Jeff Choate

This wasn’t a passing of the torch. That had already happened 10 months earlier when Brent Vigen was hired to succeed Jeff Choate as the head coach at Montana State. Instead, the moment when Vigen and Choate embraced on the field at Bobcat Stadium following MSU’s 31-17 victory over South Dakota State on Dec. 18, which clinched the program’s first national title game berth in 37 years, was symbolic of one man’s foundational goals being augmented and carried toward the finish line by the other.

BILLINGS — This wasn’t a passing of the torch. That had already happened 10 months earlier when Brent Vigen was hired to succeed Jeff Choate as the head football coach at Montana State. Instead, the moment when Vigen and Choate embraced on the field at Bobcat Stadium following...

There are now some very high-profile job openings around the country, and the Texas football program looks to have some candidates in the mix. New Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian put together a solid coaching staff with a group of assistants that had very polished resumes before they were hired to join this football program.

After an impressive play, Willie Patterson received a fist bump from his coach. With another standout showing, Patterson earned a high-five. This spring, the Montana State wide receiver thought he was making progress with those gestures. This was the first chance he had to prove himself after Brent Vigen became the head coach in February. During the tenure of previous Bobcats head coach Jeff Choate, Patterson might have received an emphatic hug and a slap on the helmet if he made one of those plays.