Daily Trainer #9: Rookies Aid Bobcat Cause
8/24/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
On the football field or away from it, Montana State quarterback Travis Lulay is the picture of composure. The same goes for Mac Mollohan, the team's senior linebacker, who plays with a nearly perfectly controlled intensity.
Both are returning All-Big Sky Conference players for the Bobcats, and both are senior captains. Ask either one if they have always been so steely while wearing a Bobcat uniform, however, and they point to the same stretch of time in the fall of 2002.
"I still can't believe how that all happened," said Mollohan of that crazy three months, when an iron-willed group of seniors led Montana State to its first Big Sky Championship in nearly two decades with the help of nine true freshman. "I was more worried about what the other people on the team thought. I knew I needed to play hard all the time to keep people from getting on me."
In fact, three of Montana State's four 2005 team captains came to MSU as part of the 2002 recruiting class, and contributed to the team's championship that fall. Offensive lineman Jeff Bolton joins Lulay and Mollohan as seniors this year that played as true freshmen in 2002. "That's an impressive group of guys that came here and contributed right away," said MSU coach Mike Kramer.
They didn't always feel so impressive, Lulay says. "Knowing what I know now, I wonder how I was able to function as a true freshman." He reported losing a considerable amount of sleep that fall around the time he was elevated to the starting lineup. "It was crazy."
While freshmen are rarely recruited to fill holes in a team's depth chart, and usually redshirt during their first year in Division I football, Kramer said he and his staff evaluate each student-athlete individually. "I think you have to take it on a case-by-case basis," he said. Jeff (Bolton) played all of 22 plays that year, but he started the playoff game and graded out better than anyone else on the offensive line, including (Brent) Swaggert. I think you have to take into account where that player figures in the future. If you know a kid is going to start his second year, I think you're better off getting him bloodied as a kick team guy that first year and letting him get used to the tempo and the physical nature of the game."
Of the eight true frosh that played some in 2002, only one -- tight end Cody Samuelson, who played sparingly early on that fall before injuring his shoulder -- did not eventually earn a starting spot with the 'Cats. Running backs Michael Williams and David Mayfield each saw action in '02, and Mayfield earned the starting running back job the next fall. Eric Laumatia started at defensive tackle as a true freshman. Those four have all since left the program.
Zach Wolf spent that fall as a redshirt traveling with the varsity, but was pressed into action in the second quarter of the season's last game due to injuries. Mollohan played extensively on kick teams that year, and has started ever since, developing into a two-time All-Big Sky player entering his senior season. Lulay launched a record-setting career when he took the reigns in game five.
The most distinct case of all may belong to Derrick Davis, who started three mid-season games and contributed throughout before leaving school after the first semester. He spent two years at a California junior college before returning to Bozeman this fall to compete as a junior walk-on. "His story is an amazing one," Kramer says. "He's getting a second chance, and has really handled the situation well. He has come back a changed young man."
Two members of the 2005 freshman class may be headed toward playing time this fall. One of them, safety Chase Gazzerro from Great Falls, feels the same emotions Lulay and Mollohan felt two years ago. "It's a big step for a freshman to come in and play," the former Great Falls CMR standout says. "It's kind of exciting, but at the same time makes me a little nervous."
Gazzerro and running back Isiaih Taito remain the only two members of this year's class likely to play this year. Mollohan said the four Bobcat seniors that played as true freshmen in 2002 share a bond. "We definitely helped each other that year," he said. "We didn't have any of our classmates on the road with us, so we got close and we got to know those upperclassmen better than we would have. It was a great experience."
One of the factors that allows Kramer to play new freshmen is an element that brought him to MSU to begin with. "One of the things we're able to do at this school, which is really a reason I came here, is assist student-athletes in completing their degrees once their eligibility has expired. We can keep those fifth-year kids in the program and help them graduate. That's a heck of a program."
Which is what Kramer has built at MSU, using in large part true freshmen as talented as Gazzerro and Taito. The future is so bright for those two kids, I'm looking forward to seeing how they can help us this year and to watching their careers unfold.
"But," he adds with a smile, "they have a long way to go to match the careers of those three seniors that are with us as captains this year."
* * * *
NATIONAL ATTENTION: Montana State quarterback Travis Lulay joined Division I-AA's top returning offensive performers on The Sports Network's Payton Watch List Wednesday. The group has a strong Big Sky Conference flavor, also featuring Eastern Washington quarterback Erik Meyer and receiver Eric Kimble, and Montana running back Lex Hilliard. Weber State's Brady Fosmark is on the Buchanan Battle list, as well. The Walter Payton Trophy is presented to the top player in Division I-AA, while the Buck Buchanan Award is presented to the division's top defensive player.
Both are returning All-Big Sky Conference players for the Bobcats, and both are senior captains. Ask either one if they have always been so steely while wearing a Bobcat uniform, however, and they point to the same stretch of time in the fall of 2002.
"I still can't believe how that all happened," said Mollohan of that crazy three months, when an iron-willed group of seniors led Montana State to its first Big Sky Championship in nearly two decades with the help of nine true freshman. "I was more worried about what the other people on the team thought. I knew I needed to play hard all the time to keep people from getting on me."
In fact, three of Montana State's four 2005 team captains came to MSU as part of the 2002 recruiting class, and contributed to the team's championship that fall. Offensive lineman Jeff Bolton joins Lulay and Mollohan as seniors this year that played as true freshmen in 2002. "That's an impressive group of guys that came here and contributed right away," said MSU coach Mike Kramer.
They didn't always feel so impressive, Lulay says. "Knowing what I know now, I wonder how I was able to function as a true freshman." He reported losing a considerable amount of sleep that fall around the time he was elevated to the starting lineup. "It was crazy."
While freshmen are rarely recruited to fill holes in a team's depth chart, and usually redshirt during their first year in Division I football, Kramer said he and his staff evaluate each student-athlete individually. "I think you have to take it on a case-by-case basis," he said. Jeff (Bolton) played all of 22 plays that year, but he started the playoff game and graded out better than anyone else on the offensive line, including (Brent) Swaggert. I think you have to take into account where that player figures in the future. If you know a kid is going to start his second year, I think you're better off getting him bloodied as a kick team guy that first year and letting him get used to the tempo and the physical nature of the game."
Of the eight true frosh that played some in 2002, only one -- tight end Cody Samuelson, who played sparingly early on that fall before injuring his shoulder -- did not eventually earn a starting spot with the 'Cats. Running backs Michael Williams and David Mayfield each saw action in '02, and Mayfield earned the starting running back job the next fall. Eric Laumatia started at defensive tackle as a true freshman. Those four have all since left the program.
Zach Wolf spent that fall as a redshirt traveling with the varsity, but was pressed into action in the second quarter of the season's last game due to injuries. Mollohan played extensively on kick teams that year, and has started ever since, developing into a two-time All-Big Sky player entering his senior season. Lulay launched a record-setting career when he took the reigns in game five.
The most distinct case of all may belong to Derrick Davis, who started three mid-season games and contributed throughout before leaving school after the first semester. He spent two years at a California junior college before returning to Bozeman this fall to compete as a junior walk-on. "His story is an amazing one," Kramer says. "He's getting a second chance, and has really handled the situation well. He has come back a changed young man."
Two members of the 2005 freshman class may be headed toward playing time this fall. One of them, safety Chase Gazzerro from Great Falls, feels the same emotions Lulay and Mollohan felt two years ago. "It's a big step for a freshman to come in and play," the former Great Falls CMR standout says. "It's kind of exciting, but at the same time makes me a little nervous."
Gazzerro and running back Isiaih Taito remain the only two members of this year's class likely to play this year. Mollohan said the four Bobcat seniors that played as true freshmen in 2002 share a bond. "We definitely helped each other that year," he said. "We didn't have any of our classmates on the road with us, so we got close and we got to know those upperclassmen better than we would have. It was a great experience."
One of the factors that allows Kramer to play new freshmen is an element that brought him to MSU to begin with. "One of the things we're able to do at this school, which is really a reason I came here, is assist student-athletes in completing their degrees once their eligibility has expired. We can keep those fifth-year kids in the program and help them graduate. That's a heck of a program."
Which is what Kramer has built at MSU, using in large part true freshmen as talented as Gazzerro and Taito. The future is so bright for those two kids, I'm looking forward to seeing how they can help us this year and to watching their careers unfold.
"But," he adds with a smile, "they have a long way to go to match the careers of those three seniors that are with us as captains this year."
* * * *
NATIONAL ATTENTION: Montana State quarterback Travis Lulay joined Division I-AA's top returning offensive performers on The Sports Network's Payton Watch List Wednesday. The group has a strong Big Sky Conference flavor, also featuring Eastern Washington quarterback Erik Meyer and receiver Eric Kimble, and Montana running back Lex Hilliard. Weber State's Brady Fosmark is on the Buchanan Battle list, as well. The Walter Payton Trophy is presented to the top player in Division I-AA, while the Buck Buchanan Award is presented to the division's top defensive player.
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