BOBCATS BY THE NUMBERS: It's Zach Redd Days Until Kickoff, and a Record-Setting Field Goal
7/3/2019 3:00:00 PM | Football
Jan Stenerud's 59-yard field goal was a sensation in Bozeman, and beyond...
July 3: In addition to a quick look at players wearing the jersey number corresponding to the number of days remaining until Montana State's season opener at Texas Tech on August 31, Bobcats by the Numbers brings you another tidbit or two aligning with that number.
#59
Zach Redd, OL: Zach Redd started Montana State's last five games at guard last fall, part of a two-man rotation with Taylor Tuiasosopo that helped power the Bobcats' dynamic ground game in 2018. The 6-1, 280 lb sophomore enters 2019 as the presumptive starter at center, where he uses his agility and athleticism. Redd's ability to lock down the center position would stabilize one of the best and most experienced lines in the FCS – all five positions in that scenario would be manned by players with starting experience.
59 – Yards traveled on Jan Stenerud's record-setting field goal in 1965
More than a half-century later, Jan Stenerud still chuckles when someone tells him they were at Gatton Field when his 59-yard field goal beat the Grizzlies in 1965. "It was actually the first quarter and it made the score 3-0" in a game 24-7. Still, it was quite a moment when that admittedly wind-aided kick sailed beyond through Gatton Field's west end zone goal posts. In fact, Stenerud recalls booting the kickoff that followed all the way into what is now the Shroyer parking lot. An instant sensation that fall after redshirting the season before "to get used to the crowds," which apparently didn't bother the former ski jumper who had competed in front of 80,000 in his native Norway, Stenerud helped lead the Cats to a 1966 Big Sky title. "Every time I kicked (at MSU) there was a commotion in the stands," he recalled years later. "At times the student section would start yelling for me (when the team neared the 50-yard line) because people hadn't seen a ball kicked that far." Stenerud's exploits landed him notice far and wide, he was drafted by franchises in the AFL and NFL, is now a member of more Halls of Fame than one could reasonably remember. But the young man who came to Bozeman as a ski jumper – earning All-America honors in that sport – still remembers one thing more fondly than anything. "My teammates," he says with a smile, noting so many Bobcats of the 1960s that brought to the school football glory.
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… 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.
#59
Zach Redd, OL: Zach Redd started Montana State's last five games at guard last fall, part of a two-man rotation with Taylor Tuiasosopo that helped power the Bobcats' dynamic ground game in 2018. The 6-1, 280 lb sophomore enters 2019 as the presumptive starter at center, where he uses his agility and athleticism. Redd's ability to lock down the center position would stabilize one of the best and most experienced lines in the FCS – all five positions in that scenario would be manned by players with starting experience.
59 – Yards traveled on Jan Stenerud's record-setting field goal in 1965
More than a half-century later, Jan Stenerud still chuckles when someone tells him they were at Gatton Field when his 59-yard field goal beat the Grizzlies in 1965. "It was actually the first quarter and it made the score 3-0" in a game 24-7. Still, it was quite a moment when that admittedly wind-aided kick sailed beyond through Gatton Field's west end zone goal posts. In fact, Stenerud recalls booting the kickoff that followed all the way into what is now the Shroyer parking lot. An instant sensation that fall after redshirting the season before "to get used to the crowds," which apparently didn't bother the former ski jumper who had competed in front of 80,000 in his native Norway, Stenerud helped lead the Cats to a 1966 Big Sky title. "Every time I kicked (at MSU) there was a commotion in the stands," he recalled years later. "At times the student section would start yelling for me (when the team neared the 50-yard line) because people hadn't seen a ball kicked that far." Stenerud's exploits landed him notice far and wide, he was drafted by franchises in the AFL and NFL, is now a member of more Halls of Fame than one could reasonably remember. But the young man who came to Bozeman as a ski jumper – earning All-America honors in that sport – still remembers one thing more fondly than anything. "My teammates," he says with a smile, noting so many Bobcats of the 1960s that brought to the school football glory.
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… 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.
Players Mentioned
OL
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