Editor’s note: With our staff in Reno, Nevada for the Big Sky Conference basketball tournament, Skyline Sports will run a two-part series breaking down Montana State’s offense and defense as the Bobcats participate in their first week of spring football with practices the mornings of March 6 and March 8.
BOZEMAN — What was once a crowded room now has only a few familiar faces.
Montana State’s running backs group has a whole new look as the Bobcats open up spring drills the second week of March. Nick LaSane has graduated after finishing his senior season with a flourish in 2017. Senior Noah James has retired because of chronic shoulder injuries. Junior Edward Vander has decided to pursue other football opportunities. Sophomore Troy Andersen will spend the spring concentrating full time on honing his skills at Sam linebacker.
The complicate the attrition, the group is also without a coach. Michael Pitre, MSU’s running backs coach for the last four seasons, lone holdover from former head coach Rob Ash’s staff and recruiting coordinator the last two under current head coach Jeff Choate, took a job at Oregon State in the off-season.
The Bobcats open spring ball with just two players with any experience in the program playing running back. Logan Jones will be a senior after spending most of his career as a special teams contributor searching for carries in a previously crowded backfield. Anthony Pegues enters his sophomore year in a similar situation with even less special teams action under his belt.
MSU will welcome in four highly regarded freshmen — Isaiah Ifanse (Bellevue, Washington), Sherod White (Los Angeles), Justin Cauley (Los Angeles) and Lane Sumner (Huntley Project) — into the fold in August for fall camp. Until then, Choate and his staff will try to bridge the gap with Jones, Pegues, junior Karl Tucker II, a converted wide receiver, and Indiana transfer Tyler Natee as the four running backs in camp.
“Hopefully, we finally have some guys,” MSU second-year offensive coordinator Armstrong said. “Who knows who it is right now.”
With the backfield shorthanded, Choate said the Bobcats will emphasize the opposite aspect of offensive football. Montana State remains confident it can run the ball between the tackles after leading the Big Sky Conference in rushing yards per game (249.5) last season.
“We are going to focus on the pass game again,” Choate said during his pre-spring press conference the final day of February. “That’s a continual point of emphasis for us until we get that right. We’ve invested in the quarterback position.”
THE QUARTERBACKS
That investment began shortly after Choate took the MSU job in December of 2015 but has produced lackluster results in the passing game in two seasons thus far. Choate’s first order of business was signing former Washington State and Louisville quarterback Tyler Bruggman. The former four-star recruit lost his starting job midway through Montana State’s 4-7 campaign in 2016 to Chris Murray, the eventual Big Sky Freshman of the Year.
Bruggman graduated last spring and left MSU before his final season of eligibility, leaving Murray without any competition during fall camp or last season. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound sophomore showed flashes of brilliance during his first full season as the starter — his 311 yards passing and four touchdowns, 108 yards rushing against South Dakota State in a 31-27 loss or his 306 total yards and four total touchdowns performance in a 49-21 win at North Dakota come to mind —but he has largely been sporadic. And Montana State is 7-9 with him at the helm
Before last off-season, Choate hired former Bobcat All-American quarterback DeNarius McGhee to coach Murray and the rest of the quarterbacks. Murray’s mechanics improved but his inconsistencies in making simple plays in games still hurt the Bobcats.
Instead of replacing Pitre’s spot on staff with a running backs coach, Choate instead hired veteran play-caller Bob Cole as his passing game coordinator. It will allow offensive coordinator Brian Armstrong, MSU’s former offensive line coach, to concentrate more on the run game as he, Choate and offensive line coach Josh Taufalele work with the tight ends, running backs and offensive line.
McGhee, Cole and wide receivers coach Matt Miller will work with the quarterbacks and wide receivers.
“I felt like our first year, whether it was when we would just throw him in the game or when he became the starter, I felt like he was an athlete taking a snap,” Armstrong said following MSU’s first spring practice last Saturday. “Last year,I felt like we had an athlete at quarterback and he was better, noticeably. But still, we were hoping by last year we would have a quarterback who was a heck of an athlete. That would be the next transition.
“There’s some things we can do to help him with that,” Armstrong said. “A lot of it is maturity. I know he’s played a ton of ball now. But again, as a 19-year-old kid, I think he’s starting to grow up and mature not just as a football player but also as a person, which is a big part of it.
“Hopefully, we are going to having an athlete taking a snap two years ago to an athlete playing quarterback to a quarterback who is an athlete.”
Another investment made in the position came in the form of another former four-star recruit brought in to compete with Murray. MSU signed former Oregon and Riverside Community College quarterback Travis Jonsen during the early signing period. The former Servite High (Anaheim) star slipped on the ice in Bozeman and broke his foot, rendering him out until June.
“It’s not anything that is going to be a long-term detriment but it will keep him out of spring ball,” Choate said. “He should be full ready to go by June 1 but not a very timely deal. Unfortunate for him, feel bad for him because I know he was chomping at the bit to compete.”
Instead of Jonsen providing the competition for Murray, it will now be redshirt freshman Tucker Rovig, a 6-foot-5 former state champion from Boise expected to be in the mix regardless of Jonsen’s injury. The Mountainview High (Meridian, Idaho) product led his high school to two straight state titles before backing up Murray but maintaining his redshirt last fall.
“Tucker is a guy who needs to play with confidence and don’t try to be perfect because there is no perfect,” Armstrong said. “Cut loose and play. He was a great player in high school, won championships. I’m sure he could do it here too. He’s just going to have to slow down a little bit for him. He’s going to have to feel good and confident in what he’s seeing, trust himself.”
Although Jonsen, a 6-foot-4, 215-pounder who ranked as the No. 3 dual-threat quarterback in the country his senior year of high school, will not directly compete with Murray until fall camp opens in August, Choate said his presence on campus has already influenced the way Murray is conducting himself.
“I think it’s been really good for Chris Murray,” Choate said. “I can see a level of leadership that I haven’t seen up to this point with Chris as far as him taking charge, this is when we are going to throw, this is when we are going to get together. Being in the office, being around the coaches a little bit more, there has been a little bit of a sense of urgency in terms of his preparation and I think that was an area where he could take a step. I’m excited to see him go out and do his thing in the spring and let that carry over into the summer.”
THE WIDE RECEIVERS
Since Choate took over, Montana State has seen a complete turnover in the wide receiver group as well. With the graduation of All-Big Sky captain Mitch Herbert along with speedster Justin Paige, now every wide receiver on the roster was recruited by Choate’s staff.
Juniors Jabarri Johnson, a 6-foot-4, 217-pounder with strong hands and aggressive ball skills, and Kevin Kassis, a shifty 5-foot-10, 179-pounder who enters his third yeas as a starter in the slot, headline the group. Johnson caught 28 balls for 443 yards and four during his first year at MSU last season after transferring from American River College. Kassis caught 21 for 270 and two touchdowns during his sophomore season.
Tucker II’s switch to running back is offset by Tyrel Burgess, a 5-foot-8, 170-pounder from Florida, switching to wide receiver, at least for the spring. Burgess did not redshirt last season, instead serving as Montana State’s primary kick returner, a good fit considering his impressive speed.
“Karl Tucker is at running back and taking Burgess and putting him at receiver, the idea with that is not necessarily those are permanent moves but for the spring, it would be great to have a guy who is doing dual training so you can go from 10 (one running back, no tight ends) to 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end) without changing. TB is a guy who could fit in there really well.”
Sophomore Lance McCutcheon, an athletic 6-foot-2, 190-pounder from Bozeman, had a pair of receptions for more than 55 yards as a true freshman. Now he’ll be counted on to step into the Z position opposite Johnson’s X spot on the outside of Armstrong’s multiple, motion-filled spread offense.
John D’Agostino, himself a Bozeman native, will be eased back into the fold this spring after missing most of the last year and a half with various injuries. The senior started on the inside for the first half of Choate’s first season before a shoulder injury ended his campaign. He tore his ACL during spring drills last year, missing all of the 2017 campaign. He caught 19 passes for 176 yards and a touchdown his lone season of significant action with the Bobcats. He’ll take turns with Johnson at X receiver.
James Campbell, a burner from Palatka, Florida like Burgess, suffered an injury during fall camp last season or he might’ve been a threat to play as a true freshman as well. The converted high school quarterback is widely considered one of the fastest players on the roster. He will provide depth behind McCutcheon, as will walk-on Kapili Livingston-Lopez.
Behind Kassis is a pair of intriguing, talented and undersized redshirt freshmen. Coy Steel, the 2016 Wyoming Gatorade Player of the Year, turned heads on the scout team last season after walking on to the Bobcats. Willie Patterson, an unbelievably productive high school quarterback in Tacoma, has made the full transition to wide receiver, Choate said.
“Willie Patterson was feeling his way through his freshman year his first semester and now he’s had a really good off-season and taken that next step, is really committed to what we are doing here now,” Choate said.
The receivers will get an influx of talent in the fall, headlined by three-star recruit Mekhi Metcalf, the son of former NFL All-Pro kick returner Eric Metcalf who prepped for former Bobcat All-American cornerback Joey Thomas at Garfield (Seattle) High. The group will also add two-star recruit Koby Duru out of Bishop Amat High (California), Bozeman product Logan Kleinhans and Kalispell Glacier product Mark Estes before fall camp.
THE OFFENSIVE FRONT
A good amount of time last season, Montana State played two and sometimes three tight end sets, using converted offensive tackle Wilson Brott as an extra offensive lineman in its triple option rushing attack.
Brott and fellow seniors Connor Sullivan and Curtis Amos all return for their final years to give MSU a steady, physical group of veterans to work alongside an offensive line that loses just one starter: captain left tackle Dylan Mahoney.
The rest of the unit up front will be made up of at least four players with starting experience but most will be in new positions. Senior Alex Neale enters his third year as MSU’s starting center as an honors candidate. Taylor Tuiasosopo started the second half of last season at left guard as a redshirt freshman and will move to the right side this spring. After two years as MSU’s starting right tackle, a spot where he earned Freshman and Sophomore All-American honors, junior Mitch Brott will shift to the left tackle spot vacated by Mahoney. Lewis Kidd, a 6-foot-6, 295-pounder recruited as a defensive lineman before moving to the offensive front and playing as a redshirt freshman mostly at guard last season, will transition to right tackle.
The left guard spot will be a competition between redshirt freshman Connor Wood and sophomore Jake Sessions. Donny Long, a three-star recruit from Norco, California who chose Montana State over a full scholarship offer from Arizona State, could also compete for a starting spot as a true freshman. Redshirt freshman Zach Redd will back up Neale but could provide depth at guard while redshirt freshman Sean Hatten will back up Kidd. Brody McKnight, the fourth member of the highly-regarded offensive line recruiting class that redshirted last year, will miss the spring with an injury.
“It’s critical for the offensive line,” Armstrong said. “We have some old dogs there, Alex Neale, Mitch Brott, played a bunch of football, Taylor (Tuisasosopo), Lewis Kidd started a good portion of the season last year so they got some very meaningful snaps. We return four starters, which is good on paper. We definitely need to find the fifth. That’s the best thing about offensive line. You always want your best five on the field regardless of position so we need to figure out who our best five are and figure out how that fits, put the puzzle pieces together as far as who is playing what.
“And then you have to have your six and seven because very rarely do you get through a season with five. That would be would be great but not very realistically. I think you need eight probably to make it go. You’d like to keep the moving to a minimum in that eight but it doesn’t always work that way. You have to be able to shuffle the deck.”
THE RUNNING BACKS
Although Jones is the veteran of the group — the Kalispell Glacier product has 36 carries for 161 yards and two touchdowns in his career — Natee is the early front-runner to become MSU’s lead running back, Choate said.
The former Indiana transfer was a standout quarterback at Euless Trinity High outside of Dallas, the same high school that produced McGhee along with a slew of other standout former Bobcats. Natee earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors after rushing for 111 yards and a touchdown in a win over Maryland as a freshman two seasons ago. He played sparingly last season due to nagging injuries and a coaching change for the Hoosiers.
Jones is a 5-foot-8, 185-pounder with good speed. Tucker is a 6-foot, 205-pounder who rushed for almost 500 yards playing Wildcat quarterback at Great Falls CMR before playing his first two seasons at Montana State as a slot receiver. Pegues is a 5-foot-5, 180-pound stick of dynamite. Burgess is a water bug. But Natee, at 6-foot, 265 pounds, could provide MSU’s run game with the punch it loses with the burly, aggressive LaSane moving on.
“He is a big dude,” Choate said. “There was a guy named Craig “Iron Head” Heyward who had a really good career at Pittsburgh and then a great career with the New Orleans Saints. That’s kind of who you look at. But he is light on his feet. He is not a sloppy 265 pounds. He’s a put together kid who is athletic and is sharp. He picks things up. He was a high school quarterback. That tells you what he was capable of doing.”
At least one if not multiple of the incoming freshmen will play next season. Ifanse is a 3-star recruit who earned Washington Gatorade Player of the Year honors after rushing for 2,445 yards and 44 touchdowns at one of the powerhouse football programs in the Evergreen State. On National Signing Day, Choate said the 5-foot-10, 180-pound White might be the fastest player on the Bobcats the moment he steps on campus. Cauley is a sturdy, tough runner at 5-foot-11, 205-pounder who rushed for 1,845 yards and 15 touchdowns over the last two seasons atVenice High in LA. And Sumner, a 5-foot-7, 180-pounder, won the speed competition at MSU’s high school individual camp last summer, leading to his only FCS offer.
“We have some guys coming in as freshmen we think and we hope and we will be relying on to play,” Armstrong said. “We are preparing one, two, three and we will get those guys ready in the summer. And we will see if we can add to that room with an older guy. We have room for one more since we have one senior.”
Montana State will practice twice this week before taking the following week off for spring break. MSU reassumes spring drills on March 20.
Reporting by Brooks Nuanez. Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
