If B.J. Robertson does not know everyone in Montana, he’s probably only a few degrees away.
The Sheridan, Montana native began his career at Twin Bridges High School. He served as an assistant at Rockford College and Southern Oregon before joining David Reeves’ staff at Rocky Mountain College in 2007. He recruited throughout Montana for the Bears until taking the head coaching job at Montana Western, his alma mater, in 2013.
During his time in the Frontier Conference, Robertson made and strengthened connections throughout the state. Last year alone, Montana Western signed 32 players from the state of Montana, including several who received Big Sky Conference interest. In three seasons leading Western, Robertson posted a 17-14 record, including a 7-3 mark last season. All three of Western’s losses came to teams in the Top 10 of the NAIA.
Last month, Robertson announced he was resigning to take a position on new Montana State head coach Jeff Choate’s staff. Robertson will help Choate with the special teams and will also lend a hand with the secondary but his primary duty and his official title is MSU’s director of high school relations.
“What B.J. accomplished at Western might be the best coaching job in the state at any level,” Choate said when Robertson was hired. “He did a great job getting that program from where it was when he took over to being nationally-ranked and challenging for a conference championship. He relates to the players he coaches extremely well and does a great job motivating young men. I’ve known him for many years and I don’t know anyone in the state that doesn’t like him.”
Robertson played on Western’s 1994 Frontier Conference championship team, graduating from that school in 1998 with a BS in Business Education. He also holds a MA in Teaching from Rockford (2003).
With National Signing Day closing in the first week of February, Montana State has 12 verbal commitments from high school players, including seven from Montana.
During the first week of January, Montana State has hosted press conferences with each of Choate’s nine new assistant coaches. On Thursday, Robertson and new MSU defensive coordinator Ty Gregorak sat down with Skyline Sports and media from around Montana.
Ted Dawson, KBZK: B.J., how would you describe your job here?
Robertson: “My job is to bring energy, enthusiasm, connection to the state of Montana and help out wherever I can.”
Dawson: You had such great success recruiting at Western. Can you do that here?
Robertson: “I definitely think you can. Have a bigger stage to sell kids on, probably a more diversified academic program, which is the No. 1 reason you are trying to get any kid. What can you do for them for the next 40 to 50 years, not just the next four or five. Who doesn’t want to be a Bobcat? I know I wanted to be one when I was a kid.”
Skyline Sports: What was your process like at Western? You guys recruited so many Montana kids the last few years and you signed so many. Why did you have so much success in state?
Robertson: “Just building relationships. I grew up in the state, went to Western so a lot of teachers and coaches come out of Western. But it’s all about the relationship piece, getting out to see kids, getting to know them and once you develop that relationship, I think it’s a matter of if it’s a good fit academically for them and obviously finances come into the equation at some point. There’s a lot of decisions, locations, all those things.”
Dawson: Where did you go to high school?
Robertson: “Sheridan, Montana.”
Skyline: Coaching in the Frontier Conference, you guys got so many guys who were maybe borderline Big Sky guys. Do you feel Montana is under recruited?
Robertson: “Yeah. Obviously, I’m bias to the state. I think the high school coaches do a tremendous job here in Montana. It’s just a matter of us at the bigger level of finding the right Cat if that makes sense, which fits into Coach Choate and what he is looking for.”
Dawson: B.J., what can we expect from the special teams when you are coaching?
Robertson: “Obviously, I’m going to be taking the lead from Coach Choate. He’s well-known and he’s been a mentor of mine as a special teams coach for a long time. I’m excited to continue to learn from him. I think that’s one of my biggest things is how much I can learn from Coach Choate. I know he’s been in a lot of different places and he’s been on the big stage, so anything I can learn from him, I’m going to be a sponge absorbing it. Fundamentally sound football, I don’t care what level you are at, it’s still blocking and tackling.”
Greg Rachac, Billings Gazette: Part of your title is director of high school relations. Talk about what that entails and specifically how you are going to attack that.
Robertson: “It starts with the relationships. Everyone wants to make it out to be the recruiting process, something that is this magical thing. It’s a people business. Whether you are talking about Xs and Os, they say you don’t win with Xs and Os, you win with Jimmys and Joes. It’s about getting to know people and letting them know you are here for them. A lot of times, we are going into schools asking ‘Hey, can you help us with this kid? Can you tell me more about this kid?’ We have to rely on them. They see them every day. We can watch film and we see a little bit of them and we will have them on campus for camps and visits, things like that but again, they know them inside and out, they’ve been with them for four years or even more depending on how long they are in their program, junior high, that sort of thing. That’s the big thing is just building those relationships.
“Camps, we are excited to see what we can get done on camps. We are going to take a new look at that besides just the one day that has been very, very successful and some of the little guy camps. We are throwing around a lot of different ideas and reaching out to the high school coaches. ‘Hey, what would help you, how can we help ya?’ It’s just being a good partner with them with seeing what we can do for them and knowing they can have someone they can always call and contact and say, ‘Hey, B.J., can you help me with this?’ If I can’t help them, I can direct them to somebody who can.”
Rob Jesselson, ABC/Fox: What does it say about Coach Choate picking up local coaches from local programs and how much can you help a guy like Coach Choate out just having that experience being a former head coach?
Robertson: “Definitely, I think he’s got his plan and like I said, he’s been a mentor of mine. But again, there’s just some of that day to day stuff that you get away from doing the best part of the job, which is connect with the players on a regular basis. Sometimes, you get pulled into, no offense fellas, but media. You get pulled into the business meetings, the budgeting, some of those things. If I can help him in some of those areas and also just sometimes, kind of just say, ‘Hey, I know what you’re going through, take a deep breath, enjoy it, you’ll get back out on the field in a short time.
“I think it says a lot about him for him to be willing to look outside the box and, ‘Hey, who can help me? These guys have connection to the state. What are my strengths, what are my weaknesses? What can we all do to help jump on board and ease the transition?”
Skyline: Was it tough leaving a head coaching job?
Robertson: “It definitely was. Again, it was my alma mater. And I don’t know, again, to be a part of Montana State and Coach Choate’s staff and to be able to work with a guy that I’ve respected for a long time. And another friend of mine who I went to school with, (new offensive line coach) Brian Armstrong. And to get to work with Kane Ioane, who is a guy who I have always looked up to as far as being a Bobcat fan. And when Coach Gregorak came down, again he’s a guy who I’ve respected for a long time, got to know working camps through the University. It’s just been an awesome opportunity. But, having said that, it was my alma mater. Those relationships that we talked about, it wasn’t easy to say goodbye to those guys. I was at a great place and I wasn’t looking for a job when this one came around. But I definitely couldn’t pass up this opportunity I didn’t think. Personally, No. 1 and of course professionally.”
Russ Reed, NBC/Montana: Part of your job too is not only having great relationships with high school coaches across the state but Coach Choate also specifically mentioned you running the camps and the clinics for the program in the region and in the state. Being a former coach at the Frontier level where camps and clinics are really up and coming and big, can you just talk about how important that aspect of your job is?
Robertson: “Being able to get anybody on campus, Montana State will sell itself. The Gallatin Valley, I mean, who doesn’t want to come to Bozeman, whether it’s to recreate or whatever. I grew up in a small town so when we would do our Christmas shopping, guess where we’d come? We’d come to Bozeman. You want to eat at a different restaurant, guess where we’d come? Bozeman. I know that sounds kind of cheesy but honestly, who doesn’t want to come up here and enjoy all the things Bozeman has to offer? For us, it’s just getting kids on campus to see what the university has to offer and be a part of it, get a feel for us as coaches. That’s the next thing because again, that’s that relationship connection. They can decide, ‘Hey, these guys are my kind of guys. Obviously, we can find out, hey, these guys are real Cats.”
Skyline: You mentioned not looking for a job at this point so what was that process like, when did Jeff first contact you?
Robertson: “I talked to him right away of course, called him right away and said I saw his name, and maybe I don’t know might have been through you but I saw his name bouncing around a little bit and was excited for him because I know that’s been a goal of his. We talked early just as far as, ‘Hey, congratulations on the job.’ And he said, ‘Hey, I have a lot of things I gotta do between now and then but if it shakes out, would you be interested?’ I said, ‘Hey, I definitely would be interested but obviously we both have to see if it’s a good fit for me and if it’s a good fit for him.’ He had to go with the coordinators and look at some of those guys first. I didn’t hear until late, probably a day or so before you guys broke it, we talked one night and said, ‘Hey, can you let me know in the morning? I know that’s a short turnaround.’ So I talked to some of the other folks I look up to and asked them about their information or recommendation and get some ideas and have them. It happened the next day. It really didn’t happen until late.”
Skyline: Did you and Choate play together at Western?
Robertson: “No. My freshman year (1994), he was coaching, just finishing up his degree and student coaching, so he’s a little older and wiser.”
Rachac: How old are you?
Robertson: “I’m 41.”
Skyline: You mentioned how heavy the Western connections are around the state and this staff has some Western influence. What about that place breeds coaching?
Robertson: “No. 1, you go there to be, I shouldn’t say everybody and with the block scheduling, they have really opened it up to more degrees, but back when we all went there, we wanted to be teachers and coaches. That’s the biggest thing is coaching is teaching. You get put in front of a class room and right away, you are learning to teach kids and that’s what we are doing here. Obviously, we have a more attentive or engaged product that they want to learn about. Sometimes, teaching science or math, that’s not always as interesting. We have a captive audience with football. Once you get in the class room and start teaching, that transfers over to the field and that’s kind of the way Montana Western has always been known.”
Skyline: What do you think of the state of the program here at Montana State?
Robertson: “I think it’s an exciting time again. I don’t think it’s broken. I just think it needs a little tweaking. I have a great respect for Coach Ash and all the coaches who were here before. We came and worked their camps and that’s why I’m excited to be able to work again with Bo (Beck) and Coach (Michael) Pitre as well. Those guys have been great to me personally and to our staff when I was at Western, helping us with recruiting. I think it’s a matter of coming on and giving a little different spin to it. I’m excited about the guys’ energy that Coach Choate hired and their expertise and guys who have veteran experience, bowl experience. (Wide receivers coach) Matt Miller is my little office neighbor and it’s been fun visiting with him and getting to know him and (defensive line coach) Byron (Hout). I can just keep going on. (New offensive coordinator) Coach (Courtney) Messingham I heard speak at a clinic in Billings. He came up back in the day. I’ve followed his career and getting to know him has been outstanding. There’s just a lot of good guys, low egos, high energy which is what Coach Choate was looking for.”
Jon Maletz, Bozeman Daily Chronicle: What is it about Jeff that made you to make this move at this point in your career?
Robertson: “He’s a man of his word and when he told me, ‘Hey, come over here and we are going to do this right and it’s going to be a lot of fun.’ And also his belief in me. He can probably talk to any of his former players and it was the belief he instills in you. He makes you feel like, ‘Hey, I can do it, I can be a part of it, however I can help, I want to be in.’ Being a man of his word, it was just the belief in him and again, I know we are going to have fun and there is going to be a lot of energy. And to be around that high level of success no matter where he’s one, whether it’s the high school level, whether it was in Idaho or in Florida or Washington, all he’s done is be successful. It takes a lot of guys to do that. It wasn’t just all him. But to be a part of that and jump on, it’s infection. Winning is contagious, that’s for sure. Unfortunately, so is losing.”
