Tyler Bruggman
Photo by: Brian Morse
Winding Path Lands Tyler Bruggman Under Center as Cats Open 2016 Thursday
8/30/2016 8:25:00 AM | Football
Bobcat signal caller faces Idaho, just down the road from where his career began
Every college football career is a unique story, a journey unlike any other. But Montana State quarterback Tyler Bruggman has travelled a path more wandering than most.
"It's definitely been a ride that I hadn't expected," Bruggman said on the eve of his first start as a Division I quarterback. "But I'm very excited to be here and can't wait to get going as a Bobcat." He leads the Bobcats into action Thursday at 7 pm MT, when Montana State faces Idaho at the ASUI Kibbie Dome in Moscow.
This moment has been long in the making, even though it begins only eight miles from where he thought it would start. After a stop-and-start recruitment that also involved his hometown Arizona State Sun Devils and several other schools, the highly-touted product of Brophy Prep School in Phoenix began at Washington State in the autumn of 2013. Ironically, one of the Cougar assistants he'd met on an earlier campus tour in Pullman – just across the Washington-Idaho border from Moscow – is his current head coach, Jeff Choate.
After a season at WSU, Bruggman transferred to Louisville for the 2014 season. But that wasn't a good fit, either, so one year later he was back home, leading Scottsdale (Ariz.) College. A productive season there led him to MSU last January.
His college career isn't what he thought it would be to this point, but it has steeled focused Bruggman. He has taken advantage of the opportunity at Montana State to enter the season as its starting signal caller, and he is unfazed even by his first game week as a Division I starter. "I just try to keep every day the same, keep it pretty steady. I just take one day at a time and focus on getting better each day."
I've taken a lot of reps since then so my familiarity with the offense and being on the same page with all the guys has improved tremendously over the last six, seven months.
The Vandals provide a stiff test. The defense awaiting Montana State's offense Thursday features six returning starters, but nearly every position on the field is occupied by a player with "significant game experience," according to MSU head coach Jeff Choate. "They're very good, very physical," Bruggman said. "They fly around defensively and they're a very good team."
Regardless of the opponent or the setting, though, Bruggman is ready to begin a new phase of his personal journey with his new teammates. "I'm excited and just ready to get going."
"It's definitely been a ride that I hadn't expected," Bruggman said on the eve of his first start as a Division I quarterback. "But I'm very excited to be here and can't wait to get going as a Bobcat." He leads the Bobcats into action Thursday at 7 pm MT, when Montana State faces Idaho at the ASUI Kibbie Dome in Moscow.
This moment has been long in the making, even though it begins only eight miles from where he thought it would start. After a stop-and-start recruitment that also involved his hometown Arizona State Sun Devils and several other schools, the highly-touted product of Brophy Prep School in Phoenix began at Washington State in the autumn of 2013. Ironically, one of the Cougar assistants he'd met on an earlier campus tour in Pullman – just across the Washington-Idaho border from Moscow – is his current head coach, Jeff Choate.
After a season at WSU, Bruggman transferred to Louisville for the 2014 season. But that wasn't a good fit, either, so one year later he was back home, leading Scottsdale (Ariz.) College. A productive season there led him to MSU last January.
His college career isn't what he thought it would be to this point, but it has steeled focused Bruggman. He has taken advantage of the opportunity at Montana State to enter the season as its starting signal caller, and he is unfazed even by his first game week as a Division I starter. "I just try to keep every day the same, keep it pretty steady. I just take one day at a time and focus on getting better each day."
I've taken a lot of reps since then so my familiarity with the offense and being on the same page with all the guys has improved tremendously over the last six, seven months.
The Vandals provide a stiff test. The defense awaiting Montana State's offense Thursday features six returning starters, but nearly every position on the field is occupied by a player with "significant game experience," according to MSU head coach Jeff Choate. "They're very good, very physical," Bruggman said. "They fly around defensively and they're a very good team."
Regardless of the opponent or the setting, though, Bruggman is ready to begin a new phase of his personal journey with his new teammates. "I'm excited and just ready to get going."
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