BOBCATS BY THE NUMBERS: 28 Days Until Kickoff
8/7/2021 2:00:00 PM | Football
A look at no. 28 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.
#28
Jake D'Agostino, DB: Jake D'Agostino enters his first varsity season at Montana State as a defensive back of great promise. After spending much of his youth in Alaska, he returned to Bozeman in time help lead the Bozeman Hawks to a 2019 Class AA State Championship. His cousin John and uncle Mark both played for the Cats.
Spotlight – Tom LeProwse: Nearly 60 years after hanging up his football cleats, and 45 years after retiring from coaching, Tom LeProwse will always cast a long shadow over the Bozeman sporting scene. He was an All-America for the Bobcats in 1950 and from 1953-73 coached football at Bozeman High. He also started Bozeman High's wrestling program, and one of Montana's most important wrestling meets is named in his honor. The testimonies of his significance in the lives of young people are countless. And yet it nearly didn't happen. Hours after starring in Montana's first Shrine Game – he booted the opening kickoff, and made the first tackle – he married his high school sweetheart, and only on a tip from a sportswriter in his hometown of Butte did Bobcat coach Clyde Carpenter offer LeProwse a scholarship. At 90 years of age, LeProwse remains visible in the community and in Bobcat Athletics wearing his trademark cowboy hat, assisting with the M Club to provide letter jackets to Bobcat student-athletes.
Chronology: Ero Palo (1927), Kenneth McBride (1931), Gay Kravik (1934), Francis Corbin (1937), Bill Zupan (1946-47), Tom LeProwse (1948-50), Jerry Krall (1953), Roy Pezoldt (1954-55), DeWayne Smith (1982-83), Thomas Cory (1984), Cory Lamey (1985-86), Billy Templeton (1987-90), Matt Krahe (1990-94), Craig Johnson (1995), Lathian Tyler (1996-99), Willy Jacobson (2000-02), Carson Curley (2003), Evin Groves (2004-06), Anthony Tillemans (2007), Cory Nicol (2008-09), Steven Bethley (2010), Vince Digiallonardo (2012-13), Kellen Kollmorgen (2014), Logan Jones (2015-19), Jake D'Agostino (2020-)
Bonus #28 - Logan Jones: Logan Jones is the classic case of a football player that may not be destined for fame in the NFL or for All-America honors, but one which finds every way possible to help his team succeed. He has started games at running back, returned a kickoff 100 yards, and carries tags like 'program player' and 'glue guy' in the truest and most positive ways. He enters 2018, his senior season, as a possible starter at running back, but keep an eye out for #28, who will be on the field frequently and in the middle of something positive more often than not.
Other #28 Notes: A pair of Bobcat running backs had pretty decent careers wearing #28 in the Blue and Gold, although injuries forced premature endings. Lathian Tyler rushed for 1,557 yards from 1997-99, spinning into holes and jittering into and out of tackles. Evin Groves' time in the program was shorter, playing only 12 games spread out over his freshman and sophomore seasons, and gaining 645 yards. But his impact was great on one glorious November afternoon in 2005, when he gashed the Grizzly defense for 143 yards in a win over the Grizzlies. He became the first Bobcat freshman to rush for 100 yards in two separate games, his 435 yards was second-most ever by a Bobcat freshman, and his Cat-Griz game was the best in series history (on record) by a frosh.
#28
Jake D'Agostino, DB: Jake D'Agostino enters his first varsity season at Montana State as a defensive back of great promise. After spending much of his youth in Alaska, he returned to Bozeman in time help lead the Bozeman Hawks to a 2019 Class AA State Championship. His cousin John and uncle Mark both played for the Cats.
Spotlight – Tom LeProwse: Nearly 60 years after hanging up his football cleats, and 45 years after retiring from coaching, Tom LeProwse will always cast a long shadow over the Bozeman sporting scene. He was an All-America for the Bobcats in 1950 and from 1953-73 coached football at Bozeman High. He also started Bozeman High's wrestling program, and one of Montana's most important wrestling meets is named in his honor. The testimonies of his significance in the lives of young people are countless. And yet it nearly didn't happen. Hours after starring in Montana's first Shrine Game – he booted the opening kickoff, and made the first tackle – he married his high school sweetheart, and only on a tip from a sportswriter in his hometown of Butte did Bobcat coach Clyde Carpenter offer LeProwse a scholarship. At 90 years of age, LeProwse remains visible in the community and in Bobcat Athletics wearing his trademark cowboy hat, assisting with the M Club to provide letter jackets to Bobcat student-athletes.
Chronology: Ero Palo (1927), Kenneth McBride (1931), Gay Kravik (1934), Francis Corbin (1937), Bill Zupan (1946-47), Tom LeProwse (1948-50), Jerry Krall (1953), Roy Pezoldt (1954-55), DeWayne Smith (1982-83), Thomas Cory (1984), Cory Lamey (1985-86), Billy Templeton (1987-90), Matt Krahe (1990-94), Craig Johnson (1995), Lathian Tyler (1996-99), Willy Jacobson (2000-02), Carson Curley (2003), Evin Groves (2004-06), Anthony Tillemans (2007), Cory Nicol (2008-09), Steven Bethley (2010), Vince Digiallonardo (2012-13), Kellen Kollmorgen (2014), Logan Jones (2015-19), Jake D'Agostino (2020-)
Bonus #28 - Logan Jones: Logan Jones is the classic case of a football player that may not be destined for fame in the NFL or for All-America honors, but one which finds every way possible to help his team succeed. He has started games at running back, returned a kickoff 100 yards, and carries tags like 'program player' and 'glue guy' in the truest and most positive ways. He enters 2018, his senior season, as a possible starter at running back, but keep an eye out for #28, who will be on the field frequently and in the middle of something positive more often than not.
Other #28 Notes: A pair of Bobcat running backs had pretty decent careers wearing #28 in the Blue and Gold, although injuries forced premature endings. Lathian Tyler rushed for 1,557 yards from 1997-99, spinning into holes and jittering into and out of tackles. Evin Groves' time in the program was shorter, playing only 12 games spread out over his freshman and sophomore seasons, and gaining 645 yards. But his impact was great on one glorious November afternoon in 2005, when he gashed the Grizzly defense for 143 yards in a win over the Grizzlies. He became the first Bobcat freshman to rush for 100 yards in two separate games, his 435 yards was second-most ever by a Bobcat freshman, and his Cat-Griz game was the best in series history (on record) by a frosh.
Players Mentioned
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