Bobcats By the Numbers: #74
6/23/2015 4:18:00 PM | Football
A former #74 was an early NFL Draft early Mr. Irrelevant
Every day we look at players who donned the jersey number corresponding to the number of days until the Bobcats open the 2015 season on September 3 against Fort Lewis College. The list of MSU football players by the jersey number is based on preseason rosters. 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 will be welcomed enthusiastically via e-mail at: blamberty@msubobcats.com. Complaints about featured players also welcome, but possibly with less enthusiasm.
#74
Wade Webster, OL: A young offensive lineman from the same hometown as JP Flynn, Wade Webster enters the fall in competition for playing time at tackle. He helped lead Bettendorf High School in Iowa to the playoffs as a senior, earning second team all-state honors.
Spotlight Player: Mr. Irrelevant. It's an ignominious, completely contrived honor bestoeed on the last pick of the annual NFL Draft, and the third Mr. Irrelevant award was bestowed on Montana State's Lee Washburn. While the NFL has conducted a new player draft since 1938, the title Mr. Irrelevant was first given to Dayton's Kelvin Kirk, who the Steelers picked with selection number 487 to close the 1976 draft. Washburn's selection by Dallas two years later etched the Bozeman High grad's name in history (Washburn also attended on year of high school in both South Dakota and Dillon). He was a Second Team All-Big Sky guard in 1976, earning first team honors as a senior a year later. He played on the same Bobcat offensive line as a future NFL Draft choice, Jon Borchardt, who was tabbed in the third round in 1980.
Notable #74s in the Bobcat Past: Great football programs produce great players, but they also produce very good players whose careers are fun to unearth and appreciate years later. Phil Bruneau is one of those guys. Phil Bruneau was a big, rangy defensive tackle from Minnesota who anchored the interior of the D-line in the early -80s, earning First Team All-Big Sky and honorable mention All-America honors as a senior in 1982. Bruneau and a physical Bobcat defense helped lead MSU to a share of the 1982 Big Sky Championship. Bruneau's father-in-law is noted Treasure State author A.B. Guthrie, who former Voice of the Cats Kris Atteberry once called "Montana Royalty".
If productive junior college offensive linemen are difficult to find at the FCS level, Lawrence Figueroa is the exception that proves the rule. Figgy came to Bozeman in 2003 and earned a starting spot at guard, but his season ended in disappointment not long after that with a broken ankle. Undeterred – and with a medical hardship that granted a do-over on that season – Figgy won the job again the next season. He earned First Team All-Big Sky honors in 2004, and second team honors in '05. Figueroa was a terrific player who was rarely without a smile.
Through the years: Phil Kirk (1956), Russ Yarnell (1957), Gene Schilling (1958-59), Cliff Haven (1960-61), Gene Carlson (1964), Howie Hahn (1965-66), Scott Dean (1967), Max Erickson (1969),Max Erickson (1970-71), Don Wilson (1973), Bert Markovich (1972, '74), Lee Washburn (1975-77), John Janosko (1978), Phil Bruneau (1979-82), Don Leake (1983-86), Pat Harmon (1987), Marty Milton (1988), Wade Rademacher (1990), Sean Sanger (1991), Mike Widmer (1992), Aaron Horpestead (1993), Masson Riddle (1994), Ed Hwang (1995-96), Mike White (1997-98), James Terry (1999-2000), Anthony Hardgraves (2001-02), Lawrence Figueroa (2003-05), Jeff Miller (2006-09), Matt Devereux (2011-13), Wade Webster (2014-present)
#74
Wade Webster, OL: A young offensive lineman from the same hometown as JP Flynn, Wade Webster enters the fall in competition for playing time at tackle. He helped lead Bettendorf High School in Iowa to the playoffs as a senior, earning second team all-state honors.
Spotlight Player: Mr. Irrelevant. It's an ignominious, completely contrived honor bestoeed on the last pick of the annual NFL Draft, and the third Mr. Irrelevant award was bestowed on Montana State's Lee Washburn. While the NFL has conducted a new player draft since 1938, the title Mr. Irrelevant was first given to Dayton's Kelvin Kirk, who the Steelers picked with selection number 487 to close the 1976 draft. Washburn's selection by Dallas two years later etched the Bozeman High grad's name in history (Washburn also attended on year of high school in both South Dakota and Dillon). He was a Second Team All-Big Sky guard in 1976, earning first team honors as a senior a year later. He played on the same Bobcat offensive line as a future NFL Draft choice, Jon Borchardt, who was tabbed in the third round in 1980.
Notable #74s in the Bobcat Past: Great football programs produce great players, but they also produce very good players whose careers are fun to unearth and appreciate years later. Phil Bruneau is one of those guys. Phil Bruneau was a big, rangy defensive tackle from Minnesota who anchored the interior of the D-line in the early -80s, earning First Team All-Big Sky and honorable mention All-America honors as a senior in 1982. Bruneau and a physical Bobcat defense helped lead MSU to a share of the 1982 Big Sky Championship. Bruneau's father-in-law is noted Treasure State author A.B. Guthrie, who former Voice of the Cats Kris Atteberry once called "Montana Royalty".
If productive junior college offensive linemen are difficult to find at the FCS level, Lawrence Figueroa is the exception that proves the rule. Figgy came to Bozeman in 2003 and earned a starting spot at guard, but his season ended in disappointment not long after that with a broken ankle. Undeterred – and with a medical hardship that granted a do-over on that season – Figgy won the job again the next season. He earned First Team All-Big Sky honors in 2004, and second team honors in '05. Figueroa was a terrific player who was rarely without a smile.
Through the years: Phil Kirk (1956), Russ Yarnell (1957), Gene Schilling (1958-59), Cliff Haven (1960-61), Gene Carlson (1964), Howie Hahn (1965-66), Scott Dean (1967), Max Erickson (1969),Max Erickson (1970-71), Don Wilson (1973), Bert Markovich (1972, '74), Lee Washburn (1975-77), John Janosko (1978), Phil Bruneau (1979-82), Don Leake (1983-86), Pat Harmon (1987), Marty Milton (1988), Wade Rademacher (1990), Sean Sanger (1991), Mike Widmer (1992), Aaron Horpestead (1993), Masson Riddle (1994), Ed Hwang (1995-96), Mike White (1997-98), James Terry (1999-2000), Anthony Hardgraves (2001-02), Lawrence Figueroa (2003-05), Jeff Miller (2006-09), Matt Devereux (2011-13), Wade Webster (2014-present)
Players Mentioned
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