Casey Bauman Emerges from First Scrimmage as Bobcats Starting Quarterback

BOZEMAN, Montana – Montana State football coachtabbed redshirt freshmanas the Bobcats' starting quarterback in advance of the team's August 31 opener at Texas Tech.Choate said that selecting a starter "a little earlier than we have" came down to doing "what's best for our team." Bauman moves into the starting role vacated bymove to Sam linebacker after a competition between him and sophomore. His only appearance last fall came against Cal Poly, which preserves his redshirt freshman status. He completed his only pass for four yards and marched the Cats into scoring position at the end of the first half."We had a meeting with both quarterbacks (Sunday), we had made a decision on who the starter is going forward, and I think that was really important in the grand scheme of things for our team. (I told them), I'm not so sure there's a huge body of work here that's going to say this, that or the other thing, but I think that's what best for our team right now is to make a call and move forward. Both of them agreed. Both felt like in fairness to (the rest of the offense), for us to start to get the reps that individual is going to need, that was important."At 6-7, Bauman is believed to be joining former Montana quarterback Brady Gustafson and one-time Northern Colorado Bear Dominic Breazeale as the tallest quarterbacks in Big Sky history. But Choate says Bauman's agility and athleticism match his height and impressive arm strength. "I just think he has a unique skill set," Choate said. "We can do some of the plus-one run game and he's going to hold up at 235 points, he runs better than you think, and her certainly has the arm talent of an elite quarterback."While the competition for starting quarterback honors is closed for now, Choate said Rovig is anything but forgotten. "Keep in mind that three of the four teams that made it to the playoffs from the Big Sky Conference last year had to use two quarterbacks to get there – Weber State and Eastern Washington and even us, we had to have two quarterbacks to get there," Choate said. "I think we're really fortunate to have two quarterbacks that our kids are confident in, that they trust."Rovig played in five games last season, starting two when Andersen was injured. He threw for 584 yards and four touchdowns, completing 42 of his 68 passes with two interceptions. Choate said Rovig handled Sunday's difficult conversation "exactly how I thought he'd handle it."Monday's practice, Choate said, reflected a sense of calm across the squad after Sunday's team meeting at which the news was announced. "I think we had one of our best practices today, and I think that was probably part of it. There aren't a lot of clouds hanging over it right now, the kids know what direction we're going, the kids are going to be supportive of Tucker, they're going to be supportive of Casey, and we've got that decision behind us. That's why I thought it was important for us to make it after the first scrimmage and not drag it out another week. We get that out of the way, we talk about it as a family, and we move forward."Bauman becomes the first redshirt freshman to open the season as the starting quarterback since current MSU running backs coachin 2010, although McGhee had no previous experience when he took the field against Fort Lewis.Choate said that at the end of the process, he learned something positive about his football team. "Here's the awesome thing about this, and the hard thing," he said. "Our guys really care about each other. I think they really care about each other. I think they really care about Tucker. They know that was hard for him, and they're going to be there so support him. That's what makes me feel best about this. This isn't dividing our team, this is uniting our team. They're going to be there for our brothers no matter what. I really sensed that (on Sunday) and I really feel proud of that."#GoCatsGo