BOBCATS BY THE NUMBERS: 27 Days Until Kickoff!
8/4/2019 8:11:00 AM | Football
Damien Washington is a key member of the MSU secondary
August 4: 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.
#27
Damien Washington, CB: Damien Washington joined the Bobcat secondary as a true freshman in 2016 as a starting corner, and has never left. He hasn't always started, but he's played both cornerback positions and the nickel spot. He registered 13 tackles last season, and has 42 tackles and eight pass breakups in his career. As a sophomore he forced a Washington State fumble and recovered one against South Dakota State. He enters his senior season in competition for starting honors, but is a lock to be a key contributor.
27(.7) – Yards per kickoff return by Rob Tesch in 1991
In the fall of 1990, as Rob Tesch was in the process of returning kickoffs an average of 28.1 yards, an assistant coach told a young-ish member of Bobcat Athletics to just wait until that kid over there returned for the 1991 season. Redshirt Sean Hill, the assistant coach said, was *really* something as a returner. That comment may have undersold both Tesch and Hill. Tesch return average in 1990 was then the second-best mark in school history, and he answered that one year later by averaging 27.7 yards per kick return. After Tesch's tenure as a return specialist ended, Hill took over and averaged 27.2 yards per return in 1993. Hill was an All-America defensive back as a senior that season, and was an All-Big Sky returner. Until Corey Smith and Shaun Johnson came along, Tesch and Hill were two of the program's all-time great returners.
Chronology: Emil Krisman (1931), Vernon Almich (1934), Robert Willett (1937), Joe May (1940), William Kornelius (1941), Kenneth Card (1946), Dave Smith (1947), Jim Schrumpf (1948-49), Wally Palmer (1953), Larry Stiff (1954), Duane Delger (1956), Steve King (1982), Clete Linebarger (1983-85), Scott Neuman (1986), Kirk Copeland (1987), Ken Buss (1988-89), Mark Muersh (1990-91), Brad Kimball (1992), Shawn Kraft (1993-94), Noel Kulbeck (1995-96), Matt Ueland (1997-00), Otis Garnett (2001), Jimmy Beal (2002-04), Luke Holden (2005), Kevin Retoriano (2006-10), Rob Walsh (2011), Justin Pierson (2011), Levi Sterley (2012), Gunnar Brekke (2013-15), Damien Washington (2016-)
Other #27 Notes: Noel Kulbeck had likely heard it all by the time he arrived at MSU – too small, not quite fast enough, not physical enough. All the Billings West grad did at MSU at cornerback for the Cats for his final three seasons (1997-98-99, although he wore #11 during those campaigns), including two of the program's best years between the 1984 and 2002 championship campaigns (1997-98). He picked off four passes in that span, but his third was the most memorable – in 1998 he returned a Weber State interception 34 yards for a touchdown in MSU's 10-7 win. In the years following his fine MSU career, Noel became a successful and respected Big Sky football official… Clete Linebarger: Clete Linebarger once told Colter Nuanez of Skyline Sports that Montana State's 1984 defense was composed of "a bunch of guys who got along. We all had the same upbringing, the same background, the same work ethic. Everything just fit." Montana State's 1984 National Championship season remains known for offense – the precision passing of Kelly Bradley, Joe Bignell's monster season at tight end, Jesse Jones' highlight-reel plays – but that team's heartbeat was its defense. Punishing and relentless, the Cats took the ball away 33 times in the regular season, and the defense was a complete, balanced unit. In the middle of it all was Clete Linebarger (a Conrad Cowboy), a Bobcat legacy (his father Clayton was a tremendous player in the Blue and Gold a couple decades earlier) who was fourth on the team with 94 tackles. His six sacks was second on the team – after Mark Fellows' logic-defying 23 sacks there weren't many opportunities left – and he forced a couple of fumbles. (Please note that all stats reflect only regular season games, playoff games weren't included in season totals at the time.) His total of seven career forced fumbles stood as a Bobcat record until Caleb Schreibeis and then Mac Bignell – the son of Linebarger's former teammate – came along to break it. Seven forced fumbles remains the third-highest total in MSU history. Clete, whose son Conner is a baseball star at MSU Billings and daughter Lexi is a star in life at Colorado – is a Bozeman chiropractor who continues to positively impact the lives of athletes of all ages in Bozeman with health care.
#27
Damien Washington, CB: Damien Washington joined the Bobcat secondary as a true freshman in 2016 as a starting corner, and has never left. He hasn't always started, but he's played both cornerback positions and the nickel spot. He registered 13 tackles last season, and has 42 tackles and eight pass breakups in his career. As a sophomore he forced a Washington State fumble and recovered one against South Dakota State. He enters his senior season in competition for starting honors, but is a lock to be a key contributor.
27(.7) – Yards per kickoff return by Rob Tesch in 1991
In the fall of 1990, as Rob Tesch was in the process of returning kickoffs an average of 28.1 yards, an assistant coach told a young-ish member of Bobcat Athletics to just wait until that kid over there returned for the 1991 season. Redshirt Sean Hill, the assistant coach said, was *really* something as a returner. That comment may have undersold both Tesch and Hill. Tesch return average in 1990 was then the second-best mark in school history, and he answered that one year later by averaging 27.7 yards per kick return. After Tesch's tenure as a return specialist ended, Hill took over and averaged 27.2 yards per return in 1993. Hill was an All-America defensive back as a senior that season, and was an All-Big Sky returner. Until Corey Smith and Shaun Johnson came along, Tesch and Hill were two of the program's all-time great returners.
Chronology: Emil Krisman (1931), Vernon Almich (1934), Robert Willett (1937), Joe May (1940), William Kornelius (1941), Kenneth Card (1946), Dave Smith (1947), Jim Schrumpf (1948-49), Wally Palmer (1953), Larry Stiff (1954), Duane Delger (1956), Steve King (1982), Clete Linebarger (1983-85), Scott Neuman (1986), Kirk Copeland (1987), Ken Buss (1988-89), Mark Muersh (1990-91), Brad Kimball (1992), Shawn Kraft (1993-94), Noel Kulbeck (1995-96), Matt Ueland (1997-00), Otis Garnett (2001), Jimmy Beal (2002-04), Luke Holden (2005), Kevin Retoriano (2006-10), Rob Walsh (2011), Justin Pierson (2011), Levi Sterley (2012), Gunnar Brekke (2013-15), Damien Washington (2016-)
Other #27 Notes: Noel Kulbeck had likely heard it all by the time he arrived at MSU – too small, not quite fast enough, not physical enough. All the Billings West grad did at MSU at cornerback for the Cats for his final three seasons (1997-98-99, although he wore #11 during those campaigns), including two of the program's best years between the 1984 and 2002 championship campaigns (1997-98). He picked off four passes in that span, but his third was the most memorable – in 1998 he returned a Weber State interception 34 yards for a touchdown in MSU's 10-7 win. In the years following his fine MSU career, Noel became a successful and respected Big Sky football official… Clete Linebarger: Clete Linebarger once told Colter Nuanez of Skyline Sports that Montana State's 1984 defense was composed of "a bunch of guys who got along. We all had the same upbringing, the same background, the same work ethic. Everything just fit." Montana State's 1984 National Championship season remains known for offense – the precision passing of Kelly Bradley, Joe Bignell's monster season at tight end, Jesse Jones' highlight-reel plays – but that team's heartbeat was its defense. Punishing and relentless, the Cats took the ball away 33 times in the regular season, and the defense was a complete, balanced unit. In the middle of it all was Clete Linebarger (a Conrad Cowboy), a Bobcat legacy (his father Clayton was a tremendous player in the Blue and Gold a couple decades earlier) who was fourth on the team with 94 tackles. His six sacks was second on the team – after Mark Fellows' logic-defying 23 sacks there weren't many opportunities left – and he forced a couple of fumbles. (Please note that all stats reflect only regular season games, playoff games weren't included in season totals at the time.) His total of seven career forced fumbles stood as a Bobcat record until Caleb Schreibeis and then Mac Bignell – the son of Linebarger's former teammate – came along to break it. Seven forced fumbles remains the third-highest total in MSU history. Clete, whose son Conner is a baseball star at MSU Billings and daughter Lexi is a star in life at Colorado – is a Bozeman chiropractor who continues to positively impact the lives of athletes of all ages in Bozeman with health care.
Players Mentioned
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