BOZEMAN — As Monday's practice wrapped for Montana State, which is in its second week of fall camp, the team gathered around new university president Brock Tessman, who gave a pep talk.
A former collegiate athlete himself, Tessman ran track at Brown and Colorado and was able to pull from his own experience and relate it to the players.
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"I was a track athlete in college, that was my deal, but the core part of being a student-athlete (is) this brotherhood that you have, I do know that," said Tessman, who is replacing Waded Cruzado as head of the university. "My lifelong friends, those were the guys I met through my college track experience."
He also ended his speech with saying, "Y'all got to beat the damn Grizzlies," as the players cheered.
Bobcats coach Brent Vigen appreciates Tessman's effort to get to know the football program, and what it means to the community.
"He wants to push our university forward, and in some way the football program is a part of that," Vigen explained. "So, you know, I think his willingness to come over here and address our guys means a lot to them. Here’s our new leader, following up a great leader, and it’s apparent he wants to do the same things and then some."
Troy Taylor also paid a visit to camp on Monday. He’s been connected with Vigen since his time in the Big Sky Conference coaching Sacramento State, and he most recently was the head coach at Stanford where he worked with MSU transfer quarterback Justin Lamson.
"Coach Taylor messaged me back in the mid-summer and wanted to come out, and I said absolutely," Vigen said. "We had a chance to interact a couple times through our media day opportunities. We didn’t play him in our two years we overlapped in the league. I have a great deal of respect for what he did at Sacramento State and getting that opportunity at Stanford."
As for the remainder of this week, it’s one that Vigen said will determine which players really break through to earn starting roles or higher spots on the depth chart.
"I know we have a lot of hungry players because we do have a lot of opportunity that is wide open," he said. "This is a big week to see the type of progress we make from Monday and where we’re at by the end of the week on Saturday. Six practices in a row, they’re all going to pile on each other, and guys are going to start to separate, there’s no question about that."
