The throws floated in the air without much spin, belying the hopeful narrative that the reigning Freshman of the Year is markedly improved.
For the first hour of Montana State’s first practice of its 2017 fall camp, Jeff Choate observed a quarterback who he said “eased into practice”. After the sixth period of Thursday’s session, Tucker Rovig had already drawn attention for his polished mechanics and confident demeanor. Callahan O’Reilly looked the part of a Division I quarterback more than at any time during his one year as a starter at Bozeman High. Luke May showed a rocket arm and a chiseled physique despite being away from football for more than a year. Brady McChesney moved through his reads rapidly, precisely delivering the ball without much error.
And Chris Murray looked half asleep.
“Not for the first six periods, I was not impressed,” Choate said with a snicker following the second first fall camp practice of his tenure at Montana State. “I was like, ‘Did we really do all this stuff over the summer?’
“As much as they’ve spent time together this off-season, this summer in particularly, you give them six days off and the timing starts to deteriorate. It took us a while to find consistency. Chris in particularly kind of eased into practice today. But once we got into the team periods and competitive periods, it was like he was warmed up and the juices were flowing. That’s the Chris we need.”
Montana State quarterbacks, from left, sophomore Brady McChesney, sophomore Chris Murray, freshman Callahan O’Reilly/ by Colter Nuanez
Murray wowed observes around the Big Sky Conference and frustrated coaches, both opposing and his own, during an up and down, sometimes captivating rookie campaign. He rushed for 860 yards and 12 touchdowns, including a signature 142-yard, two-touchdown performance in MSU’s 24-17 win over rival Montana in Missoula to cap an otherwise forgettable 4-7 campaign.
But Murray was also turnover prone and struggled mightily to throw the football. In the off-season, Choate promoted offensive line coach Brian Armstrong to offensive coordinator, a move that already has Montana State’s offensive looking more fluid. Choate also hired former Big Sky MVP and legendary Bobcat quarterback DeNarius McGhee to tutor Murray and his fellow gunslingers.
During 15 spring practices, Murray made noticeable improvements in his command of the offense, his throwing mechanics and his confidence under center. MSU wrapped up spring drills on April 22, meaning Thursday marked the first time Choate and the rest of the staff had seen their players in 16 full weeks.
Murray looked anything but sharp to start out fall camp but when the 7-on-7 and team periods ensued and Choate cranked up the competition, Murray emerged, showing flashes of what Montana State hopes he becomes.
“After he settled in, we looked way better,” Choate said. “The thing is even when he did make a bad throw or maybe the route combination was not correct — because we are mixing and matching some personnel early in camp — he’s immediately going, ‘Yep, that wasn’t the depth we needed on that route’ or ‘Yeah, I did see single safety, I should’ve gone here with the ball.’ It’s awesome to see him turn around immediately and self-correct because that’s the first step towards mastery.
“That’s one thing I challenged Chris on at the end of practice was, ‘Hey, let’s not ease our way into practice, let’s come out from the get-go competing and firing. Hopefully we will see an improvement on that.”
Montana State sophomore quarterback Chris Murray/ by Brooks Nuanez
Murray was not available to the media during his sometimes dazzling rookie season. During 2017, he has had several chances to talk to reporters. Each time, Murray has acknowledged his deficiencies and talked extensively about his desire to improve into a complete quarterback.
“It’s kind of still weird because I’m still the youngest but I still have the most experience,” Murray said following Friday’s practice. “I’m still learning from them, their experiences and they are learning from me off the field. I’m still asking Brady things, DeNarius things and other resources I have on and off the field.”
“Personally, I’m trying to do better as a passer and as a player and as a person. I’m trying to make this my team and lead.”
McGhee, a two-time Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Year and three-time Big Sky champion during his four years as MSU’s starting quarterback to begin the decade, went to work revamping Murray’s entire fundamental regimen upon arriving on campus. McGhee has altered everything for Murray’s release point to his footwork to his foot plant to his hip drive. It’s resulted in some sporadic throws but the velocity and accuracy Murray throws the ball with now is significantly greater than last season.
McGhee, a meticulous worker as a coach just like he was as a player, has also stressed to Murray and his other quarterbacks how crucial attention to detail can be. It’s already starting to wear off on Murray, McGhee said.
MSU quarterbacks coach DeNarius McGhee and his QBs during spring football/by Colter Nuanez
“When a kid can recognize his own mistakes quickly, I think you have a chance to continue to improve and continue to make even better decisions,” McGhee said. “Instead of making a good decision, make the best decision for the situation or the offense.
“He’s putting in the work and that’s the thing: if you are putting in the work, you will get the result. I think the future is bright for him but he will have to do it consistently and fight complacency.”
During spring football, Murray was the No. 1 quarterback but he spilt starter reps for much of the session with former MSU senior Tyler Bruggman, the Bobcats’ starter for the first six games of last season. The strong-armed, mobile senior brought a different element to the MSU passing game that Murray can yet provide.
In the off-season, Bruggman decided to move on following spring football, earning his degree and moving back to his native Phoenix. Earlier this week, Bruggman signed as a graduate transfer at Texas A&M, his fifth school in as many years.
“I think we are probably better served to have one guy but we have to get another guy ready,” Choate said about the depth chart behind Murray. “Even in the situation with Tyler and Chris, in a strange way, Tyler not being here has made Chris a better player. You might think it might be the opposite but Tyler was such a mature kid, he would take care of all the organization stuff for the player-run practices. Some of that stuff had to fall to Chris now.
“Certainly Brady McChesney helped a bunch with that. That’s forced (Murray) to grow as a leader. He was clearly our guy. Now he had to become a better passer and work on things with his leadership. All those things have improved.”
Montana State sophomore quarterbacks Brady McChesney, left, and Chris Murray/ by Colter Nuanez
McChesney, a former Class AA Offensive Player of the Year from Kalispell Glacier, has embraced his role as Montana State’s steady backup. Rovig and O’Reilly, both true freshmen, will engage with May, a redshirt freshman transfer who threw javelin at Minnesota last year, for a spot on the depth chart. McChesney’s value as a cerebral quarterback who is willing to coach the younger players around him has proven to have great value to Choate and his staff.
“That’s hard to do, isn’t it?” Choate said. “We all have these goals and aspirations for ourselves. For Brady to understand and embrace his role, that tells you what kind of teammate he is. That also tells me that our culture is starting to become embedded into our roster. Those are things I really paid attention to with him.
“In fact, we put him on scholarship throughout the course of the summer in large part because of the value he has to our team that has nothing to do necessarily with what goes on between the white lines. Our goal here as coaches, my No. 1 goal here is to value young men who value the things we value. I think Brady does that. We wanted to show that we appreciate what he brings to the table.”
During his standout career at Glacier, McChesney threw for more touchdowns than any quarterback in state history according to the Montana High School Association record book. His senior year in 2014, he helped Glacier to its first-ever Class AA state championship. He joined the Bobcats as a preferred walk-on and enters his third year in the program as a scholarship quarterback.
“Do my job and compete and hard as I can,” McChesney said. “Chris is our best chance at winning right now with all the intangibles he has. And Tucker Rovig has a lot of intangibles too with the height and arm he has. I’m just here to continuously push them. I have that next man up mentality that if my number is called, I’ll be ready.”
Montana state true freshman quarterback Tucker Rovig/ by Brooks Nuanez
Choate said Friday that he expects a “really tight battle” between O’Reilly and Rovig for a spot on the depth chart, although currently McChesney seems to have a stronghold on the No. 2 position. Choate said May, a 6-foot-1, 210-pounder with good athleticism, could contend for one of the top three spots because he would be a valuable part of the travel roster; Choate anticipates at least trying May on various special teams.
“I feel the rust,” May, a Whitefish product who led the Bulldogs to their first Class A state title since 1979 in the fall of 2015, said on Friday. “The team plays at a lot faster level than I am used to playing against. I think if I just keep grinding, keep listening to the coaches, I’ll get better, the team will get better and that’s all you can ask for.”
McGhee himself was a four-year starter who helped lead the Bobcats to the best stretch of the Rob Ash era between 2010 and 2013. He remembers what it was like trying to lead a team as a freshman, but he was substantially more polished than Murray entering college. While Murray was the league’s top freshman, McGhee was the Big Sky’s MVP his first year under center.
The questions of comparing Murray to McGhee and the inquiries to what Murray’s ceiling might be have been prevalent already since McGhee returned to Bozeman. He has deflected it all, instead trying to focus on helping Murray improve day by day.
“We’ll see,” McGhee said. “I won’t predict his potential. Chris, he has talent, he continues to make good decisions. From there, let his athleticism take over when something breaks down in a game. We will count the chips up at the end of the year, we will see how good he is.”
Photos by Colter and Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
