Verlanic Figures Things Out, Leads Bobcats
11/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Jim Verlanic spent much of last spring with his hands in human cadavers for an advanced anatomy class, which he says helps students "figure things out" as far as how the body works.
What's harder to figure out for Montana State's starting center from Anaconda is his senior season. "It's been frustrating," he says with a wistful smile.
A second generation Bobcat - Jim's father Ken Verlanic was a standout MSU lineman in the mid-1970s - and 2008 team captain, Verlanic had waited his entire life for his senior season at Montana State. To miss the opener, a home win over Adams State, was frustrating. But Verlanic went down again early in game nine, just as the Bobcat offense had begun to click with a 31-20 win at Sacramento State the week before, and has been on the shelf since.
Verlanic remains hopeful of starting Saturday's annual Cat-Griz game in Missoula, but regardless of his contribution on the field Verlanic's imprint on Saturday's game, and on MSU's future football fortunes, is clear.
"Jimmy has been great," Bobcat coach Rob Ash says, describing Verlanic's contributions in the last two weeks. "He's really helped Alex (Terrien, who moved to center in Verlanic's absence), he's stayed positive, he's found ways to contribute. He's done exactly what you'd expect from a person of his character."
While Verlanic's character is unquestioned, he has been more well-known for his intelligence. "He's such a smart player," Terrien says, and that feeling carries throughout the offensive line. "The center has to be the field general," says Bobcat offensive line coach Jason McEndoo, "making all the front calls, recognizing all the blitzes. That's not to mention remembering the snap count and your own blocking assignments. Jim has poured himself into that position, and his intelligence is a strength."
The football field isn't the only area of application for Verlanic's intelligence. He was an FCS Athletic Directors' All-Scholar Team choice as a junior, and a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-America District 7 selection. He plans to attend medical school, which led him to the anatomy class last spring.
"That was probably one of the best classes I've taken at MSU," he said. "A couple of days a week in lab, it was awesome getting hands-on experience. We actually got to cut open the cadavers and go through and find the arteries, the nerves, the muscles, look at the skin. It was definitely a valuable, valuable class."
The hands-on look at the human body's mechanics helped Verlanic see how it functions as an inter-connected unit, he said. "The thing that you don't realize is how these muscles are innervated, and the blood supply, and it's really important how everything is connected together. When you actually get hands-on dissecting experience you can really see that."
The coordination of the human body as a functioning set of systems stands as the perfect metaphor for offensive line play, Verlanic said. "Working together in the offensive line, you have to have every guy on the same page. There's a big communication factor with teamwork and getting everybody together. Everything is connected and one thing is dependent on the other. If one guy on the O-line does one thing it affects the next guy, and that's I guess a lot how (the human body) works."
Verlanic said there is no better feeling for an offensive lineman than when his quarterback's "jersey is clean" and when a running back gets to the 100-yard mark. By those standards, Montana State's offensive line has been very good in 2008. The Bobcats lead the Big Sky in rushing yards and fewest sacks allowed.
"It feels great to have the O-line all working together. It’s just really exciting. We take a lot of pride in that."
The journey has been long for Verlanic from his days as a walk-on redshirt to, he hopes, starting center in the Cat-Griz game as a senior. "I never really thought I'd be in this position," he said, "even when I was redshirting."
Verlanic grew up a Bobcat, but takes even greater pride in his family's accomplishments. Both his father and his mother's brother, Mike Tocher, starred for the Bobcats. He has one cousin, Alex Verlanic, playing center at Montana, with another, Andrew, playing as a redshirt offensive lineman in the Bobcat program.
To Verlanic, though, it's more than just athletics. "I think it's great, I love it," he said of the wide path his family has cut through Montana's college system. "Our family is really committed to higher education in the state of Montana. Just on one side of my family, I think we've had something like 14 or 15 degrees from the two universities. It's really neat that we can play football and do extracurricular activities, that's awesome, but I think it's even more amazing that we have so many degrees."
Verlanic will earn his degree from Montana State shortly, and then begin the process of exploring his medical school options. But for now, his focus is on getting his ankle ready to play Saturday, and on the waning days of his Bobcat career.
"I've been a Bobcat all my life," he says. "Playing here, it's just been great."
What's harder to figure out for Montana State's starting center from Anaconda is his senior season. "It's been frustrating," he says with a wistful smile.
A second generation Bobcat - Jim's father Ken Verlanic was a standout MSU lineman in the mid-1970s - and 2008 team captain, Verlanic had waited his entire life for his senior season at Montana State. To miss the opener, a home win over Adams State, was frustrating. But Verlanic went down again early in game nine, just as the Bobcat offense had begun to click with a 31-20 win at Sacramento State the week before, and has been on the shelf since.
Verlanic remains hopeful of starting Saturday's annual Cat-Griz game in Missoula, but regardless of his contribution on the field Verlanic's imprint on Saturday's game, and on MSU's future football fortunes, is clear.
"Jimmy has been great," Bobcat coach Rob Ash says, describing Verlanic's contributions in the last two weeks. "He's really helped Alex (Terrien, who moved to center in Verlanic's absence), he's stayed positive, he's found ways to contribute. He's done exactly what you'd expect from a person of his character."
While Verlanic's character is unquestioned, he has been more well-known for his intelligence. "He's such a smart player," Terrien says, and that feeling carries throughout the offensive line. "The center has to be the field general," says Bobcat offensive line coach Jason McEndoo, "making all the front calls, recognizing all the blitzes. That's not to mention remembering the snap count and your own blocking assignments. Jim has poured himself into that position, and his intelligence is a strength."
The football field isn't the only area of application for Verlanic's intelligence. He was an FCS Athletic Directors' All-Scholar Team choice as a junior, and a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-America District 7 selection. He plans to attend medical school, which led him to the anatomy class last spring.
"That was probably one of the best classes I've taken at MSU," he said. "A couple of days a week in lab, it was awesome getting hands-on experience. We actually got to cut open the cadavers and go through and find the arteries, the nerves, the muscles, look at the skin. It was definitely a valuable, valuable class."
The hands-on look at the human body's mechanics helped Verlanic see how it functions as an inter-connected unit, he said. "The thing that you don't realize is how these muscles are innervated, and the blood supply, and it's really important how everything is connected together. When you actually get hands-on dissecting experience you can really see that."
The coordination of the human body as a functioning set of systems stands as the perfect metaphor for offensive line play, Verlanic said. "Working together in the offensive line, you have to have every guy on the same page. There's a big communication factor with teamwork and getting everybody together. Everything is connected and one thing is dependent on the other. If one guy on the O-line does one thing it affects the next guy, and that's I guess a lot how (the human body) works."
Verlanic said there is no better feeling for an offensive lineman than when his quarterback's "jersey is clean" and when a running back gets to the 100-yard mark. By those standards, Montana State's offensive line has been very good in 2008. The Bobcats lead the Big Sky in rushing yards and fewest sacks allowed.
"It feels great to have the O-line all working together. It’s just really exciting. We take a lot of pride in that."
The journey has been long for Verlanic from his days as a walk-on redshirt to, he hopes, starting center in the Cat-Griz game as a senior. "I never really thought I'd be in this position," he said, "even when I was redshirting."
Verlanic grew up a Bobcat, but takes even greater pride in his family's accomplishments. Both his father and his mother's brother, Mike Tocher, starred for the Bobcats. He has one cousin, Alex Verlanic, playing center at Montana, with another, Andrew, playing as a redshirt offensive lineman in the Bobcat program.
To Verlanic, though, it's more than just athletics. "I think it's great, I love it," he said of the wide path his family has cut through Montana's college system. "Our family is really committed to higher education in the state of Montana. Just on one side of my family, I think we've had something like 14 or 15 degrees from the two universities. It's really neat that we can play football and do extracurricular activities, that's awesome, but I think it's even more amazing that we have so many degrees."
Verlanic will earn his degree from Montana State shortly, and then begin the process of exploring his medical school options. But for now, his focus is on getting his ankle ready to play Saturday, and on the waning days of his Bobcat career.
"I've been a Bobcat all my life," he says. "Playing here, it's just been great."
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