Football rosters are huge. It’s hard enough to keep track of all the players that got a majority of the reps from a year ago, but trying to get a handle on all the incoming players and the players that didn’t see the field at all the previous year is brain rattling.
Yet, every season there are fresh players that make their presence known early – some even before the first game and I’ll try to shine a little bit of light on some of those guys at Montana State.
Of all the incoming freshman this season, cornerback Jhase McMillan from Texas has created the most chatter. McMillan was already becoming well known by some fans shortly after signing a letter-of-intent with the Bobcats. That’s because he was one of the top sprinters in the Lone Star State. As a senior at Katy Thompkins High, he finished third in the 200 meters at the state 6A track meet with a time of 20.84. He also clocked a time of 10.45 seconds in the 100 meters early in the season before focusing on the 200 and 4 x 100 relay (39.85), which he anchored, and which took fourth at the state meet. While a third and fourth place may not seem like much, one must consider that Texas has a population of over 30 million and just getting to the state meet there is a big accomplishment. His 200 and 4 x 100 times for the events McMillan participated in would be school records for the MSU men’s track and field team and his 100 meter time is just .03 seconds off the school record.
McMillan is already practicing with the 1s and 2s and is consistently being mentioned by teammates and coaches as a player that could figure in to the mix this season, not just at cornerback but also as a punt returner after making a good return in this past Saturday’s scrimmage.
“Jhase McMillan a true-freshman corner did a really good job on the punt side of things,” MSU head coach Brent Vigen said on Monday.
McMillan also caught the eye of senior cornerback Simeon Woodard, who’s also from Texas and has been starting his entire career at MSU.
“I’m really excited to see Jhase among the freshmen,” Woodard said. “He’s out of Texas like myself, so I might be a little biased, but he has the intangibles to be a great athlete.”
Unterrio Latin-Henley has also jumped into the mix in the special teams room as a kickoff returner where he has been challenging Marqui Johnson. Latin-Henley is a true freshman from Tacoma, Wash.
Another player that has been coming around in camp is kicker Casey Kautzman from Butte. Kautzman isn’t completely unknown due to having his extra point blocked to end MSU’s season last year in a tough 35-34 loss to North Dakota State.
Kautzman led a decent effort in the scrimmage where MSU’s corps of kickers converted on six of their first seven before having the last one blocked.
“Casey’s been relatively consistent through camp,” Vigen said.
Bryce Grebe from Melstone has a familiar last name with his older brother Brody being one of the top defensive players in the nation. Bryce is a red-shirt freshman that is challenging for a backup spot in the linebacker group against Neil Daily and Cole Bullock. He’ll be hard to miss in 2024 since he’s wearing Brody’s old jersey number (10) and has a similar build.
“I feel like Daily, Grebe and Bullock have taken a step forward these first two weeks,” Vigen said.
Another player on the defensive side of the ball that is turning heads is Fairview’s Hunter Sharbono at defensive tackle. The 6-2, 280 redshirt freshman is trying to work his way into the stout, veteran rotation of Blake Schmidt, Paul Brott, Alex Eckert and Zack Black. MSU uses up to six players at the spot, so Sharbono will most likely see the field this season.
Brott says several linemen have looked good in camp.
“Dominic Solano, he’s doing great,” Brott said. “Jake Vigen, he’s doing great. Talon Marsh out of Helena is playing nose guard and he’s been busting his butt every day.” Solano is a sophomore from Glendale, Ariz. and Vigen is the son of head coach Brent Vigen and he’s from Bozeman.
Offensively, Hunter Provience says freshman Dane Steel from Sheridan, Wyoming has been standing out among the receivers.
“He’s a very fast slot and kind of picked up the plays faster than some other guys did,” Provience said. “So, he’s been playing a lot more and getting reps with the ones.”
Along the offensive line Burke Mastel from Red Lodge has been battling a nagging injury in camp but he made a sudden move up the depth chart last season and seems on the cusp of getting more playing time in 2024, especially with the rash of injuries (Justus Perkins, Cole Sain, JT Reed, and Dylan Rollins have also been slowed with injuries of varying severity) along the line.
The Bobcats have needed a deep set of running backs the past three seasons as they’ve had as many as five injured at the same time during that stretch.
MSU has six players that all appear set to perform this season. Along with familiar names like Julius Davis, Elijah Elliott, Scottre Humphrey, and Jared White, the Bobcats have seen a pair of redshirt freshmen in the form of Colson Coon from Sheridan, Wyo. and Adam Jones from Missoula tearing up the practice field this summer.
Coon ran for 46 yards on eight carries and caught three passes for 13 yards in Saturday’s scrimmage, while Jones added 26 yards on seven rushes. Last season Jones went 49 yards for a touchdown on the first carry of his career in a 59-19 win over Cal Poly.
As stated, the number of players on a football roster makes it impossible to know who’s going to breakthrough and there are numerous others that may jump over all these guys, but for now at least this group is one to keep an eye on.
The Bobcats continue to prep for the fast-approaching season opener against University of New Mexico in Albequerque on August 24.
