Jason Eck brings a championship pedigree to Montana State
Jason Eck Assumes Control of Bobcat Offensive Line
3/7/2015 12:09:00 PM | Football
Veteran coach follows McEndoo as MSU O-line coach with Rose Bowl pedigree
Jason Eck, a member of Wisconsin's 1998 Rose Bowl team who has risen progressively through college football coaching ranks, will join the Montana State football staff in charge of the offensive line, Bobcat head coach Rob Ash announced Saturday.
Eck comes to Montana State from Minnesota State, where in his two seasons the Mavericks won the Northern Sun Championship each year and advanced to the NCAA Division II Championship Game in 2014. Eck's two offenses at Minnesota State – he was offensive coordinator as well as line coach – compiled over 10,000 yards (379.3 per game) and averaged 41.7 points a contest.
Ash likes Eck's depth of experience. "The thing that stands out about Jason is his versatility," Ash said. "He is a very skilled O-line technician, but he's a coordinator-level coach, having taken his team last year to the Division II national championship game. He brings some elements of tactics and strategy into the offensive staff room. But he's an O-line guy, he's coached the O-line his entire career, that's his specialty."
Eck replaces long-time Bobcat assistant coach Jason McEndoo, who recently accepted a similar position at Oklahoma State. In McEndoo's 12 seasons, the Bobcats won five Big Sky Championships and his offensive line produced seven All-Americas and 11 First Team All-Big Sky selections. He leaves behind five players who have started for the Bobcats, including two all-league players.
"The offensive linemen are still adjusting to this, they really are. Most of the other positions have gone through a coaching change during their careers, but the offensive line has been solid as a rock. Mac recruited those guys, he's the only voice they've ever heard (as a college position coach). This has staggered them somewhat."
While recognizing the difficulty of the transition in the coming weeks and months, MSU offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey sees Eck as the perfect salve to help MSU's productive offensive line move forward. "The biggest challenge he'll have coming here is earning the trust of the players," Cramsey said. "The O-line guys have a strong allegiance to Coach Mac and are very concerned about who the next guy is. In the long run it will be good for the offensive line because, one, he's an outstanding coach, and two, sometimes it's better to hear things from different people sometimes."
Cramsey, engineered Montana State's record-setting 2014 offense, said Eck brings technical coaching skills and great experience to the Bobcat program. "He's coached at all different levels, he has coordinator experience. I've known Jason for years and we've talked about ball for an hour, two hours at a time a lot of different times. He has great ideas and it's going to be fun having him in the (offensive staff) room."
Eck's coaching career began as an offensive graduate assistant at his alma mater (1999-2001), and he held a similar position at Colorado (2002-03). Since then, he has spanned the continent. He coached the offensive line (2004-05) at Idaho (2004-05), Winona (Minn.) State (2007-08), Ball State (2009-10), Hampton (2011) and Western Illinois (2011-12) before moving to Minnesota State. Additionally, he coached tight ends at Idaho in 2006, and picked up offensive coordinator duties at Winona State (co-coordinator, 2008) and Minnesota State (2014).
According to Cramsey, getting Eck up to speed will be a natural progression. "We do a lot of cool stuff in our offense," he said with a laugh, "but up front you still have to get the other guys blocked. Our cool stuff is in the back end. Jason's worked in a lot of systems similar to ours. Changing terminology comes with it, but he'll be fine. I'm excited to have him on board."
Eck is expected to be at MSU before the team's first spring football practice on March 17. The LaCrosse, Wisc., native, graduated from Wisconsin in 1999 with a psychology degree, and also earned a master's degree in business. He and his wife Kimberly have three children.
Eck comes to Montana State from Minnesota State, where in his two seasons the Mavericks won the Northern Sun Championship each year and advanced to the NCAA Division II Championship Game in 2014. Eck's two offenses at Minnesota State – he was offensive coordinator as well as line coach – compiled over 10,000 yards (379.3 per game) and averaged 41.7 points a contest.
Ash likes Eck's depth of experience. "The thing that stands out about Jason is his versatility," Ash said. "He is a very skilled O-line technician, but he's a coordinator-level coach, having taken his team last year to the Division II national championship game. He brings some elements of tactics and strategy into the offensive staff room. But he's an O-line guy, he's coached the O-line his entire career, that's his specialty."
Eck replaces long-time Bobcat assistant coach Jason McEndoo, who recently accepted a similar position at Oklahoma State. In McEndoo's 12 seasons, the Bobcats won five Big Sky Championships and his offensive line produced seven All-Americas and 11 First Team All-Big Sky selections. He leaves behind five players who have started for the Bobcats, including two all-league players.
"The offensive linemen are still adjusting to this, they really are. Most of the other positions have gone through a coaching change during their careers, but the offensive line has been solid as a rock. Mac recruited those guys, he's the only voice they've ever heard (as a college position coach). This has staggered them somewhat."
While recognizing the difficulty of the transition in the coming weeks and months, MSU offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey sees Eck as the perfect salve to help MSU's productive offensive line move forward. "The biggest challenge he'll have coming here is earning the trust of the players," Cramsey said. "The O-line guys have a strong allegiance to Coach Mac and are very concerned about who the next guy is. In the long run it will be good for the offensive line because, one, he's an outstanding coach, and two, sometimes it's better to hear things from different people sometimes."
Cramsey, engineered Montana State's record-setting 2014 offense, said Eck brings technical coaching skills and great experience to the Bobcat program. "He's coached at all different levels, he has coordinator experience. I've known Jason for years and we've talked about ball for an hour, two hours at a time a lot of different times. He has great ideas and it's going to be fun having him in the (offensive staff) room."
Eck's coaching career began as an offensive graduate assistant at his alma mater (1999-2001), and he held a similar position at Colorado (2002-03). Since then, he has spanned the continent. He coached the offensive line (2004-05) at Idaho (2004-05), Winona (Minn.) State (2007-08), Ball State (2009-10), Hampton (2011) and Western Illinois (2011-12) before moving to Minnesota State. Additionally, he coached tight ends at Idaho in 2006, and picked up offensive coordinator duties at Winona State (co-coordinator, 2008) and Minnesota State (2014).
According to Cramsey, getting Eck up to speed will be a natural progression. "We do a lot of cool stuff in our offense," he said with a laugh, "but up front you still have to get the other guys blocked. Our cool stuff is in the back end. Jason's worked in a lot of systems similar to ours. Changing terminology comes with it, but he'll be fine. I'm excited to have him on board."
Eck is expected to be at MSU before the team's first spring football practice on March 17. The LaCrosse, Wisc., native, graduated from Wisconsin in 1999 with a psychology degree, and also earned a master's degree in business. He and his wife Kimberly have three children.
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