BOBCATS BY THE NUMBERS: 27 Days Until Kickoff
8/8/2021 2:00:00 PM | Football
A look at no. 27 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.
#27
Connor Ryan, DB: Connor Ryan begins his varsity career as a Bobcat defensive back this fall, across the line of scrimmage from where his father Si starred as a Bobcat running back from 1989-92. Si rushed for over 1,500 yards for the Cats, and Connor was an all-conference and all-state choice for Billings West as a senior in 2019.
Spotlight – 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.
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.
#27
Connor Ryan, DB: Connor Ryan begins his varsity career as a Bobcat defensive back this fall, across the line of scrimmage from where his father Si starred as a Bobcat running back from 1989-92. Si rushed for over 1,500 yards for the Cats, and Connor was an all-conference and all-state choice for Billings West as a senior in 2019.
Spotlight – 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.
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.
Players Mentioned
DB
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