BOBCATS BY THE NUMBERS: 70 Days Remain Until the Gold Rush
6/21/2018 12:03:00 PM | Football
Alex Neale is an all-conference caliber player wherever he lines up
June 21: Bobcat by the Numbers takes a look at current and past Bobcats that correspond to the number of days remaining before Montana State opens the 2018 football season against Western Illinois in Bobcat Stadium's annual Gold Rush game on August 30.
#70
Alex Neale, OG: The next time you hear someone complain about college student-athletes transferring all the time in a 'kids these days' moment, please mention the case of Alex Neale. Montana State's starting center the past two seasons, he made the move to guard during the spring to help the Bobcat O-line align its talent in the most beneficial manner. Neale transferred to MSU from UNLV and moved into the lineup immediately. He is an avid outdoorsman and an engineering major, and has found his home in Bozeman.
Spotlight – Jon Borchardt: In an era when Montana State's football team steamrolled teams with a bruising ground game, Jon Borchardt was one of the program's primary steamrollers. He was a fast and physical player who dominated opponents physically early in his career, and often. He enjoyed a long NFL career after leaving Bozeman. But former MSU athletic trainer Chuck Karnop remembers Borchardt for something quite different. An aspiring medical professional before the NFL draft changed his career path, Karnop describes long, quiet conversations about the human body and its anatomical functions. Borchardt was a tremendous student, carrying a GPA better than 3.35 through his course of study in microbiology, but at the end of the day football was his calling card. He was a two-time First Team All-Big Sky selection, earning First Team All-America honors after his senior season.
Chronology: Gene Beekman (1956), Arjay Godston (1957), John Bietenduefel (1959-60), Purnal Whitehead (1966-68), Alan Bone (1969), Kelly Adams (1971), Gary Egerton (1972-73), Jeff Conley (1974), Jon Borchardt (1975-78), Jeff Bedey (1979-80), Mark Baker (1982), Steve Vestman (1983-4), Shawn Stump (1985-89), Travis Savage (1991), Tony Vico (1992), Tom Brinan (1994-95), Greg Kapitzke (1996-97), Jesse Miller (1999), Justin Garrett (2000-01), Chris Haynes (2003), Dominic Sonsini (2005-07), Anthony Patterson (2008), Killian Fitzpatrick (2010), John Weidenaar (2011), Joel Horn (2012-15), Alex Neale (2016-)
Bonus Note for #70: If Purnal Whitehead never really knew where he was playing when he was a three-year starting lineman for the Bobcats in the late 1960s, you couldn't blame him. The Kalispell product started on the defensive line as a sophomore in 1966, then moved across the line of scrimmage to start at defensive tackle in 1967. As a senior in 1968 Whitehead was back on defense, starting at left tackle. Whitehead, whose son Kurt was a standout at Wyoming for Bobcat legend Joe Tiller, started for three straight Big Sky title teams at MSU.
#70
Alex Neale, OG: The next time you hear someone complain about college student-athletes transferring all the time in a 'kids these days' moment, please mention the case of Alex Neale. Montana State's starting center the past two seasons, he made the move to guard during the spring to help the Bobcat O-line align its talent in the most beneficial manner. Neale transferred to MSU from UNLV and moved into the lineup immediately. He is an avid outdoorsman and an engineering major, and has found his home in Bozeman.
Spotlight – Jon Borchardt: In an era when Montana State's football team steamrolled teams with a bruising ground game, Jon Borchardt was one of the program's primary steamrollers. He was a fast and physical player who dominated opponents physically early in his career, and often. He enjoyed a long NFL career after leaving Bozeman. But former MSU athletic trainer Chuck Karnop remembers Borchardt for something quite different. An aspiring medical professional before the NFL draft changed his career path, Karnop describes long, quiet conversations about the human body and its anatomical functions. Borchardt was a tremendous student, carrying a GPA better than 3.35 through his course of study in microbiology, but at the end of the day football was his calling card. He was a two-time First Team All-Big Sky selection, earning First Team All-America honors after his senior season.
Chronology: Gene Beekman (1956), Arjay Godston (1957), John Bietenduefel (1959-60), Purnal Whitehead (1966-68), Alan Bone (1969), Kelly Adams (1971), Gary Egerton (1972-73), Jeff Conley (1974), Jon Borchardt (1975-78), Jeff Bedey (1979-80), Mark Baker (1982), Steve Vestman (1983-4), Shawn Stump (1985-89), Travis Savage (1991), Tony Vico (1992), Tom Brinan (1994-95), Greg Kapitzke (1996-97), Jesse Miller (1999), Justin Garrett (2000-01), Chris Haynes (2003), Dominic Sonsini (2005-07), Anthony Patterson (2008), Killian Fitzpatrick (2010), John Weidenaar (2011), Joel Horn (2012-15), Alex Neale (2016-)
Bonus Note for #70: If Purnal Whitehead never really knew where he was playing when he was a three-year starting lineman for the Bobcats in the late 1960s, you couldn't blame him. The Kalispell product started on the defensive line as a sophomore in 1966, then moved across the line of scrimmage to start at defensive tackle in 1967. As a senior in 1968 Whitehead was back on defense, starting at left tackle. Whitehead, whose son Kurt was a standout at Wyoming for Bobcat legend Joe Tiller, started for three straight Big Sky title teams at MSU.
Players Mentioned
C
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