Montana State Opens Spring Camp as Champions, Vigen Preaches Humility and Hunger

Reigning FCS national champion Montana State opens spring practice Tuesday, March 24, with Brent Vigen delivering a clear mandate to a program that now carries a target on its back: stay humble, stay hungry, and do it again.

"I think if you have the right guys, which I believe we do, by and large you can shift your focus to 'let's do this again,'" Vigen said during a media availability at the Bobcat Athletic Complex in Bozeman on March 13. "You're doing everything you can to keep guys humble and hungry, and have not only coaches relaying that message, but you have players that have that as a core belief."

The five-week spring program spans 12 practices, two scrimmages, and concludes with the Sonny Holland Spring Classic on Saturday, April 25. MSU Pro Day is slotted for April 2. The first three scheduled practices fall on March 24, 26, and 27, each beginning at 7:05 a.m.

The Bobcats enter camp absorbing real roster churn. Montana State lost 10 players to the transfer portal and several more to graduation, pushing Vigen to look toward lesser-known contributors to fill the gaps. "I think we have plenty of off the radar guys that will need to emerge, and that's the exciting part about this last eight weeks of seeing young guys change physically, and how is that going to apply to spring ball," he said.

The most important returning piece is quarterback Justin Lamson, last season's FCS Newcomer of the Year and one of the central figures in the Bobcats' championship run. Lamson is back for one final season, and Vigen is not putting a ceiling on what he can become. "Justin's super hungry too," Vigen said. "He wants to chase a higher level. What is his ceiling? I don't necessarily know, but we haven't hit it yet."

On the defensive side of the ball, Montana State added Nolan Askelson to the staff as assistant defensive line coach, working under defensive coordinator Bobby Daly, who returns to Bozeman after spending last season at UTEP. Askelson is a Billings Senior High School alum and former Bobcat linebacker who capped his playing career in 2023 by leading the team with 84 tackles, eight tackles-for-loss, and two sacks while wearing the program's legacy No. 41 jersey and earning first-team All-Big Sky Conference honors. He posted 64 tackles across 11 games the year prior. In high school, he was a two-time all-state selection and won back-to-back Class AA state championships with Billings Senior in 2016 and 2017.

Vigen is clear-eyed about what defending a title demands from his program. As national champions, the Bobcats will command the full attention of every opponent on the schedule. "Whether we were getting everybody's best shot, I think we felt that (we were), but we're definitely gonna get everybody's best shot now," he said. The emergence of those under-the-radar players across the next five weeks of spring ball will go a long way toward determining whether Montana State has the depth to answer that challenge.