GREAT FALLS — Tyler Bruggman’s first Triangle Classic spring scrimmage got off to a much rockier start than he or any of the Montana State Bobcats might have hoped.
Less than 24 hours after listening to an inspiring presentation from former NFL quarterback Joe Theismann at Friday night’s Triangle Classic banquet, MSU’s newest quarterback made an egregious error early. On the very first play of the 11-on-11 portion of the one-hour, 47-minute performance, Bruggman threw a check down pass directly into coverage. Montana State junior cornerback Bryce Alley snared the interception and jaunted into the end zone as new MSU defensive coordinator Ty Gregorak blasted his air horn, the customary reaction to a defensive takeaway for the revitalized Bobcats this spring.
MSU quarterback Tyler Bruggman
Bruggman’s initial mistake was not a sign of things to come, however. Instead, the Scottsdale Community College junior transfer shook off the early mistake and proceeded to shred Montana State’s still maligned defense. Bruggman completed four of his next five passes, including a 27-yard touchdown to wide open senior tight end Austin Barth on a corner post, the first time the Columbia Falls product had run that route this spring.
After a brief intermission, Bruggman showed deft touch during the red-zone period of this year’s Triangle Classic, a loosely structured practice-like session that included 60 live contact officiated plays. Bruggman threw two more touchdowns during the red-zone period, including a 20-yard laser to Barth who made an agile diving catch and a pretty back shoulder throw to senior Will Krolick for a 13-yard touchdown.
“Tyler made a bad mistake on his first throw but other than that, this was probably one of his better practices this spring,” MSU first-year head coach Jeff Choate said. “I thought he looked really sharp, gave our players opportunities to make plays. You take away a few drops and he had a really productive day for us.
“His response was perhaps the most impressive thing. We’ve had some days in practice when one bad thing happens, you are like ‘Oh God, we may as well just walk off the practice field and start this thing over. I thought he was able to stay composed today.”
All told, the 6-foot-2, 195-pound gunslinger completed seven of his 12 pass attempts for 104 yards and three touchdowns as MSU’s quarterbacks had their way with MSU’s still struggling secondary most of the afternoon.
“We always want to just play the next play,” said Bruggman, who has made stops at Washington State, Louisville and Scottsdale Community College during his odyssey to Bozeman. “You can’t let past plays effect you. They don’t count for anything moving forward. We have to let it go, learn from it and move forward.”
MSU tight end Woody Brandom evades Khari Garcia and a groupd of MSU defenders for a 70-yard TD
Sophomore Ben Folsom completed his passes, each to redshirt freshman tight end Woody Brandom and each for touchdowns. Brandom’s first touchdown came on a crossing rout. Folsom threw a heater that Brandom caught before turning up field, making junior safety Bryson McCabe miss a tackle and sprinting to the end-zone to the surprise of nearly everyone in attendance, including Gregorak, who colorfully lit into his defensive unit after the long score. Brandom’s second touchdown catch was a diving reception in the end zone for a 28-yard touchdown on another Folsom ball thrown with zip.
“Holy smokes, I was joking around saying (former All-America tight end) Beau (Sandland) switched into Woody’s pads for the day,” Barth said. “That first one, I don’t think any of us could’ve guessed he would do that. And he looked good. That’s something we need. We need competition from those guys for me. The better our group is, the better our individuals will be.”
Not to be outdone, redshirt freshman Brady McChesney got into the touchdown throwing spree, hitting classmate Keon Stephens on a hitch and watching the shifty wide receiver do the rest for an 18-yard touchdown during the goal line period and nearly had a second touchdown toss before tight end Connor Sullivan was called out of bounds. McChesney, a former Class AA Offensive MVP out of Kalispell Glacier, also completed a pair of passes and scrambled for nine yards as he led the third-team offense on a scoring drive that resulted in a 40-yard Devin Tandberg field goal against Montana State’s starting defense.
“Offensively, we were really lethargic during our practice on Thursday and defense definitely had the upper hand and that was addressed,” Choate said. “I thought the offense looked sharp.
“If those (defensive) guys aren’t upset about how they performed today, we have to go get other guys. But I think they will be.”
MSU running back Keegan Bray just misses a pass with linebacker Mac Bignell defending
The defensive highlights were limited and most came due to bad snaps as MSU continues to search for a reserve center with senior Doug Hanson, sophomore Alex Neale’s projected backup, on the shelf for the spring. The MSU defense registered eight sacks and saw redshirt freshman Ty Robbie secure an interception after sophomore Curtis Amos bobbled a bullet from Bruggman that landed in the walk-on from Park City’s hands. But half the touch sacks came after dropped or inaccurate snaps.
“The offense had more focus and deliberateness to what they were doing and the defense missed too many tackles, had too many assignment errors in coverage and I’m sure Coach Gregorak is addressing that right now,” Choate said.
During the goal line period, senior Robert Wilcox rotated in with the first, second and third defensive lines. The often injured but physically formidable defensive end — Wilcox has missed most of the last three years with a string of injuries to his left knee —appeared to be at full strength on Saturday. The 6-foot-1, 265-pounder notched four touch sacks, including touching Folsom on back-to-back plays during the goal line period toward the end of the session.
“Man, it feels so good to not be limping and favoring my left knee,” an elated Wilcox said as he stood on the Memorial Stadium field. “I feel like I’m finally the player I was out of high school again. I feel really blessed.
“I’m happy to be here and I thank the coaches for continuing to work with me. I’m happy they didn’t give up on me. Coming here and not really playing for three years, that’s a lot for a coaching staff to have to deal with. To have the new coaching staff still have faith in my, I’m just happy to be on the team. However I can make plays, I’m going to try my best.”
As MSU continues to add wrinkles to Gregorak’s defense and new offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham’s schemes, the rebuilding process continues after last season’s 5-6 finish resulted in the firing of former head coach Rob Ash.
MSU linebacker Koni Dole dives for a tackle on running back Gunnar Brekke
Messingham’s scheme has emphasized two running backs in the backfield and a slew of play-action passes. Throughout much of this spring period, the Bobcats have struggled to stop the run. On Saturday, MSU’s offenses combined to rush for 78 yards on 15 carries, including a scrimmage-high 32 yards on four carries from junior Nick LaSane. But the senior duo of Gunnar Brekke and Chad Newell were largely held in check, combining for 30 yards on eight total carries.
With the defense keying on the senior pair, the play-action fakes worked and the middle of the field was left open as MSU’s tight ends owned the area between the hashes. Newell also provided a highlight on a bootleg play in which he caught a dart from Bruggman, turned up field, hurdled a defender gracefully and finished with a 24-yard gain, one of the longer gains of the day.
“We did pretty well but there was a lot of those simple plays we missed, starting with me,” said Barth, who dropped a sure first down throw from Bruggman. “I dropped that easy one. Same thing, our tight end group had a lot of drops and we need to clean that up. Running, there are blocks we have to make and we have to clean that up. But I thought we looked good, played well for the most part.”
More than 1,200 people attended Friday night’s banquet as Theismann, a Super Bowl champion with the Washington Redskins in 1982, wowed those in attendance with a passionate message filled with positivity. Saturday’s scrimmage marks the end of the fourth week of a five-week spring session, Choate’s first at the helm at Montana State.
MSU wide receiver Will Krolick catches a TD pass with safety Brayden Konkol defending
The Bobcats will practice once during the final week leading up to Friday night’s Sonny Holland Classic spring game. The Bobcats will complete spring football with a walk-through practice on Monday that is closed to the public and the media.
“We are going to have meetings Monday, Tuesday, practice on Wednesday, give them Thursday to get their feet ready to go and a little polish and then hit the spring game on Friday,” Choate said. “(The Triangle Classic) has been fun. You think about all the hours that goes into this with the banquet last night and the kids camp this morning, I think our players had a blast. This weekend was where I was like I’m in the right place because these are really good kids. They get it and they understand what it means to give back. Great Falls was very good to us. I hope to see a lot of these people in Bozeman in the fall.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
First Half team
Scoring plays
Tyler Bruggman to Austin Barth 27-yard touchdown pass
Ben Folsom to Woody Brandom 70-yard touchdown pass
Passing (Total 8-15, 165)
Tyler Bruggman 5-10, 71, TD, INT
Ben Folsom 1-1, 70, TD
Brady McChesney 2-4, 24
Rushing (10-57)
Gunnar Brekke 4-12
Chad Newell 2-14
Nick LaSane 2-17
Brady McChesney 1-9
Tyler Bruggman 1-5
Receiving
Austin Barth 1-27 TD
Woody Brandom 1-70 TD
Keon Stephens 1-8
Hunter Mahlum 1-5
JustinPaige 1-7
Chad Newell 1-24
Will Krolick 1-12
Mitch Herbert 1-12
Touch sacks — Tyrone Fa’anono 2, Robert Wilcox, Grant Collins
Tackles for loss — Fletcher Collins, Grant Collins
Interceptions — Bryce Alley, Ty Robbie
Second half goal line
Scoring plays
Tyler Bruggman to Austin Barth 20-yard touchdown pass
Tyler Bruggman to Will Krolick 13-yard touchdown pass
Ben Folsom to Woody Brandom 28-yard touchdown pass
Brady McChesney to Keon Stephens 18-yard touchdown pass
Passing (4-6 79, 4 TDs, INT)
Tyler Bruggman 2-2, 33, 2 TDs
Ben Folsom 1-1 28, TD
Brady McChesney 1-3, 18, TD, INT
Rushing (4-21)
Gunnar Brekke 1-3
Chad Newell 1-3
Nick LaSane 2-15
Receiving
Austin Barth 1-20 TD
Will Krolick 1-13 TD
Woody Brandom 1-28, TD
Keon Stephens 1-18 TD
Touch sacks — Robert Wilcox 3, Mac Bignell
Tackles for loss — Joe Naotala
Interceptions — Chris Harris
