As Monday morning’s practice ended, Josh Taufalele broke into a jog, a smile on his face, more than a dozen giant young men skipping behind him.
Montana State’s offensive line gleefully made their way across the Bobcat Stadium turf to the north end of the arena where they spent extra time after spring football wrapped up taking turns in groups of five hitting the blocking sled, Taufalele the task master yelling out orders with both focused demand and enthusiasm.
For the fourth spring in a row, MSU’s offensive front is under new direction. Taufalele, a two-year FBS starting guard at New Mexico with a formidable presence accentuated by his 6-foot-3, 310-pound frame and shining bald head, is the new man in charge.
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Montana State second-year head coach Jeff Choate hired the eager 28-year-old to replace Brian Armstrong, who was promoted to offensive coordinator after Courtney Messingham left for the same position at North Dakota State.
Taufalele inherits a group acclimating to their fourth new coach since Jason McEndoo left MSU after 12 seasons to take a position on Mike Gundy’s staff at Oklahoma State before the 2015 season. Jason Eck coached the Bobcat offensive line in 2015 before not being retained when Rob Ash was fired. Armstrong coached the unit last season.
The unit Taufalele takes was set to return four starters before Choate announced Monte Folsom’s retirement on Tuesday. Still, the group has experience in junior center Alex Neale, senior left tackle Dylan Mahoney and sophomore right tackle Mitch Brott returning from a front that helped MSU rank third in the Big Sky Conference by rushing for 212 yards per game last season.
“Don’t mess it up,” Taufalele said with a laugh when asked on Saturday what he hoped to bring to the veteran unit. “The first conversation with the guys is they have to be as open with me as I am with them. The first thing we have to do is trust one another.We are deliberately working on that as well as building ourselves football players.”
When McEndoo left, an icon walked out of the MSU coaching offices. Eck wasn’t even on campus a year, so he bond could not compare to that left by one of MSU’s most revered coaches. Armstrong built a strong rapport with the Bobcat lineman a year ago. Lucky for Choate and his staff, Armstrong is still around.
“I don’t think that’s ever easy,” Armstrong said of the multiple coaching changes. “I don’t know if that’s ever what you’d want. It’s not what I would want, but I think those guys have done a great job. I can only speak for myself and since Josh has been there, and I think they’re good guys in that room, No. 1, that want to get better and hold themselves accountable and to a high standard.”
Mahoney was recruited by McEndoo out of Great Falls CMR five years ago. He acknowledged that when Coach Mac left, it was a gut punch to the group. Transitioning to Eck, especially considering MSU’s offensive line featured seniors John Weidenaar, Joel Horn, Alex Eekhoff and Kyle Godecke along with All-American junior JP Flynn, proved to be difficult.
The second time around, the change wasn’t so hard. Mahoney said this transition now seems like old hat for he and the others that have been around long enough to experience all the change.
“Having new coaches, it forces you to be open minded,” Mahoney said. “With a new guy coming in every year, you have to be open with what they bring to the table. Going through it three times already, it’s trained me and these older guys to be open. Instead of smashing heads with him and arguing with him, we are open to what he has to say. That is going to make us better.”
His formidable frame and intimidating look — not only does he have a fully shaved head but Taufalele sports a full dark beard — are not all that makes him stand out on the practice field. He has a voluminous, challenging coaching style that is instantly recognizable at MSU’s first five practices so far this spring.
“He is awesome, just awesome,” said Mahoney, a starter for eight games last season who missed a month in the middle of MSU’s 4-7 campaign. “He’s a very knowledgeable coach, relates with us really well and he’s a valuable asset to us.”
Montana State struggled in pretty much every aspect offensively last year, from quarterback Tyler Bruggman’s lack of ability to operate at game speed to Chris Murray’s lack of ability to take care of the football once he took over for Bruggman under center. The Bobcats committed 24 turnovers during a six-game losing streak to start Big Sky play, a main factor in the 0-6 start.
Perhaps the most consistent aspect of the offensive unit was played in the trenches. The MSU offensive line looked steady for the first five games as MSU started 2-3. But Mahoney went down with an injury in a 41-38 loss at Sac State, missing the next four games. Brott, then a redshirt freshman, struggled at left tackle as did graduate transfer senior Patrick Carroll at right tackle. Brott gave up three sacks to Northern Arizona senior Siupeli Anua in a 20-14 loss in Bozeman.
Mahoney returned with two weeks left in the season. Montana State surged to the finish line, rushing for 258 yards in a 27-14 win over UC Davis and for 368 more in a 24-17 win over rival Montana in Missoula.
“You wouldn’t normally think your left tackle being out would have THAT much of an impact but there’s a domino effect there and that created…now Mitch Brott has to go to left tackle and Patrick Carroll is at right tackle and the continuity of the entire group changed,” Choate said. “When we did get Dylan back down the stretch, we played much better as an offensive unit.”
Taufalele wants to emphasize good technique and, above all else, unmatched physicality amongst his group. He said he could not sleep last Friday night in anticipation of Saturday’s first padded practice of spring ball. “Underwear football is great but for our position, we actually need to hit people,” he said.
“He just focuses on every little thing and it builds on what you’ve already learned,” said Neale, MSU’s starter at center for 11 games as a true sophomore after transferring from UNLV last January. “It’s a little different, of course, but it’s always cool to see Coach Army come back and give his input. We’ve got two coaches in there to build with.”
Mahoney is entrenched at left tackle entering his final season. Brott seems like a stalwart at right tackle and perhaps Mahoney’s heir apparent on the blindside once Mahoney graduates. Barring injury, Neale will be a three-year starter at center.
But Montana State’s guard positions have big holes with the graduate of Flynn, a four-time All-Big Sky selection at guard during his decorated career. MSU now must also find a replacement for Folsom, a 6-foot-2, 305-pound bulldozer who started 10 of 11 games last season.
“I think it forces people to step up,” Mahoney said. “Some kids have an opportunity that they have to take advantage and I think plenty of kids are taking advantage of that. Monte will definitely be missed. But it’s a chance for some other people.”
Currently in spring drills, senior Caleb Gillis, sophomore Jake McFetridge and redshirt freshman Jake Sessions have all taken turns at both guard spots. Choate said he expects redshirt freshman Taylor Tuisasosopo to compete for repetitions in fall camp; the 6-foot-4, 314-pounder had off-season shoulder surgery and will miss all of spring ball.
Two seasons ago, the story line for MSU’s offensive line centered upon adjusting to life without McEndoo. Last season, everyone wanted to know how MSU would replace four veteran starters. This season, the Bobcats return experience and seem to have a dynamic coach in place. Taufalele wants to ensure his group does not become a question mark.
“Tenacity and the want to be a dominant group and the mental capacity to learn,” Taufalele said when asked what he liked about his group. “Those three things jump out at me and they’re three fantastic things that can lead us in the direction to be a championship team.”
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Photos by Brooks Nuanez and Colter Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
