THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: Notes on locals with Sky ties, present and past

Byron Hout originally was going to move from defensive line coach to defensive tackle coach at Idaho State.

Then the former Lake City High and Boise State standout “moved himself,” first-year ISU coach Charlie Ragle said at the recent Big Sky Football Kickoff in Spokane.

“Now he’s going to be our director of football operations,” Ragle said. “He was going to coach D-tackles, and our DFO left, and he came to me and said he had an interest.

“Highly organized, just a hard worker,” Ragle added. “I certainly wanted to keep him (as an assistant coach), and we put him in that role.

“Love Byron — Gatorade Player of the Year in Idaho, we don’t let him forget that. He’s awesome, he’s been a boost for me, helping me. Awesome person, and just a great worker.”

A few notes on some others in the Big Sky with local ties:

THE KICKER: As a former long snapper, Aaron Best takes snappers, punters and kickers under his wing.

One of those specialists at Eastern Washington is Seth Harrison, a redshirt junior from Coeur d’Alene High.

Best, in his fifth year as the Eagles’ head coach, credits Heath Pulver, former special teams coordinator and tight ends coach, for bringing Harrison to Cheney.

“He saw the end result, like most position coaches do,” Best said. “It’s not necessarily where someone is, it’s where someone is going to be. I think Seth is strong mentally. I think he gets along with his teammates ridiculously well, so he’s not just kicking it into a net, and kicking it in a game, he associates himself with the team, I know he’s respected by his teammates.

“He was an All-American kicker a couple of years ago as a freshman. He’s got a big leg, he’s not scared of any kick, and we’re lucky to have a guy like Seth on board.”

For his Eagle career, Harrison is 24 of 33 on field goals, and his .727 accuracy ranks fifth in school history. Harrison’s 190 points are also fifth in school history. He is fourth in extra points made and attempted, going 118 of 125 in his career — including 9 of 9 PATs in last year’s 71-21 rout of Idaho.

All this despite battling assorted injuries during his time at EWU.

“I’m not quick to pull a guy based on production, that can do more harm than good,” Best said. “It’s been more some physical stuff; last year I think we had three guys kick off and kick field goals, and I think some of that was mainly due to Seth not being available physically for those games.

“Happy with him,” Best added. “Not all the way fulfilled, we’re always trying to get better … we’re ultra competitive. Up to this point he’s been our No. 1 guy, and he’ll continue to be our No. 1 guy for the foreseeable future.”

THE WEBER PAIR: Cameron Cope is a true freshman, but the 6-foot-5 graduate of Coeur d’Alene High is already making an impression in Ogden, Utah.

“Doing outstanding, and I think eventually, he’s going to be one of the best players in the league,” said Jay Hill, in his ninth season as Weber State head coach, of the projected defensive end, who disrupted many opposing passing attacks during his days as a Viking. “He continues to get bigger and bigger. … He’s extremely athletic, and I think his best football days are still in his future.”

During the recruiting process, Hill came to Coeur d’Alene and watched Cope during a basketball game his senior year, and noted he was impressed with the way Cope ran the floor and dunked, and blocked shots.

“I like them to play other sports, and I like to evaluate them doing other things,” Hill said. “At the time he was already committed to us, but it just gets me more excited about who they are, when I get to see them play.”

As for former Lakeland Hawk Ammon Munyer, he’s on the second year of a two-year mission for the LDS church, with plans to make his Weber State debut in the 2023 season.

Munyer is projected as a tight end, Hill said.

“But he’s another one of those kids that’s so big and athletic, there’s probably a lot of things he can play,” Hill said. “He can play D-line, he could maybe even grow into an O-linemen, depending on how he continues to grow.

In the recruiting process, Hill said Weber liked Munyer’s size and athleticism.

“You can’t coach size, and he had it,” Hill said.

He said he knew when Munyer signed he would be going on a mission.

“That does not scare us at all. We do (have several returned missionaries on the team),” Hill said. “We get used to knowing what they look like before, and kind of expecting what they’ll look like when they can’t come home.”

MEANWHILE, IN BOZEMAN … : Tyson Pottenger, from Coeur d’Alene High, saw limited action last fall as a true freshman at Montana State, which reached the FCS title game.

The Bobcats are looking for even bigger things from the former Viking — once he gets healthy.

“Unfortunately for Ty he had a hamstring injury pre-spring ball, so he didn’t get the traction in spring that we anticipated,” second-year Montana State coach Brent Vigen said. “He had a really good fall — he played in a few games. He was right there; in that playoff run, if one guy goes down, he’s in, and we felt good about it. It was unfortunate that he couldn’t capitalize on that in the spring. But he’s healthy, and he’s had a good summer, and he’s going to be in the mix in the secondary.”

Right now, the Bobcats have him as a backup at free safety.

“We return our starter at free safety,” Vigen said, “but Ty will be involved in everything moving forward, and be big on special teams this year.”

As head coach, Vigen replaced Jeff Choate, the former St. Maries High star, and former Post Falls High football coach and athletic director, who returned Montana State to prominence in his four seasons in Bozeman.

Often when there’s a coaching change, the new coach brings in an entirely new staff, but that wasn’t the case in Bozeman. And the new coach was able to connect with the old coach about the team.

“I retained, initially, seven of the 10 assistants, so it wasn’t too complicated. I replaced both coordinators,” Vigen said. “I had a couple conversations with Jeff, regarding generalities more than anything.”

How much help was Choate?

“(Mostly) his thoughts on the coaching staff, and certainly some players, and the state of the program,” Vigen said. “He still has a son (Jory, a senior linebacker) on the team, so I see him now more as a dad than a former coach, honestly. I think it’s been neat for him to see Jory make his own way, and not be a coach’s son, and just be Jory Choate. He’s got one year left with us.

“We’ve conversed several times since,” Vigen said of Choate.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @CdAPressSports.