Mike Person
Photo by: Kelly Gorham
'STILL THE SAME GUY' - Former Bobcat Mike Person Plays in Sunday's Super Bowl
2/1/2020 10:28:00 PM | Football
Glendive product becomes the seventh Bobcat to line up for a Super Bowl team
BOZEMAN, Montana – It was a quiet conversation between teammates in the stark environs of the home team locker room at Bobcat Stadium in the early winter of 2010, when the harsh realities of defeat and winter intersected. Bobcat senior Michael Rider knew that Montana State's playoff loss that day ended his career, but he looked offensive tackle Mike Person in the eye.
"Mike was a four-year starter, was an All-American, and knew that he was going to have an opportunity to play in the NFL," said Rider, who like Person was a captain on that Big Sky Championship team. "I just remember saying, 'I can't wait to watch what you do. You get to go continue to play football.' I was jealous in so many ways, but little did I expect that nine years later he's still playing football and he's fought through so much. It's cool. I'm proud to be a teammate of his, and a brother, and I'm super excited for what he has in front of him this weekend."
What's in front of Person this weekend is the ultimate football experience. His San Francisco 49ers play the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV, with Person slated to start at right guard for the Niners.
One of Person's former Bobcat teammates, Dane Fletcher, has faced what Person will on Sunday. An All-America defensive end at MSU in 2009, Fletcher said that he has no advice to offer his former practice adversary. "I feel like I know Mike pretty well, and I know he has things locked down," Fletcher said. "I think he has his nose to the grindstone (during the week leading to the Super Bowl), and I'm pretty excited for him to have this opportunity."
It seems like a long way from Class A Dawson County High School to the Super Bowl for a player like Person, but that isn't the half of it. The former Bobcat All-America who was part and parcel of the team's run to the 2010 Big Sky Championship has overcome adversity throughout his career. In addition to overcoming injuries, the former seventh-round draft choice fought through the ups and downs of professional football. He was cut three times during a season by teams that ended up in the Super Bowl.
But Rider saw in Person years ago traits that would help him overcome every obstacle that landed in his path. "He really was a guy that was going to go the extra mile," Rider said. "He didn't complain, ever, whether it was winter conditioning or two-a-days, he was just a get-it-done type of guy. There were no excuses, he was going to out-work you and wasn't going to be flashy."
According to Fletcher, nothing Person has experienced to this point in his life will prepare him for what he will see early Sunday evening in Miami. "When you're on the field and you run down on special teams or defense, and the lights are on and the cameras are flashing, it's pretty nuts," Fletcher said. "It's exciting. The buddies that had been there before told me that on the (opening) kickoff it's almost blinding with all the cameras flashing that hit you right then, but after that it's just football. Then after that it's back to normal, almost like being back in high school, you're just playing football, communicating (with teammates), like normal."
San Francisco's road to Super Bowl LIV came on the back of a bruising ground game. The 49ers rushed for 2,305 yards during the regular season, second-most in the league, using head coach Kyle Shanahan's famed zone-blocking scheme. Person has thrived at right guard, and MSU defensive coordinator Kane Ioane, a defensive assistant coach during Person's playing years at MSU, isn't surprised.
""His athletic ability," Ioane says, singling out the key to Person's current success. "He's able to put himself in great position, always gets to leverage, and his athletic ability as an inside guard is fun to watch. The way he's able to climb to the second level and get those outside linebackers cut off on the 49ers outside zone plays, that's a key component to what they do. Mike, it's obvious, is a big part of that because of his athletic ability."
Part of that ability, Ioane says, is tied to an unlikely source. "He has the biggest feet I can remember," Ioane said. "The size of his cleats were amazing. That always stood out to me, his giant feet and how quickly he could move them to get in front of the defensive person he was blocking."
Rider served as a team captain during the 2010 season, along with Person, but their relationship dated to the 2006 Badlands Bowl. "He was a guy that cared about his teammates" even then, Rider said. "I was (going to MSU as) a walk-on, he was a full-scholarship guy out of Glendive, a highly-coveted prospect from the state of Montana, but I remember him treating everyone the same. He was a welcoming guy, but more than anything he was a blue collar, hardhat, lunch pail type of guy. He was that way from the day I met him at the Badlands Bowl all the way through what we're seeing now, which is so fun to see."
In addition to giving the Bobcats an advantage on game days, Ioane says Person's presence in practice also tilted the field in the direction of MSU's defense. "He was the best guy that we faced every week," Ioane said. "Regardless of who we were playing, whether it was a Big Sky Conference game or non-conference, we knew we were going to get the best look from the guy we played across from every single day. He was the nicest guy in the world, always came to work with a smile on his face, but when the ball was snapped he was a wall. We knew every week we were playing the best (offensive lineman) in the Big Sky Conference."
When Rider thinks of the team's thrilling 2010 championship campaign, he remembers a moment with Person far from center-stage times like conference clashes or the win against the Grizzlies in Missoula. "I remember going into fall camp, him and I had a chance to chat on the practice field. We had the opportunity to talk about expectations going into the 2010 season. We had a lot of talent in 2009, with a lot of great players, and moving into 2010 we knew we had a lot of pieces to the puzzle. We didn't know that a guy like DeNarius would be stepping up to the plate, but we knew we had a lot of key ingredients. I remember having a candid conversation about where we want to go and what we want to do, and it was pretty fun to see that transpire and live that out in 2010, to win a conference title and beat the Griz."
And when Rider watches Person in Sunday's Super Bowl, he knew he'll see the same player he went to battle with so many times in the Blue and Gold. "He was always that hard-hat, lunch pail, extra rep player," Rider said, "and I know he's the same guy. It's really cool to see."
Person, who wears No. 68, and the 49ers kick off against Kansas City at 4:30 pm MT Sunday on Fox.
#GoCatsGo
"Mike was a four-year starter, was an All-American, and knew that he was going to have an opportunity to play in the NFL," said Rider, who like Person was a captain on that Big Sky Championship team. "I just remember saying, 'I can't wait to watch what you do. You get to go continue to play football.' I was jealous in so many ways, but little did I expect that nine years later he's still playing football and he's fought through so much. It's cool. I'm proud to be a teammate of his, and a brother, and I'm super excited for what he has in front of him this weekend."
What's in front of Person this weekend is the ultimate football experience. His San Francisco 49ers play the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV, with Person slated to start at right guard for the Niners.
One of Person's former Bobcat teammates, Dane Fletcher, has faced what Person will on Sunday. An All-America defensive end at MSU in 2009, Fletcher said that he has no advice to offer his former practice adversary. "I feel like I know Mike pretty well, and I know he has things locked down," Fletcher said. "I think he has his nose to the grindstone (during the week leading to the Super Bowl), and I'm pretty excited for him to have this opportunity."
It seems like a long way from Class A Dawson County High School to the Super Bowl for a player like Person, but that isn't the half of it. The former Bobcat All-America who was part and parcel of the team's run to the 2010 Big Sky Championship has overcome adversity throughout his career. In addition to overcoming injuries, the former seventh-round draft choice fought through the ups and downs of professional football. He was cut three times during a season by teams that ended up in the Super Bowl.
But Rider saw in Person years ago traits that would help him overcome every obstacle that landed in his path. "He really was a guy that was going to go the extra mile," Rider said. "He didn't complain, ever, whether it was winter conditioning or two-a-days, he was just a get-it-done type of guy. There were no excuses, he was going to out-work you and wasn't going to be flashy."
According to Fletcher, nothing Person has experienced to this point in his life will prepare him for what he will see early Sunday evening in Miami. "When you're on the field and you run down on special teams or defense, and the lights are on and the cameras are flashing, it's pretty nuts," Fletcher said. "It's exciting. The buddies that had been there before told me that on the (opening) kickoff it's almost blinding with all the cameras flashing that hit you right then, but after that it's just football. Then after that it's back to normal, almost like being back in high school, you're just playing football, communicating (with teammates), like normal."
San Francisco's road to Super Bowl LIV came on the back of a bruising ground game. The 49ers rushed for 2,305 yards during the regular season, second-most in the league, using head coach Kyle Shanahan's famed zone-blocking scheme. Person has thrived at right guard, and MSU defensive coordinator Kane Ioane, a defensive assistant coach during Person's playing years at MSU, isn't surprised.
""His athletic ability," Ioane says, singling out the key to Person's current success. "He's able to put himself in great position, always gets to leverage, and his athletic ability as an inside guard is fun to watch. The way he's able to climb to the second level and get those outside linebackers cut off on the 49ers outside zone plays, that's a key component to what they do. Mike, it's obvious, is a big part of that because of his athletic ability."
Part of that ability, Ioane says, is tied to an unlikely source. "He has the biggest feet I can remember," Ioane said. "The size of his cleats were amazing. That always stood out to me, his giant feet and how quickly he could move them to get in front of the defensive person he was blocking."
Rider served as a team captain during the 2010 season, along with Person, but their relationship dated to the 2006 Badlands Bowl. "He was a guy that cared about his teammates" even then, Rider said. "I was (going to MSU as) a walk-on, he was a full-scholarship guy out of Glendive, a highly-coveted prospect from the state of Montana, but I remember him treating everyone the same. He was a welcoming guy, but more than anything he was a blue collar, hardhat, lunch pail type of guy. He was that way from the day I met him at the Badlands Bowl all the way through what we're seeing now, which is so fun to see."
In addition to giving the Bobcats an advantage on game days, Ioane says Person's presence in practice also tilted the field in the direction of MSU's defense. "He was the best guy that we faced every week," Ioane said. "Regardless of who we were playing, whether it was a Big Sky Conference game or non-conference, we knew we were going to get the best look from the guy we played across from every single day. He was the nicest guy in the world, always came to work with a smile on his face, but when the ball was snapped he was a wall. We knew every week we were playing the best (offensive lineman) in the Big Sky Conference."
When Rider thinks of the team's thrilling 2010 championship campaign, he remembers a moment with Person far from center-stage times like conference clashes or the win against the Grizzlies in Missoula. "I remember going into fall camp, him and I had a chance to chat on the practice field. We had the opportunity to talk about expectations going into the 2010 season. We had a lot of talent in 2009, with a lot of great players, and moving into 2010 we knew we had a lot of pieces to the puzzle. We didn't know that a guy like DeNarius would be stepping up to the plate, but we knew we had a lot of key ingredients. I remember having a candid conversation about where we want to go and what we want to do, and it was pretty fun to see that transpire and live that out in 2010, to win a conference title and beat the Griz."
And when Rider watches Person in Sunday's Super Bowl, he knew he'll see the same player he went to battle with so many times in the Blue and Gold. "He was always that hard-hat, lunch pail, extra rep player," Rider said, "and I know he's the same guy. It's really cool to see."
Person, who wears No. 68, and the 49ers kick off against Kansas City at 4:30 pm MT Sunday on Fox.
#GoCatsGo
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