BOBCATS BY THE NUMBERS: It's Callahan O'Reilly Days Until Kickoff!
7/20/2021 10:05:00 AM | Football
A look at the number 47 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.
#47
Callahan O'Reilly, LB: Callahan O'Reilly played quarterback – and played it well – at Bozeman High. It's lost on no one close to the Bobcat football program that, even though he transitioned to the defensive side of the football early in his time at Montana State, he still looks like a quarterback. O'Reilly is clearly the man in charge in the middle of the Bobcat stop unit, in addition to being a sideline-to-sideline tackle machine whose sly smile and quiet demeanor is a staple of the program. O'Reilly's 91 tackles led the team in 2019, and he has more than lived up to the brilliant lineage of jersey number 47 that has been worn with such pride by stars such as Dane Fletcher and Kevin Lundstrom and Jonathan Molock. O'Reilly's Bobcat blood runs deep, and includes a cousin and former teammate Grant Collins. Once a converted offensive player searching for a role, O'Reilly is now a cornerstone of the Bobcat defense.
Spotlight – Kevin Lundstrom: Another player who rode strong Blue and Gold bloodlines into the Bobcat program, Kevin Lundstrom will always be a favorite at BBTN. The nephew of former Bobcat Ken Lang, Lundy was part of a mid-1990s renaissance of MSU football that featured defensive units that were packed to the hilt with talent. He came to MSU as a walk-on from Malta and became a three-year starter. He earned First Team All-Big Sky honors as a senior, but his brightest moment may have come two years earlier. Against #17 Idaho State in 2006, logged 12 tackles, including nine solos and one for a loss, to pace Montana State to a 17-13 win. Two of those solo tackles came with Idaho State at the Bobcat goal line on the game's closing sequence, and to cap the story that day marked Lundstrom's 21st birthday. Kevin Lundstrom earned Big Sky Player of the Week honors for that effort, and remains one of the most passionate and loyal Bobcats of them all.
Chronology: Joe Wellington (1927), Jack Burke (1940), Bob Findlater (1941), Len Larson (1946-47), Max Berg (1948), Jack McDonald (1949), Al Miller (1950), Herb Roberts (1953-56), Scott Anderson (1980), Joe Roberts (1981-84), Todd Brown (1985-86), Scott Kimball (1987-89), Tyler Herbst (1990-91), Ben Racicot (1992), Chris Ogle (1993-94), Kevin Lundstrom (1995-98), Ryan Elliott (1999), Brian Olson (2000), Phil Davey (2001), Brandon Flaig (2002), Jonathan Molock (2003-04), Dane Fletcher (2005-09), Taylor Dees (2011-14), Keegan Bray (2015-16), Callahan O'Reilly (2018-)
Other #47 Notes: Speaking of big-time games by Bobcats wearing #47, the afternoon turned in by Dane Fletcher against #23 Northern Arizona on November 8, 2008, in Flagstaff will forever rank as among the most sensational and most heartbreaking in Bobcat history. Fletcher recorded six tackles, one sack and three other tackles-for-loss, forced a fumble, recovered a fumble, and blocked two kicks, as MSU beat the Lumberjacks 25-23. Impressively and unfortunately, that work came in about three quarters of play because Fletcher suffered a season-ending knee injury.
#47
Callahan O'Reilly, LB: Callahan O'Reilly played quarterback – and played it well – at Bozeman High. It's lost on no one close to the Bobcat football program that, even though he transitioned to the defensive side of the football early in his time at Montana State, he still looks like a quarterback. O'Reilly is clearly the man in charge in the middle of the Bobcat stop unit, in addition to being a sideline-to-sideline tackle machine whose sly smile and quiet demeanor is a staple of the program. O'Reilly's 91 tackles led the team in 2019, and he has more than lived up to the brilliant lineage of jersey number 47 that has been worn with such pride by stars such as Dane Fletcher and Kevin Lundstrom and Jonathan Molock. O'Reilly's Bobcat blood runs deep, and includes a cousin and former teammate Grant Collins. Once a converted offensive player searching for a role, O'Reilly is now a cornerstone of the Bobcat defense.
Spotlight – Kevin Lundstrom: Another player who rode strong Blue and Gold bloodlines into the Bobcat program, Kevin Lundstrom will always be a favorite at BBTN. The nephew of former Bobcat Ken Lang, Lundy was part of a mid-1990s renaissance of MSU football that featured defensive units that were packed to the hilt with talent. He came to MSU as a walk-on from Malta and became a three-year starter. He earned First Team All-Big Sky honors as a senior, but his brightest moment may have come two years earlier. Against #17 Idaho State in 2006, logged 12 tackles, including nine solos and one for a loss, to pace Montana State to a 17-13 win. Two of those solo tackles came with Idaho State at the Bobcat goal line on the game's closing sequence, and to cap the story that day marked Lundstrom's 21st birthday. Kevin Lundstrom earned Big Sky Player of the Week honors for that effort, and remains one of the most passionate and loyal Bobcats of them all.
Chronology: Joe Wellington (1927), Jack Burke (1940), Bob Findlater (1941), Len Larson (1946-47), Max Berg (1948), Jack McDonald (1949), Al Miller (1950), Herb Roberts (1953-56), Scott Anderson (1980), Joe Roberts (1981-84), Todd Brown (1985-86), Scott Kimball (1987-89), Tyler Herbst (1990-91), Ben Racicot (1992), Chris Ogle (1993-94), Kevin Lundstrom (1995-98), Ryan Elliott (1999), Brian Olson (2000), Phil Davey (2001), Brandon Flaig (2002), Jonathan Molock (2003-04), Dane Fletcher (2005-09), Taylor Dees (2011-14), Keegan Bray (2015-16), Callahan O'Reilly (2018-)
Other #47 Notes: Speaking of big-time games by Bobcats wearing #47, the afternoon turned in by Dane Fletcher against #23 Northern Arizona on November 8, 2008, in Flagstaff will forever rank as among the most sensational and most heartbreaking in Bobcat history. Fletcher recorded six tackles, one sack and three other tackles-for-loss, forced a fumble, recovered a fumble, and blocked two kicks, as MSU beat the Lumberjacks 25-23. Impressively and unfortunately, that work came in about three quarters of play because Fletcher suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Players Mentioned
LB
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