BOBCATS 125 - TOP 50: Steve Dodds
7/25/2022 2:00:00 PM | Football
Steve Dodds helped lead a major turnaround in the Bobcat program, and a stream of talented Dodds brothers from Spokane to Bozeman
Steve Dodds, S, 1972-74
ALL-TIME TEAM: None previously
HONORS: Honorable Mention All-America and 1st Team All-Big Sky in 1974, 1st Team All-Big Sky in 1973
A CLOSER LOOK: When Steve Dodds arrived at Montana State as part of Sonny Holland's first freshman class in 1971, it probably didn't occur to anyone that a decade-long dynasty was beginning.
But that's exactly what happened.
Steve Dodds joined the Bobcats after a decorated career on championship teams at Ferris High in Spokane, playing behind star safety Monte Boston as a sophomore on the 1972 Big Sky Championship team before locking down the starting safety job during his final two seasons. As a junior in 1973, while his brother Vince toiled on the MSU freshman team (and Stuart was in the nascent days of a star football career of his own back home in Spokane), Steve picked off four passes on his way to 1st Team All-Big Sky honors. He built a reputation as a physical player and "acute tackler" according to MSU's 1974 media guide.
The elder Dodds brother was even better as a senior in 1974. With Vince playing as a reserve safety, Steve intercepted five passes, earned All-Big Sky honors for the second straight season, and was one of four Bobcats to earn AP Little All-America Honorable Mention honors. Steve Dodds was also a tremendous punt returner, scampering for 221 yards on 11 returns in 1974, a 20.1 yards-per-return average that remains a Bobcat record for a season to this day. He returned one of those 11 punts for a touchdown.
While Steve occasionally comments that he'd trade his individual honors for a National Championship, which Vince helped the Cats win in 1976, he and his teammates' accomplishments in the years before the 1976 title can't be overlooked or overstated. Coming off five wins in the three seasons from 1969 to 1971, the 1972 Bobcats vaulted to a Big Sky Championship and a string of eight straight non-losing seasons (MSU was 8-3 in 1972, 7-4 in 1973, 7-3 in 1974). From 1972 to 1984 the team won five Big Sky crowns and two national titles in 13 years. Much of the glory came later, but the foundation was laid by Steve Dodds and those great Bobcats that came to MSU during Sonny Holland's early days as the program's legendary head coach.
FROM LEGENDARY MSU ATHLETIC TRAINER CHUCK KARNOP: "Steve would be like your ambassador. He was really a guy who had it together intellectually and emotionally. He was average in terms of athletic ability, but he was smart and he played smart. He was a guy that I would say never got over-emotional, he'd never be leading pep rallies, but he had it all together. He was tough, he was a leader and a very solid player."
FROM TEAMMATE JOE JOHNSON: "Steve was the first of three brothers that I think were all all-conference and maybe All-Americans. They were really smart players, and Steve brought a lot of steadiness to the defensive backfield. We had a pretty experienced backfield and he was a leader. He's a great guy, and I hadn't seen him for a while and it was great to see him at the South Dakota State game (in Bozeman last December)."
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