Choate leaves Montana State to join Sarkisian at Texas

Updated Jan. 28, 2021 6:34 p.m. ET

Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Montana State head coach Jeff Choate has moved to Texas to be the Longhorns' linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator under Steve Sarkisian.

The move was expected but wasn't formally announced by Texas until Thursday. Choate has spent the past four seasons as head coach at Montana State, where he led the Bobcats to the FCS playoffs in 2018 and 2019. The Bobcats made the semifinals in 2019.

As a member of the Big Sky Conference, Montana State did not play in 2020 after the league postponed the season because of the coronavirus pandemic. The league opted for a spring schedule that several schools, including Montana State, chose to skip.

Choate is the final member of the Longhorns staff under Sarkisian, who takes over after Texas fired Tom Herman after four seasons of winning football but no Big 12 championships.