Northwestern University Athletics
The Skip Report: Montre Hartage
8/18/2016 1:44:00 PM | Football
By Skip Myslenski
NUsports.com Special Contributor
Ten things to know about Northwestern sophomore Montre Hartage, who just recently got thrust into the spotlight. . .
1) That happened when junior Keith Watkins II, who was slated to start at right corner opposite Matthew Harris, suffered a season-ending knee injury even before the 'Cats reached Camp Kenosha. Hartage succeeded him in that role and, though there is no guarantee he will be there come the Wildcats' season opener, he is now most-certainly the leader in the clubhouse.
2) He learned of his ascension from Harris, who called him over as Hartage was about to enter the team's training room. "Heard about Keith?" Harris asked him here.
"No," answered Hartage.
"He tore his ACL," informed Harris. "I'm going to need you to be the man for the second corner over there."
"All right," Hartage replied.
"I talked to Keith. It was a very emotional thing," Hartage now recalls. "But I know it's an opportunity that presented itself and I have to fulfill the role, do it for my teammates."
3) The first person he called after receiving the news was his father, a former military man who did a few years in the Army. "He broke it down for me step-by-step, how to approach things," remembers Hartage. "He knows how to adjust to certain things, certain adversities. You've just got to be the next man up. You've got to step into that role and be the man."
4) He hails from the tiny southern-Georgia town of Cordele (pop., 11,147), which calls itself the Watermelon Capital of the World and annually holds a festival celebrating that fruit. But back in November of 1864 Joseph E. Brown, the state's Civil War governor, temporarily established it as his its capital to escape William Tecumseh Sherman's destructive March To The Sea.
5) Despite its modest size, Cordele was also the birthplace of T.J. Jackson, an All American receiver at Illinois in the first half of the '60s; of Tree Rollins, the former NBA center; and of Jody Powell, the White House press secretary during the administration of Jimmy Carter.
6) Hartage, like Rollins, starred at Crisp County High School, and he was on the NU radar during the recruiting process. But they had no scholarship to offer him, and he committed to Georgia Southern, and defensive end Zach Allen decommitted from the 'Cats, and, remembers Hartage, "It was kind weird. I just got out of church and I got a call from my head coach. He was like, 'Hey, I just got off the phone with Coach Fitz (Pat Fitzgerald). He's about to offer you. By the way. It was the day before Signing Day. I was like, 'This is the opportunity I've been waiting for. I've got to embrace this opportunity and take advantage of it.' So, pretty much, I got the call from Fitz, I made the best decision and enrolled here."
"We would have recruited him a little bit more vocally, I guess you'd say, if we knew we had a scholarship available. One became available, which changed it," explains Fitzgerald, and then he says this when asked what the 'Cats liked about Hartage. "Really explosive. Great top-end speed. Very dynamic. Last year comes in and plays as a true freshman. I think that speaks volumes about who he is. Now he's a sophomore with experience. He's a sophomore with a lot of experience. He probably got close to 300 game reps. He's been out there quite a bit."
7) Back on Aug. 9, at a team meeting, sixth-year defensive lineman C.J. Robbins got up and talked, Hartage would recall, "About mentality and about being a dog, someone who grinds, someone who's gritty." So it is revelatory that Hartage, when asked why he thinks he got on the field as a true freshman, says, "When I came in, I had a little grit about me. I wanted to play. I don't know if it's a Southern thing. But I took a lot of pride in everything I did, so whenever I got on the field, I showed to the best of my ability."
"His athleticism and his discipline," says Harris when asked what about Hartage most struck him on first sighting. "He's a great player, probably one of the smoothest guys on the field. He just loves the game of football. That's definitely good to see. And he's fast. He reminds me of myself when I was young. He's just real eager, ready to play."
8) It is little wonder, then, that this pair bonded early last year, and that their relationship grew as the season progressed. "He's a positive guy. He shows great character," Hartage says when asked what he draws from Harris. "Anything he does, he shows great character. He's just a great guy to look up to. Academic-wise. He's a great guy on the field, off the field— he's just one of those guys you've got to look up to."
Yet Harris demurs when asked what advice, what guidance he has given Hartage since Walkins' injury. "Honestly," he says instead, "Montre, Alonzo (Mayo, a redshirt freshman corner), all of our young guys, they really come in and they work. So they make it easy on me. They know what they're doing coming in. They worked every day trying to be in that (starter's) spot even when he (Watkins) was on the field. If they need any guidance, I'm here for them. I know what it was like to be in their shoes, to have the lights on them on the big stage. But, really, I'm just here for comfort. I know their abilities. They can make plays when they need to. I have full confidence in them when they're on the field. So they make my job easy."
9) Hartage played last season at 6-foot, 180 pounds. Now he weighs in at 195. "I knew I had to get bigger and stronger and faster," he says.
10) He is under the spotlight now, but, no. Montre Hartage says he did not feel any pressure when Matthew Harris told him he needed him to be the second corner. "It's something I like to hear," he instead says. "I like the challenge. Plus, Matt has been like my big brother. I look up to Matt. So if I can do anything to help my teammates, help my big brother, that's like family right there. So I've stepped up to the challenge. I'm willing to do anything."
••••••
Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook, check us out on Instagram, visit our Social Media page and download our mobile app from the Apple Store and Google Play! To get involved with the #B1GCats, become a season-ticket holder or join the Wildcat Fund!
