BOZEMAN — Less than an hour before Tommy Mellott had his name called by the Las
Vegas Raiders in the 2025 NFL Draft, Montana State was in the process of showing what its offense might look like in life after Touchdown Tommy.
If Saturday afternoon’s 105 plays during the Sonny Holland Spring Classic to wrap spring football at Montana State was any indication, everything is going to be just fine.
Saturday’s showcase affirmed MSU still has offensive and defensive linemen in spades. Even though All-American running back Scottre Humphrey transferred to New Mexico and All-American offensive tackle Conner Moore now plays at Michigan State, the Bobcat run game should operate in its now trademark bruising fashion.
The subtle tweaks to the offensive game plan under first-year offensive coordinator Pete Sterbick seem to emphasize the natural strengths of third-year sophomore Chance Wilson and redshirt freshman Patrick Duchien, a pair of mobile and slightly more traditional quarterbacks.
“Touchdown Tommy” carved out a legend like few before him, starting for MSU since the
playoff run in 2021 and helping the Bobcats to a pair of Big Sky Conference championships and a pair of FCS national title game appearances. The 2024 Walter Payton Award winner was drafted by the Las Vegas Raiders with the 37th pick of the sixth round.
The Butte native and more than 20 MSU seniors played their last games as Bobcats in January, a 35-32 loss to North Dakota in the FCS title game.
The following week after the loss meant a slew of transfer portal entries and departures, including Humphrey jumping ship to New Mexico and Moore landing in the Big Ten.
But Saturday, Montana State’s offensive line — despite the absence of projected starting left tackle Cedric Jefferson and starting interior presence Burke Mastel — looked sharp despite managing another off-sesaon of turnover. Along with Moore, MSU loses all-conference centers Cole Sain and Justus Perkins to graduation.
The Bobcat defensive line, despite not employing new No. 41 Paul Brott and fellow senior DT Alec Eckert, looked sharp and dominant.
Given the fact that the young linebacker corps looked good, and that MSU’s burgeoning secondary made plenty of plays (namely, two interceptions by redshirt freshman Carson Williams), the story remained the same for the Bobcats.
With the arrival of Stanford transfer quarterback Justin Lamson pending, two things that are certain about the Bobcats: That MSU will run the ball with authority and priority; and that mobile, heady quarterbacks will still be a huge factor for the team’s success.
“We just came out and did what we did,” MSU coach Brent Vigen said. “It’s an opportunity to build upon new play-callers for an offense and defense that really is shifting gears a little bit with who we are and what we need to do.
“Spring ball to me is such a critical phase to the year. Taking advantage of every single opportunity is important. I’ve always felt like being a quarterback guy most of my time, this is the one time in spring where we have time on the clock, cause and effect. It puts those guys, the quarterbacks, in positions that we don’t create on a daily basis otherwise.”
The score of the game — the White team “won” 24-14 — is irrelevant in the big picture. The most important part was execution: Without Mellott, both Wilson and Duchien looked comfortable operating Sterbick’s quick-game, up-tempo offense.
With Humphrey in Albuquerque along with senior Julius Davis and sophomore Adam Jones not participating, plus Mastel and Jefferson on the sideline, the MSU run game looked dominant. Only two running backs — junior Jared White and sophomore Colson Coon — were available.
Coon, a former walk-on from Sheridan, Wyoming, let the charge. The 5-foot-11, 195-pounder rushed 24 times for 161 yards. He scored touchdowns for both the Blue and White teams.
“Colson, when given opportunities, he’s continued to shine,” Vigen said.
White, a talented 5-foot-10, 195-pounder from Frisco, Texas, had a breakout year two years ago, scoring seven total touchdowns for the ‘Cats. Last year, he fell to the back of the MSU running back rotation with Humphrey rushing for 1,386 yards and scoring 16 touchdowns and Jones finishng as the runner-up for FCS Freshman of the Year with 1,172 yards and 14 touchdowns. Saturday, White rushed for 70 yards on 15 carries.
“You start with Colson and Jared going out there as the only two running backs and it was apparent that the ability to run the football was there,” Vigen said. “We only had one on each side. That got some things tempered on the play-calling side.
“With Adam and Julius, we have two really proven guys. But with Colson and Jared in that mix, that’s pretty comforting.”
Wilson, a highly regarded duel threat from Owasso, Oklahoma, expressed frustration after the 105-play set because he wore a non-contact jersey. Other than that, he felt comfortable, completing 15 of 23 passes for 156 yards with a 20-yard touchdown strike to a streaking Javonte King to start the scoring.
“I really like the offense and I like Sterbick,” Wilson said. “This was our first time going with Sterbick calling plays and it went well. I think we moved the ball well. We made some great catches at wide receiver today. Colson Coon was a man, Jared White, we only had two backs and it was hard for them to carry all that load but they did and they looked good doing it.”
Duchien, a small-school star who led Florence High to an unprecedented three straight Class B state titles, also showed confidence during his first real time playing the the MSU varsity. The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder completed 16 of 22 passes for 132 yards and a touchdown to White. He threw a pick, but it was hardly his fault as it bounced off his intended target’s hands and landed right in Williams’ breadbasket.
Montana State’s defense showed promise. Senior Kenneth Eiden IV had a touch sack as did redshirt freshman Seth Brock. Williams, a redshirt freshman from Houston, is part of a group of upstart freshmen DBs in the mix for a defense that loses eight starters.
“Our depth and the position battle pushes us forward every day as a position group,” Williams said. “We just want to have a four, five, six man rotation. We are worried about working and making each other better.”
Montana State will take some time off before engaging in summer workouts. Lamson is on campus and will be a part of the next phase of the off-season.
Despite the multitude of off-season question marks — from graduated seniors to departed transfers to coaching staff turnover — Montana State remains the team to beat in the Big Sky.
“There was enough back and forth where you feel like both sides were in the fight,” Vigen said. “Today, several guys will play did not participate and that’s all part of spring, too. I think all and all, I feel good about our progress this spring and at the same time, I feel like we have a younger team and by and large, we have a bunch of work left to accomplish.”
