BOBCATS 150 - TOP 50: Delmar Jones
7/29/2022 2:00:00 PM | Football
From reserve tailback to starting fullback, Delmar Jones helped spark MSU's 1976 National Championship
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.
Delmar Jones, RB, 1975-78
ALL-TIME TEAM: None previously
HONORS: 1978 Honorable Mention All-America and 2nd Team All-Big Sky in 1978, 1st Team All-Big Sky in 1977, 2nd Team All-Big Sky fullback in 1976
A CLOSER LOOK: Part of a college football program's natural evolution is that the shine on long-ago stars begins to fade. The details of that brilliance receeds into the margins of history, even if the broad strokes remain visible. That's what makes a project like this fun.
And that's what makes a player like Delmar Jones worth remembering.
Jones arrived at MSU in the fall of 1975 after two seasons as the state's top running back, but a hand injury hindered his freshman season. The Bobcats lost great running back Steve Kracher to graduation, so the backfield was somewhat jumbled entering the 1976 season. Don Ueland and Mike Vidmar entered the season as known quantities in the backfield, but it was a pair of relative unknowns that flipped that season into overdrive. Tom Kostrba began earning carries at tailback, and after the team's September 25 loss at Fresno State Delmar Jones became the starting fullback.
The results proved stunning. The Bobcats gained 287 yards a game on the ground, the best mark in the nation. Jones gained 595 yards, 6.3 yards a carry from the up-back position that remains astounding. With Kostrba, Ueland and gritty quarterback Paul Dennehy running behind Jones' blocking, Montana State steamrolled to the program's fourth and most recent undefeated season in Big Sky play and captured the 1976 NCAA Division II National Championship.
As it turned out, that was only the beginning. After gaining 595 yards in the 1976 regular season Jones rambled for 1,050 as a junior - earning 1st Team All-Big Sky honors - and 1,172 more as a senior. He was named 2nd Team All-Big Sky to close his career, also earning Honorable Mention All-America status that season.
Jones said goodbye to his time in the Blue and Gold as the program's third-leading rusher all-time (2,819 regular season yards). For all the honors and records, though, Jones' legacy was secured in 1976, when he moved from reserve tailback to starting fullback and helped propel the Cats to the National Championship.
FROM BOBCAT HEAD COACH SONNY HOLLAND: "When Delmar Jones moved to fullback (early in 1976), our offense really started to click."
FROM LEGENDARY BOBCAT ATHLETIC TRAINER CHUCK KARNOP: "For an awful lot of reasons, Delmar deserves a place in Bobcat lore. They talk about (Mark) McGrath thinking he needed the ball every play, Delmar wanted the ball. He blocked really well, but that wasn't what he wanted to do.
"(When Jones moved to fullback in 1976) it was just like night and day. That was a big move to get Delmar away from I-back. I think you're trying to get your best athletes on the field and they asked him if he'd (move to fullback), and he said, Sure.
"He was real quick, probably ran with a short stride, had an awful lot of moves, He was a bouncy kind of guy. You see Delmar around (the program) quite a lot, and I thought he was a great guy. He maybe was a little cocky, but I really, really liked the guy. He was very interesting to talk to. He is just a very good person."
Delmar Jones, RB, 1975-78
ALL-TIME TEAM: None previously
HONORS: 1978 Honorable Mention All-America and 2nd Team All-Big Sky in 1978, 1st Team All-Big Sky in 1977, 2nd Team All-Big Sky fullback in 1976
A CLOSER LOOK: Part of a college football program's natural evolution is that the shine on long-ago stars begins to fade. The details of that brilliance receeds into the margins of history, even if the broad strokes remain visible. That's what makes a project like this fun.
And that's what makes a player like Delmar Jones worth remembering.
Jones arrived at MSU in the fall of 1975 after two seasons as the state's top running back, but a hand injury hindered his freshman season. The Bobcats lost great running back Steve Kracher to graduation, so the backfield was somewhat jumbled entering the 1976 season. Don Ueland and Mike Vidmar entered the season as known quantities in the backfield, but it was a pair of relative unknowns that flipped that season into overdrive. Tom Kostrba began earning carries at tailback, and after the team's September 25 loss at Fresno State Delmar Jones became the starting fullback.
The results proved stunning. The Bobcats gained 287 yards a game on the ground, the best mark in the nation. Jones gained 595 yards, 6.3 yards a carry from the up-back position that remains astounding. With Kostrba, Ueland and gritty quarterback Paul Dennehy running behind Jones' blocking, Montana State steamrolled to the program's fourth and most recent undefeated season in Big Sky play and captured the 1976 NCAA Division II National Championship.
As it turned out, that was only the beginning. After gaining 595 yards in the 1976 regular season Jones rambled for 1,050 as a junior - earning 1st Team All-Big Sky honors - and 1,172 more as a senior. He was named 2nd Team All-Big Sky to close his career, also earning Honorable Mention All-America status that season.
Jones said goodbye to his time in the Blue and Gold as the program's third-leading rusher all-time (2,819 regular season yards). For all the honors and records, though, Jones' legacy was secured in 1976, when he moved from reserve tailback to starting fullback and helped propel the Cats to the National Championship.
FROM BOBCAT HEAD COACH SONNY HOLLAND: "When Delmar Jones moved to fullback (early in 1976), our offense really started to click."
FROM LEGENDARY BOBCAT ATHLETIC TRAINER CHUCK KARNOP: "For an awful lot of reasons, Delmar deserves a place in Bobcat lore. They talk about (Mark) McGrath thinking he needed the ball every play, Delmar wanted the ball. He blocked really well, but that wasn't what he wanted to do.
"(When Jones moved to fullback in 1976) it was just like night and day. That was a big move to get Delmar away from I-back. I think you're trying to get your best athletes on the field and they asked him if he'd (move to fullback), and he said, Sure.
"He was real quick, probably ran with a short stride, had an awful lot of moves, He was a bouncy kind of guy. You see Delmar around (the program) quite a lot, and I thought he was a great guy. He maybe was a little cocky, but I really, really liked the guy. He was very interesting to talk to. He is just a very good person."
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
