BOBCATS BY THE NUMBERS: 61 Days Before the Season Opener, Let's Ponder MSU's Most Recent Star from Anaconda
6/30/2018 12:39:00 PM | Football
Jim Verlanic brought some strong Blue and Gold bloodlines to Montana State
June 30: Bobcat by the Numbers takes a look at current and past Bobcats whose jersey numbers 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.
#61
Jake Sessions, OL: A raw-boned young offensive lineman, Jake Sessions adds depth to the Bobcats in the middle of the offensive line. He is expected to contribute to special teams this season while continuing to progress as an offensive guard.
Spotlight – Jim Verlanic: Every great college football program relies on bloodlines. Bloodlines bring generations of families to games, and that can be witnessed in the Bobcat Stadium parking lot before every MSU home game. Bloodlines bring different branches of families together, and you can experience that many times during the year, including on booster-related trips through the state in the spring and summer. And once in a great while, bloodlines lead sons to follow in their fathers' footsteps, to wear the same uniform only with different logos and different shades of colors. Bloodlines brought Jim Verlanic – and his sister Jacqueline, a standout thrower on the Bobcat track and field team a couple of years later – to Montana State. And like his father Ken before him (and his uncle Mike Tocher), a dogged work ethic led Jim first into the offensive line rotation, then into the starting lineup, and eventually to the point where he was elected captain by his teammates. Jim Verlanic started twice as a redshirt freshman during MSU's Big Sky title season of 2005, started four games as a sophomore, including MSU's first home playoff win since 1984, and was the team's center for all 11 games as a junior in 2007. An injury shelved him for four games as a senior, but he started the other eight, and finished his career as one of the shining examples of a football player rising to the level of scholar-athlete. Jim Verlanic was MSU's Dr. Hayden Ferguson Award winner for academic excellence, was a CoSIDA Academic All-Region VII selection, was an FCS/ADA All-Scholar selection, and was inducted into the National Football Foundation's Hampshire Honor Society. And for all that, Bobcat fans remain drawn to Jim Verlanic and players like him because of bloodlines. Because like the Verlanics and so many other Bobcat families – and like MSU President Waded Cruzado likes to say – Blue and Gold runs through their veins.
Chronology: Cal Lorah (1956), Cecil Kent (1957), Arjay Godston (1958-59), Bill Townsend (1960-61), Joe Sutey (1963-64), Buddy Lee (1965), Jay Kosik (1966-67), Rod Purdom (1968), Phil O'Meara (1969), Allen Bone (1970), Brent Spomer (1971), Rod Anardi (1972-73), Jon Kienberger (1974), Mark Allison (1975), Dan Ueland (1976), Derek Wunsch (1977), Scott Sax (1978-80), Brad Garrett (1982), Bob Culliton (1983-85), Fred Roybal (1986), Matt Christensen (1987), Mark Woodcock (1988-91), Ryan Springer (1992), Brian Nell (1993), Blake Reiger (1994-95), Chet Teske (1996), Bill Wilson (1997-98), Cody Van Horn (1999), Jason Richardson (2000-01), Patrick Farraf (2003), Jim Verlanic (2004-08), Alex Terrien (2009-11), Steven Foster (2012), Richard Hageman (2013), Byron Rollins (2015), Jake Sessions (2016-)
#61
Jake Sessions, OL: A raw-boned young offensive lineman, Jake Sessions adds depth to the Bobcats in the middle of the offensive line. He is expected to contribute to special teams this season while continuing to progress as an offensive guard.
Spotlight – Jim Verlanic: Every great college football program relies on bloodlines. Bloodlines bring generations of families to games, and that can be witnessed in the Bobcat Stadium parking lot before every MSU home game. Bloodlines bring different branches of families together, and you can experience that many times during the year, including on booster-related trips through the state in the spring and summer. And once in a great while, bloodlines lead sons to follow in their fathers' footsteps, to wear the same uniform only with different logos and different shades of colors. Bloodlines brought Jim Verlanic – and his sister Jacqueline, a standout thrower on the Bobcat track and field team a couple of years later – to Montana State. And like his father Ken before him (and his uncle Mike Tocher), a dogged work ethic led Jim first into the offensive line rotation, then into the starting lineup, and eventually to the point where he was elected captain by his teammates. Jim Verlanic started twice as a redshirt freshman during MSU's Big Sky title season of 2005, started four games as a sophomore, including MSU's first home playoff win since 1984, and was the team's center for all 11 games as a junior in 2007. An injury shelved him for four games as a senior, but he started the other eight, and finished his career as one of the shining examples of a football player rising to the level of scholar-athlete. Jim Verlanic was MSU's Dr. Hayden Ferguson Award winner for academic excellence, was a CoSIDA Academic All-Region VII selection, was an FCS/ADA All-Scholar selection, and was inducted into the National Football Foundation's Hampshire Honor Society. And for all that, Bobcat fans remain drawn to Jim Verlanic and players like him because of bloodlines. Because like the Verlanics and so many other Bobcat families – and like MSU President Waded Cruzado likes to say – Blue and Gold runs through their veins.
Chronology: Cal Lorah (1956), Cecil Kent (1957), Arjay Godston (1958-59), Bill Townsend (1960-61), Joe Sutey (1963-64), Buddy Lee (1965), Jay Kosik (1966-67), Rod Purdom (1968), Phil O'Meara (1969), Allen Bone (1970), Brent Spomer (1971), Rod Anardi (1972-73), Jon Kienberger (1974), Mark Allison (1975), Dan Ueland (1976), Derek Wunsch (1977), Scott Sax (1978-80), Brad Garrett (1982), Bob Culliton (1983-85), Fred Roybal (1986), Matt Christensen (1987), Mark Woodcock (1988-91), Ryan Springer (1992), Brian Nell (1993), Blake Reiger (1994-95), Chet Teske (1996), Bill Wilson (1997-98), Cody Van Horn (1999), Jason Richardson (2000-01), Patrick Farraf (2003), Jim Verlanic (2004-08), Alex Terrien (2009-11), Steven Foster (2012), Richard Hageman (2013), Byron Rollins (2015), Jake Sessions (2016-)
Players Mentioned
OL
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