Courtney Messingham is reuniting with an old friend in Fargo.
Montana State’s offensive coordinator for a single season is joining Chris Klieman’s staff in the same capacity at North Dakota State, Skyline Sports confirmed on Monday night. The hire was first reported by NDSU Broadcast on Twitter. Tim Polasek took a job as an assistant at Iowa after two seasons as NDSU’s offensive coordinator. Messingham’s hiring is pending a background check.
Messingham played quarterback and defensive back at Northern Iowa between 1985 and 1989. Klieman played in the UNI from 1986 until 1990. Messingham and Klieman grew up together in Waterloo, Iowa.
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Klieman has been the head coach at NDSU for three seasons, leading the Bison to their fourth and fifth consecutive FCS national titles his first two seasons. North Dakota State lost to James Madison in the semifinals of last season’s FCS Playoffs. Klieman coached at UNI from 2006 until 2010 before joining Craig Bohl’s staff as the defensive coordinator in Fargo in 2011.
Messingham, an FBS assistant from 2005 until 2015 with stops at Southern Miss, Iowa State and Indiana, guided a Bobcat offense in 2016 that finished third in the Big Sky Conference in rushing yards at 212 yards per game. MSU averaged 25.6 points per game, 11th in the league.
Montana State head coach Jeff Choate elevated Brian Armstrong to the offensive coordinator position Tuesday.
Armstrong’s offensive line included All-American J.P. Flynn. The Bobcats return starters left tackle Dylan Mahoney, center Alex Neale, right guard Monte Folsom and right tackle Mitch Brott.
Armstrong served as the head coach and primary play-caller at Rocky Mountain College in Billings from 2007 until 2015 before joining Choate’s first staff. The two-time Frontier Conference Coach of the Year led the Battlin’ Bears to the 2013 NAIA playoffs. The Montana Western alum directed offenses that included three-time All-America wide receiver Andre McCulloch.\
“I thought Brian did a great job with the offensive line,” Choate said of a unit that helped MSU finish 17th in the FCS in rushing offense and 14th in red zone offense in 2016. “He’s an excellent football coach, and he coordinated some prolific offenses at Rocky Mountain. He’s worked in this capacity before and our offense will move forward without missing a beat.”
With running quarterback Chris Murray — the Big Sky’s Freshman of the Year — the Bobcats threw for just 156 yards per game, second-to-last in the 13-team league, ahead of just triple option specialist Cal Poly (127.8). The Bobcats averaged 367.9 yards per game, 12th in the league.
Messingham coached Montana State’s quarterbacks, including Murray. The 6-foot-2, 180-pounder didn’t turn 18 until mid-October yet still managed to lead MSU to a 2-3 record after taking over as the starter. The speedster with a long stride struggled to throw the ball, completing 44.8 percent of his passes for 778 yards and six touchdowns. He threw eight interceptions as MSU finished last in the league with 28 turnovers.
Murray lit up the league with his legs, particularly during MSU’s two-game winning streak to finish a 4-7 campaign in Choate’s first season at the helm. Murray rushed for 860 yards on 138 carries (6.2 per carry) and scored 12 touchdowns, second in the league. After playing sparingly in MSU’s first four games, Murray came off the bench to rush for 187 yards and three touchdowns in MSU’s 41-38 loss at Sacramento State, the second defeat during a six-game losing streak.
Murray came off the bench to lead a comeback effort against Northern Arizona. Murray helped the Bobcats cut a 20-0 lead to a 20-14 advantage. But Murray’s fumble on the final possession of the game sealed MSU’s third straight loss. The following week, Murray made his debut in the starting lineup, replacing junior Tyler Bruggman for good.
Murray peaked by rushing for 98 yards and a touchdown in MSU’s 27-13 win over UC Davis for the first Big Sky breakthrough of 2016. The Bobcats reached a crescendo by beating rival Montana in Missoula, 24-17 behind 142 rushing yards and two touchdowns by Murray.
In the off-season, Choate added former two-time Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year DeNarius McGhee to coach quarterbacks. Messingham would transition to coaching tight ends and B.J. Robertson would concentrate his efforts as MSU’s special teams coordinator and director of high school relations.
[/restrict]Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Right Reserved.
