BOZEMAN, Montana — Tucker Rovig’s cell phone buzzed with a text from Jeff Choate on Sunday morning. Montana State’s head coach wanted to meet with the sophomore quarterback.
“I kind of had an idea what it might be,” Rovig said. “The night before, I was already watching film on Norfolk State and seeing what their coverage are and their base defense.”
That ability to stay engaged even after falling short in his bid to become Montana State’s starting quarterback for the second straight fall camp helped Rovig reemerge last Saturday.
The 6-foot-5 former 3-star recruit out of Mountain View High in Meridian, Idaho threw for more than 300 yards and three touchdowns in MSU’s lopsided win over Wagner last season. Because of matchup advantages, versatility yet unorthodox playmaker Troy Andersen operated the quarterback position against Portland State and Eastern Washington as the Bobcats opened Big Sky Conference play 1-1.
Choate planned on giving Rovig the reigns entering MSU’s matchup against Idaho. But Rovig suffered a broken foot during practice during Montana State’s bye week the first week of October, effectively ending his season.
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That setback was the second in three disappointments for the formerly well-regarded recruit. Rovig earned the job as Chris Murray’s backup as a true freshman in 2017 but maintained his redshirt as Murray stayed healthy.
The following spring, it became apparent about halfway through the session that Murray would become academically ineligible for the 2018 season. Yet Rovig did not inspire any confidence in Choate and his staff.
Instead, Choate moved Andersen, the 2017 Big Sky Freshman of the Year as a running back and outside linebacker, to quarterback. He beat out Rovig during fall camp and ended up leading the Bobcats to the FCS playoffs for the first time since 2014 by setting a Big Sky single-season rushing record for quarterbacks with 1,421 yards and an MSU single-season record with 21 touchdown runs.
During the winter, the Bobcats made the decision to make Andersen a full-time defensive player who also plays a select number of plays offensively. That meant Rovig would have to compete with redshirt freshman Casey Bauman for the starting job.
Because of a body of work accumulated during eight spring practices, a summer of player-run practices and eight days of fall camp, the 6-foot-7, 235-pound Bauman earned the starting job.
When Choate called Rovig into his office on Wednesday for a meeting, he did not sugar coat the situation even with Rovig preparing to be the starter leading up to MSU’s final non-conference game against Norfolk State.
“I basically said, ‘you let this thing slip through your hand twice now and this opportunity may not come again,” Choate said. “He just needed to believe in himself and go play. I believe he did that. I’m really proud of the way he performed.”
Those were Choate’s words following Bauman completing 21-of-27 passes for 221 yards and four touchdowns on a day the Bobcats rolled up 39 first downs and gained 670 total yards. The rushing attack accumulated 449 yards, the third-most in MSU history.
The performance was eerily reminiscent of MSU’s 47-24 win over Wagner in its final tune-up before Big Sky play last fall. That afternoon, Rovig completed 23-of-34 passes for 310 yards and three touchdowns. The next week, after starting two straight games (Rovig also endured MSU’s 45-14 loss at No. 3 South Dakota State) Rovig relinquished his starting position. He would not get it back until MSU hosted Norfolk State.
“I said, ‘Let’s talk about the elephant in the room here,” Choate said. “I asked him, ‘why is it you start playing better football when you are not the guy?’ Let’s maybe take another approach. It’s hard to say. I think there are a lot of things that go into that.
“One of the things he did tell me is that he is so worried about Casey that he didn’t’ focus on him. If he had the opportunity to do it again, he would’ve just worried about himself.”
Once Rovig let the job slip away for third time, he reengaged within himself and persevered.
“Confidence has been a huge thing for me,” Rovig said following the NSU win. “When Casey was named the starter, I feel like that’s something that didn’t change for me. My confidence was still there. I was just going to keep pushing, keep grinding and do what I had to do to stay ready.
“I’m the type of guy who always seeks improvement,” Rovig said. “I just want to get better and better with everything I do. I feel like that’s something that helps me as the season goes on, as practice goes on, whatever it may be. I feel like me personally, I just get better and better.”
“After he was named the starter, I considered it not a competition and decided I just needed to go play my football. I just had to go be me.”
Choate decided to make a change after the strong-armed but raw Bauman struggled to make easy throws in MSU’s quick passing game for three straight outings. Choate praised Bauman’s care for the football — he only took one sack and did not throw an interception while guiding MSU to a 2-1 start — but also acknowledged the lack of consistency, both fundamentally and in the confidence department.
Rovig overtook Bauman because of his consistently superior performance in practice, Choate said. Bauman struggled mightily to help the Bobcat offense operate efficiently or move the ball during an ugly 23-14 win at Western Illinois.
“I think you guys are smart enough to see what’s going on and if you aren’t giving your open receivers opportunities, it’s time to examine what is going on,’ Choate said, referring to the 48.6 percent completion rate Bauman posted through the first 74 passes. “I think that was the No. 1 thing that led to that was his decision-making and accuracy. That showed up in the game too.”
Choate said following the Norfolk State win, he felt there were a variety of factors that helped Rovig earn the first start of his sophomore season and the third start of his Bobcat career. He reference the fact that NSU marked a rare fourth non-conference game and “our last opportunity where if we were going to look at somebody else, this was the time to do it.”
“I did not want to go into the preparation for NAU (Northern Arizona, MSU’s opponent this week in Bozeman) with indecision about that position” Choate said. “I really felt like Tucker had performed at a higher level the last couple of weeks in practice so he deserved an opportunity to get a start.”
On Monday, Choate played coy about a new starting quarterback. But Rovig starting marks the fifth time in the Choate era that the head coach has made a change under center. With NAU coming to town, it remains to be seen if Rovig can stick.
“We’ll see,” Choate said. “We will see. I think that’s one thing: this is a people business. When you make decisions that affect people, that’s not easy. But I have a track record that says I’m willing to make tough decisions and I’m going to do what’s best for our organization as a whole.
“And heck, that might be me saying one day I’m not doing a good enough job. I told Leon he is never going to have to fire me. If I don’t think I’m doing the job, I’ll walk away. And I think I owe that to the program and these kids and if it means having to make a change at quarterback or personnel changes in our staff I’m willing to do that if I believe it’s the right thing to do.”
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Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
