Editor’s note: Montana State welcomed nine high school prospects to campus the final recruiting weekend of the winter the first weekend of February. Eight of those recruits ended up signing National Letters of Intent with MSU less than a week later.
In the coming weeks, Skyline Sports will print a series of stories about each of the late commitments to Montana State. This is the second installment of that series featuring Bellevue (Washington) 3-star running back Isaiah Ifanse.
PART I: Montana State’s loyalty helps Bobcats land Eastside Catholic star Putney
Despite one of the most productive senior seasons by any running back in the Evergreen State, Isaiah Ifanse found himself waiting.
Once the Washington Gatorade Player of the Year had a collection of offers to choose from late in the recruiting process, he was the one who decided to wait.
During his standout, award-winning senior season, Ifanse rushed for 2,485 yards and 44 touchdowns at traditional Seattle-area football power Bellevue High School. Yet his half dozen offers — Idaho, Air Force, Army and Navy from the FBS ranks, Wofford, Sacramento State and Montana State from the FCS — came either late in his senior year or following the completion of the Wolverines’ run to the semifinals of the Washington Class 3A playoffs.
Ifanse was one of nine recruits Montana State brought to Bozeman for official visits the final weekend of the late recruiting period less than a week before National Signing Day. Eight of those players ended up signing with Montana State, including the 5-foot-11, 190-pound running back from Bellevue. But Ifanse made Montana State and the rest of the Northwest wait until the final moment.
During his address to the public and the media on National Signing Day on the afternoon of February 7, MSU head coach Jeff Choate announced 11 of the 12 players his staff signed during the second recruiting period (the NCAA added a three-day early period for the first time in December). Choate wrapped up his comments by saying, “We are confident we will have one more to add to the list by the end of today”, exiting the podium while flashing a smile.
Ifanse came through, sending his National Letter of Intent later in the day, officially becoming a Bobcat.
“My recruiting was slow and it really started picking up toward the end but it was tough because with my family, we had to sit down and lay out every single option and we never really had time to do that until the day before,” Ifanse said. “It was all about trying to find the right fit. I think I did.”
Although Ifanse spent just a few months considering Montana State as an option and visited Bozeman just once, the Bobcats ended up being the choice for a collection of reasons.
“I really like the coaching staff and when talking the players, the coaches truly care about you,” Ifanse said. “It seems like a program similar to Bellevue, working hard and wanting to win.
“Academics was also a deciding factor in my decision,” continued Ifanse, who carries a 3.02 grade-point average and will bring a handful of AP credits to college. “We took a tour of the Jake Jaabs Business School and I really liked it a lot, what they had to offer.”
The group of Bobcats who made their official visit to Bozeman that final recruiting weekend of 2018 included Ifanse, safety Malik Putney, wide receiver Mekhi Metcalf and defensive tackle Seer Dienes from Washington along with highly touted offensive lineman Donny Long and under the radar wide receiver Koby Duru from California and 3-star defensive tackle James Williams from Aledo, Texas.
Putney, a 3-star safety from Seattle-area powerhouse Eastside Catholic, and Metcalf, the son of former NFL All-Pro kick returner Eric Metcalf who prepped at Garfield in Seattle, were familiar names and faces to Ifanse. When the full group talked, they collectively decided to all commit to Montana State.
“We talked about it during our visit and it influenced me, playing with people I already knew like Malik and Mekhi,” Ifanse said. “When we got back, that was something I weighed heavy on, playing with those people.”
Ifanse’s senior season got off to a resounding individual start. Operating out of Bellevue’s vaunted Wing-T offense, he carried the ball 38 times for 235 yards and three touchdowns but his team fell 24-21 to Richland, the eventual Washington 4A state champs, in its opener. Against Metcalf’s Garfield squad the following week, Ifanse rushed for 178 yards and four touchdowns in a 34-16 win, a victory that sparked an 11-game winning streak.
Ifanse finished his senior year with six 200-yard games, including two in the playoffs. He was held under 100 yards just one time, an 89-yard effort in a 47-6 win over Interlake.
“Isaiah Ifanse is hands down the best back we’ve seen in the time I’ve been coaching at Redmond,” said Jason Rimkus, head coach at Redmond High. “He’s by far the toughest kid to tackle. He’s so strong, he runs violently and gives tremendous effort on each down.”
Even with a stacked resume — he rushed for 4,158 yards and 65 touchdowns in his career — for a storied program that won 10 state titles between 2001 and 2012 and affirmation as Washington state’s top player, no Power 5 school recruited Ifanse.
“It was frustrating because after the first four games, I thought there would be more attention,” Ifanse said. “But I was more concerned with winning and playing as a team and being the best captain I could be my senior year and let everything else play out like it would.”
Metcalf and Putney weren’t the only familiar faces Ifanse encountered in Bozeman. Former MSU graduate assistant Kendrick Van Ackeren was still working for defensive coordinator Ty Gregorak during the time Ifanse was in Bozeman. Van Ackeren, a two-time All-Big Sky linebacker at Montana, was a state championship-winning quarterback at Bellevue High and coached Ifanse at Bellevue during his junior year. Van Ackeren took a graduate assistant spot at Oregon State about a month after National Signing Day. Ifanse said Van Ackeren “gave me a good idea of what to expect at Montana State.”
The trio of incoming freshmen from the Seattle area crossed paths during the prep season each of the last few falls but also played with and against each other in spring 7-on-7 leagues. Putney and Ifanse are the starting safeties on the Ford Sports Performance 7-on-7 team while also working at the state-of-the-art facility with renowned trainer Tracy Ford.
“I would say he is the best trainer in the Northwest,” Ifanse said. “He gets a lot of people prepared. He acts like a mentor for a bunch of kids who are going off to college. Training with him has been a blessing. I’ve been with him since eighth grade. He has brought me around the older guys and has tried to develop me into the best player I can be.”
Bellevue is on the edge of the heart of the largest city in the Northwest. Ifanse said he didn’t know what to expect when he first visited Bozeman but that he “really liked” Bozeman, adding he felt the Gallatin Valley was “peaceful and beautiful.” During his visit, hometown product Lance McCutcheon, a sophomore wide receiver from Bozeman High, hosted him.
Ifanse joins a Bobcat backfield short on experience but flush with incoming talent. Montana State will add four talented freshmen tailbacks along with Indiana transfer Tyler Natee to a group that could return Big Sky Freshman of the Year Troy Andersen — the Dillon product played outside linebacker exclusively in the spring — but not much else.
“I definitely love competing and I’m excited to come in and show them what I got,” Ifanse said. “That’s been my goal since Day 1, come in and play as a true freshman.”
The slashing, deceivingly powerful Ifanse flew under the radar despite his gaudy prep production. He will report to Bozeman July 7 to begin working out with the Bobcats. Ifanse is anxious to continue proving people wrong with during his latest opportunity at MSU.
“It’s exciting and it means a lot to me to be a Bobcat,” Ifanse said. “I’m going to give my all because they gave me a chance. I’m can’t wait for July to roll around to start proving myself, competing with everyone, showing what I got and just play football and win some games.”
Photos contributed. All Rights Reserved.
