Jerome Souers speaks at his first Frontier Conference Media Day

A reminder that the college football season is fast approaching is the Frontier Conference Media Day where football coaches from across the conference share their expectations for the fall. On Tuesday at the Hilton Garden Inn in Great Falls, the Frontier Conference Media Day took place, including the first for new Montana State University-Northern head coach Jerome Souers.

The conference started with Frontier Conference commissioner Kent Paulson introducing the coaches and even welcoming Souers to the conference and acknowledging Souers' notable work at other colleges such as Northern Arizona University. After five other coaches spoke, Souers went up the podium to talk about how it felt to join the Frontier Conference.

"(It's) clearly one of the more competitive conferences in the country at any level," Souers said. "We are embarking on a great challenge to be a part of this conference and to redirect the fortunes of the program at Montana State University-Northern."

Souers went on to talk about leaving the Southern Oregon University football program and how he heard about the opening at MSU-N. The Lights had just gone 1-10 in 2021 and Souers wanted to return to Montana, so it was a great opportunity.

"We're not done yet and it's time to take on the challenge of a lifetime," Souers said.

He talked more about forming a coaching staff after he took the job. He talked about how he wanted his coaching staff to build a culture that not only makes a good football team but one that makes an impact on the community.

"We intend to be, like the other programs here, a transformational program that deals with academic success as well as athletics success and reestablishing our role in the community," Souers said. "We've had a strong community outreach this spring in developing the principles that make up a great football program."

Souers talked about the challenges he had once he met with his players. He spent six weeks with his players before going over drills or anything like that as he was working to establish the culture he wanted. But a bigger challenge for Souers was that he only had 20 players to work with at the first meeting.

As he tried to build the roster, Souers and his staff were working from behind as signing day had already passed. He eventually signed 20 players, with 15 of them coming from Montana which will be a focus for his program. While they have not gotten the top recruits, Souers got recruits that he believes will set the tone for his program.

"We really went for guys that have strong character and that are going to be future leaders of the programs," Souers said. "Maybe not as tall, maybe not as big but they're big in (heart)."

With the players they do have, Souers talked about what they were able to do in spring ball. Since they did not have enough players to run 11-on-11 drills, Souers focused on working on the fundamentals of the game with the players he had.

"We spent the whole spring blocking, tackling, throwing, catching, ball security, pursuit angles and all the fundamentals that are required of a great team," Souers said.

Souers talked more about the players who had been working with over the summer. He then talked more about establishing the culture and working with the community. He also talked about working with players to get them to better connect with one another.

Souers then talked about his first time in Havre. In 1986, he just made a 24-hour stop in Havre but the town made an immediate impact on him that he could not forget.

"I fell in love with the people and it has always stuck with me. That small town rural community that can bring that support to a university and a healthy football program," Souers said. "I think the people of the Hi-Line are hungry for that so it's our intent to build the program that they'll fall in love with."

He talked more about building his program with players from Montana who can play through any type of weather. He then talked about how the roster is now at 60 players and then talked about the development of Tilleman Field. Souers ended his press conference by further talking about his enthusiasm for joining the Frontier Conference and coming to Montana.

"We're excited to be a part of the Frontier Conference, we're looking forward to the challenge of a lifetime and to compete against these great coaches here," Souers said. "I am happy to be back in the state of Montana. It's been absolutely fantastic. The people are phenomenal and I've always had an affinity for the people that have lived in Montana."

After all the coaches spoke, the Frontier Conference Preseason Coaches Poll was released. Montana Western was picked to win the conference this fall with 43 total points and four first-place votes. Last season, the Bulldogs tied for first in the conference with a 7-3 conference record.

Tied for second in the poll were Carroll College and Rocky Mountain College with 37 points each. Carroll College earned three first-place votes in the poll. Rocky Mountain College finished tied for first last season with a 7-3 record while Carroll finished fourth with a 6-4 record.

College of Idaho came in fourth in the poll with 33 points and one first-place vote. The Yotes finished tied for first last season in the conference with a 7-3 record. Fifth in the poll was Montana Tech with 30 points. The Orediggers finished fifth last season with a 5-5 record.

Eastern Oregon came in sixth in the poll with 19 points while Southern Oregon was seventh with 17 points. MSU-N came in last in the poll with eight points. While the Lights came last in the poll, Souers enjoyed his first media day in the Frontier Conference. As he got to know the other coaches in the conference better, he saw what the Lights need to become and what they need to overcome to reach those goals.

"There are really quality coaches across the board and they're really established and that's how you can tell the competitiveness of the conference every year," Souers said. "We want to be a program that can achieve those heights and that's going to take some time."

Frontier Conference Preseason Coaches Poll

Montana Western (4) 43 points

Carroll College (3) 37 points

Rocky Mountain College 37 points

College of Idaho (1) 33 points

Montana Tech 30 points

Eastern Oregon 19 points

Southern Oregon 17 points

MSU-Northern 8 points