BOBCATS BY THE NUMBERS: 46 Days Remain Until Football Returns!
7/15/2018 12:29:00 PM | Football
Morgan Ryan was a tremendous player whose work as a Bobcat safety has stood the test of time
July 15: Bobcats 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.
#46
Sal Aguilar, LB: As a walk-on from California last fall and this spring, Sal Aguilar turned some heads and played himself into contention for playing time this fall. He is a reserve linebacker who could make an impact on kick teams for the Cats this season.
Spotlight – Morgan Ryan: There are athletic achievements that, in the moment, seem larger than life. There are those that seem impressive in a contemporary sense before fading into the memory. And there are those, like Morgan Ryan's Bobcat career, that seem important when they occur but, as time passes, become even more impressive. A safety from Hudson, Wisconsin, Ryan intercepted his 17th career pass at UNLV in the final game of his junior season, the most interceptions by any Bobcat in history. He added five more as a senior, and his career mark of 22 picks has never been seriously challenged since. In fact, in a day and age when the forward pass is the most-used offensive weapon, only future NFL cornerback Joey Thomas (11 from 2000-03) and Ryan's one-time secondary-mate Mark Grimmer (also 11, 1992-95) have even cracked MSU's career top 10. Some measure of that can be chalked up to the role of pressuring quarterbacks in the contemporary game, but much can be attributed to Ryan's brilliance. By no means was he a cherry-picker who avoided contact – he was a physical presence who was among the team's tackles leaders for three straight years. More accurately, he had an acute sense for the football and was sure-handed once the ball arrived. Morgan Ryan remains Montana State's all-time record-holder in interceptions, and was First Team All-Big Sky twice and Honorable Mention All-America in 1991.
Chronology: Ivar Twilde (1926), Ott Gardner (1927), Harry Bowman (1930), Lloyd Amundson (1930), Corey Dogterom (1940), William Clawson (1946), Carl McManis (1948), Ed Rech (1949), Ed Rech (1950), Darrell Truett (1953), Bernard Brown (1954-55), Fred Merrick (1971), Bill Crowley (1972-75), Calvin Oliver (1976), Ron Juhnke (1977), Jim Anderson (1978-82), Don Schauber (1983), Kevin Kirwin (1984-88), Morgan Ryan (1989-93), Brent Millard (1994-99), James Schlatter (1999), Kevin Fabatz (2000), Jess Dawson (2001), Blake Ghavami (2002), Doc Farley (2003), Jacques Boiteau (2004), Jeff Hastings (2005-06), Dayton Jackson (2007), Ryan D'Agostino (2008-09), Hayden Vick (2011-13), Woody Brandom (2015-16), Sal Aguilar (2017-)
#46
Sal Aguilar, LB: As a walk-on from California last fall and this spring, Sal Aguilar turned some heads and played himself into contention for playing time this fall. He is a reserve linebacker who could make an impact on kick teams for the Cats this season.
Spotlight – Morgan Ryan: There are athletic achievements that, in the moment, seem larger than life. There are those that seem impressive in a contemporary sense before fading into the memory. And there are those, like Morgan Ryan's Bobcat career, that seem important when they occur but, as time passes, become even more impressive. A safety from Hudson, Wisconsin, Ryan intercepted his 17th career pass at UNLV in the final game of his junior season, the most interceptions by any Bobcat in history. He added five more as a senior, and his career mark of 22 picks has never been seriously challenged since. In fact, in a day and age when the forward pass is the most-used offensive weapon, only future NFL cornerback Joey Thomas (11 from 2000-03) and Ryan's one-time secondary-mate Mark Grimmer (also 11, 1992-95) have even cracked MSU's career top 10. Some measure of that can be chalked up to the role of pressuring quarterbacks in the contemporary game, but much can be attributed to Ryan's brilliance. By no means was he a cherry-picker who avoided contact – he was a physical presence who was among the team's tackles leaders for three straight years. More accurately, he had an acute sense for the football and was sure-handed once the ball arrived. Morgan Ryan remains Montana State's all-time record-holder in interceptions, and was First Team All-Big Sky twice and Honorable Mention All-America in 1991.
Chronology: Ivar Twilde (1926), Ott Gardner (1927), Harry Bowman (1930), Lloyd Amundson (1930), Corey Dogterom (1940), William Clawson (1946), Carl McManis (1948), Ed Rech (1949), Ed Rech (1950), Darrell Truett (1953), Bernard Brown (1954-55), Fred Merrick (1971), Bill Crowley (1972-75), Calvin Oliver (1976), Ron Juhnke (1977), Jim Anderson (1978-82), Don Schauber (1983), Kevin Kirwin (1984-88), Morgan Ryan (1989-93), Brent Millard (1994-99), James Schlatter (1999), Kevin Fabatz (2000), Jess Dawson (2001), Blake Ghavami (2002), Doc Farley (2003), Jacques Boiteau (2004), Jeff Hastings (2005-06), Dayton Jackson (2007), Ryan D'Agostino (2008-09), Hayden Vick (2011-13), Woody Brandom (2015-16), Sal Aguilar (2017-)
Players Mentioned
LB
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