In the second drill of the day inside the Bobcat Athletic Complex on the MSU campus adjacent to Bobcat Stadium, Ty Okada slapped almost the top rung on the vertical leap measuring device.

In the videos that rapidly made the rounds on Twitter, you can audibly hear Okada smack the measurement tower. And as soon as Okada landed, the former Bobcat defensive back flexed while letting out a cry of jubilation, igniting his fellow NFL hopefuls.

Okada’s jump of 40.5 inches in the vertical drew plenty of cheers from the other former Bobcats in attendance performing for scouts from seven NFL teams. That explosive leap started an impressive display as several former MSU standouts helped fortify their NFL hopes.

“You take each drill one at a time and you have to try to ride those emotional highs because as physically grueling as it is, it’s mentally and emotionally grueling, too, so being able to start off on that page, it was incredible and I know it was helping all the rest of the guys competing today,” Okada said in an interview on Nuanez Now on ESPN MT on Wednesday.

Callahan O’Reilly, who pumped out 24 bench press repetitions to get the showcase started, then followed Okada’s huge vertical with a mark of 37.5 inches himself. The bench and the vertical were two of several standout marks for the two-time All-Big Sky selection at inside linebacker.

James Campbell followed that up by also soaring 37.5 inches, a mark that foreshadowed when he really turned heads by running 4.44 seconds in the 40-yard dashing.

All told, Wednesday proved to be a wild success for six Bobcats with NFL aspirations, particularly the aforementioned trio. Okada certainly improved his pro prospects. O’Reilly might have earned himself a shot to get into an NFL training camp. And Campbell proved his now former strength coach right, stoking the flames for his professional hopes in the process.

The trio were each key contributors on a talented and productive Montana State defense over the last few seasons. And each shone brightly in front of seven NFL scouts on Wednesday morning in Bozeman.  Cornerback Tyrel Thomas, safety Jeffrey Manning Jr. and wide receiver Willie Patterson also all participated in the display.

“I’m feeling great,” said Okada, who matched Campbell in the 40-yard dash and the broad jump for a pair of the top marks on the day, numbers that would’ve put the Bobcat duo among the leaders at the NFL combine. “I’m so happy about my performance today and to do it with a group of guys — this group and I have been through a lot these last four years, five years, six years, but we’ve done a lot of great things — and to be able to experience today with those guys was something super special.”

The San Francisco 49ers, Green Bay Packers, Las Vegas Raiders, Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars, Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs all had scouts in attendance.

It’s almost certain they left impressed, particularly with Okada, a 5-foot-10 ¾, 193-pounder from the Twin Cities in Minnesota who went from walk-on to superstar during his time in Bozeman.

Okada followed up his huge vertical by running a pair of sub-4.5 second times in the 40, including a best of 4.44 seconds. He then put an exclamation point on the day by soaring 10 feet, nine inches in the broad jump.

To put those numbers in perspective, Okada had a higher vertical and broad jump that the numbers marked by former Bobcat and 2022 second round NFL Draft pick linebacker Troy Andersen. The numbers were also reminiscent of defensive end Daniel Hardy from a year ago.

“For me, today was all about visualization,” Okada said. “The best part about Landow (Sports Performance in Denver where he trained) was they have mental performance coaches and they harped on every single day, I’m talking for three months, I would visualize myself, what is it going to look like when I’m underneath that vertical jump, what it’s going to look like when I’m lined up at the start of my 40 and you have scouts at the end of it with their clocks out.

“Those are nerve-racking things but if you are disciplined and your visualization, you do that every day, it felt like another day of training and that made it that much easier to hit the marks that I did.”

Okada hit 16 reps on the bench press while clocking 3.98 seconds in the short shuttle and 6.85 in the 3-cone drill.

O’Reilly, who checked in at 6-foot-2, 230 pounds, ripped off a 10-foot-3 mark in the broad jump, ran 4.70 seconds in the 40-yard dash and recorded times of 4.41 seconds in the shuttle and 7.08 seconds in the 3-cone. The Bozeman High School alum spent the last three months in Cincinnati training for the pro day.

During the 2023 season, Skyline Sports printed a senior profile on Campbell, a high school quarterback turned college wide receiver turned special teams ace, and, ultimately, a two-year starter at cornerback for the Bobcats. In that profile, Montana State head strength and conditioning coach Campbell “is the fastest guy on the team. He has 4.4 speed and an even faster mouth.”

Wednesday, he proved the speed notion true, running 4.44 and 4.45 seconds in the 40. That plus his 10-foot-9 broad jump, impressive vertical and all-around raw athleticism might elongate his the Florida native’s NFL opportunity.

Patterson, an all-conference selection as a senior after waiting his turn in a talented MSU receiver room that saw Travis Jonsen, Kevin Kassis and Lance McCutcheon all go on to make active NFL rosters, notched a 34-inch vertical and ran 4.65 seconds in the 40 among his standout marks.

Thomas, a starter as a freshman who had an unforgettable pass break up to seal a Cat-Griz win in 2017 as a rookie only to battle injuries the latter half of his career, showed great explosiveness in the jumps. He notched a 36.5 inch vertical and 10-04 in the broad jump. He ran 4.66 in the 40.

Manning, a former transfer from Oregon State who was a two-year starter on the back end of MSU’s defense, ran 4.78 in the 40 and timed 4.48 seconds in the shuttle.

The NFL Draft begins on April 27.

Montana State Pro Day measurables (unofficial)

The Bobcats have eight super seniors on the roster. All but senior captain fullback R.J. Fitzgerald were redshirting the last time MSU made the trip to NAU to play at the J. Walkup Skydome in 2017. Fitzgerald is the only player on the Montana State football team that has ever actually played the Lumberjacks on their home field.

The wacky Big Sky Conference, indeed.

On Saturday, Fitzgerald, seniors linebacker Callahan O’Reilly, wide receivers Willie Patterson and Coy Steel, cornerbacks Tyrel Thomas and James Campbell, defensive tackle Kyle Rygg and offensive lineman Joey McElroy — all sixth-year seniors — and the rest of the No. 3 Bobcats will change that against an NAU squad that harbored a bit of preseason expectation but enters Saturday’s game contest with a 2-3 Big Sky Conference record.

NAU’s two conference victories came over Cal Poly (31-29 in Flag on October 8) and at Idaho State (24-10 last week). The ‘Jacks also lost 27-10 at home to Idaho in the Big Sky opener for both teams. NAU lost 35-27 at Portland State on October 1 and 56-27 at UC Davis on October 15.

“It’s going to be a new experience,” O’Reilly said. “Anywhere you go, you are playing on a 100-yard football field. It’s nothing too crazy but it’s cool to see another place. It’s the only place in the Big Sky I haven’t been besides Idaho, I think. So it will be cool to get a new experience and see a new stadium. 

“Ultimately, at the end of the day, you are just playing football.”

The Bobcats are 5-0 in league play and 7-1 overall entering the trip to the highest elevation of any school in the big Sky.

QUICK HITS

Location: Flagstaff, Arizona

Nickname: Lumberjacks

Founded: 1899. The high research institution has 36 satellite campuses across Arizona.

Enrollment: The university has 28,090 students and an endowment of $226 million.

Stadium: The Walkup Skydome. Opened in 1977, the 11,230-seat stadium received a $26 million facelift in 2011. Flagstaff’s elevation of more than 7,200 feet about sea level makes the Skydome a venue with some of the thinnest air in America. NAU is averaging 8,185 fans per game in three home games this season.

THE TEAM (2-3 in Big Sky, 3-5 overall in 2022)

The Coach: Chris Ball, fourth season at NAU. The veteran defensive coach has had a varied career with stops at places like Coffeyville and Western Oregon State to a one-year stint as Idaho State’s defensive coordinator in 1999 to coaching for four seasons at Alabama. Ball was also a Pac 12 defensive coordinator eight seasons, four each at Washington State and Arizona State.

Northern Arizona made a little noise last fall in Ball’s third season (including the 2021 spring) at the helm. NAU won four league games and posted a 5-6 overall record with freshman RJ Martinez manning the helm. NAU’s non-conference win over Sam Houston this year turned heads like the Lumberjacks’ 21-19 win over Arizona last season did. But Ball’s charges have had a hard time harnessing and carrying the momentum of those big non-conference victories.

Ball is 15-12 at NAU, including 11-15 in Big Sky play.

PLAYERS TO WATCH – Offense

RJ Martinez, quarterback, sophomore, 6-0, 185 — Last season’s Big Sky Freshman of the Year has thrown for more than 309 yards on four different occasions this season. He’s thrown for 1,955 yards, 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Draycen Hall, running back, sophomore, 5-8, 175 – With devastating workhorse Kevin Daniels on the shelf, Hall has seen way more touches. He leads NAU in rushing yards (283) plus he’s caught 31 passes for 208 yards.

Hendrix Johnson, wide receiver, junior, 6-1, 200 – The athletic and sometimes acrobatic in-state product has put up big numbers in NAU’s win’s He had eight catches for 101 yards against Sam Houston, four catches for 89 yards on a touchdown against Cal Poly and seven catches for 50 yards last week.

PLAYERS TO WATCH – Defense

Morgan Vest, safety, senior, 6-1, 205 — The former South Carolina transfer was a unanimous first-team all-conference pick during the spring season in 2021. He folowed that up by earning second-team honors last fall. He’s fast on his way to more honors given his torrid pace. He leads NAU with 66 tackles.

Eloi Kwete, defensive line, junior, 6-1, 250

Cosmas Kwete, defensive line, junior, 6-3, 220

The brothers from Phoenix Central have been in opponents’ backfields often this season. Eloi has five sacks and nine tackles for loss. Cosmas has three sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss.

There’s never been any doubt that the man his teammates call Willie P fancied himself a star from the day he walked onto the Montana State campus. From his trademark long hair that he wears in dreads to a variety of earrings — sometimes in a single ear with a chain and a cross like D.K. Metcalf or Ken Griffey Jr. — to a left arm completely covered in intricate, detailed tattoos, Patterson is swagger personified.

Early in his Montana State football career — whether it was because of season-ending broken clavicles two years in a row or being stuck behind a trio of NFL-bound wide receivers — Patterson’s mouth and his supreme self-confidence sometimes seemed far ahead of his on-field production. 

The Tacoma, Washington, native has never shied away from the spotlight. And now the spotlight is shining directly on him. He’s waited his turn and now his turn has come. As former head coach Jeff Choate used to say, in the short team you get what you get. In the long term, you get what you deserve.

In Montana State’s mid-October 37-14 win at Northern Colorado, the explosive, slippery wide receiver caught seven passes for 148 yards and three touchdowns, earning the first Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week honor of his career. 

It’s been a full-circle senior season for Patterson, who seemed to always be the breakout star of spring ball, then always find himself battling for playing time in the fall before some sort of setback befell him. Often times, the setback would come from landing awkwardly on his smaller frame when sprawling for the diving catches just out of his reach. Those diving grabs have become his trademark. 

Before this season, Patterson proclaimed he wanted “to have a Lance-type year,” referring to former Bobcat wide receiver Lance McCutcheon, a Bozeman native who tore up his senior season before earning a shot with the Los Angeles Rams. Like McCutcheon, Patterson has had to wait his turn, tallying 56 catches for 633 yards and three touchdowns in in 32 games over four seasons before this fall.  

So far, so good for Willie P when it comes to having a Lance-type year, particularly when it comes to finding the end-zone. He enters Saturday’s showdown with No. 5 Weber State with a Big Sky-best eight touchdowns. His 24 catches are a team-best for an offense rushing for 281 yards per game. And Patterson’s 383 receiving yards lead MSU and rank ninth in the league. . 

“The biggest thing about Willie’s story is seeing a guy say ‘I have one more shot at this’. And you can’t just snap your fingers and become this player he’s become,” Montana State second-year head coach Brent Vigen said in early October. 

“He’s really continued to work at his game…He’s taken coaching and he’s craving those opportunities to make plays. He’s becoming a tough guy to defend.”

Stardom affirmed. But that’s not why Willie Patterson came to Montana State. He came to Bozeman with other motives. He wanted to be the next in line to represent his family’s football lineage, following in his father Pat’s footsteps. 

And Patterson wanted a way out. He did not want to succumb to the temptations and dangers of the inner-city streets in Tacoma. And he did not want to suffer the same fate as his brother, Ryan Harlan, who passed away from complications stemming from alcoholism in April of 2015.

“When I lost my brother in high school, it’s one of those things that’s pushed me over the edge because I realized, this football thing, I have to make it work,” Patterson said in early October 2022, emotion in his voice when speaking of his mother, Lisa’s, oldest son, who passed away at the age of 27. “He was an all-state quarterback (at Olympia High) and had the opportunity and he ended up passing away so I’m just making sure I can live out his legacy and also mine.”

Harlan was only one part of the family’s football upbringing. Pat Patterson, a Hall of Fame running back at Central Washington during his All-American career in the late 1980s, knew the structure of sports would be a key element to help Willie and his friends stay away from the pitfalls. 

“Where I grew up, it was tough, definitely,” Patterson said with both pride and reservation in his voice. “We didn’t have the best education coming up. My PE got cut in fifth grade just because of funds. 

“I lived in a tough area but my mom and my dad consistently worked hard and put food on the table and gave us a roof over our heads. There was a distraction of gangs and violence and drug use right down from the corner of my house.”

Pat Patterson started a little league football program in Tacoma in the mid-1990s. The elder Patterson knew that if he kept the kids involved in sports of some sort — and Willie remembers little league football rolling into youth basketball rolling into baseball and track — it would “keep us in the right head space.”

“I had a couple of guys from little league football who are in jail, in prison for life so I’ve seen guys take the wrong path,” Willie Patterson said. “I stayed on the right path. I was not able to sit around, hang around with the wrong group of guys. My dad kept me and my friends tight. He knew what was going around in the city and he wanted to make sure that if we could use football and all these other sports to keep kids out of trouble, he would do it.”

Pat Patterson was not only a dedicated father, coach and mentor. He was also a local legend in the Tacoma area. To this day, his career at CWU commands reverence. He is still the only running back in Central Washington history with more than 2,000 yards in a single season. 

In 2004, when he was inducted into the CWU Hall of Fame, he was second in school history with 3,266 rushing yards and 39 career touchdowns. In 1989, Patterson ran the ball 321 times for 2,063 yards and 27 touchdowns, both of which are school records, earning himself NAIA and Daktronics First-Team All-America honors. As a junior, Patterson rushed for 1,203 yards and was named to the NAIA All-America Team as a honorable mention selection.

Now, no matter how well Willie plays, Pat is the first to give him fine tuning, the son said. A good catch? Ball was in the wrong hand. Sweet move in the open field? Always watch for the cutback lane. 

Pat put a football in Willie’s hands when he was a newborn, let him quarterback the fourth-grade team when he was just a third-grader and provided him a variety of opportunities like the Northwest 9 QB Academy — “I thought I was going to be the next Russell Wilson,” Willie remembers — and the chance to train at Ford Sports Performance, a renowned training facility in the Sea-Tac area run by reputable trainer Tracy Ford.

“Football is all we know,” Patterson said. “Saturday afternoons, Friday night lights, it’s all we have known for years. Growing up, I’ve been watching my older brothers and when I knew it was my time, I wanted to put on a show for my family to make them proud.”

It’s been apparent to Montana State wide receivers coach Justin Udy since he arrived at MSU a few years ago how much Patterson plays for something bigger than himself. It’s been a crucial part of his development under Udy’s tutelage. 

“It all starts with the amount of work Willie puts in,” Udy said. “His family is very, very supportive of him. He is pushed really hard at home to keep getting better. His dad was a phenomenal player in college and he knows what it takes and I think he has shared that message with Willie.”

During his high school career, Patterson wore No. 7 to honor his father. It also seemed like a fitting number for Franklin Pierce High’s first-team all-state all-purpose quarterback.

His junior and senior years, Patterson lead the 2A South Puget Sound League in all-purpose yards and was a first-team All-State selection as a senior. He was also a standout in basketball and track, helping him earn Tacoma Athlete of the Year honors. 

But Patterson, for all his athletic gifts like quickness, speed, swagger and savvy, is all of 5-foot-9 and weighed about 165 pounds coming out of high school. Many college football programs flirted. Hardly any pulled the trigger. 

Former Montana State defensive coach Kane Ioane was one of the most interested. Yet Patterson didn’t field an offer from the Bobcats until two days before signing day. Still, former MSU head coach Jeff Choate sung Patterson’s praises on National Signing Day.

“Willie was one of the more productive players in recent history in the Tacoma area. His stats are off the charts, and he’s kind of a Swiss Army knife. He played quarterback, but how many times do you see quarterbacks who return punts and kickoffs and play defense? He kind of did everything, and he’s a guy that can play a lot of positions,” Choate said. “I think he’s got the ability to be a really good slot receiver, can add value on special teams in the return game, and he’s an excellent leader. I think he’s going to add some edge and some swagger to our roster. He’s a very confident young man who I think is going to have a very nice career here.”

That was in February of 2017. After a redshirt year that following fall — current MSU seniors James Campbell, RJ Fitzgerald, Callahan O’Reilly, Kyle Rygg and Tyrel Thomas are the others who made it to their final years this season — Patterson was one of the breakout players of spring ball in 2018. 

His mega-watt smile, smooth conversation and slick moves in the open field made him an instant media darling. 

That next fall, however, the quarterback drama that was one of the dominant story lines of the Choate era hit a fever pitch as linebacker turned running back Troy Andersen added quarterback to his resume. Patterson, who had 19 catches for 204 yards at that point of the season, suffered a broken collarbone against Weber State in the seventh game of the year. 

He was able to make it back for the FCS Playoffs (MSU’s first berth since 2014) but the Bobcats ran into a buzzsaw, losing 52-10 to North Dakota State in Fargo in the second round. 

The following year, Patterson again had his season cut in half, this time with just seven catches to his credit. Travis Jonsen, a former five-star quarterback turned wide receiver, was dominating while Kevin Kassis, a four-year starter, was in the process of blossoming into one of MSU’s all-time best pass catchers as well. 

Patterson broke his other clavicle in September of that year. He again returned for the stretch run but had a hard time finding a place in the rotation. 

“In less than a year, I ended up with 12 screws and two plates in my collarbones,” Patterson said.

“It plays with your mental for sure and tests you if you really love this game because it’s hard. Your character is defined with how you handle those down moments. A lot of my teammates supporting me throughout it.

“It was very stressful knowing I was preparing so hard every off-season and spring ball and balling out and then boom, getting it taken away from me.”

Before last season, many thought it would be Patterson, not McCutcheon, who became MSU’s go-to receiver in Vigen’s first year. Patterson certainly carved out a role, becoming Montana State’s primary punt returner. He also was a reliable option on offense, catching 30 passes for 375 yards and three scores primarily operating out of the slot. 

But McCutcheon grabbed all the headlines and earned All-American honors. 

“I have tried to keep the mindset of being resilient, keeping going, and making sure when I get my opportunity, I’m ready,” Patterson said. “I never let those injuries overtake me. I used them as motivation to keep going.”

Part of Patterson’s emergence this season has come from elevated opportunity. Part of it has come from improved strength, speed and explosiveness in the weight room. And part of that physical transformation was essential because Patterson moved from slot to outside receiver. That move to the outside has helped Patterson replace McCutcheon as MSU’s deep ball catching specialist, which he’s made a habit of despite his 5-foot-9 frame. 

“Speed gains are important but it’s almost more important for him to get bigger and stronger because he isn’t your prototypical size for an outside receiver,” MSU strength coach Sean Herrin said in a text to Skyline Sports. “He plays much bigger than he is and it’s paying off for him.”

In Montana State’s 41-24 win over UC Davis, Patterson had a moment in the game where he dropped a near highlight reel catch, something he’s made a habit of this year. According to several of his coaches, Patterson is his sharpest critic. In the past, such a near-miss would derail him mentally. 

On the first Saturday in October though, Patterson made an even better catch shortly after, sprawling all the way out for a diving grab of a slightly over-thrown ball by quarterback Sean Chambers for a 34-yard gain. Chambers stayed with Patterson shortly after, hitting him with an 18-yard touchdown strike to put MSU up 21-10. 

“That sequence was a perfect picture of his maturity,” Vigen said. “A few years back, with that drop, he might’ve gone in the tank. But this year, he owns the drop and two or three plays later, he makes an incredible catch and the next play, he scores a touchdown.”

Another sign of his maturation comes from his ability to harness his substantial confidence. In the past, Patterson yapped a lot but didn’t have the touchdowns and highlights to back it up. His coaches and his teammates are the first to acknowledge his personality. And they all agree, it’s one of his biggest advantages. 

“He’s always been one of the high-energy guys on the team and he’s always talked a lot of smack and I think a lot of the older guys kind of shied away from that, but getting to know Willie a little more, that’s the atmosphere he grew up in,” MSU senior captain fullback R.J. Fitzgerald said. “The guys he trains with, they love to talk but they also back it up. He’s done a really good job of growing into a leader and backing it up.”

“He’s a unique personality and he might love himself at times,” Udy added. “That’s where Willie draws his confidence from.”

Vigen is about as mild-mannered as football coaches come these days, although he did light into an official on what looked like a pass interference of Patterson during a blowout of Idaho State earlier this month. But that’s besides the point. MSU’s head man is also proud of how Patterson has transformed into a true leader for a team that is currently ranked No. 3 in the Football Championship Subdivision. 

“His confidence and playing on edge and walking that line — he’s not blessed with great size by any means but he knows who he is — pushing it up to that line is what allows him to have success,” Vigen said. “There’s a different maturity about him this year compared to last year. 

“He’s definitely one of the guys who leads our team when it comes to talking, but he’s doing a great job of riding that edge.”

If Patterson continues his torrid pace, MSU’s single-season receiving touchdown record is in reach. Sam McCullum caught 12 scores 50 years ago. Patterson is likely already a shoo-in for All-Big Sky honors. Can he earn first-team? It remains to be seen. 

More than the production, it’s Patterson’s growth as a man that Udy is most proud of. 

“I couldn’t be prouder of him, truly,” Udy said. “He’s a great leader in our room and he’s a different person than he was two years ago when I got here. And that’s why we do it: to see guys like Willie work hard for their opportunity and when they get their shot, take advantage of it.”

For all of his bravado, Patterson is also self-aware, selfless and magnetic in his way of interacting with others. And when asked what he will take from the years trying to carry on the memories of those that came before him, he doesn’t talk about the touchdowns or the first-down catches or even the wins. 

He talks about the lessons learned and the experiences shared. 

“This journey has taught me to be a man,” Patterson said. “It’s taught me time management. It’s taught me to put work in even if it’s going your way or not. Even if you aren’t getting that raise at work, it applies to all types of life. Keep going.

“That hard work Montana State has put me through of just the snow, the workouts, grinding through the hard times. Teaching me how to pay bills, clean the house, it’s all part of it. It’s taught me to be a better leader, to take these young guys, show them what this program is about, what our core values are. 

“And it’s taught me how to lift guys up. Because I’ve been down. I’ve been sad. I’ve been injured. I’ve had to focus up and have to lock in to get back to where you need to be. 

“Coming from an inner city, I never, ever thought I’d be out here in Bozeman. But it’s taught me so much I don’t think I’d ever have learned in that inner city. It’s allowed me to have some space and truly figure who I want to be and what kind of person I want to be on and off the field.”

Photos by Brooks Nuanez or noted. All Rights Reserved.

With Mellott, MSU’s prized sophomore quarterback, back in the fold after suffering a head injury early in a 38-35 win over Eastern Washington, Montana State found itself staring a 14-3 deficit in the face against a Northern Colorado team with just five wins over the last season and a half.

All-Big Sky Conference (at Sac State) running back Elijah Dotson showed his usual juice, ripping off a 58-yard touchdown to give UNC a 7-3 lead. Mellott looked rusty early, throwing incompletions on three of his first five passes. And MSU’s second possession — a 13-play, 70-yard march — ended with sudden star Sean Chambers, the man who replaced Mellott the last two and a half games, getting stuffed for a one-yard gain on a 4^th down and 2.

The host Bears took that stop and turned it into a methodical, bruising 15-play, 95-yard drive capped by senior quarterback Dylan McCaffrey throwing a 9-yard touchdown to Noah Ford to give the hosts their biggest lead.

That drive shook Mellott out of his slumber. He threw a 44-yard strike to tight end Derryk Snell to set up a 3-yard touchdown pass to senior fullback R.J. Fitzgerald. After a swift stop by the previously struggling Bobcat defense, Mellott engineered a seven-play, 81-yard drive capped by a 16-yard touchdown pass to Willie Patterson to put MSU up 17-14.

Montana State would not look back, scoring 34 unanswered points on the way to a 37-14 win at Nottingham Field on Saturday afternoon in Greeley.

“I knew we were going to get Northern Colorado’s best shot,” Montana State head coach Brent Vigen said following his first career win in in Greeley. “Their players are on scholarship, their coaches get paid so you have to be withstand some things.

“They popped a long run on us and I certainly didn’t want to see that. Some unfortunate events led that to getting to 14-3. But for us to hang in there, take a lead before halftime, tack on a couple of scores and ultimately getting it to 37-14, it’s a credit to our guys for hanging in there and continuing to fight.”

The win is Montana State’s sixth straight against FCS opponents this season and the 18^th in 20 games against non-FBS opponents under Vigen’s watch. Montana State is 4-0 in Big Sky Conference play and 6-1 overall. The loss dropped Northern Colorado to 1-3 in league and 2-5 overall.

Patterson’s first touchdown made the score 17-14 in favor of MSU and the visitors would never trail again. His second touchdown catch, a 37-yarder to cap an 8-play, 75-yard drive, pushed the lead to two scores just three minutes after halftime. And his third touchdown, a 26-yard grab with 9:08 left in the third quarter, gave MSU a 30-14 advantage.

It also made Patterson the first Bobcat since 2010 to snare three touchdowns in a game. The senior from Tacoma, Washington finished the afternoon with seven catches for 148 yards and the three scores, giving him eight touchdown catches.

“We ultimately got them out of man coverage, we were beating them, Willie in particular, in those man to man routes,” Vigen said.

“We needed his performance. The jump ball, I don’t know how he came up with it. For a guy his size, it speaks to his competitiveness and his ability. A wide variety of things Willie did today and he’s been that all year. We had to lean on that more today but that’s ok. We have to have guys like Willie on the perimeter making plays.”

During Mellott’s absence, Chambers exploded onto the scene. He went nuclear in a 41-24 win over UC Davis, becoming just the second Big Sky quarterback to rush and throw for 200 yards each in a single game. He rushed for 160 yards against Eastern Washington and completed all but three of his passes in the first half before helping MSU cruise to a 37-6 win over Idaho State last week.

Vigen said the Bobcats would use both quarterbacks leading up to the game in Greeley. And they did. But when Mellott missed on four of his first six passing attempts, anyone scratching their heads perhaps felt justified.

By the end of the game, Chambers notched a touchdown pass and rushed for his 16^th TD this season, giving him an FCS-best total and drawing him within five rushing scores of tying Troy Andersen’s single-season mark at MSU set in 2018.

And once Mellott settled in, he was nearly perfect against UNC’s struggling defense, completing 14 passes in a row on the way to throwing for 217 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed seven times for 40 yards as MSU rolled up 481 yards of total offense.

“It was probably uneven early,” Vigen said of Mellott’s play. “There were a couple of throws missed. I think you go several weeks without playing. You can practice all week all you want but there’s the speed of the game, the decisions you have to make and there’s some guys chasing you that comes reality in a hurry.

“I think he definitely settled in. We will evaluate it and there are areas I’m sure he can approve upon but when we needed him.”

Junior running back Lane Sumner continued his strong play, rushing for more than 100 yards for the third time in three starts this season. Saturday, he finished with 130 yards on 22 carries as MSU finished with 231 rushing yards, actually their second-lowest total in a season in which the ‘Cats have flirted with 300 yards per game on the ground.

With No. 2 South Dakota State’s 23-21 win over No. 1 North Dakota State and No. 3 Montana’s 30-23 loss to Idaho in Missoula, the Bobcats stand to vault into the top two spots in the poll this following week.

Montana State hosts Weber State, a 42-7 winner over Portland State on Saturday. That win moved WSU to 3-0 in league play and 6-0 overall. MSU defeated the Wildcats 13-7 in Ogden, Utah last season.

Photos courtesy of MSU athletics. All Rights Reserved.

No, Montana State would take no silver lining from a 40-point loss, even if the Oregon State Beavers would almost beat Top-10 ranked Southern Cal the following week.

Instead, Vigen vowed his Montana State squad would collectively own the 68-28 thrashing, put it behind them and move into Big Sky Conference play with renewed focus.

Such words, said in moments of emotion, can sometimes come back to haunt a man.

But not Vigen and the Bobcats, at least not 20 games until the tenure of the stoic, towering head coach.

Last week, Montana State gutted out a 38-35 win against Eastern Washington in Cheney, becoming the first team to win on Eastern’s disdained red field two years in a row, ever. Following last week’s win, Vigen stated that it was the type of win that could propel a team forward.

These Bobcats have become very good at making their head coach’s words come to fruition. And Saturday night, Montana State did it for the second week in a row, defeating a playoff team for the second consecutive week, this time under the lights at Bobcat Stadium and in front of a national television audience on ESPNU.

The fourth-ranked Bobcats moved to 2-0 in Big Sky Conference play and 4-1 overall with a resounding 41-24 win over UC Davis in front of 21,637 during a Saturday night game that almost turned into Sunday morning at Bobcat Stadium. And they did it without their golden boy quarterback, instead turning to a former transfer who once didn’t know where he might write the final chapters of his football story.

“We fought that day (against Oregon State) but we weren’t able to change momentum. You look at these last two weeks and we were able to take some blows and whether it’s offense, defense, special teams, tilt it back in our favor,” said Vigen, who moved to 16-4 as MSU’s head coach.

“That’s what we need to do. This is a good league and you are going to get tested week in and week out.”

The loss dropped Davis, the preseason No. 25 team in the country and one of five playoff teams from the Big Sky last season, to 1-4. The Aggies have played one of the toughest schedules in the country. Before Saturday’s loss, Davis also fell at Cal (34-13), at No. 2 South Dakota State (24-22) and at home to No. 10 Weber State (17-12).

“They are a good team and they’ve had a tough schedule to start,” Vigen said. “They are well-rounded, a lot of different guys who can hurt you offensively. The quarterback (Miles Hastings) played another solid game (20-for-34, 220 yards) and (All-American Ulonzo) Gilliam is obviously a lot to handle.”

The news coming out of last week (other than MSU’s historic triumph at the Inferno) was the head injury suffered by star sophomore quarterback Tommy Mellott. Sean Chambers came off the bench to will Montana State to victory.

With a full week to prepare as the starter, Chambers transformed from multi-use offensive tool into a shooting star. And he shined as bright as he ever has during a career with highlights and low lights mostly stemming from a series of serious injuries that ultimately led him to transfer from Wyoming to Montana State.

On Saturday night against a struggling yet skilled, talented UC Davis team, Chambers was unstoppable. The 6-foot-3, 235-pounder scored a 78-yard touchdown on the second play of the game and never stopped hard charging.

 His 29-yard touchdown strike to Clevan Thomas six minutes into the second half helped Montana State keep the momentum. His 65-yard rushing touchdown late in the third quarter gave MSU a full two-score lead. And his ability to engineer a punishing, victory-sealing drive that led to a Blake Glessner field goal put the game on ice.

“Tonight felt different,” said Chambers, who threw two touchdowns, rushed for three and finished with 430 yards of total offense. “Tonight felt like I was in complete control. It felt like the game was moving slow and quite frankly, that’s never happened for me in my career. It felt like everything was happening exactly how we wanted.”

Without Mellott, Montana State’s offense played with a blinding tempo, moving the ball up and down the field at a breakneck pace.

The second quarter began with UC Davis leading 10-7 after Montana State’s second possession ended with a 4^th & 1 conversion coming up short. The second frame began with Chambers throwing a 37-yard strike to streaking senior Ravi Alston. Seconds later, he perfectly executed a quarterback power option into a pass to Elijah Elliott in the middle of the field for another 37-yard gain. Chambers capped the four-play, 83-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown, time stamping the march at one minute, 21 seconds to give MSU a lead it would not relinquish.

Davis converted a 4^th and 23 with a fake punt on its next possession, giving the visitors the ball at the MSU 9-yard line on the next possession. But Montana State thwarted the charge as James Campbell snared his first career interception.

“It was definitely a shock but we definitely needed that as well so I just wanted to take the whole moment in,” Campbell said. “It was a big part in the game. We needed a turnover and it was a sudden change on defense.”

Montana State responded with a 10-play, 91-yard drive that lasted just three minutes. The possession turned from methodical to break-neck once again when Chambers hit Willie Patterson for a 34-yard gain and four seconds later, hit Patterson for a 18-yard touchdown, the fifth of the season for the senior.

“They had some really big defensive lineman, defensive tackles, like 350 pounds big so we could gas those guys out and anytime you tempo like that, defenses can’t really get their call in that they want to get in,” Chambers said. “It worked well tonight.”

One point of emphasis coming out of the Oregon State loss was on special teams. Marqui Johnson had a kickoff return for a touchdown against OSU but MSU also gave up almost 200 return yards in the third quarter alone. On Saturday here, the units looked much more disciplined and the return game remained potent.

Gilliam, the Big Sky Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, rushed four times to set up a halfback pass that saw Davis’s all-time leading rusher throw a touchdown pass to McCallan Castles from 22 yards out that drew Davis within three, 24-21, with 9:58 left in the third quarter. He finished the evening with 117 yards rushing, marking his fourth trip over the century mark in five games.

But Johnson answered that trickery and Chambers threw another dagger. Johnson returned the next kickoff 67 yards deep into Davis territory. And Chambers threw his second touchdown pass, the 29-yard strike to Thomas, a former Kentucky transfer, to push the lead to double digits again.

‘We were simple,” Vigen said of the tempo and the offensive game plan. “And we recognized last week, we probably didn’t go after enough on the edge. Last week, our passing game was not as dynamic as it needed to be and we felt like we could go after some things today.”

When Chambers glided in from 65 yards out, showing exceptional patience and vision along the way, he officially entered rare air. He finished with 227 yards passing and 203 yards rushing.

Chambers is the second quarterback in Big Sky Conference history to rush and throw for more than 200 yards each in a single game, joining former Montana quarterback Dalton Sneed, who did it in a 41-34 UM win over Sacramento State in September of 2018.

Many questioned why Vigen would bring in Chambers after Mellott took the country by storm with an unforgettable three-game run through the FCS playoffs in his first three career starts. Chambers pushed Mellott all off-season, then shined when he got his chance.

“He did not want to get to the situation he got to, he did not want to go to another school and it’s just the way it worked out,” Vigen said. “To be fully invested now as a Bobcat and for our team to fully believe in him and for him to make the most of his opportunity, that’s complicated. We are there. We will get Tommy back and we will be able to utilize them both again. But he answered the call today. I knew he could.

“That’s what transferring should be about. It’s about getting a chance to go some place and continuing to write your story. He didn’t need his story to end at Wyoming so to have his story continue on here is a pretty neat deal.”

The noise surrounding the Montana State football program coming off of last season’s spectacular run to the national championship was almost deafening.

How would MSU replace the most talented senior class in school history, a group that included four players who made active NFL rosters including two that were drafted?

What could Mellott possibly do for an encore?

How would Vigen put a stamp on the program in his second season?

What would the offensive line look like?

Who would lead the team with Troy Andersen now playing for the Atlanta Falcons?

Why would the coaching staff bring in a transfer quarterback?

As the Bobcats hard charge to the middle of the 2022 schedule, the offensive and defensive lines remain top-notch among their Big Sky Conference peers. The receiving corps is explosive, confident and eager. The defense has shown a knack for big plays while also showing consistent lapses that lead to gashes, yet the ability to seize opportunity has thus far outweighed the miscues.

And despite a scary injury to Mellott, all of a sudden, Montana State’s long-lasting quarterback issues seem like a thing of the past, at least for a moment on an evening when a Bobcat Stadium swelled with its second-largest crowd ever and a previously demoralized gunslinger found joy quarterbacking an offense once again.

“We got into conference play right after the Oregon State loss and we knew the price of poker was going up,” Chambers said. “We knew these are the games that mattered, not necessarily the Oregon State game. We wanted to win that game but we had to keep moving forward and prove to people we are a good football team.”

Photos by Brooks Nuanez and Jason Bacaj. All Rights Reserved.

Following the game, MSU head coach Brent Vigen, senior wide receiver Willie Patterson and sophomore defensive tackle Sebastian Valdez addressed the media.

Video filmed by Jason Bacaj, produced by Colter Nuanez of Skyline Sports. All Rights Reserved.

Backup quarterback Sean Chambers accounted for four touchdowns (2 rushing, 2 passing), true freshman Taco Dowler ran a punt back for a score, the Bobcats used eight different players to run the ball (despite missing most of its top running backs), three players to pass it , and nine to catch it.

“It’s just fun to watch my guys get the ball and it’s a sweep, it’s a fade, it’s a slant, it’s a pitch, it’s everything” senior wide receiver Willie Patterson said. “It keeps the defense on their heels and always just guessing.”

Patterson scored on two pass plays, Clevan Thomas scored on a pass, as did tight end Derryk Snell. Wideout Marqui Johnson ran for two scores on sweeps.

The defense may have been the story for MSU, however, as the Bobcats were vastly improved in the tackling department after giving up four plays (75, 66, 31, 31) over 30 yards last week in a 40-17 win over McNeese State. MSU opened the game with 28 unanswered first-quarter points and never looked back.

“A small emphasis (on tackling) this week,” MSU sophomore defensive tackle Sebastian Valdez said. “We knew we made mistakes last week, especially on tackling. We knew what we messed up on. You could say we fixed it.”

“A lot of it’s playing with better leverage, gang tackling and better positioning,” MSU head coach Brent Vigen said.

The Bobcat’ secondary made numerous impressive open field tackles after getting burned for a pair of long touchdowns last week. Dru Polidore, Jackson Harman, Tyrel Thomas, Tyson Pottenger among others came up with big hits.

Starting quarterback Tommy Mellott completed more passes in the first half (12) than he did the entire game (11) against McNeese.  He finished 16 of 22 for 265 yards and two touchdowns for a 203.9 passer rating. Chambers would finish with a game-high 127 yards rushing, including a 55-yard burst.

Third-string quarterback Sean Austin led a late touchdown drive capped off by a 30-yard TD run by Marqui Johnson – his second TD run of the game.  Austin finished with 32 yards on five carries.

“We completed the ball better with Tommy,” Vigen said. “That was one thing we were definitely looking at (after the McNeese game).”

The 63 points was the most by MSU against an FCS team since 2014 when it scored 77 points against UC Davis. MSU scored 63 against East Tennessee State in 2015, but that was ETSU’s first season, and they were almost exclusively freshmen.

MSU found itself down yet another running back before the game started and then another in the first quarter. Last week’s star Lane Sumner hurt his elbow doing a drill in practice to put Jared White in the starter’s spot. Sumner had an elevated role because All-American senior Isaiah Ifanse is out indefinitely, as is San Diego State grad transfer Kaegun Williams.

White went down with a lower leg injury and missed the rest of the game. Sophomore Elijah Elliott had the most carries by a running back, but that was just four. He gained 32 yards.  The heavy lifting in the run game was done by Chambers, but even he only had seven carries – a team-high.

Despite the running back quandary, the Bobcats still ran for 290 yards and 9.4 yards per carry. That average nearly equaled the pass game’s 10.2 yards per attempt.  The Bobcats had and equal number of pass attempts with 29. 

Dowler’s punt return touchdown seemed inevitable. The true frosh caught the ball on the left sideline, weaved his way to the right outmaneuvering several Morehead players along the way to 67-yard score. 

It marked MSU’s first punt return touchdown since Shawn Johnson housed a punt during the 2013 season against rival Montana.

“Once he caught it, I put my hands straight up,” Patterson said. “I already knew. Touchdown.”

MSU tight ends were heavily involved in the first half with Treyton Pickering from tiny Sunburst, Mont. having the best game of his career with five receptions for 98 yards. Derryk Snell also had one catch for nine yards. The receivers combined for 179 yards after the catch much to Vigen’s delight.

“One thing that stood out to me was the yards after catch was especially nice to see this afternoon,” Vigen said. “Ravi (Alston), Willie and in particular our tight ends. We had a tight end (Pickering) with 98 yards today. Get these people off my back for not throwing to the tight end.”

MSU amassed 585 yards on 60 plays just short of 10 yards per play. The Bobcat’ defense held Morehead State to 260 yards on 75 plays. Most of MSU’s damage was done in the first quarter, however, jumping out to a 28-0 lead that featured 188 yards of total offense and Dowler’s punt return.

MSU had another sellout crowd with 19,927 in attendance. MSU is averaging over 20,000 per game after last weeks stadium record crowd over 21,000. The Bobcats play their first road game next week when they travel to Portland, Oregon to face a Beaver team that was playing at Fresno State Saturday night. The game will be played at Providence Park downtown in the City of Roses as OSU’s Reser Stadium finishes its renovations.

The lone returning starter is senior Willie Patterson, who was second on the team in 2021 with 30 receptions for 375 yards and three touchdowns.  Gone are current Los Angeles Rams’ rookie Lance McCutcheon, who set the school record for receiving yards for MSU last season, along with Jaden Smith, who transferred after starting most of the season. Smith caught three touchdowns against Mississippi Valley State for Tarleton State over the weekend

Nate Stewart graduated, Charles Brown (Smith’s cousin) and Jahmad Monroe transferred. Cam Gardner, a former Utah transfer, and Andrew Patterson, a former 3-star recruit from the Phoenix area were not part of the 95-man roster head coach Brent Vigen brought to his second fall camp because of academic issues.

Coy Steel has returned after it appeared his career had ended due to an injury. He celebrated senior day, but ultimately decided to return for a fifth and final season. But he did not dress in MSU’s 40-17 season-opening win over McNeese State. Redshirt freshman Aidan Garrigan, a walk-on from Texas, has worked his way onto the two-deep and was in for several plays Saturday.

All told the returning receivers – Patterson and Steel – accounted for just 33 catches for 414 yards and three touchdowns.

The wide receiver room turnover meant Bobcats needed to hit the transfer portal in the offseason, and they did so with success by landing 6-foot-3, 203-pound graduate transfers Ravi Alston of Division III St. John’s (Minnesota) and Clevan Thomas, also a graduate transfer who comes to MSU from the University of Kentucky.

Alston hauled in three passes for 48 yards, including a touchdown, in this past Saturday’s game. Patterson tied Alston for team-high honors with three catches, including an acrobatic first down catch down the sideline and a diving, highlight reel catch in the corner of the end-zone for a go-ahead touchdown near the end of the first half to give MSU a 17-10 lead going into the break.

Thomas was on the field a lot but didn’t record a reception as MSU attempted just 21 passes with its run game in high gear most of the evening. Thomas did receive two of Montana State’s 59 rushing attempts.

“These group of guys are amazing,” Thomas said during an interview during fall camp. “When I first got up here we had a team dinner and I didn’t say anything and I sat apart from everybody and literally I wanna say 80 percent of the team came up asking ‘how you doing?’ ‘what’s your name’ ‘my name’s this’ and ‘what’s up?’ and I was like, ‘okay, I like this team!’ It’s very team oriented and everything we do, we do together. Meet together, eat together, sweat together.”

Thomas, who’s from Miami, Fla., started eight games for the Wildcats and played 29 altogether. He seemed to be solidifying himself as a starter his sophomore season but that was sidetracked when he suffered a leg injury. That year he had 11 catches for 99 yards.

Alston was a highlight reel for St. John’s. In two season with the Johnnies he collected 153 balls for 2,350 yards and 22 touchdowns.

“My goal coming out here was just doing my job every play,” Alston said. “Put the team in the best position I can to help the team win.”

True freshmen Taco Dowler (Billings West) and Christian Anaya (Chandler, AZ) are expected to figure into the mix and both are listed in the MSU two-deep. Dowler, the reigning Montana Gatorade Player of the Year, looked impressive in taking a pair of handoffs on reverse plays against the Cowboys. The Billigng West product scooted 14 yards on his first career carry and 10 more on his second. Dowler is also manning the punt return duties for the Bobcats.

Both players had prolific high school careers. Dowler led West to consecutive Class AA title games, catching 151 passes for 2,756 yards and 27 touchdowns along the way. Anaya hauled in 157 receptions for 1,770 yards and 26 scores during his high school career.  Garrigan was also top-notch receiver at Magnolia High School in Texas.

MSU has also brought in JC transfers Malik Mullins and Tayvian Williams, along with three other freshmen in Butte’s Dylan Snyder, Noah Smith from Joshua, Tex. and Zachary Dodson-Green from Salem, Ore. Williams was a transfer from Laney College entering last season and is the younger brother of former MSU All-Big Sky defensive end Amandre Williams. MSU also added Sac State transfer Marqui Johnson just before the end of the off-season.

The Bobcats were in a similar situation starting the 2021 season when it had to rebuild after the COVID19 year when Kevin Kassis and Travis Jonsen ran out of eligibility after the 2019 season. Jonsen went to make the Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad and Kassis was on the Seattle Seahawks roster this preseason.

MSU is back in action with another nonconference game Saturday afternoon at 1 when Morehead State out of Morehead, Kentucky comes to Bozeman.

The early deep shot is a staple of Montana State’s offense. With star running back Isaiah Ifanse, a great offensive line and season-long questions at quarterback, the Bobcats’ game plan all season has been simple – run, run, run, then chuck the ball deep. They don’t want teams keying on Ifanse too much, and when they do pass, they want a big gain against a defense that’s focused on stopping the run.