Big Sky Conference

EMBRACING THE LAST RIDE: Carroll soaking up final season of football in Bozeman

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Patrick Carroll has a message he has been sharing with his teammates during final season of college football: enjoy your time at Montana State because the experience offered in Bozeman is special, particularly when compared to football programs devoid of the passion and support that accompanies the Bobcats.

Jeff Choate has put an emphasis on cultivating team chemistry by encouraging his players to share their individual stories with one another as often as possible. Choate, Montana State’s first-year head coach, brought in 36 new players in the off-season leading up to the 2016 campaign, including 10 transfers, two of whom already have their undergraduate degrees.

During fall camp, Choate had “newcomer story nights” in which each of the new players would stand in front of their teammates and tell the tale of how their journey led them to Montana State.

Carroll is among the new faces on the MSU roster. The graduate transfer offensive lineman from UNLV earned his undergraduate degree in history in three years living in Sin City. He spent a year going to graduate school at UNLV amidst a coaching change and following the 2015 season, seemed satisfied his career would be finished.

MSU offensive lineman Patrick Carroll (65)

MSU offensive lineman Patrick Carroll (65)

Instead, Montana State convinced Carroll to spend his final year of graduate school in Bozeman. Although he had to change his discipline from higher education psychology back to history, the chance to play for an FCS program with the support MSU garners each home game proved to be too much to pass up. Carroll first visited Bozeman in April during the Sonny Holland spring game. He left town committed to the Bobcats. He returned in the summer to train with his teammates and acclimate to life in Montana. From a river trip that brought forth brand new outdoor experiences to breaking into the starting lineup at right guard two weeks ago, the last six months have been filled with new beginnings for Carroll. And he wants to make sure his younger teammates understand how rewarding the experience has been after being a part of just 15 wins during his time in Vegas.

“He’s got a calming influence to him,” Choate said earlier this week. “During our newcomer story night, one of the things he brought up was how much he’s enjoying playing football for the love of the game and being a part of a team one last time. He espoused a little wisdom on our young kids and said, ‘Don’t take that for granted. It’s not like this everywhere. There’s places where it’s not fun to go to work.’ He said to enjoy the opportunity to be part of a place where we try to work hard and also realize we can’t take ourselves too seriously.”

During his time in Sin City, Carroll excelled in the classroom but played sparingly on the field. He gray shirted during the winter of 2011 after graduating from St. Francis High in La Canada, California in the greater Los Angeles area. He joined UNLV in January of 2012 and redshirted. In 2013, the 6-foot-5, 320-pound former three-star recruit was a squad member but did not play. In 2014, he saw action in nine games and lettered for the first time. Last season, Tony Sanchez’s first at the helm, Carroll played in six games at tackle, including playing during UNLV’s lone touchdown drive in the “Big House” against Michigan in a 28-7 loss, the moment he calls his most memorable during his time with the Rebels.

MSU offensive lineman Patrick Carroll (65)

MSU offensive lineman Patrick Carroll (65)

“The hardest challenge with Vegas is getting people to come to the games,” Carroll said. “An on-campus stadium will be huge for UNLV. Sam Boyd (Stadium) is 20 minutes away from the strip. That’s 20 minutes away from the school. It’s hard to get out there and go to games. I think once they get it rolling, they are getting a new facility and the on-campus thing should be coming soon. Once they have that, look out.”

A number of Montana State coaches have connections to UNLV’s former staff headed by former Montana Grizzlies head coach Bobby Hauck. Ty Gregorak, Montana State’s defensive coordinator, worked for Hauck for seven years in Missoula during one of the most successful runs in Big Sky Conference history. Chad Germer, UNLV’s former offensive line coach who is back at UM for his second stint with the Griz, coached Carroll his first few seasons. Germer and Montana State offensive line coach Brian Armstrong, the former head coach at Rocky Mountain College in Billings, have crossed paths and picked each other’s brains about offensive line techniques many times over the years.

Hauck resigned following the 2014 season but he and former assistant Dominic Daste stayed in touch with Carroll as well as still communicating with Gregorak. Midway through Choate’s first round of spring practices at Montana State, the Bobcat coaching staff started identifying players who could help MSU immediately as the program tries to rebound from its first losing season since 2001. Choate and Armstrong reached out to Carroll to gage his interest in coming to MSU for his second year of graduate school and playing out his final year of eligibility with the Bobcats.

“It was really his decision to make whether he just wanted to stay in grad school in Vegas or whether he wanted to play one more year of football and explore this option, “Choate said.

“Once we got him up here, really thought he was a great kid and a really good fit for us. Low ego, high output. Really smart and high football IQ so we wanted him. He’s a guy who I have thought has been a really good fit for us, a hungry and humble guy who is a good fit for Bozeman and MSU.”

On Saturday night, Montana State plays at Sacramento State, the only other school to offer Carroll a new opportunity. The allure of returning to his native Golden State pulled at Carroll but Choate and the coaching staff eventually sold him on the prestige and experience he would get at MSU.

MSU offensive lineman Patrick Carroll (65)

MSU offensive lineman Patrick Carroll (65)

“Both Montana State and Sacramento were about a different experience and a new opportunity,” Carroll said. “I wanted to get that bad taste out of my mouth for why I left Vegas. Ultimately, it just came down to the coaches and the atmosphere at Montana State. Sacramento State coaches were unbelievable, Coach (Jody) Sears is awesome but it really came down for the atmosphere and this was a better opportunity for me.”

Carroll’s mother, Liz, wanted him to move closer to home to finish graduate school but has since visited Bozeman and fallen in love just like her son.

“Once she came to this place and realized how special it is, she loved it,” Carroll said. “She thought Bozeman would be a lot smaller than it is but she loves it here. She loves the people, loves the coaches, loves all the players on the team. She agrees with me it’s the right fit.”

During fall camp, Carroll battled redshirt freshman Mitch Brott for MSU’s starting right tackle position. Brott ultimately won the job and has started the first four games of this season. In MSU’s 55-0 win over Bryant, junior right guard Monte Folsom went down with an ankle injury with 10 minutes left in the second quarter. Carroll has played every snap since.

“He’s a hard worker,” Armstrong said. “When we were first recruiting him, we called Coach Hauck and got his opinion and the first thing Coach Hauck said was that he’s a tough son of a gun. Coming from Coach Hauck, that means something. He’s been as billed, for sure.”

MSU offensive lineman Patrick Carroll (65)

MSU offensive lineman Patrick Carroll (65)

Carroll has experienced many new things off the football field as well. This summer, Armstrong took his linemen on a fishing and camping trip on the Big Hole River, something Carroll said he had never dreamed of before coming to Montana. Fishing and sleeping under the stars for the first time pushed Carroll outside his comfort zone to begin with. Then the lightning storm began.

“I’ve never seen bigger lighting in my life,” Carroll said during the first week of fall camp. “It started a forest fire. All of a sudden, we are floating down the river right by a forest fire and I’m thinking, ‘This is a whole new experience for me. First time fishing, first time doing anything like this and you have a lightning strike that almost lights us on fire. I was terrified. It was amazing. This certainly isn’t Las Vegas. I never thought I’d be here.”

“One of our guys is lost, we can’t find him, the boat is way behind, then the rain starts and we are trying to pour the boat out, get the water out so it doesn’t sink, then the lightning starts,” Armstrong said, laughing at the memory as he recalls it. I look over at Pat and is just sitting there with his head in his hands. I asked, ‘Pat are you ok?’ And he goes, ‘I’m just trying not to lose it, man’. I couldn’t help but laugh.”

Carroll’s final season is already a month old. The Bobcats head to Sacramento with a 2-2 record, the two losses by a total of five points. MSU fell last week 17-15 to North Dakota in the Big Sky Conference opener for both teams.

A win Saturday night would be a good boost for an MSU squad needing to build momentum in a schedule that gets more difficult by the week. It will also provide affirmation for Carroll in his choice to come to Montana State.

MSU offensive lineman Patrick Carroll (65)

MSU offensive lineman Patrick Carroll (65)

“It’s been beyond what I expected,” Carroll said. “I expected to come in here and play and meet some new guys but this has blown my expectations away, just the coaching staff, the players. They have really accepted me as part of the team and I’m so happy I’m here.”

“Now I want to get some more wins. Playing with these seniors, they are a really tight-knit group and I really thank them for letting me in their group. We have to get more Ws.”

Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved. 

 

About Colter Nuanez

Colter Nuanez is the co-founder and senior writer for Skyline Sports. After spending six years in the newspaper industry with stops at the Missoulian, the Ellensburg Daily Record and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the former Washington Newspaper Association Sportswriter of the Year and University of Montana Journalism School graduate ('09) has cultivated a deep passion for sports journalism during his 13-year career covering the Big Sky Conference. In August of 2014, Colter and brother Brooks merged their passions of writing and art to found Skyline Sports.

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