Photo by: Garrett Becker
BOBCAT GAME DAY NOTEBOOK #13: Josh Hill Could Make 2018 Debut Today
12/1/2018 12:04:00 PM | Football
North Dakota becomes MSU's most-common post-season opponent at kickoff today
Better late than never.
Saying he's ready to go, junior linebacker Josh Hill makes his 2018 season debut today as the Bobcats face North Dakota State after spending the season's first dozen games on the shelf with any injury. A two-year starter when healthy, Hill was a Big Sky Player of the Week as a freshman after his performance in the Cat-Griz game.
As a sophomore in 2017, Hill was fourth on the squad with 69 tackles, 2.5 for a loss, in just nine games. He also forced a fumble, broke up five passes, and hurried the quarterback twice. As a freshman in 2016, Hill finished fourth on the team with 54 tackles, three for a loss. He picked off two passes and broke up another, forcing one fumble.
A Kalispell Glacier product, Hill is expected to start at Sam linebacker.
Also available to play, receiver Willie Patterson is suited for the first time since an injury in the Idaho game. The redshirt freshman remains sixth on the team in catches in spite of missing five games.
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Today's game is Montana State's first against a nation's No. 1 team since a 49-13 loss at Sam Houston State in the second round of the 2011 FCS Playoffs. The Bobcats' only win against a #1 team in the Division I came in 1993, when the team knocked off Idaho 40-35. Montana State is 1-8 all-time against top-ranked squads.
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This weekend's trip to Fargo allowed Bobcat Football the opportunity to renew acquaintances with an old friend. "It'll be good to see ol' Mustache again," MSU coach Jeff Choate said of Courtney Messingham, the offensive coordinator on his first Bobcat staff in 2016. Messingham departed for North Dakota State and the staff of his friend since childhood Chris Klieman after that campaign, but his season at MSU was impactful.
Choate cites Messingham's steady hand in the mid-season transition to quarterback Chris Murray as a key in building the foundation of the Bobcat program on his watch. But he also called MSU's game plan in the 2016 win over Montana, constructed by Messingham in concert with the Bobcat offensive staff, "brilliant." That started Montana State's current three-game Cat-Griz win streak.
* * * * * *
Montana State's last December game was a 2012 home loss to Sam Houston State (Dec. 7). A week prior, on Dec. 1, MSU beat Stony Brook in Bozeman.
Saying he's ready to go, junior linebacker Josh Hill makes his 2018 season debut today as the Bobcats face North Dakota State after spending the season's first dozen games on the shelf with any injury. A two-year starter when healthy, Hill was a Big Sky Player of the Week as a freshman after his performance in the Cat-Griz game.
As a sophomore in 2017, Hill was fourth on the squad with 69 tackles, 2.5 for a loss, in just nine games. He also forced a fumble, broke up five passes, and hurried the quarterback twice. As a freshman in 2016, Hill finished fourth on the team with 54 tackles, three for a loss. He picked off two passes and broke up another, forcing one fumble.
A Kalispell Glacier product, Hill is expected to start at Sam linebacker.
Also available to play, receiver Willie Patterson is suited for the first time since an injury in the Idaho game. The redshirt freshman remains sixth on the team in catches in spite of missing five games.
* * * * *
Today's game is Montana State's first against a nation's No. 1 team since a 49-13 loss at Sam Houston State in the second round of the 2011 FCS Playoffs. The Bobcats' only win against a #1 team in the Division I came in 1993, when the team knocked off Idaho 40-35. Montana State is 1-8 all-time against top-ranked squads.
* * * * *
This weekend's trip to Fargo allowed Bobcat Football the opportunity to renew acquaintances with an old friend. "It'll be good to see ol' Mustache again," MSU coach Jeff Choate said of Courtney Messingham, the offensive coordinator on his first Bobcat staff in 2016. Messingham departed for North Dakota State and the staff of his friend since childhood Chris Klieman after that campaign, but his season at MSU was impactful.
Choate cites Messingham's steady hand in the mid-season transition to quarterback Chris Murray as a key in building the foundation of the Bobcat program on his watch. But he also called MSU's game plan in the 2016 win over Montana, constructed by Messingham in concert with the Bobcat offensive staff, "brilliant." That started Montana State's current three-game Cat-Griz win streak.
* * * * * *
Montana State's last December game was a 2012 home loss to Sam Houston State (Dec. 7). A week prior, on Dec. 1, MSU beat Stony Brook in Bozeman.
Players Mentioned
Thursday, July 31
Monday, May 19
Wednesday, May 03
Wednesday, May 03
