Jeff Choate took over as Montana State’s head coach in December of 2015. More than half a year passed before MSU’s 32nd head coach mingled with his new field of Big Sky Conference competitors.
Choate first immersed himself into the Big Sky at the Big Sky Kickoff, the league’s annual media days in Park City, Utah in July of last summer. Choate has crossed paths with several coaches currently leading teams in the league, from Portland State’s Bruce Barnum to Weber State’s Jay Hill to Sacramento State’s Jody Sears.
The star players brought by each league school were a different story. As Choate scanned the room at the Marriott Hotel in Park City, he noticed the height and girth of several of the 13 players in attendance. One particular player caught his eye: Weber State senior outside linebacker Tre’von Johnson.
“He looks like the mannequin wearing the Bobcat jersey out in front of our offices,” Choate joked on Monday morning. “He’s put together. “
WSU linebacker Tre’Von Johnson/by Brooks Nuanez
As Choate navigates his first football season in the Big Sky, he is steadily devising the lay of the land in the league. When he inserted the film this week to begin preparation for his team’s game at Weber State on Saturday afternoon, Johnson popped off the screen just as he caught Choate’s attention three months before.
“I’m going to tell you right now, this 23, that guy can play probably just about anywhere,” Choate said. “He is a big-time player.
“As far as dudes I’ve seen on film defensively in this conference right now – I haven’t watched everybody very, very close — but he’s the one guy who stands out to me as probably the best overall player on the defensive side. He has a lot of versatility. They will put him on the edge and rush the passer with him, they will put him in the box. They will drop him into coverage.”
Johnson, a fourth-year senior from Salt Lake City, looks the part and plays it as well. Johnson was a second-team All-Big Sky selection at outside linebacker last season after helping Weber to its first winning record since 2010. Johnson rolled up 9.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and two forced fumbles as Weber won five league games thanks in large part to the best total defense statistically in the conference.
This season, Johnson’s role has been accentuated to a greater degree with junior two-time All-Big Sky inside linebacker Emmett Tela on the shelf with a knee injury. In Tela’s absence, Johnson has led Weber’s defense by consistently producing. He has 47 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and two pass breakups for a Weber State defense that leads the league in pass defense and is giving up 17.3 points per game during its first three-game winning streak in six years.
WSU linebacker Tre’Von Strong (23) vs. NAU in 2015/by Rob Casey
“Based on what the NFL scouts tell me, he can play at that level and he flies around and makes a lot of plays,” Weber State third-year head coach Jay Hill said. “He has to work on continuing honing in on his game. But Tre’von is a very good player. He’s talented, he can run, he can hit, he’s physical. I’m very pleased with the way he’s playing right now.”
Johnson’s teammates praise his pre-game routine and preparation, saying Johnson’s prodigious athleticism and impressive size is only part of the whole puzzle. Weber senior All-Big Sky offensive guard Cameron Young has battled with Johnson in practice for most of the last three seasons and said Johnson’s ability to see things in real time give him a real edge.
“His pre-snap knowledge and what he does with that before the snap, he knows all the possibilities and all the things that are coming and how to react very quickly,” said Young, a second-team All-Big Sky selection last season and a member of the Big Sky’s preseason all-league team entering this season. “He knows what to do before every snap.”
Weber State strong safety Josh Burton has played behind Johnson the last three seasons. He has seen Johnson chase down ball carriers in the backfield often — Johnson has 21.5 tackles for loss in his career entering Saturday’s contest — but he said he has also seen Johnson spill blockers at the line of scrimmage as well as anyone in the league.
“I know when he plays, he’s going to do his job regardless,” said Burton, who notched 16 tackles in WSU’s 14-10 win over Portland State last week. “During the week, I know Tre is watching enough film, I know that Tre is preparing the right way. I know Tre is doing the right things on and off the field. Playing with a guy like that, you just have so much trust in him that you really don’t have to worry about him.”
WSU linebacker Tre’Von Strong (23)by Rob Casey
Johnson moved from playing next to Burton — former WSU head coach Jody Sears brought Johnson in as a 6-foot-1, 190-pound safety — to in front him in 2014. Johnson was just an honorable mention All-Region selection at Hunter High as a defensive back, but scored 11 touchdowns on just 98 carries his senior prep season as a physical running back. Still, he saw action in 12 games as a true freshman at safety in 2013, piling up 39 tackles and two tackles for loss, including a season-high 10 in WSU’s season-ending win over Idaho State, the Wildcats’ second win of the season.
Hill took over for Sears before the 2014 season and promptly had a conversation with Johnson about moving up a level in the defense and emphasizing his nose for the football by playing him in the box.
“I always liked to hit,” Johnson said at the Big Sky Kickoff. “I never wanted to be the post guy at safety. NEVER. When Coach Hill came in, we sat down and I asked him what he saw my future at football in. He told me I could be a great outside linebacker and I was like, ‘Let’s do it.’ I believe in everything that is Coach Hill’s word. He told me I would be a good outside linebacker and I took advantage.”
Midway through his senior season, Johnson is currently ranked among the top 60 linebacker prospects in college football according to NFL Draft Scout. Scouts have frequented Weber State practices over the last few seasons. The NFL exposure has brought success to Weber State players before. Defensive back Devontae Johnson earned a spot with the Atlanta Falcons in the off-season. Tre’von Johnson hopes the next Wildcat to get a chance to play on Sundays is him.
“I have a couple of teams that have asked about me so I will just pursue that as long as I can,” Johnson said. “You have to give it up sometime but not for awhile.
“I believe I’m strong enough and I believe I can move better than any linebacker with my speed and size. And I’m physical. The NFL likes guys who will go in there and blow it up. I can make every tackle but I will also knock down the lineman so the next guy can make the tackle. That’s going to help me. That will help me get looks at the next level.”
Choate said Weber State will be the most physical, “in your face” defense Montana State has faced yet this season. Burton and All-Big Sky cornerback Taron Johnson provide Weber with the athleticism to play press man coverage for the duration of a game while defensive linemen line McKay Murphy and Cardon Malan give the Wildcats the ability to pressure the quarterback. But the catalyst for the whole unit is Johnson.
“It’s one thing to understand where he is at and to get him blocked but once you get him blocked, you have to keep him blocked,” Montana State offensive line coach Brian Armstrong said. “He runs to the football and he gets there in a bad mood. We have to know where he is at all the time.”
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