BOZEMAN, Montana — Caden Dowler suffered an injury during his senior year at Billings West. And the injury bug bit again when he first joined the Montana State Bobcats ahead of last season.
Dowler, who’s the twin brother of former Montana Gatorade Player of the Year Taco Dowler, had to watch from the sideline for the beginning part of the pair’s rookie year. When he made his way back to practice, he found himself as a fourth-string safety.
The way Montana State has practiced since third-year head coach Brent Vigen has taken over is a breeding ground for competition across the roster. The “double-rep system” — that’s how most of the MSU coaches and players commonly refer to the practice philosophy — allows the top two groups on the depth chart to battle during practice sessions, as well as the third and fourth-string players.
“The double-rep system is so awesome because where the fours and the threes wouldn’t normally get reps if we were single-rep, that’s the position I came in at last year when I could finally play,” said Dowler, who was an all-state safety and receiver at West, totaling 10 touchdowns and three interceptions despite missing time his senior year. “The threes and fours, where I was, wouldn’t normally get reps. So I would’ve had nothing.”
Instead, the double-rep system helped Dowler close the spring with his name atop the depth chart at nickelback ahead of senior Level Price Jr. and sophomore Aidan Parks, a converted linebacker.
“Getting reps is where you learn and you learn from failing with those actual reps,” Dowler explained. “That’s different than learning that you failed in a game after watching the film. In practice, you can correct it.
“It gives guys a chance. It also builds our stamina for longer and we can learn how to play and play better when we are tired.”
Montana State’s roster has been ravaged by injury and the transfer portal over the last few seasons. But the Bobcats haven’t missed a beat, posting a 24-5 record under Vigen that included the first Big Sky Conference title for the program in a decade with an undefeated league slate last fall.
All-American running back Isaiah Ifanse had to have off-season knee surgery following MSU’s run to the national championship game in Vigen’s first season at the helm. He didn’t return until the playoffs. He only played three games last season at MSU — setting the Bobcat career rushing record during Montana State’s run to the semifinals — before transferring to San Jose State and then Cal in the offseason.
MSU brought in Kaegun Williams to replace Ifanse. The San Diego State transfer never played a snap, instead missing last year before getting ruled out for good because of a career-ending neck injury.
Jared White, an upstart freshman from Frisco, Texas, broke his leg during the non-conference schedule and speedy Huntley Project scatback Lane Sumner also suffered season-altering dings early in the season.
The running backs are only one example. Since the departure of former head coach Jeff Choate, the Bobcats have lost offensive linemen T.J. Session (Cal) and Connor Wood (Missouri) to the portal while all-conference contributor Zach Redd forfeited his final year of eligibility.
Following the 2021 season, MSU also lost NFL-bound offensive tackle Lewis Kidd and All-Big Sky offensive guard Taylor Tuiasosopo.
Coming into last season, MSU had no returning offensive line starters and a contending group made up almost exclusively of underclassmen. Potential starters Titan Fleischmann and Marcus Wehr went down with season-ending injuries.
Montana State still managed to set a school record for rushing yards in a single season.
Part of that is because quarterbacks Tommy Mellott and Sean Chambers combined to rush for almost 2,000 yards.
And part of it is because every Bobcat ball carrier was ready to roll when presented the opportunity. Heck, Marqui Johnson converted from wide receiver to running back leading up to MSU’s 72-28 win at Cal Poly. He rushed for 242 yards and four touchdowns on the way to earning National Player of the Week honors.
Every backup lineman was ready to go, too. Omar Aigbedion slid into a full-time rotation with J.T. Reed and Cole Sain at the guard spots and had one of the best years of any freshman offensive lineman in America. Jacob Kettles, who had to grayshirt upon arriving at MSU because of a knee injury, stepped in for Wehr after Wehr’s leg injury ended his sophomore season.
When Mellott went down at Eastern Washington, Chambers led a game-winning drive. When Clevan Thomas was ineligible for a few games in the middle of 2022, freshman Taco Dowler made a few game-changing plays out of the slot.
“I think the way we practice does a ton of things,” Mellott said. “There’s so much foot contact and the stress on your body, and that prepares you for the games. That also teaches you how to play smart because if you only play a few reps here or there, you can go out 110 percent, but that’s not what it’s like in a game.
“Also, getting those reps and seeing it more and more times, figuring out how to play with a great effort but not an effort that is putting your body in stress that you can get injured from, it trains you how to be safe as you play. It’s invaluable to talk about how much that system helps us.”
The way Montana State practices is not totally unique, but it is different than most teams in terms of the consistent repetitions received by the non first and second strings. A huge amount of MSU’s team periods during practice involve two fields of competition rather than one. If a normal starter or backup gets 50 team period reps during a practice, so do the MSU third and fourth stringers. More reps equal more Bobcats are who ready to play in games.
Montana State’s offense isn’t the only side of the ball that benefits from the double-rep practice style. The Bobcat defense entering last season needing to replace two NFL Draft picks. Only 33 Division I programs in the country had to replace two NFL Draft picks entering last fall, let alone two in the front seven of one of the most talented FCS defenses of the modern era.
During the season, former Arizona transfer Rhedi Short started the first five games at safety before suffering a season-ending injury. Redshirt freshman Tyson Pottenger and former junior college safety Kendrick Bailey filled the void the second half of the season.
MSU was also able to fill the void at safety with Rylan Ortt suspended for the first half of last season. He has since returned, thrived and is expected to be the starting strong safety during his upcoming junior year.
When standout inside linebacker Nolan Askelson went down with a knee injury, McCade O’Reilly was waiting in the wings to fill the third spot in MSU’s three-man rotation in the middle of their defense that also included McCade’s older brother Callahan.
Defensive end Brody Grebe, a first-team all-conference selection as a sophomore last season, was limited down the stretch, yet Kenneth Eiden IV stepped in admirably and filled in adequately.
“It really does help you always stay engaged because there’s not a lot of standing around for anybody,” Ortt said. “When we are going team and it’s double repping for everybody, you might get four plays off but you are back in there. And if you aren’t watching those four plays, good luck.
“Everybody is engaged, everyone knows they have a role on this team and they know they are contributing no matter what it is. It doesn’t matter if it’s scout team or the No. 1 quarterback, everyone is doing something for the team.”
Grebe is another great example of a developmental player turned star who benefited heavily from the consistent extra competition as a young player. He hails from Melstone, Montana, a town of under 200 people. He went to Roundup to play 11-man football his senior year, but still had to move to Pennsylvania to go to Choate Prep school for a year to earn a Division I opportunity.
By his redshirt freshman year, Grebe already had a significant spot in the rotation. And by last season, he was a defined team leader and standout edge player among his Big Sky Conference peers.
“It’s crucial because you have guys like me, in particular, I came in, I was fourth on the depth or maybe fifth. I don’t even remember what I was when I was a freshman but I still got to take a lot of reps right away,” Grebe said. “In a single-rep system, I might not even get reps for two years because I’m at the bottom.
“So for me, it was a way for me to prove myself and get better and be able to take some reps. Then when I got into the game, it wasn’t any shock because I had been taking tons of reps in practice. And for the older guys, it’s always good to just keep maintaining your craft.”
Grebe’s development has proceeded at such a pace that he’s now a potential NFL prospect. Many other headlining Bobcats like Mellott, Ortt and All- American defensive tackle Sebastian Valdez have also solidified their places in the hierarchy of the Bobcat football program.
Other spots are wide open, ripe with competition between fast risers and newcomers, like the cornerback spot opposite Simeon Woodard (yet another honors candidate from MSU’s outstanding junior class) between Devin Davis, Miles Jackson, Jon Johnson and others.
And the battle at nickelback perfectly encompasses both what Vigen’s program is all about and how the double-rep system can help players seize opportunities. Caden Dowler, a 6-foot-2, 203-pound sophomore, is the bigger body and probably the best option when needed in the run fits for MSU’s 4-2-5 defensive scheme.
Level Price Jr. is a former walk-on turned contributor turned suddenly senior who has had to wait his turn more often then not. The former St. John Bosco Prep standout has plus cover skills but is 5-foot-8, 184 pounds. Questions on if he can hold up in the run game are valid, although he is a very good open field tackler who does not shy away from contact.
The opportunities to battle for that starting nickel spot were first earned battling with other non-headlining players. Now Dowler and Price are trying to become headliners at a spot played so efficiently the last several years by Ty Okada.
“I think the competition is so awesome and it brings out the best in everyone,” Dowler said. “You can’t ever get complacent because then you’ll get passed up, and that’s the biggest thing I’ve learned. Every day, you need to come in and know what you need to work on.”
