As Montana State begins fall camp next, Skyline Sports will break down the Bobcats’ roster by highlighting prominent battles for playing time in each position group.
Today’s position: “Z” wide receiver
The players: Justin Paige (5-foot-11, 175-pound sophomore), Tanner Roderick (6-foot-3, 205-pound senior), Brandon Brown (6-foot, 190-pound junior Baylor transfer) and Keon Stephens (6-foot-2, 195-pound true freshman).
What’s at stake: Despite the presence of several proven players, this might be the widest open and hotly contested offensive position battle of the entire fall camp.
How they fared in 2014: Paige established a reputation as one of the Big Sky Conference’s most dangerous big-play threats despite arriving on campus as one of the rawest true freshmen in recent memory. At Morton Ranch High in the Houston area, Paige was underutilized because the squad ran the triple option. He caught just 14 passes his senior prep season, a total he nearly replicated his first year at Montana State. Last fall, Paige averaged more than 50 yards on three touchdown catches, including a season-long of 75 yards. Overall, he averaged a preposterous 31.6 yards per catch in snaring 12 balls for 379 yards.
Tanner Roderick
Roderick, the 2010 Montana Gatorade Player of the Year in football and basketball at Bozeman High, showed flashes of his vast potential before injuries crippled his junior year. He caught five passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns in MSU’s narrow 52-51 loss to Eastern Washington. A burst bursa sack in his knee and lingering shoulder issues caused him to be in and out of the lineup for the rest of the season. He finished with 15 catches for 275 yards (18.3 yards per catch) and three touchdowns.
Brown, a transfer from Baylor who went to high school with Bobcat preseason All-America quarterback Dakota Prukop, has spent the last three years in Waco competing against some of the Big XII’s best athletes. The walk-on never recorded a stat but was invited back for fall camp each of the last three Augusts.
Stephens had a breakout season as a junior at San Bernardino High, catching 41 passes for 762 yards and seven touchdowns while also snaring nine interceptions and scoring two defensive touchdowns. When he turned 18, his family asked him to move out of his home. He was rendered homeless before finding a friend to live with in another school district. He missed the first month of his senior season while waiting on his hardship appeal to clear. Once cleared, he caught 39 passes for 701 yards and six scores. He took official visits to Utah and UCLA before choosing Montana State. Off-season rumblings have often mentioned Stephens as a player who could surprise the league in 2015.
How they fared during spring practice: From Rob Ash to Dakota Prukop to Tim Cramsey to Cody Kempt, the review of Paige was consistent: he was among the most improved offensive players on the Bobcats. During the winter, Paige could be found running routes on the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse floor and working in the weight room to improve his strength. During spring drills, he showed a consistent ability to catch balls over the middle and run sharp routes, two things he lacked almost entirely as a freshman.
Last spring, Roderick was a main focus in a fierce quarterback battle. But it became apparent right away that he was not a serious factor in the competition to the same level that Prukop, Jake Bleskin and Quinn McQueary were. In the midst of the competition, Roderick took a week away for what Ash called “personal reasons.” He moved back to receiver and showed flashes in the fall but injuries once again plagued him. During spring drills, he missed a great deal of weekday sessions because of a class conflict. At the Triangle Classic spring game in Great Falls, MSU made a concerted effort to get him the football. He dropped the first two thrown his way before making a few first-down grabs.
Brown was among the standouts of the spring as well. He turned heads on the first day with his precise route running, his speed and his sure hands. He was forced to wear a red jersey for much of the session because of a shoulder ailment but still participated in all he could.
Justin Paige
The case for Paige: Paige has an elite athletic attribute, something not very many FCS players can say. Paige’s speed will keep him in the rotation for the duration of his career as long as he stays healthy. His added strength and route running ability will aid in making him not so one-dimensional. He fell into a starting spot when five MSU wide receivers were lost for the season to injury before Big Sky play began. Now he’ll have to win his starting job for the first time at the Division I level.
The case for Roderick: It’s now or never for Roderick, at one time a player hailed as an all-time great from the Treasure State. Roderick earned a full scholarship to play quarterback at FBS Nevada before transferring to MSU before the 2013 season. He’s shown brilliant flashes — he’s caught 27 passes for 421 yards and five touchdowns in less than 20 healthy games — but the injury bug has not been kind. He’s in his final season and if he doesn’t break the rotation, he’ll find himself watching his senior season from the sideline. That should mean Roderick will have a strong initiative to have a standout camp.
The case for Brown: Prukop has gone out of his way to talk about Brown, his pedigree and the contribution he hopes his former teammate will make. That chemistry alone should pay dividends. The fact that Brown was able to hang in a receiver room with some of college football’s best athletes at Baylor won’t hurt either. Sure, Brown never played but he was also never asked to leave. The competition he experienced at practice alone will pay dividends now that he’s at the FCS level. Brown probably is an FCS talent, so don’t overrate his athletic ability but he’s still one of the three or four players Montana State has on its offense. His ability to learn the offense quickly will be his key.
The case for Stephens: After spending a great deal of the recruiting season as an unknown, Stephens has built some real buzz since arriving on campus. Whether the hype is real or not remains to be seen but Stephens has FBS size already and if he’s as fast as he looks on film, he should challenge to play right away.
What they must accomplish during fall camp: Each of the players competing at “Z” spot have a different thing to prove entering fall camp. For Paige, he has to prove he’s diversified his game and that he can handle a heated competition. For Brown, it’s that his chemistry and pedigree are both real. For Roderick, if the time is not now, it won’t ever come. And for Stephens, he has to live up to the hype. As with MSU’s other two wide receiver positions, multiple players will play. MSU is bringing 12 receivers to camp and Kempt said all 12 are in the mix for starting positions. MSU wants to find nine who can contribute on a consistent basis. A strong camp will benefit the unit as a whole regardless of who rises to the top.
Also on the roster: None.
