Jeff Choate Leads First Bobcat Team to Familiar Territory

Thursday, September 1

7 pm MT/6 pm PT

Montana State University

Idaho

Chad Newell and JP Flynn lead MSU into action Thursday

Photo by: Kelly Gorham

Jeff Choate Leads First Bobcat Team to Familiar Territory

8/30/2016 5:39:00 PM | Football

Montana State Notes vs. UI 8-30-16 MSU FB Notes vs. Idaho 9-1-16 BOBCAT FOOTBALL GAME NOTES Idaho Game Notes vs. MSU 8-30-16

Bobcats facing former and future league-mate to open 2016 at Idaho Thursday

By: Bill Lamberty

Jeff Choate remembers well the days when a trip to Moscow, Idaho meant wardrobe additions, maybe some pizza, and other exotic entrapments.

"Moscow is one of the places that we would go to buy shoes or a new pair of 501s when I was growing up," Choate said with a smile, recalling childhood trips from his hometown in Idaho to Moscow. "We had places where you could buy Carharts in Saint Maries but not a lot of places to buy cleats and new blue jeans, so that was a big day for me. They had a movie theatre, that was kind of cool. We could go to a movie, Pizza Hut, that kind of stuff, so like I said, I have a lot of really fond memories of being there."

The memories Choate creates Thursday will be much different, as he leads his first Montana State team into Idaho's ASUI Kibbie Dome to face the Vandals. Kickoff is 7 pm MT, and the game is televised across the Treasure State on ABC/Fox Stations and NBC in Billings.

If there was ever any nostalgia surrounding Thursday's game for Choate, it likely dissipated shortly after queuing up video of the Vandals. "I think it's going to be a very big challenge for us," he said. "I think this is a team that feels very strongly that it should have won six games a year ago, they're battle-tested, they've played in venues like the Swamp and the Coliseum, and they back our game up by going to Washington and Washington State. So this is a team that's been on the big stage."

Like many of the great UI teams Choate watched play in his youth, featuring "guys like Kenny Hobart, John Friesz, Jeff Robinson, Kasey Dunn, a lot of really good players that went through there at the time," this year's Idaho team features a strong-armed athletic quarterback, Matt Linehan, and a balanced offense. "What stands out the most to me about the University of Idaho is their efficiency on offense," Choate said. "They averaged over 30 points a game and were in the top 25 in total yards per game last year in the FBS. They have a veteran quarterback, a veteran O-line. Their playmakers are their tight ends, and they have (receiver Callen) Hightower, who they can stretch the field vertically with, so they've got a lot of options, a lot of options in the passing game in particular."

Opposing a veteran Vandals offense is a MSU defense rebuilt after struggling in 2015. Preseason All-Big Sky choice Mac Bignell leads a defense Choate and defensive coordinator Ty Gregorak poured hours into reconstructing over the last nine months.

"(T)here's no such thing as a finished product," Choate said. "It's been started, really, with fundamental football. That's what we spend a lot of time doing, talking about stance, where our eyes need to be, where our hands need to be and what our feet need to be doing, not just with our defensive players but with all the position players. It's really easy to get enamored of the Xs and Os and the different plays and the blitzes you can call, but at the end of the day what's going to win is sound fundamentals. We've made tremendous strides in that area, but we need to go out and play a game and find out where we're at."

On the other side of the line of scrimmage, Tyler Bruggman leads the Cats into a building eight miles from where he began his college career, at Washington State. Choate likes his signal caller's calm demeanor. "He's a pro in terms of how he approaches things, very meticulous in his preparation, really an intelligent young man, and I think he's not going to leave any stone unturned. He's going to do everything he can to put his best foot forward."

Montana State's offense features considerable experience. All-America guard JP Flynn is the only returning full-time starter on the MSU offensive line, but as a unit that group has banked considerable playing time. Running backs Chad Newell and Gunnar Brekke and receivers Justin Paige and Mitch Herbert all have starting experience.

Choate, however, is familiar with what opposes his offense. He and Idaho defensive coordinator Mike Breske, a long-time Montana assistant, worked together for a season at Washington State. "(Breske's defenses) always play really good red zone defense. Third downs is an area where you've got to pay attention because they'll bring some exotic blitzes, they'll get after you, they'll test us in protection. He's been doing this a long time, and he's a really smart football coach."

The Bobcats have their work cut out for them in the kicking game. While MSU features newcomers – presently undetermined – regardless of who kicks placements or field goals, or who punts. Redshirt freshman Devon Tandberg and true freshmen Jered Padmos and Gabe Peppenger continued to compete for starting duties this week.

Meanwhile, Idaho's kicking situation is set. "I'll tell you one thing, their best player, probably, isn't going to get talked about a lot. Their kicker-punter, (Austin) Rehkow, is a tremendous, tremendous player. He might be the best pure punter I've seen on tape in a long time. (He) averaged over 50 yards a punt last year and handles all three of their duties in the kicking game. Obviously that's an area where you look at the tale of the tape and you're going, they've got a senior who's a Ray Guy Award finalist a year ago who's very efficient in the kicking game as a place kicker and a kickoff kicker as well, and that's an unknown for us."

Choate worries about all the details that fall onto a first-year head coach in his debut, "the stuff that keeps me up at night, whether our food is on time when we stop in Drummond, little things like that," he said. "You obsess about the details when you're in a leadership position."

But mostly, he wants to see how his team reacts to the pressures of a game for the first time. "I think it just comes down to how are we going to respond in a competitive environment, the unknowns of not having been in a game situation with this group of young men before. Those are the things that you're probably the most curious to see, and those unknowns are a little uncomfortable."