BOZEMAN, Montana — Jeff Choate and his coaching staff used always remind one another of one of Choate’s most important tenets.
“We constantly talked about how we have to value the things we say we value,” Choate, Montana State’s head football coach between 2016 and 2020, remembered in November. “Meaning, if there’s a kid who’s tough, accountable, passionate about Montana State, does everything right, we have to reward that.”
The moment R.J. Fitzgerald showed up on the Montana State campus as a walk-on playing a position that’s a dying breed in college football, Choate knew the fullback from Dillon would reap many rewards.
Fitzgerald grew up in a Grizzly football family. His father, Greg, and his uncle, John, were standout linebackers from Columbus for the Grizzlies. Greg played on Montana’s 1995 national championship team while John came along a few years later.
Yet R.J. Fitzgerald joked earlier this week he doesn’t remember watching any rivalry games between the Griz and the Bobcats growing up. He was usually too busy playing for a championship of some sort and he won plenty throughout his life in Dillon.
Despite all the winning and all the statistics accumulated before college, Fitzgerald was not offered a scholarship by either the Griz or the Bobcats coming out of Beaverhead County High. Many a Dillon standout had gone to Missoula and found success for the Grizzlies. And both of Fitzgerald’s parents had gone to school at Montna. But he chose Montana State, forever altering the affiliation of his family and helping to pave the way for his younger siblings to also compete for the Bobcats. Brynley spent a season playing for Tricia Binford’s MSU women’s hoops team before transferring to Montana Western. Jace Fitzgerald is a redshirt freshman linebacker on this year’s Bobcat football team.
As a walk-on fullback from a Class A school, R.J. Fitzgerald seemed like the least likely player in his freshman class to play right away. But his toughness and his ability to continually put forth consistent, fundamental effort meant he and former Dillon classmate Troy Andersen were among four rookies (cornerbacks Tyrel Thomas & Jalen Cole were the others) who played right away during Choate’s second season in 2017.
Fitzgerald and Thomas are the only two of Montana State’s eight sixth-year seniors who played in 2017 and redshirted later in their careers, helping set up this sixth and final season.
And for the duration of his Montana State career, Fitzgerald has been the heart and soul of a Bobcat team that went from rebuilding to surging to now among the best in the United States at the FCS level.
Fitzgerald perfectly exemplifies the values and identity of what Bobcat football has become. It makes him a meaningful representative of Montana State’s No. 41 legacy number.
“I think that was a spot on selection,” said Choate, Montana State’s head coach from 2016 until 2020 and now the co-defensive coordinator at Texas. “He’s a guy who bleeds Montana and knows what that thing is all about. And he gives significance to the number. That’s the cool thing about a legacy number because if you don’t select the right person, then it doesn’t really fulfill its mission or its meaning.
“He’s the hardest working guy in the weight room, the first guy in, the last guy out. He always has a smile on his face….He loves the state of Montana and now he loves Montana State, which is pretty cool.”
Montana State enters Saturday’s rivalry game against the Grizzlies with a chance to secure the first Big Sky Conference title by the Bobcats since 2012. MSU is ranked No. 3 in the country for the second year in a row entering the final week of the regular season. The ‘Cats are 14-1 in Big Sky play under second-year head coach Brent Vigen and 21-2 against the rest of the FCS since Vigen took over.
MSU’s only two missteps? A 29-10 loss to Montana to end last year’s regular-season and a 38-10 loss to North Dakota State to halt last season’s epic playoff run. Saturday at Bobcat Stadium, with ESPN College Game Day in town, Fitzgerald and his teammates will get one more shot at the Griz. His class of sixth-year seniors were all part of three of MSU’s four straight wins over the Griz.
“Growing up as a kid in Montana, everybody dreams of playing in this rivalry,” Fitzgerald said. “Fortunately, I never watched Cat-Griz when I was growing up because the Dillon Beavers were always playing in the state championship game (laughs). So I hardly watched the football game.
“But it’s a great rivalry and it’s awesome to be a part of. Every time you go back there, I think the greatest part about it all is going back to small towns and you see the Montana flags, the Montana State flags flying and it’s just awesome.”
Saturday then is a culmination and a final shot at redemption, all at the same time. For Fitzgerald, it will have a little more meaning, not because it’s the Grizzlies on the other sideline at Bobcat Stadium but because its the last guaranteed chance he has to play in Bozeman with his teammates.
Fitzgerald has gotten a little bit more statistical shine during his senior year — he’s scored three touchdowns so far this fall — but that doesn’t come close to explain how the senior captain has contributed to MSU’s success over the last six years.
“He’s played a pivotal role in the success of this team and the overall growth, the culture we have,” fellow senior captain Ty Okada said. “Him setting the standard and holding other people accountable and emphasizing what the standard is, is what he’s done best. I can’t thank him enough on behalf of this team as a whole.”
Fitzgerald is a physical blocker who is explosive enough to flush defenders at the point of attack when blocking inside the box or setting the edge outside the line of scrimmage. He’s a more than capable ball carrier with good shiftiness with the ball in his hands. And he’s a cerebral player who’s played a variety of positions, including fullback, tailback, tight end, all while serving as an ace on special teams.
But it’s Fitzgerald’s off-season consistency, his ability to relate to the entire locker room, his toughness, his intangible ability to set the standard for the entire program that his teammates and coahes reference when describing his impact on the Bobcats.
“He’s definitely a tone setter and you saw that from the moment he got here freshman,” Montana State senior captain linebacker Callahan O’Reilly said. “There was a reason he was playing as a true freshman because he brought so much strength and energy and his passion on special teams. Being able to go down and hit someone in the mouth and set the tone, he’s made a living off that here.
“His attitude toward the weight room and his attitude doing everything the right way has been huge for us. He’s always doing the right thing and that sets the tone for our teammates and gives a great example to a lot of the younger guys on our team.”
Growing up in Dillon, Fitzgerald learned how to compete for something bigger than himself. He learned how to win. And he learned to love the game of football.
Greg and John Fitzgerald each coached high school football at various stops around Montana before Greg moved to Dillon and eventually took over as the principal of the Dillon elementary school. John still coaches and is currently the head coach at Red Lodge, a high school that has three players playing in Saturday’s rivalry game.
R.J. remembers “going to pretty much every single high school football game” on Fridays, then watching some sort of college football game on Saturdays, whether that was the Montana Western Bulldogs, another team from around the Treasure State or nationally televised contests. And on Sundays, he’d spend from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. watching the NFL, “that is, if my parents would let me.”
“We were always watching football and talking football one way or the other,” he said. “And I always wanted to be a college football player.”
By the time Fitzgerald reached high school, Dillon’s reputation as a small-school football factory was already well-established. Legendary head coach Terry Thomas led Dillon to state championships in 2000, 2003, 2005 and 2006 with a runner-up finish in 2007. The Beavers also won state titles in 2011 and 2013 with a runner-up finish in 2012.
The 2013 state title came during Fitzgerald’s freshman year. He started standing out on varsity as a sophomore and helped Dillon to the state title game three seasons in a row. The Beavers beat Butte Central 29-28 in 2014 before losing to Whitefish 17-13 in 2015. In 2016, Fitzgerald and Andersen made sure to go out on top, finishing their high school careers with a 34-17 win over Columbia Falls.
Dillon already had eight state titles in boys’ basketball before Fitzgerald’s crew came through. The Beavers lost 56-47 to Columbia Falls in the Class A state title game in 2014 and fell 61-52 to Laurel in the championship game the following year. Again, Fitzgerald, Andersen and their teammates found a way to go out on top, beating Billings Central 66-61 to claim the 2016 state title.
“I think it was a combination of great athletes and great coaches at the same time,” Fitzgerald remembered about his home town. “When we were growing up, and as kids, we’d always go to the football and basketball games, when we kind of look up to those older guys.
“And I think that was just kind of a cycle that we got into. And it was a winning culture. And people were kind of scared to play the Beavers. We’d beat a lot of teams before we even went out on the field.”
Getting raised in a small town instilled several core values within Fitzgerald. Since his father worked in education, he knew he had to set an example for his peers. And since his mother, Keeley, had a variety of jobs working in Dillon’s thriving ranching community, he got a first-hand view of basic Montana agricultural values and the way of life for many folks around Beaverhead County.
“Everyone in the community is really hard working, and they just try to do whatever it takes to get the job done,” Fitzgerald said. “And I think everyone cares about the work that they do. So I think that’s one of the things that instills in people from a young age to take pride in the work that you put in.”
As an offensive player, Fitzgerald was productive and powerful during his prep days. As a defensive player, he was one of the best linebackers in the state. The two-time first-team all-state selection was the Southwestern A Defensive MVP after rolling up 106 tackles.
The state championships, the versatility (he was also an all-state catcher for the Dillon American Legion baseball team), the competitiveness and the penchant for contact all got him attention. But at 5-foot-10 and 215 pounds (he’s up to 228 now), he didn’t really have a position other than fullback at the Division I level. And how many fullbacks are there dotting college rosters these days, anyways?
All that success stoked his hunger to keep playing football, even if he didn’t know what or where he might spend his college career playing.
“I think it’s just kind of the winning mindset that’s instilled into me from the Dillon community,” Fitzgerald said. “We always prided ourselves on having great success and not letting the people that came before us are the people that come after us down.”
Choate liked Fitzgerald’s gumption and fortitude. He also liked his chemistry and familiarity with Andersen, the gem of that 2017 recruiting class who went on to become an MSU immortal and a second round draft pick by the Atlanta Falcons.
And because Choate had B.J. Robertson, the former Montana Western head coach, as his director of high school relations with deep Dillon ties, he thought he might take a swing at recruiting the second-generation Grizzly.
“I don’t want to get too far into it but this was my opportunity, Montana State was, and I was very excited to have an opportunity to play college football,” Fitzgerald said of his recruiting.
“I think the difference was customer service,” Choate said. “I just think there was a huge difference between when R.J. visited Montana and R.J. visited Montana State. I think he felt the love and felt like that was the place to be.
“And the momentum of us getting a couple of wins against those guys and you have to remember, that was before Bobby’s (Hauck) return, and I don’t think (Bob) Stitt fully understood how important it was to take care of in-state kids.
Once he was in, he was all in. You talk about a standard there for what you want in terms of leadership, I think he and Ty are the guys that are the glue of that team and probably handle the locker room. They are just studs.
“And I know, Greg, if you were to ask him, if he had his druthers right now, and asked him where he would want his sons to play, he would tell you Montana State. That’s pretty cool.”
Fitzgerald has been around so long, he’s the only Bobcat that had ever played at the Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff, Arizona when MSU went there for the first time since 2017 to open this November. He pointed out that when he was first playing special teams and getting a few reps at fullback that year, the current freshmen at Montana State were in seventh grade.
“The amount of things he’s seen since he’s been here have been vast,” Vigen said.
He ended up playing in six games as a true freshman as MSU finished 5-6 in 2017. In 2018, Andersen moved to quarterback and Fitzgerald looked like he’d have a more prominent role playing in a backfield with a guy he spent his whole life lining up with. But Fitzgerald’s season ended after four games, costing him participation in MSU’s first playoff appearance of the Choate era. That injury also allowed the possibility for this sixth season to become a reality.
Fitzgerald returned in 2019 and was a key cog for an MSU squad that led the Big Sky Conference in rushing, marking the first time since Cal Poly and its (former) triple option offense joined the league in 2012 that any team other than the Mustangs led the league in yards per game on the ground.
Last season, Fitzgerald suffered a gruesome elbow injury that cost him four games in the meat of the campaign. But he returned to again provide grit and lead blocking as MSU mounted a run to remember, bouncing back from losing 29-10 to the Griz (Fitzgerald’s first rivalry loss) to win three playoff games in a row and surge into the national championship game for the first time since 1984.
“Of course he came back. He’s just one of those tough Dillon kids, man,” Okada said with a chuckle of admiration. “And those kids are tough as hell. We gotta keep getting kids from Dillon and small-town Montana.
It’s those sorts of examples that have endeared Fitzgerald to his (relatively) new head coach. Earlier this week, Fitzgerald called Vigen thoughtful. And Vigen echoed those sentiments about his captain.
“R.J. is a very thoughtful guy, but he’s also this tough guy, throwback, at the same time,” Vigen said. “He can play with emotion and he can feel emotion. His ties on the other side with his dad and his uncle playing over there and his mom went to school there (Montana), there’s a lot of complicating factors. But they are all Cats now.
“His perspective on what ultimately really matters has been really helpful for me. There’s a few guys where you know they just kind of get it. He’s definitely one and he is going to put a lot of thought into how he responds and answers things.
“The competitive environment, the high school program he came from in Dillon, the lessons he learned there matter. And being a kid that grew up without any doubt on one side of it and is now on the other, it’s a unique blend of so many things that spark some interesting perspectives on what’s important to Montana kids, how we recruit Montana kids, how we lead this team, how we talk about this rivalry, all of the above.
“He’s a unique one and I’m sure glad I have had the opportunity to be around him and coach him these last two years and I appreciate what he’s meant to this program.”
On Saturday, Montana State will celebrate 17 seniors, including its eight sixth-year veterans. Many of the eldest Bobcats have maximized their educational opportunities, earning bachelor’s degrees and making progress toward or even attaining master’s degrees. Fitzgerald has a degree in finance already in hand.
Other than the education, the ability to develop and grow relationships within the Bozeman community is the most impactful part of the last six years, Fitzgerald said.
“The craziest part is just how far the program and Bozeman as a community has come,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s been crazy, just with the amount of construction in Bozeman and the amount of people that are moving in. We got a whole television show now that references Bozeman, every single day and that never happened when we were first here.
“And obviously the new facility and honestly, getting to win more football games and selling out every single home game, it’s been crazy to see that change.”
MSU hardly used to get snacks. Now they get two meals a day. The Bobcats are all getting money from the NIL collective. Montana State football is riding a 17-game home winning streak, the longest in the FCS, and they have sold out Bobcat Stadium every regular-season game for two years running.
And of course, there’s the small detail of the first rivalry game in Bozeman since Choate’s Bobcats destroyed Hauck’s Grizzlies, 48-14 in 2019. Now, for the first time in his career, Fitzgerald is seeking redemption against the Grizzlies.
“It’s a huge football game,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s a 365 day game and the team that wins is looked up to for the whole year, and the team that loses is looked down to for the whole years.
“It’s awesome to have that sort of rivalry and know that college football means so much to everyone in the state of Montana.”
Wearing No. 41 and symbolizing so much of authentic Montana has helped Fitzgerald rise to a certain level of fame and recognition within the Bobcat program even if he’s only touched the ball 11 times in his career. And now he gets a chance to lead MSU against the rival Griz one last time.
“This journey has taught me a lot about getting along with people and developing relationships,” Fitzgerald said. “And then I think it’s really helped me hone in on who I am and who I want to be as a man. The character and accountability that you learned from going through college football has been awesome. And it was just one of those things that I will always cherish and cherish the memories and the teammates and coaches that I was able to play with.
“We still have all our goals out in front of us. And that starts with Saturday. It’s a huge game and we can’t wait.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez, Jason Bacaj & Blake Hempstead. All Rights Reserved.
Montana State senior captain R.J. Fitzgerald (41) leads Taco Dowler up field/ by Blake Hempstead 
Montana State fullback RJ Fitzgerald (42) in 2019 
Montana State fullback RJ Fitzgerald (42) and tight end Ryan Davis (48)/by Brooks Nuanez 
Montana State fullback RJ Fitzgerald (42) celebrates a special teams tackle in 2019/by Brooks Nuanez 
R.J. Fitzgerald/ by Jason Bacaj
