By Danny Waldo
Less than one month on the job, and new Montana State Bobcat head coach Jeff Choate has already made headlines in the recruiting game, landing a state Gatorade Player of the Year, as well as a pair of FBS transfers.
When Jeff Choate was given the title of head coach in December, one of his missions was to land the top talent in the state of Montana, and after receiving a commitment from Bozeman Hawk, Balue Chapman, the 2015 Gatorade Player of the Year, Choate is well on his way to accomplishing that feat. But for Montana State to win on the national level, they must bring in top-level talent from out of state too, and Choate has accomplished that feat with the signing of a pair of FBS transfers in Tyler Bruggman and Alex Neale. Bruggman is a 6-2, 190 junior quarterback from Phoenix, AZ via Scottsdale Community College, and Neale is a 6-3, 290 sophomore from Duvall, WA via UNLV. Bruggman was a highly recruited signal-caller out of the greater Phoenix area who began his collegiate career at Washington State of the PAC-12. As a prepster, Bruggman was rated the 18th best quarterback prospect in the nation, and ESPN.com rated him the No. 2 overall recruit, and top quarterback in the state of Arizona. After redshirting his first year in Pullman, Bruggman transferred to fellow FBS member Louisville before ultimately landing back in the Grand Canyon State at Scottsdale last season. Bruggman’s high school resume is quite impressive, including Phoenix Metro Player of the Year honors as a junior, as well as Division I section III Player of the Year as a senior. In three years as the starting quarterback at Brophy Prep, Bruggman threw for 6,604 yards and 81 touchdowns against just 16 interceptions.
Last season at Scottsdale Community College, Bruggman’s first extensive action in two years, he threw for 1,692 yards with 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions. With the loss of Dakota Prukop, MSU’s record-setting quarterback last season, to Oregon, Bruggman figures to come in and compete right away for the Bobcat’s starting quarterback. MSU has three QBs currently on the roster in redshirt freshman Jordan Hoy and true freshman Ben Folsom and Brady McChesney. While Neale may not be as heralded a recruit as Bruggman, he very well could end up being just as important. Montana State loses three starting lineman in Alex Eekhoff, John Weidenaar and Kyle Godecke, as well as fellow senior Joel Horn. Neale brings instant experience after appearing in five games for the Runnin’ Rebels last season as a true freshman. Neale earned a three-star rating from 247Sports and Scout coming out of Eastside Catholic in Washington state, where he earned First Team All-State, All-Area and All-District offensive lineman on Eastside’s state championship team. His high school coach is former Montana State assistant, Jeremy Thielbahr. Bruggman has signed a National Letter of Intent, while Neale has signed a financial aid agreement, and both figure to be in Bozeman when classes begin for the second semester, making both of them eligible to compete in spring practices beginning in March.
Danny Waldo is a local freelance writer covering Bozeman Hawk and Montana State Bobcat athletics. When Danny is not writing about sports, he is watching, coaching or playing them. Contact Danny at bozemansports@gmail.com. •
