BOBCATS 125 - TOP 50: Jeff Bolton
7/18/2022 4:03:00 PM | Football
Jeff Bolton anchored Montana State's offensive line from five different positions for three seasons
We look at the 25 players that Bobcat fans and a blue ribbon panel of long-time MSU football observers ranked between 26th and 50th in the quest to determine the program's all-time players. In this segment of the countdown, players are listed alphabetically. You can find details here and a directory here.
Jeff Bolton, OL, 2002-05
ALL-TIME TEAM: None previously
HONORS: Remington Award as Top Center in Division I-AA, 1st Team All-Amerca and 1st Team All-Big Sky in 2005, 2nd Team All-America and 1st Team All-Big Sky in 2004
A CLOSER LOOK: It was lucky break when Jeff Bolton and his Wood River, Idaho, High School teammates showed up in Montana State's football camp in the summer of 2001.
Or was it?
"(Former Bobcat) John Blackman brought his team to our camp just so we'd have a look at Jeff," recalls Bobcat All-America and long-time assistant coach Butch Damberger. "I remember we saw him and said, 'Who is this guy?' We offered him at the end of camp."
Bolton certainly had options, but he committed to Montana State and by game five of his true freshman season he had broken into the rotation. Bolton started every game of his final three seasons, with at least one start at every offensive line position.
And Bolton flat-out excelled. His emergence solidified MSU's offensive line in the team's run to a Big Sky title in 2002, and he helped pull things together in another injury-riddled season in 2003. In 2004 he started eight games at right tackle, one at left guard, and two at left tackle. It was a remarkable show of resilience and willingness to do what's needed.
Together, Bolton and Lulay - friends from the recruiting visits during their senior year in high school - pushed the Bobcats to four consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 1976-79, their first share of a league title since 1984, and their first Cat-Griz wins since 1985. The senior class that Bolton helped lead in 2005 capped its run at MSU with a 16-6 home win against the Grizzlies, and the scene in the home team's locker room in Bobcat Stadium was one of jubilation and raw emotion. It was well-earned joy shared by a group of Bobcats that had put Bobcat football on the path of success it continues to enjoy today.
And Jeff Bolton was a major part of that success.
FROM FORMER BOBCAT HEAD COACH MIKE KRAMER: "Jeff is absolutely the best center to play at MSU other than Sonny Holland. He was an ingenious recruiting steal from Idaho by Butch Damberger, escaping the clutches of the three Idaho Division I schools. He was probably the best overall offensive player in every game he played on a play-after-play continuum. He had a great body, a high threshold, was violent in pass protection, and had great feet. He had great balance, was great in the weight room, was a mean and nasty player but not in a cheap shot way. He was a great teammate and really blossomed under Jason McEndoo. Jeff should have had a Michael Person-type pro career. His leadership as a player is evident his his community status today."
FROM TEAMMATE TRAVIS LULAY: "I love Jeff. He and I go way, way back, and we had a little bit of a special connection. We went to a football game together when we were recruits at Boise State, and then we were aon a recruiting trip the same weekend at Montana State. We both signed at Montana State, obviously, and then later on we were roommates as free agents with the Seahawks.
"Jeff as a player was super versatile, I think he started all five spots at one point or another, and he was a guy you want on your team, a mean dude on the field but a big teddy bear as a person. He was an awesome football player and a really great dude.
"Whether it was a depth thing or a little bit unlucky we were shuffling offensive linemen around, and we were lucky to have someone like Jeff with the ability to play all over. He was a natural pulling guard, but he won the Remington Award as the FCS' best center. That happened! The center has an important level of leadership on the offensive line, handling all the calls. He was huge out there for that reason alone, his versatility and his leadership."
Jeff Bolton, OL, 2002-05
ALL-TIME TEAM: None previously
HONORS: Remington Award as Top Center in Division I-AA, 1st Team All-Amerca and 1st Team All-Big Sky in 2005, 2nd Team All-America and 1st Team All-Big Sky in 2004
A CLOSER LOOK: It was lucky break when Jeff Bolton and his Wood River, Idaho, High School teammates showed up in Montana State's football camp in the summer of 2001.
Or was it?
"(Former Bobcat) John Blackman brought his team to our camp just so we'd have a look at Jeff," recalls Bobcat All-America and long-time assistant coach Butch Damberger. "I remember we saw him and said, 'Who is this guy?' We offered him at the end of camp."
Bolton certainly had options, but he committed to Montana State and by game five of his true freshman season he had broken into the rotation. Bolton started every game of his final three seasons, with at least one start at every offensive line position.
And Bolton flat-out excelled. His emergence solidified MSU's offensive line in the team's run to a Big Sky title in 2002, and he helped pull things together in another injury-riddled season in 2003. In 2004 he started eight games at right tackle, one at left guard, and two at left tackle. It was a remarkable show of resilience and willingness to do what's needed.
Together, Bolton and Lulay - friends from the recruiting visits during their senior year in high school - pushed the Bobcats to four consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 1976-79, their first share of a league title since 1984, and their first Cat-Griz wins since 1985. The senior class that Bolton helped lead in 2005 capped its run at MSU with a 16-6 home win against the Grizzlies, and the scene in the home team's locker room in Bobcat Stadium was one of jubilation and raw emotion. It was well-earned joy shared by a group of Bobcats that had put Bobcat football on the path of success it continues to enjoy today.
And Jeff Bolton was a major part of that success.
FROM FORMER BOBCAT HEAD COACH MIKE KRAMER: "Jeff is absolutely the best center to play at MSU other than Sonny Holland. He was an ingenious recruiting steal from Idaho by Butch Damberger, escaping the clutches of the three Idaho Division I schools. He was probably the best overall offensive player in every game he played on a play-after-play continuum. He had a great body, a high threshold, was violent in pass protection, and had great feet. He had great balance, was great in the weight room, was a mean and nasty player but not in a cheap shot way. He was a great teammate and really blossomed under Jason McEndoo. Jeff should have had a Michael Person-type pro career. His leadership as a player is evident his his community status today."
FROM TEAMMATE TRAVIS LULAY: "I love Jeff. He and I go way, way back, and we had a little bit of a special connection. We went to a football game together when we were recruits at Boise State, and then we were aon a recruiting trip the same weekend at Montana State. We both signed at Montana State, obviously, and then later on we were roommates as free agents with the Seahawks.
"Jeff as a player was super versatile, I think he started all five spots at one point or another, and he was a guy you want on your team, a mean dude on the field but a big teddy bear as a person. He was an awesome football player and a really great dude.
"Whether it was a depth thing or a little bit unlucky we were shuffling offensive linemen around, and we were lucky to have someone like Jeff with the ability to play all over. He was a natural pulling guard, but he won the Remington Award as the FCS' best center. That happened! The center has an important level of leadership on the offensive line, handling all the calls. He was huge out there for that reason alone, his versatility and his leadership."
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