Alex Singleton
Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
Bobcats By the Numbers: #43
7/22/2015 10:38:00 AM | Football
Alex Singleton had a tremendous career for the Cats
For every day of the summer we will 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.
#43
Walker Cozzie, LB: Helena Capital High School has been awfully good to the Bobcats. One of the state's prep football powerhouses has sent several standouts to Montana State through the years, from Jay Daly and Kevin Donovan in the 1970s right through Bobby and Brad Daly in the 2000s and Gunnar Brekke today. Walker Cozzie joins the program from Capital this fall after earning all-conference and all-state honors last year. He is a fast, scrappy linebacker who could be headed for an outstanding career after moving south and east from Helena.
A quick retrospective: It never really seemed that Alex Singlet quite got all he deserved as a Bobcat football player. He was asked to join the varsity midway through what was going to be his redshirt year in 2011, and did so enthusiastically. His play on special teams, and as a reserve linebacker, helped spur the Cats to a second straight Big Sky Championship. He led the team in tackles as a full-time starter during his junior season, and almost comically was relegated by the league's coaches to honorable mention on the all-conference team. He barged into First Team All-Big Sky honors last year, but injuries around him plagued the defense and likely cost him the national recognition he deserved. Through it all, Singleton was known for his relentless work ethic and ever-present smile, and the Thousand Oaks, Calif., product is currently fighting for a spot on the Seattle Seahawks roster.
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 (2011-14), Walker Cozzie (2015-)
#43
Walker Cozzie, LB: Helena Capital High School has been awfully good to the Bobcats. One of the state's prep football powerhouses has sent several standouts to Montana State through the years, from Jay Daly and Kevin Donovan in the 1970s right through Bobby and Brad Daly in the 2000s and Gunnar Brekke today. Walker Cozzie joins the program from Capital this fall after earning all-conference and all-state honors last year. He is a fast, scrappy linebacker who could be headed for an outstanding career after moving south and east from Helena.
A quick retrospective: It never really seemed that Alex Singlet quite got all he deserved as a Bobcat football player. He was asked to join the varsity midway through what was going to be his redshirt year in 2011, and did so enthusiastically. His play on special teams, and as a reserve linebacker, helped spur the Cats to a second straight Big Sky Championship. He led the team in tackles as a full-time starter during his junior season, and almost comically was relegated by the league's coaches to honorable mention on the all-conference team. He barged into First Team All-Big Sky honors last year, but injuries around him plagued the defense and likely cost him the national recognition he deserved. Through it all, Singleton was known for his relentless work ethic and ever-present smile, and the Thousand Oaks, Calif., product is currently fighting for a spot on the Seattle Seahawks roster.
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 (2011-14), Walker Cozzie (2015-)
Players Mentioned
Thursday, July 31
Monday, May 19
Wednesday, May 03
Wednesday, May 03
