensive line,” McElroy said. “I love the sense of protection and selflessness. Getting a big block on the defensive end, running out on a counter and seeing a linebacker, it’s an awesome feeling.”
David Koppang, a 6-foot, 190-pound wide receiver and defensive back at Loyola, was also at Montana State’s “junior day”. McElroy was one of the first in-state players MSU offered for next season’s recruiting class and the first to commit. Montana State was his lone offer. Koppang does not have a scholarship offer from MSU yet but is certainly on the Bobcats’ radar. Like Troy Andersen — the first Montana verbal commit for the Bobcats in Choate’s first recruiting season — McElroy hopes to be the first domino to fall in the in-state recruiting battle.
“I didn’t realize I was the first one,” McElroy said. “That’s pretty exciting. I hope to help some other guys commit to the Cats too. I have some buddies I went with to Junior Day so it would be nice to get them to MSU too. Hopefully, this is only the beginning.”
[/restrict]Photos courtesy of Joe McElroy. All Rights Reserved.
