By Danny Waldo
The stands may sit empty and the field lies covered in snow, but new Bobcat head football coach, Jeff Choate has already secured his first victories of the 2016 season, including one over his new rival, the Montana Grizzlies. How is this possible you may ask. Simple. With the new staff that Coach Choate has brought in, the Bobcats will be winning recruiting wars for Montana’s top kids for years to come. Not to mention, the defense should see considerable improvement, thanks to the pilfering of new defensive coordinator, Ty Gregorak, from the University of Montana, as well. Grizzlies fans may be acting like the broken-hearted girlfriend who was recently dumped, claiming Gregorak wasn’t that good, and they are actually glad to see him go, but that’s just their emotions getting in the way of common sense. Since coming to Missoula over a decade ago, Gregorak has presided over some of the top linebackers in Big Sky Conference history, including two currently playing in the NFL, Brock Coyle and Jordan Tripp, in addition to leading some of the stingiest defenses in the league, as well. Yeah, he’s not that good. Truth be told, the snatching of Gregorak from the backyard of the Bobcats’ hated rival is a major coup and could have profound impacts on both the Bobcats and the Grizzlies in the immediate future. As if getting Gregorak wasn’t a big enough deal, Choate has also brought in two of the most successful coaches in the Frontier Conference, a league held in high regards in the NAIA ranks. Former Montana-Western coach BJ Robertson, and former Rocky Mountain College head man Brian Armstrong both have agreed to assistant coaching positions with the Bobcats. Robertson just finished his third season in Dillon, taking a struggling program to a Top 15 ranking this season. He is regarded as a player’s coach and has strong recruiting ties across the state of Montana. One of his primary duties for the Bobcats will be Director of High School Relations, serving as a conduit between the ‘Cats and high school coaches around the state. Armstrong and Choate have a long history, beginning when Armstrong was an All-American offensive lineman at Western while Choate was serving as student-assistant. The two also spent two seasons on Mick Dennehy’s staff at Utah State. Armstrong will be in charge of the offensive line. Other additions to Choate’s staff in Bozeman include former Montana Gatorade Player of the Year and Boise State standout receiver, Matt Miller, who will coach the receivers, Gerald Alexander, another Boise State product and recent Indiana State secondary coach, will coach the Bobcat secondary, and Courtney Messingham, the former Iowa State offensive coordinator, will hold the same position at MSU. The new additions, along with retained Bobcat coaches, Kane Ioane, Michael Pitre and Bo Beck, round out Choate’s first staff at MSU. Choate has indicated that he hopes to get the whole staff together for the first time during the first week of January. Profiles of all of Montana State’s new assistant football coaches can be found online at www.msubobcats.com. Danny Waldo is a local freelance writer covering Bozeman Hawk and Montana State Bobcat athletics. When he’s not writing about sports, he’s watching sports, coaching sports, or playing sports. Contact Danny at bozemansports@gmail.com. •
