Editor’s Note: This is the fourth installment of a five-part series recapping Montana State’s 2016 season and previewing MSU off-season as Jeff Choate and his staff prepare for their second season together. Part 1 Part II Part III
Click on specific player names for stories on their commitment to Montana State
During the recruiting seasons that followed Montana State’s three straight Big Sky Conference titles between 2010 and 2012, the Bobcats followed a similar formula to lure athletes to Bozeman. MSU would take verbal commitments whenever prospects wanted to pledge. But most of the 2013 and 2014 classes at MSU saw the bulk of their signees commit to Montana State following the football seasons.
When Michael Pitre took over at MSU’s recruiting coordinator during the coaching transition between former head coach Rob Ash and new head coach Jeff Choate, the priorities changed. Montana State targeted prospects early and recruited aggressively.
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Before the 2016 season began, MSU had secured verbal commitments from six prospects, including top in-state products defensive lineman Jaxen Hashley of Kalispell and Dillon athlete Troy Andersen. By the first month of the season, the class of commits had reached double digits and by Thanksgiving, 13 players promised they would sign with MSU the first Wednesday of February.
After a weekend in which MSU brought three mid-year transfer options to town — MSU earned verbal commits from running back Edward Vander (Saddleback Community College), defensive lineman Stephen Omorogbe (Air Force Prep) and cornerback Darren Gardenhire (Washington) — plus the commitment of local products quarterback Callahan O’Reilly and wide receiver Lance McCutcheon, Montana State is close to completing its Class of 2017 with National Signing Day still eight weeks away.
“It’s a sprint to the finish at this level,” Choate said in an interview on November 21. “The good news is I think we have done a really nice job, Coach Pitre and the other assistant coaches in formulating a very good plan, identifying guys early, getting commitments. We do not have a large senior class (14) so that helps us in terms of being very disciplined in some of the decisions we need to make to improve.”
Due to NCAA rules, head coaches can be more involved in recruiting at the FCS level than at the FBS level, Choate said. Montana State’s head coach said to take full advantage.
“I’m going to get into every kid’s house we are recruiting, sit down with their parents, get into as many high schools, especially in the state of Montana to continue to develop strong relationships with the coaches,” Choate said. “I think it does make a big difference when the head coach is there. I have a passion for it. I love recruiting.
“It’s an extension of the competitive nature of this game. Some of the recruiting battles are even more fierce at times than the battles you fight between the white lines and I know how important that is for us to improve our talent level and to continue to get great young men here.”
The class includes a few of Montana’s top prospects, including Hashley, Andersen and Class AA Defensive Player of the Year Keaton Anderson of Billings Senior. It also includes six players with three-star ratings and six more with two-star ratings according to national scouting agencies.
Montana State still has a few players on its recruiting board and a few lines in the water. But the next two months with primarily be dedicated to holding on to the commitments MSU has already received.
“I don’t know if it’s easier but it’s different,” Pitre, who also coaches running backs and is one of two coaches retained from Ash’s staff, said the first week of December. “Your stress is different. To a certain degree, it’s almost a little more stressful because you have these guys who you have been cultivating these relationships with for months and months and you hope that one pretty girl doesn’t come out of nowhere and say the right thing that all of a sudden triggers there interest.”
Most of Montana State’s coaching staff hit the road following MSU’s season-ending 24-17 win over rival Montana to conduct in-home visits. The second week of December, the Bobcat coaches recruited in town, netting commitments from the two Bozeman High products days before Vander, Gardenhire and Omorogbe came to town.
The current open recruiting period lasted from November 27 until Saturday, December 17. The dead period begins December 19 and lasts through January 2. Recruiting is open until the day before the FCS national championship game on January 7 in Frisco, Texas. The calendar goes dead until January 13, the first Friday of three consecutive weekends MSU will bring prospects to town for official visits.
“Half of the guys we have committed haven’t been to Bozeman before but they see the vision of where this program is going,” Pitre said.
“We have to be strategic with visits. We have to get to the finish line with the guys we have and get them up here as soon as possible so they can check this out and be excited about it.”
A few days before MSU’s Cat-Griz victory, Montana State defensive coordinator Ty Gregorak sat at dinner with the seniors on his side of the ball. He could give each plenty of attention since he was surrounded by just six players. MSU graduates All-Big Sky cornerback John Walker and starting middle linebacker Fletcher Collins from its starting lineup. Defensive tackle Matt Brownlow and defensive end Jessie Clark saw time in the rotation while linebacker Joey Michael and safety Zach Stern saw time on special teams.
MSU signed 12 prospects in 2012, a class that included All-Big Sky offensive guard J.P. Flynn and departed quarterback Dakota Prukop. Only Flynn and tight end Austin Barth made it to their fifth and final seasons at MSU. Collins, standout running back Chad Newell and wide receiver Will Krolick joined the team as preferred walk-ons that same year.
“If you really evaluate your signing class coming in, it’s pretty crazy,” Gregorak said during an interview on November 21. “It’s crazy how many guys you lose through attrition, life, grades, whatever. The great programs, the great teams, those 20, 25 guys, by the time they get to year five, most of them are still together. That’s what we have to keep building here.”
Montana State graduates 14 seniors total from last year’s roster. Over the last few weeks, junior linebacker Blake Braun’s retirement because of concussion troubles and redshirt freshman safety Sidney Holmes’ request for a scholarship release opened up two full scholarships. Wednesday, cornerback Tre’Von Strong officially left the program. The Billings Skyview product received a partial scholarship when he signed in February of 2015 and would’ve been a junior in 2017.
“Honestly, we don’t have a specific number of guys we want to sign with this being such a small senior class,” Pitre said. “What we are really trying to do is make sure we solidify some of the areas, the deficiencies we see on our rosters right now and make sure we get those holes plugged right away.
“We want to be smart with our scholarships. We don’t want to go crazy and over-sign and bring in a class of 30 guys or anything like that. We want to be strategic and continue to find guys to fill our immediate areas we need help.”
The class includes eight offensive players, eight defensive players and two athletes: Andersen and Kalispell Glacier product Tadan Gilman, both of whom will likely play defense. The class includes one running back in Vander and one receiver in McCutcheon. MSU has four verbal commitments from offensive linemen: Idaho products Zach Redd and Connor Wood along with Washington product Brody McKnight and California native Sean Hatten.
The class includes two quarterbacks: O’Reilly and Boise-area commit Tucker Rovig. Montana State offered Billings Senior quarterback Nathan Dick, the recently anointed Gatorade Player of the Year, a partial scholarship similar to the package Montana offered Dick. The stud signal caller verbally committed to the Griz on Tuesday, meaning Montana State is done recruiting quarterbacks.
MSU will sign three defensive linemen, including Omorogbe who will join the program in January with Vander and Gardenhire. Hashley and Orange County’s Travis Yates are the other defensive linemen. The class includes at least one linebacker in Temecula, California’s Chad Kanow but Gilman will likely play linebacker, as could Andersen. Keaton Anderson is one of four defensive backs, along with Gardenhire and Trinity League corners Jalen Cole (Mater Dei) and Tyrel Thomas (St. John Boscoe Prep).
With the commitment of Yates (Orange Lutheran), Vander (prepped at JSerra Catholic), a good portion of the Trinity League will send a player to MSU, a goal of Pitre’s to start a pipeline from the talent-rich group of schools. Pitre coached at Santa Margarita High and Servite, two of the other schools in the Southern California powerhouse private school league.
Pitre said Montana State will continue to comb through its list of prospects and could add a few more players to this class. When asked what the coaches were looking for, he did not hesitate — “Speed, speed and more speed”, the former UCLA fullback said.
The list of prospects that will serve as backup options if MSU had any decommitments is “pretty healthy”, Pitre said. For the next two months, the Bobcats will try to hang on to the athletes they have already enamored.
“It’s continuing to sell ourselves and what we have to offer,” Pitre said. “We know we can go play with just about anybody. If we are having to fend off a Mountain West school, that’s a good thing for us because we know we have identified the right guys. We hope that the relationship is strong enough, our culture, our staff, what Bozeman has to sell is enough to get these guys here.”
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Photos by Brooks Nuanez or noted. All Right Reserved.
