BOBCATS BY THE NUMBERS: 94 Days Until Kickoff and a Look at No. 94 This Year and in Bobcat Football's Past
6/2/2021 3:31:00 PM | Football
A quick look at No. 94 in Bobcat Football History
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 2021 football season at Wyoming on September 4.
#94
Byron Rollins, DT: The X's and O's behind a football team's scheme change provide fodder for public discourse and both hope and trepidation in the hearts and minds of fans. But it means something quite different at street level, where players and coaches live, and Byron Rollins is among the Bobcats affected most by the team's current transition to a four-man defensive front. In its most simplistic terms the team's new 4-2-5 defensive formation adds an interior defensive lineman and a defensive back, taking one linebacker off the field and anchoring another from the team's former 3-4 alignment to the line of scrimmage. Rollins enters the summer months in competition for playing time at one of the defensive tackle positions… said differently, the opportunity for an interior defensive lineman to get on the field this year may not quite have doubled, but it increased significantly. Rollins is a Bobcat legacy – his father Josh was a fine lineman at MSU in the late '90s until his career was derailed by injury – and after returning from an LDS Mission he redshirted in 2018 and has proven increasingly productive and is likely to improve .
Rollins moves into jersey number 94 this year for a simple reason: "I wanted a number that's more D-line like."
94 – The number of combined tackles for loss in their careers by Dane Fletcher (51) and Bobby Daly (43). The two native Montanans each earned All-America honors in the Blue and Gold, and each came by their passion for MSU naturally – both had and have strong family ties to Montana State. Daly's father J. was a Bobcat All-America (so was his brother Brad), while Fletcher's parents are both proud Bobcats. Both Fletcher and Daly fought through injuries to log spectacular careers, and Fletcher enjoyed a long, productive NFL career before joining the Bozeman business community. Daly returned to MSU in 2019 as the Bobcats' linebackers coach.
#94 Notebook: The first player (on record) to don #94 in the Blue and Gold, Jamie Smith contributed on the defensive line during his first three varsity seasons then moved to center as a senior in 1985 (and also moving to #65). He is widely respected in Bobcat circles for a distinguished law enforcement career in the Denver area after graduating from Montana State… David Siataga was one of the most popular Bobcats on the 2005-06 Bobcats, a gregarious and friendly young man who was rarely seen without a smile… two Montana-born Bobcats – Brian Pepper of Bozeman and Leo Davis of Billings – began their careers in #94 before position changes took them to different numbers.
Chronology: Jamie Smith (1982-84), Shawn Patrick (1985-86), Ben Brillhart (1987-88), Joe Lane (1989), James Roberts (1990), Brian Pepper (1991), Jess Buck (1992-96), Pat Parker (1997), Brian DevasConCellos (2000), Bryant Munday (2001), Tim O'Tool (2004), David Siataga (2005-06), Leo Davis (2007-08), Chris Music (2010), Griffin Woodall (2011), Devin Jeffries (2013-16), Travis Yates (2017-18), Byron Rollins (2020-).
#94
Byron Rollins, DT: The X's and O's behind a football team's scheme change provide fodder for public discourse and both hope and trepidation in the hearts and minds of fans. But it means something quite different at street level, where players and coaches live, and Byron Rollins is among the Bobcats affected most by the team's current transition to a four-man defensive front. In its most simplistic terms the team's new 4-2-5 defensive formation adds an interior defensive lineman and a defensive back, taking one linebacker off the field and anchoring another from the team's former 3-4 alignment to the line of scrimmage. Rollins enters the summer months in competition for playing time at one of the defensive tackle positions… said differently, the opportunity for an interior defensive lineman to get on the field this year may not quite have doubled, but it increased significantly. Rollins is a Bobcat legacy – his father Josh was a fine lineman at MSU in the late '90s until his career was derailed by injury – and after returning from an LDS Mission he redshirted in 2018 and has proven increasingly productive and is likely to improve .
Rollins moves into jersey number 94 this year for a simple reason: "I wanted a number that's more D-line like."
94 – The number of combined tackles for loss in their careers by Dane Fletcher (51) and Bobby Daly (43). The two native Montanans each earned All-America honors in the Blue and Gold, and each came by their passion for MSU naturally – both had and have strong family ties to Montana State. Daly's father J. was a Bobcat All-America (so was his brother Brad), while Fletcher's parents are both proud Bobcats. Both Fletcher and Daly fought through injuries to log spectacular careers, and Fletcher enjoyed a long, productive NFL career before joining the Bozeman business community. Daly returned to MSU in 2019 as the Bobcats' linebackers coach.
#94 Notebook: The first player (on record) to don #94 in the Blue and Gold, Jamie Smith contributed on the defensive line during his first three varsity seasons then moved to center as a senior in 1985 (and also moving to #65). He is widely respected in Bobcat circles for a distinguished law enforcement career in the Denver area after graduating from Montana State… David Siataga was one of the most popular Bobcats on the 2005-06 Bobcats, a gregarious and friendly young man who was rarely seen without a smile… two Montana-born Bobcats – Brian Pepper of Bozeman and Leo Davis of Billings – began their careers in #94 before position changes took them to different numbers.
Chronology: Jamie Smith (1982-84), Shawn Patrick (1985-86), Ben Brillhart (1987-88), Joe Lane (1989), James Roberts (1990), Brian Pepper (1991), Jess Buck (1992-96), Pat Parker (1997), Brian DevasConCellos (2000), Bryant Munday (2001), Tim O'Tool (2004), David Siataga (2005-06), Leo Davis (2007-08), Chris Music (2010), Griffin Woodall (2011), Devin Jeffries (2013-16), Travis Yates (2017-18), Byron Rollins (2020-).
Players Mentioned
DL
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