Defending Champion Montana State Opens Spring With Secondary Battles Ahead

The question that determines whether Montana State repeats as FCS national champions is not who starts at quarterback or whether the running game holds up. It is whether Brent Vigen can find two credible cornerbacks before the regular season arrives.

With spring practice underway in Bozeman since the week of March 24, the Bobcats launched their title-defense cycle carrying a significant hole in the secondary. Montana State must replace multiple starting cornerbacks from the 2025 championship roster, and the depth behind them entering spring is thin. Takhari Carr is the most experienced option on the roster, with last season's résumé totaling 411 snaps, 30 tackles, one interception, and four pass breakups. That production would qualify him as a solid rotational contributor on most championship defenses, not the clear answer to a two-man vacancy.

The battle map entering the Sonny Holland Spring Classic on April 25 in Bozeman breaks into three tiers. Consider the safety and nickel corps locked in. Dowler, voted a team captain last season and projected as a key defensive leader in 2026, anchors the back end alongside Tayden Gray, Bryant Meredith, and Colter Petre, each of whom logged 300 or more snaps in 2025. Four experienced defensive backs is a genuine asset; the spring challenge is stretching that experience to cover the perimeter.

Gray occupies the leaning tier at outside corner. He served as the primary nickel in 2025 with heavy slot snap totals, and his versatility makes him the most logical candidate to shift outside if internal depth at the position does not emerge. Carr holds the edge at the opposite perimeter spot based on experience alone. Arizona transfer Gianni Edwards arrives as a notable addition, though his precise role and depth-chart projection remain open questions for the spring.

The second cornerback spot is wide open, and it will not be resolved until the April 25 spring game gives Vigen's staff a live-action read on the candidates.

The interior defensive line presents a lesser but still meaningful storyline. Montana State graduated All-America-level contributors from its 2025 interior rotation, but the program's approach of cycling bodies along the line means replacements have already logged meaningful experience. Talon Marsh and Zack Black each played over 250 snaps last season and are the favorites to step into expanded starting roles. The more consequential spring question is which younger player claims the rotational spot behind them. Redshirt freshman Josaiah Asuega, who checks in at around 6-foot-4 and 305 pounds, has the frame to develop into a genuine interior force by fall.

On offense, the Bobcats carry a continuity advantage most programs chasing a repeat cannot match. Braden Zimmer started all 16 games at left tackle as a freshman in 2025, absorbed nearly 500 pass-blocking snaps, surrendered one sack and just 14 quarterback pressures, and anchored a line that drove one of the best rushing attacks in the FCS. He enters 2026 as a potential All-FCS-caliber lineman who has barely scratched his ceiling.

The blueprint for a second consecutive title is coherent: preserve defensive identity through interior line rotation, slide Gray to the perimeter if needed, and let the returning safety depth smooth the transition. Whether those answers arrive before the Sonny Holland Spring Classic on April 25, or drag into fall camp, will tell you everything about Montana State's repeat chances.