Ruben Beltran went from the growing disappointment from not having a Division I opportunity to the whirlwind of preparing to compete for playing time at Montana State.
Over the last two years as the starting quarterback at Centennial High School in Peoria, Arizona, Beltran led his team to a 26-3 record that included a win over Scottsdale’s Notre Dame Prep to win the Arizona 5A state championship last fall. Yet the 6-foot, 180-pounder with a quick release, good ball skills in the run-pass option elements of the spread offense and an ability to get loose in the open field held no Division I offers.
“It was frustrating but I tried not to stress or worry about it because it wasn’t really my mindset to think, ‘Oh, I don’t have offers,” Beltran said. “I just want to work and I knew everything would fall in place if I kept working.”
He graduated from high school in May. During the spring before and after his graduation, Beltran participated in spring football at Phoenix College while still hoping for a D-I offer. He had a collection of D-II and was strongly considering continuing his career at Western New Mexico. During his time at Phoenix College competing in practice with other junior college players, Beltran continued to hone his throwing, got a chance to “see where my abilities compare” while “learning quarterback strategies that helped me a lot.”
Montana State’s new passing game coordinator Bob Cole came across some of Beltran’s practice tape from Phoenix College, which led Cole to check out Beltran’s prep highlight film. Watching the film led to a Twitter message from Cole to Beltran about a month ago. MSU offered him a half scholarship with the incentive to earn more assistance if he can compete for a spot on the depth chart during fall camp in August. The second week of June, Beltran made his first trip to Montana. He left the MSU campus impressed and committed.
“When I first heard I was going up there, I thought it was going to be snowing but they told me it only snows in the winter,” Beltran said with a laugh. “When I got up there, it was beautiful. Green grass, trees, the high was 70. I loved it and it was way different than I thought it was going to be.”
“I fell in love with the school, too. It felt like home. My high school is like Montana State. Montana felt like home.”
The 6-foot, 190-pounder threw for 2,902 yards and 33 touchdowns compared to nine interceptions over the last two seasons, completing nearly 67 percent of his passes in the process. He also rushed for 432 yards, averaging 4.3 yards per carry.
“Ruben is a competitor with a high football IQ,” MSU third-year head coach Jeff Choate said. “He will join us with a chip on his shoulder and is eager to compete at the quarterback position right away.”
During his short time learning about Montana State’s program as the Bobcats enter their third year under Choate’s direction, Beltran heard from players and coaches alike of the support both internally and from the community in Southwest Montana. Beltran also saw similarities between Choate and his coach at Centennial, Richard Taylor.
“Coach Choate is cool, man,” Beltran said. “He can relate to my high school coach, Richard Taylor. They are basically the same type of guy. I really like the MSU coaching staff.”
Cole has carved out a reputation as a guru of the run-pass option offense, most recently helping turn Jordan Lynch from a undersized, under recruited prospect into a Heisman finalist at Northern Illinois. Cole saw on Beltran’s film a player who operated a shotgun spread offense filled with RPO and a quarterback who could just as easily line up under center. Beltran has a strong arm, smooth footwork, good field vision and noticeably deceiving ball skills whether he’s running the zone read option or pulling the ball and throwing it down the field.
“My biggest strength as a quarterback is knowing my reads,” Beltran said. “Ever since eighth grade, I’ve really studied playing the position. I study every player on defense, where they are going to be.”
Beltran will have an interesting position in MSU’s quarterback room, a group filled with uncertainty for the Bobcats. Junior Chris Murray returns with 16 consecutive starts under his belt dating back to a rookie year that saw him capture Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year honors despite starting just five games. But Murray’s electric running ability has been offset by inconsistent at best passing production.
Behind the incumbent is a giant cloud. Former preferred walk-on Kamden Brown left the program before spring football after struggling with injuries for most of his time at MSU. Junior Brady McChesney, a former Montana Class AA Offensive Player of the Year out of Kalispell Glacier, retired in the middle of spring football due to a shoulder injury.
During the off-season, MSU brought in former 4-star recruit Travis Jonsen, a highly regarded prospect who chose Oregon over a slew of FBS offers coming out of Servite High in Anaheim, California. Jonsen broke his foot during his first spring in Eugene, then fell behind on the depth chart, ironically, to former Montana State graduate transfer Dakota Prukop. Jonsen looked for new life at Riverside Community College outside of Los Angeles but had his playing time cut into when Minnesota quarterback Victor Viramontes transferred in and took the No. 1 spot.
After only being in Bozeman for a short time, Jonsen slipped on the ice and broke his foot, an injury that cost him during spring drills.
When McChesney retired, it left MSU with just two quarterbacks for the second half of spring drills. Murray seemed to thrive on the extra reps, showing a new-found patience, a tighter spiral thanks to improved physical strength and a sense of urgency to maintain his position atop the depth chart. Redshirt freshman Tucker Rovig however seemed to take a step back, struggling with the fundamental and footwork adjustments instilled by Cole while also holding on to the ball too long in the pocket.
Enter Beltran.
“Coach Cole is telling me he really wants me to come in and compete,” Beltran said. “He wants me to push for a starting job, come in and work my tail off and work for that starting job.”
Beltran’s family made the visit with him to Bozeman. He said his parents and his sister “loved the town and everything MSU has to offer.”
He plans on joining the team either in July or August depending on the financial aid and dormitory situation the coaching staff can work out for him in short order. Beltran said he plans on majoring in business marketing with designs on someday working in some form of sports marketing.
“This whole process has been so fast and has been little crazy,” Beltran said. “But I’ve been working out every day and then this popped up. Montana State, this happened real quick and it’s the biggest thing for my life right now, transitioning from high school to the Big Sky.”
That transition will have to be rapid if Beltran hopes to find a spot on the depth chart this fall. A month ago, he was a state championship quarterback with no Division I opportunities. As spring turns to summer, Beltran’s situation has completely changed, something not lost on him as he tries to make the most of his newfound chance with the Bobcats.
“Don’t take it for granted because I feel like sometimes, guys come out to D-I schools and they think they are going to party and all this stuff but I have a really different mindset when it comes to this stuff,” Beltran said. “I’ve been working for this my whole life so I refuse to take this for granted.”
Photos contributed by Beltran and attributed. All Rights Reserved.
