BOBCATS BY THE NUMBERS: Bobcat Football Returns in 59 Days
7/2/2018 4:16:00 PM | Football
Lonnie Burt was a standout defensive lineman for the '84 championship team
July 2: 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.
#59
Zach Redd, OL: Zach Redd optimized his redshirt season last fall, then turned the spring of 2018 into a strong audition for starting center honors in the fall. His emergence helped facilitate the move of incumbent center Alex Neale to guard.
Spotlight – Lonnie Burt, DT: Great football teams invariably receive contributions from players willing to do the dirty work without much recognition. On the 1984 Bobcat defense, Lonnie Burt was one of those guys. A third-year starter by the time the Bobcats began that magical journey to that season's National Championship, Burt's 76 tackles as a senior stood as sixth-best on the team, a high total for a nose guard. In fact, Burt's productivity belied his position. He logged five tackles-for-loss and two sacks as a senior, and rolled up nine tackles-for-loss the season before. Burt's relentless play gained for the Helena Capital product the nod as MSU's most improved junior in the spring of 1983, foreshadowing of things to come. He earned First Team All-Big Sky and Honorable Mention All-America honors as a senior.
Chronology: John Wilkinson (1954), Lonnie Burt (1981-84), Kevin Wolf (1985), Matt Mitchell (1986-88), Mark Haberon (1990), Guy Millington (1991-1994), John McDonnell (1995), Dallas Martin (1999-2000), Mike Marini (2001), Ryan Calhoun (2002), Jeff Moore (2005), Tanner Ripley (2006-10), Trey Spirlin (2010), Fletcher Collins (2012-16), Zach Redd (2017-)
Other #59 Notes: A pair of one-time walk-on linebackers impacted the Bobcat program greatly wearing #59. Tanner Ripley joined the Bobcats in 2006 from tiny Highwood, and logged eight tackles on kick teams the next season. He was considered MSU's top special teams player during all four of his varsity seasons, earning the program's Jan Stenerud Kick Teams MVP Award as a junior. He also was consistently an exemplary student-athlete in terms of his community service, earning MSU's ALL-Star Award as a senior. Fletcher Collins came along two seasons after Ripley departed and was limited only by injuries. He was a special teams standout when healthy and earned a starting spot as a junior. Injuries derailed that season, but he returned with a vengeance as a senior, starting all 11 games and finishing second on the team with 79 tackles.
Bonus #59 Notes: It's not a jersey number, but you really can't honor the number 59 – as in 59 yards, the length of Jan Stenerud's 'world record' field goal that boomed out of Gatton Field in 1965 – often enough if you're a Bobcat fan. So here's a tip of the hat to the Friendly Norwegian, who remains a dyed-in-the-wool Bobcat to this day.
#59
Zach Redd, OL: Zach Redd optimized his redshirt season last fall, then turned the spring of 2018 into a strong audition for starting center honors in the fall. His emergence helped facilitate the move of incumbent center Alex Neale to guard.
Spotlight – Lonnie Burt, DT: Great football teams invariably receive contributions from players willing to do the dirty work without much recognition. On the 1984 Bobcat defense, Lonnie Burt was one of those guys. A third-year starter by the time the Bobcats began that magical journey to that season's National Championship, Burt's 76 tackles as a senior stood as sixth-best on the team, a high total for a nose guard. In fact, Burt's productivity belied his position. He logged five tackles-for-loss and two sacks as a senior, and rolled up nine tackles-for-loss the season before. Burt's relentless play gained for the Helena Capital product the nod as MSU's most improved junior in the spring of 1983, foreshadowing of things to come. He earned First Team All-Big Sky and Honorable Mention All-America honors as a senior.
Chronology: John Wilkinson (1954), Lonnie Burt (1981-84), Kevin Wolf (1985), Matt Mitchell (1986-88), Mark Haberon (1990), Guy Millington (1991-1994), John McDonnell (1995), Dallas Martin (1999-2000), Mike Marini (2001), Ryan Calhoun (2002), Jeff Moore (2005), Tanner Ripley (2006-10), Trey Spirlin (2010), Fletcher Collins (2012-16), Zach Redd (2017-)
Other #59 Notes: A pair of one-time walk-on linebackers impacted the Bobcat program greatly wearing #59. Tanner Ripley joined the Bobcats in 2006 from tiny Highwood, and logged eight tackles on kick teams the next season. He was considered MSU's top special teams player during all four of his varsity seasons, earning the program's Jan Stenerud Kick Teams MVP Award as a junior. He also was consistently an exemplary student-athlete in terms of his community service, earning MSU's ALL-Star Award as a senior. Fletcher Collins came along two seasons after Ripley departed and was limited only by injuries. He was a special teams standout when healthy and earned a starting spot as a junior. Injuries derailed that season, but he returned with a vengeance as a senior, starting all 11 games and finishing second on the team with 79 tackles.
Bonus #59 Notes: It's not a jersey number, but you really can't honor the number 59 – as in 59 yards, the length of Jan Stenerud's 'world record' field goal that boomed out of Gatton Field in 1965 – often enough if you're a Bobcat fan. So here's a tip of the hat to the Friendly Norwegian, who remains a dyed-in-the-wool Bobcat to this day.
Players Mentioned
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