BOZEMAN — Montana State’s offense lost one of its most explosive weapons to the defensive side of the ball this season as starting quarterback Troy Andersen is headed to linebacker. But there is one player who is going to get a much bigger role because of it.
Sophomore running back Isaiah Ifanse had the best season for a true freshman in Montana State history, rushing for 1,025 yards on nearly 200 attempts. Bobcats head coach Jeff Choate knows that Ifanse is the real deal and with an offense that implements a run-first philosophy, Ifanse will be getting the ball much more this year.
“He’s a guy whose freshman year got overlooked by Troy (Andersen), and clearly Troy is an exceptional player and did some amazing things for us,” said Choate. “But when you really look at the body of work, they’ve been playing football here for 120-something years and this guy rushed for more yards as a true freshman than anybody else. Ever.”
Ifanse, a Bellevue, Washington native, isn’t going to get complacent. He has goals to cement himself as the best running back in Bobcat history.
“He’s also a guy that I think is driven. You ask him and he’s like, ‘No, I want to own every record, every record,'” said Choate. “And he’s poised to do that. He’s in the right place, we rushed the ball 533 times last year.”
