Nick Marudas capped a good career with a great season and a spectacular day
Photo by: Daryn Hendrickson
Bobcats by the Numbers: 43
7/17/2013 11:54:00 AM | Football
A look at some of the outstanding defensive players who have donned #43
After a hiatus that included some travel around the inter-mountain region, Bobcats by the Numbers is back. Every day we look at players who donned the jersey number corresponding to the number of days until the Bobcats open the 2013 season on August 29 against Monmouth. The list of MSU football players by the jersey number is based on preseason rosters, and we'll do the best we can to get caught up on the numbers missed. The set of available rosters is complete from 1946-81 and '83-present. Only the 1926-27, 1934, 1937 and 1941 rosters are available in the pre-WWII years. Corrections, additions, or rosters that fill out the set are welcome to blamberty@msubobcats.com.
#43
Alex Singleton, LB: Any conversation about Alex Singleton's football prowess eventually veers toward one less-than-analytical observation – the kid is a beast. Of course, that is strictly in a football sense, where the Thousand Oaks, Calif., product has been a special teams stalwart for two years while performing brilliantly at linebacker when called upon. Of course, when you play behind Jody Owens your numbers isn't called often. Last year – Singleton was pulled off redshirt mid-season in 2011 after a rash of injuries depleted the MSU's kick teams – he compiled three tackles-for-loss, a sack, an interception, and a pass breakup. When Owens was injured during the UC Davis game last fall Singleton stepped in and dominated, logging nine tackles, including two for a loss with one sack, and he broke up a pass. Away from the field, it's hard to find a more pleasant guy. If you needed to describe Singleton to someone looking for him in Brick Breeden Fieldhouse could do a lot worse than, 'Look for a dark-haired linebacker who always has a smile on his face.' Of all the intriguing storylines winding through the July and August that lead to the 2013 season, Alex Singleton's potential emergence as a star is one of the most intriguing.
Spotlight Player: For three seasons, Nick Marudas' career at his hometown school seemed a little star-crossed. The former all-state Bozeman Hawk was a solid linebacker a special teams ace through his first three seasons (although his junior campaign was interrupted by a broken leg). As a senior, though, Marudas moved into a hybrid defensive end spot, and things took off. Marudas tied for the Big Sky lead with nine sacks and seven forced fumbles, leading the team in tackles and sacks. Never was Marudas better than in his last game as a Bobcat, when he and classmates such as Travis Lulay and Jeff Bolton mounted a ferocious effort to whip the Grizzlies 16-6. The 2005 MSU senior class became the first group of Bobcats to post a winning record against Montana since the '80s, and Marudas was a huge part of that. He logged six tackles, two of the game's three sacks (Bobcat defensive end Aaron Papich had the other), and a pass breakup. It was a foregone conclusion that the Cats wouldn't be tabbed for the playoffs, so the scene in the Bobcat locker room after the final gun was touching. There were hugs and tears and laughter and extreme joy and satisfaction, and the knowledge that in this group of guys that turned the Bobcat program around was one very special kid who had grown up in Bozeman and starred just down 11th Street who would be able to carry this with him forever.
Other Notable #43s: "He's Will Johnson, the team chaplain, who played on the 1984 team." That is the answer to a question asked frequently of those in the Bobcat program. Will Johnson is seemingly omnipresent in the Bozeman community, with a son who plays high school football and children sprinkled in a wide swath of activities. He's easy to spot at Bobcat football games, where he's on the sideline each week since Mike Kramer brought him on board in 2000, but his efforts throughout the year in mentoring the MSU players – more in life than football – are one of Bobcat Football's unsung success stories.
Through the Years: Ralph Gill (1926-27), Allen Nelson (1941), Dominic Dira (1946-47), Wally Palmer (1948-49), Jim Nordlund (1950), Don Edwards (953-55), Bobby Kopsco (1957), Jim McLeod (1958), Dan Hodge (1964-66), Terry Brown (1967-68), Dave Juarez (1969), Gary Kimmett (1970-72), Randy Hickel (1973-75), Stuart Dodds (1976-79), Ladin Langeman (1980-82), Will Johnson (1983-84), Marc Paffhausen (1985-86), Steve Haugeberg (1988-89), Tim Klinger (1990), Dan Hicks (1993-95), Eric Kinnaman (1996), Jeff Dunlap (1997), Jeremy Barcus (2000), Nick Marudas (2001-05), Beau Watkins (2006-09), Bryce Staley (2010), Alex Singleton (2011-)
#43
Alex Singleton, LB: Any conversation about Alex Singleton's football prowess eventually veers toward one less-than-analytical observation – the kid is a beast. Of course, that is strictly in a football sense, where the Thousand Oaks, Calif., product has been a special teams stalwart for two years while performing brilliantly at linebacker when called upon. Of course, when you play behind Jody Owens your numbers isn't called often. Last year – Singleton was pulled off redshirt mid-season in 2011 after a rash of injuries depleted the MSU's kick teams – he compiled three tackles-for-loss, a sack, an interception, and a pass breakup. When Owens was injured during the UC Davis game last fall Singleton stepped in and dominated, logging nine tackles, including two for a loss with one sack, and he broke up a pass. Away from the field, it's hard to find a more pleasant guy. If you needed to describe Singleton to someone looking for him in Brick Breeden Fieldhouse could do a lot worse than, 'Look for a dark-haired linebacker who always has a smile on his face.' Of all the intriguing storylines winding through the July and August that lead to the 2013 season, Alex Singleton's potential emergence as a star is one of the most intriguing.
Spotlight Player: For three seasons, Nick Marudas' career at his hometown school seemed a little star-crossed. The former all-state Bozeman Hawk was a solid linebacker a special teams ace through his first three seasons (although his junior campaign was interrupted by a broken leg). As a senior, though, Marudas moved into a hybrid defensive end spot, and things took off. Marudas tied for the Big Sky lead with nine sacks and seven forced fumbles, leading the team in tackles and sacks. Never was Marudas better than in his last game as a Bobcat, when he and classmates such as Travis Lulay and Jeff Bolton mounted a ferocious effort to whip the Grizzlies 16-6. The 2005 MSU senior class became the first group of Bobcats to post a winning record against Montana since the '80s, and Marudas was a huge part of that. He logged six tackles, two of the game's three sacks (Bobcat defensive end Aaron Papich had the other), and a pass breakup. It was a foregone conclusion that the Cats wouldn't be tabbed for the playoffs, so the scene in the Bobcat locker room after the final gun was touching. There were hugs and tears and laughter and extreme joy and satisfaction, and the knowledge that in this group of guys that turned the Bobcat program around was one very special kid who had grown up in Bozeman and starred just down 11th Street who would be able to carry this with him forever.
Other Notable #43s: "He's Will Johnson, the team chaplain, who played on the 1984 team." That is the answer to a question asked frequently of those in the Bobcat program. Will Johnson is seemingly omnipresent in the Bozeman community, with a son who plays high school football and children sprinkled in a wide swath of activities. He's easy to spot at Bobcat football games, where he's on the sideline each week since Mike Kramer brought him on board in 2000, but his efforts throughout the year in mentoring the MSU players – more in life than football – are one of Bobcat Football's unsung success stories.
Through the Years: Ralph Gill (1926-27), Allen Nelson (1941), Dominic Dira (1946-47), Wally Palmer (1948-49), Jim Nordlund (1950), Don Edwards (953-55), Bobby Kopsco (1957), Jim McLeod (1958), Dan Hodge (1964-66), Terry Brown (1967-68), Dave Juarez (1969), Gary Kimmett (1970-72), Randy Hickel (1973-75), Stuart Dodds (1976-79), Ladin Langeman (1980-82), Will Johnson (1983-84), Marc Paffhausen (1985-86), Steve Haugeberg (1988-89), Tim Klinger (1990), Dan Hicks (1993-95), Eric Kinnaman (1996), Jeff Dunlap (1997), Jeremy Barcus (2000), Nick Marudas (2001-05), Beau Watkins (2006-09), Bryce Staley (2010), Alex Singleton (2011-)
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