Havre's Houim among seven MSU-N transfers
George Ferguson
Havre Daily News sports editor
gferguson@havredailynews.com
As February approaches, the college football
recruiting season is in full swing. And Montana State University-Northern head
football coach
Headlining the list are three wide receivers, including a Division I-A
dropdown, and two former
Samson has announced that former HHS wide receiver Coda Tchida
and defensive end Ricky Houim will both be in a
Lights uniform next season. Both players are members of the Havre High Class of
2005, and both were integral pieces of Havre's 2004 Class A state championship
football team. Both players were enrolled at the
Houim, who played on
the Mary junior varsity team, was an all-state defensive end his senior year
for the Blue Ponies and he also earned all-conference honors at tight end.
Samson said he intends to keep Houim on the defensive
side of the ball.
“Ricky is a strong defensive end with really good speed,” Samson said. “I think
when he gets everything down, he can be a very good
defensive player at this level.”
Tchida gives the Lights some much-needed breakaway
speed on offense, and his journey to MSU-N has already been well chronicled.
But Samson is also bringing in two other wide receivers with a wealth of
college experience, including
Although he was a walk-on at OSU, which finished last season with a 5-6 record
in the Pac-10, Bodeman saw extensive playing time in
2005 and was a backup to All-American wide receiver Mike Haas.
Bodeman also starred for two years at
“Nick Bodeman is one of the guys that we expect to
come in here and have an immediate impact on our program,” Samson said. “He has
played football at the highest collegiate level and what is so impressive about
him is his route running and his ability to get open. He is a player who fully
understands how to play his position.”
The third receiver that Samson has brought in is former
“Nick is a proven player and Josh Orcutt is a
tremendous athlete. Coda Tchida is a player we're
very happy to have,” he said. “Obviously he has tremendous speed and once he
fully learns how to run good routes, he is going to be extremely successful in
our conference.
“The thing I really like about all three of these guys is their attitude,”
Samson added. “They are all good receivers and they have come in here with a
desire to be even better, and they have very big goals. That is exciting to be
around.”
Samson is also hoping that 6-1, 282-pound offensive lineman Jeremiah Wright
will have an immediate impact on the Lights' program. Like the wide receiver
position, the offensive line is an area of need in 2006, and Wright has the
experience to step into a starting role, Samson said. Like Orcutt,
Wright is also transferring from RMC, and is originally from
“We're hoping that Jeremiah Wright can fill a void for us on the offensive
line,” Samson said. “He is a big kid and he knows how to play the position.”
Northern is also getting a familiar face in
Samson also landed running back Aaron Ingels (6-0,
195) from
“We're excited about Aaron Ingels and Cort Milks because they are both tremendous athletes,”
Samson said. “Cort also brings some experience with
him, so we expect him to step in and contribute right away.
“But in the long run I think all of these guys we're bringing in will really
help our football team,” he added. “They are already working out hard and they
all bring a great attitude of wanting to improve and get better in order to
help this team win.”
All seven of the transfers are attending the spring semester at MSU-N and will
be eligible for spring drills, which are a mere two months away. Meanwhile,
Samson is still hot on the high school recruiting trail. He expects to announce
those commitments sometime in the next few weeks.