Photo by: Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez
BOBCATS 125: Brayden Konkol
6/3/2022 2:47:00 PM | Football
Brayden Konkol grew up going to games at Bobcats Stadium, then starred there for four years in the Blue and Gold
Leading to the 2022 season, the 125th anniversary of Montana State's first football team, we will look at 125 of the greatest Bobcats. You can find details here and a directory here.
Brayden Konkol, S, 2016-19
ALL-TIME TEAM: None previously
HONORS: 2nd Team All-America and 1st Team All-Big Sky in 2019
A CLOSER LOOK: Brayden Konkol did many amazing things on the football field, and brought great distinction to Montana State's legacy jersey, No. 41. The former Belgrade High star who grew up going to games in Bobcat Stadium started at safety on and off during the first two years of his Bobcat career but was a full-time starter and key player as a junior and senior during two of the school's most memorable playoff runs in 2018 and 2019.
After his last Cat-Griz game, when he helped lead the Bobcats to a 48-14 thrashing of their in-state rivals - The Beatdown in Bozeman - in 2019, Konkol was asked when he knew Montana State had the game won, a question clearly looking for a moment in time on that glorious Saturday when the senior from Belgrade and his teammates knew that game was over, the win sealed. Konkol didn't hesitate.
"Sunday," he said, with no trace or humor in his voice or mischief in his eyes. He rationally explained that after watching video six days earlier in preparation for the big game he knew his team was better. He professed the ultimate belief in the players he would line up with, and the coaches who would prepare them. Konkol and his mates played brilliant football that day, and in fact it was the coalescence of his group of veterans, which was loaded with Montanans, that helped lead the MSU program from its brief swoon of 2015-17 sub-.500 records to the amazing run from 2018 until the present.
What a resurgence it was. The Cats won the Miracle in Missoula in 2018 to barge its way into the playoffs, then beat Incarnate Word for the program's first post-season win since 2012. In 2019, when Konkol and Derek Marks and Mitch Brott and so many others played as seniors, the Cats a tough mid-October stretch to finish third in the Big Sky, win a fourth straight Cat-Griz game, then blast their to the FCS Semifinals. Konkol registered 158 tackles in those final two seasons, with five interceptions and 13 pass breakups. He caused one fumble and recovered five, displaying his nose for the football and the physicality that became his hallmark. Konkol's passion for football and pride in the Bobcat program made him the perfect player to wear the legacy jersey, No. 41.
FROM FORMER HEAD COACH JEFF CHOATE: "Brayden is a guy that got screwed by the Covid year because I think he could have made an NFL team. He redshirted the year before we got here but he was a four-year starter, part-time for some of that, with a unique skill set. He was a big, physical safety but he had coverage ability. We weren't scared to play man on the slot (receiver) with him even though he looked like a linebacker lined up out there. He was the Sergeant of Arms for those teams. We had a lot of hard-working, polite, yes sir, no sir, guys, but when you needed a guy to get in a fist fight, that was Brayden. He hated to lose and wore it on his sleeve, and he worked his butt of to make sure we were in a position to win. He was a physical presence for us on the back end, and as far his desire to win, Brayden was an important part of it for us."
Brayden Konkol, S, 2016-19
ALL-TIME TEAM: None previously
HONORS: 2nd Team All-America and 1st Team All-Big Sky in 2019
A CLOSER LOOK: Brayden Konkol did many amazing things on the football field, and brought great distinction to Montana State's legacy jersey, No. 41. The former Belgrade High star who grew up going to games in Bobcat Stadium started at safety on and off during the first two years of his Bobcat career but was a full-time starter and key player as a junior and senior during two of the school's most memorable playoff runs in 2018 and 2019.
After his last Cat-Griz game, when he helped lead the Bobcats to a 48-14 thrashing of their in-state rivals - The Beatdown in Bozeman - in 2019, Konkol was asked when he knew Montana State had the game won, a question clearly looking for a moment in time on that glorious Saturday when the senior from Belgrade and his teammates knew that game was over, the win sealed. Konkol didn't hesitate.
"Sunday," he said, with no trace or humor in his voice or mischief in his eyes. He rationally explained that after watching video six days earlier in preparation for the big game he knew his team was better. He professed the ultimate belief in the players he would line up with, and the coaches who would prepare them. Konkol and his mates played brilliant football that day, and in fact it was the coalescence of his group of veterans, which was loaded with Montanans, that helped lead the MSU program from its brief swoon of 2015-17 sub-.500 records to the amazing run from 2018 until the present.
What a resurgence it was. The Cats won the Miracle in Missoula in 2018 to barge its way into the playoffs, then beat Incarnate Word for the program's first post-season win since 2012. In 2019, when Konkol and Derek Marks and Mitch Brott and so many others played as seniors, the Cats a tough mid-October stretch to finish third in the Big Sky, win a fourth straight Cat-Griz game, then blast their to the FCS Semifinals. Konkol registered 158 tackles in those final two seasons, with five interceptions and 13 pass breakups. He caused one fumble and recovered five, displaying his nose for the football and the physicality that became his hallmark. Konkol's passion for football and pride in the Bobcat program made him the perfect player to wear the legacy jersey, No. 41.
FROM FORMER HEAD COACH JEFF CHOATE: "Brayden is a guy that got screwed by the Covid year because I think he could have made an NFL team. He redshirted the year before we got here but he was a four-year starter, part-time for some of that, with a unique skill set. He was a big, physical safety but he had coverage ability. We weren't scared to play man on the slot (receiver) with him even though he looked like a linebacker lined up out there. He was the Sergeant of Arms for those teams. We had a lot of hard-working, polite, yes sir, no sir, guys, but when you needed a guy to get in a fist fight, that was Brayden. He hated to lose and wore it on his sleeve, and he worked his butt of to make sure we were in a position to win. He was a physical presence for us on the back end, and as far his desire to win, Brayden was an important part of it for us."
Players Mentioned
Leon Costello Press Conference: Kennedy-Stark Athletic Center
Thursday, July 31
A Conversation with President Dr. Waded Cruzado | Montana State Athletics
Monday, May 19
Big Cats, Little Trucks - Willie Patterson
Wednesday, May 03
Matt Houk Introductory Press Conference
Wednesday, May 03
