BOBCATS 125: Brad Daws and Dusty Daws
6/7/2022 2:00:00 PM | Football
Brad Daws helped begin a long run of star defensive ends at Montana State
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.
Brad Daws, DE, 1973-75
ALL-TIME TEAM: None previously
HONORS: Honorable Mention All-America and 1st Team All-Big Sky in 1975, 2nd Team All-Big Sky in 1974
A CLOSER LOOK: Montana State's lineage of tremendous defensive ends traces to the NFL (Bryce Sterk and Daniel Hardy) and Canada (Neal Smith), to law school (Bozeman lawyer Devlan Geddes was a great defensive lineman in the 1990s) and Philadelphia (where Bobcat stars Brad Daly and Caleb Schreibeis each earned Buck Buchanan Awards).
But it began around 1970 with two men boasting Gallatin Valley ties. The second of those (after Gary Gustafson) was among the first handful of Bobcat stars signed and developed by head coach Sonny Holland.
Daws played for the late Tom LeProwse, himself a Bobcat legend, at Bozeman High. He was a rangy defensive end who played one season in the shadow of all-time Bobcat great Bill Kollar, a tackle, transitioning from outside linebacker to defensive end early in that 1973 season, and by the summer of 1974 was being called "as good as any defensive end we've had" by MSU coaches, according to the Bobcat Football Media Guide. Daws played in the day before defensive stats became available, but he earned 2nd Team All-Big Sky honors in 1974 as a junior then reele in Honorable Mention All-America and First Team All-Big Sky honors as a senior in 1975.
FROM FORMER IDAHO LINEMAN AND BOBCAT HEAD COACH MIKE KRAMER: "Brad was long and lean and good in space. He was hard to knock off his feet. He was a steady performer who helped establish the Bobcat penchant for classic outstanding defensive ends.He's an awesome benefactor to the university in may ways in his post-playing career."
Dusty Daws, LS/TE/OT, 2001-04
ALL-TIME TEAM: None previously
HONORS: 2004 Long Snapper of the Year by I-AA.org
A CLOSER LOOK: Somewhere between the days of the center snapping the football regardless of where the player receiving it were standing and the days of specialist camps, where players such as long snappers gather in the summer to perfect their craft and generate recruiting interest, lies Dusty Daws.
"Seven-and-a-half revolutions, laces up, every time," is how Mike Kramer described Dusty Daws' long snapping. The Bozeman High star athlete was Kramer's first recruiting visit upon landing the MSU head coaching position, and during his time at MSU the younger Daws played as a reserve tight end and occasional emergency offensive tackle, but his consistent excellence as a long snapper was brilliant. After his senior season, I-AA.org named Daws the top long snapper in the nation.
FROM FORMER BOBCAT HEAD COACH MIKE KRAMER: "Dusty Daws is the best long snapper I ever coached."
Brad Daws, DE, 1973-75
ALL-TIME TEAM: None previously
HONORS: Honorable Mention All-America and 1st Team All-Big Sky in 1975, 2nd Team All-Big Sky in 1974
A CLOSER LOOK: Montana State's lineage of tremendous defensive ends traces to the NFL (Bryce Sterk and Daniel Hardy) and Canada (Neal Smith), to law school (Bozeman lawyer Devlan Geddes was a great defensive lineman in the 1990s) and Philadelphia (where Bobcat stars Brad Daly and Caleb Schreibeis each earned Buck Buchanan Awards).
But it began around 1970 with two men boasting Gallatin Valley ties. The second of those (after Gary Gustafson) was among the first handful of Bobcat stars signed and developed by head coach Sonny Holland.
Daws played for the late Tom LeProwse, himself a Bobcat legend, at Bozeman High. He was a rangy defensive end who played one season in the shadow of all-time Bobcat great Bill Kollar, a tackle, transitioning from outside linebacker to defensive end early in that 1973 season, and by the summer of 1974 was being called "as good as any defensive end we've had" by MSU coaches, according to the Bobcat Football Media Guide. Daws played in the day before defensive stats became available, but he earned 2nd Team All-Big Sky honors in 1974 as a junior then reele in Honorable Mention All-America and First Team All-Big Sky honors as a senior in 1975.
FROM FORMER IDAHO LINEMAN AND BOBCAT HEAD COACH MIKE KRAMER: "Brad was long and lean and good in space. He was hard to knock off his feet. He was a steady performer who helped establish the Bobcat penchant for classic outstanding defensive ends.He's an awesome benefactor to the university in may ways in his post-playing career."
Dusty Daws, LS/TE/OT, 2001-04
ALL-TIME TEAM: None previously
HONORS: 2004 Long Snapper of the Year by I-AA.org
A CLOSER LOOK: Somewhere between the days of the center snapping the football regardless of where the player receiving it were standing and the days of specialist camps, where players such as long snappers gather in the summer to perfect their craft and generate recruiting interest, lies Dusty Daws.
"Seven-and-a-half revolutions, laces up, every time," is how Mike Kramer described Dusty Daws' long snapping. The Bozeman High star athlete was Kramer's first recruiting visit upon landing the MSU head coaching position, and during his time at MSU the younger Daws played as a reserve tight end and occasional emergency offensive tackle, but his consistent excellence as a long snapper was brilliant. After his senior season, I-AA.org named Daws the top long snapper in the nation.
FROM FORMER BOBCAT HEAD COACH MIKE KRAMER: "Dusty Daws is the best long snapper I ever coached."
Players Mentioned
LB
/ Football
DE
/ FootballLeon 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
