By Danny Waldo
New head coach Jeff Choate continued his quest to add talent and depth to his first Montana State football squad, signing 11 new recruits, including seven players from the state of Montana.
Choate added good balance to his squad by adding five offensive players, five defensive players and one special teams ace. Of the five offensive players, three played quarterback in high school, led by Kamden Brown, a Covina, California recruit who threw for 2,749 yards and 31 touchdowns in leading his squad to a 12-2 record last fall. MSU is short on quarterback depth after the transfers of Dakota Prukop and Jordan Hoy off of last season’s squad. MSU also added depth on the offensive line, signing a pair of big men, including Luke Channer who was an all-conference performer this past fall at Corvallis High School in Corvallis, MT.
Choate and crew also added some beef to the defensive line, an area Choate identified as a need, by signing a couple of in-state recruits to man the trenches. Linemen Denver Krone earned all-state honors on offense and defense at Augusta High, and Kyle Murack was a standout at Conrad High School.
The Bobcats also looked to the future in special teams by locking up talented kicker, Gabriel Peppenger of Missoula Sentinel, who was the Class AA All-State kicker last fall, and is expected to compete for varsity action early in his Bobcat career.
MSU has wrapped up its spring practices, and the team is officially off until fall camp starts in August. However, several players participate in non-mandatory skill and lifting sessions.
