ALL-TIME BOBCATS TOP 25: #23 Jody Owens
8/14/2022 2:00:00 PM | Football
Jody O played like a stick of dynamite, running to the ball carrier and blowing everything up
In support of absolute transparency, Jody Owens and Caleb Schreibeis tied for 22nd and 23rd on this list... but for reasons every hard core Bobcat will understand, we're calling Jody Owens the 23rd-ranked Cat of all time. He was an amazing player, and as a Carolina Panthers assistant remains a terrific human being...
Jody Owens, LB, 2009-12
ALL-TIME TEAM: None previously
HONORS: Big Sky MVP in 2012, 1st Team All-America and 1st Team All-Big Sky in 2012, 2nd Team All-America and 1st Team All-Big Sky in 2011
A CLOSER LOOK: Jody Owens was not the guy you always heard away from the field on those 2009-12 Bobcat teams, but he played loud. He was respectful and polite away from the field, belying his reputation as a talker during games. His size wasn't what the recruiting gurus wanted, but he was aggressive and physical on the gridiron.
The 6-0, 223 product of Mesquite, Texas, redshirted in 2008 but jumped into the starting lineup in 2009 and contributed a tremendous season. He logged 61 tackles, four for a loss, with an interception and a fumble recovery. One season later he was in on 80 tackle, 8.5 for a loss, with two forced fumbles. As a junior he earned 1st Team All-Big Sky honors by registering 105 tackles, 17 for a loss, with an interception and a fumble recovery. As a senior he got 97 tackles, 15.5 for a loss, with four sacks, and five forced fumbles, the second-best season in Bobcat history. His seven career forced fumbles is second-most at MSU.
Owens' senior season certainly amounted to more than his accumulated statistics, and Big Sky coaches agreed by naming him the league's defensive player of the year. He was consensus 1st Team All-America that year, and as a junior was 2nd Team All-America and unanimous All-Big Sky.
Owens was never about awards, though. He was about wins. His Bobcat teams rolled up a lot of those. In 2009 the Cats finished 7-4 when Owens played as a freshman, and a year later the Bobcats won the first of three straight Big Sky titles with a 9-3 record. The Cats finished 2011 10-3, and 2012 11-2, advancing to the FCS playoffs in his final three seasons.
All wins are not created equal, and without question two stand out above all the rest. In 2010, the Bobcats crashed the party at Washington-Grizzly Stadium and beat the Grizzlies 21-16. Owens led Montana State with 10 tackles, and late in the third quarter he made what may have been the play of the game. With UM at the Bobcat five, Owens hammered Chase Reynolds to force a fumble, which Clay Bignell recovered. The Cats turned UM away then, and held off the home team for a remarkable win.
Two years later Owens was in the middle of another MSU win in Missoula, getting 12 tackles, two for a loss, and another forced fumble. On UM's second drive of the game Owens stripped Dan Moore and Cole Moore recovered. MSU turned that possession into a Rory Perez field goal. The Bobcats won that game 16-7.
Two trips to Missoula. Two wins. There's nothing Jody Owens is prouder of as a Bobcat than his Cat-Griz road wins.
FROM TEAMMATE DeNARIUS McGHEE: "ExPLOsive. He was an explosive defensive player who was relentless. He was relentless in effort, he was relentless in work ethic, and he got the most out of his body. He's from a suburb of Dallas, as well, and having him here definitely made it easier for me to come here. He won the Defensive Player of the Year the same year that I was fortunate enough to win the Offensive Player of the Year in the Big Sky, so that was pretty cool."
FROM SKYLINE SPORTS MANAGING EDITOR AND ESPN MONTANA HOST COLTER NUANEZ: "One of the first stories I wrote for the Bozeman Chronicle during the fall of 2011 was about Jody Owens. I remember being instantly impressed with his closing speed in the open field and his speed, period. But I remember writing that story as if I was writing about an undersized coverage linebacker who made up for his lack of mass with great wheels. Little did I know this guy was the Will linebacker in that Tampa 2 scheme, the dude the Bobcat defensive front would filter everything back to in the run game.
"And that was the perfect fit for JO. He was aggressive, explosive, tough and one of the best point of attack finishers I've covered in the Big Sky Conference. He was also a polite, humble guy with an endearing Texas twang in his voice.
"Not only was he a Big Sky Conference MVP talent but he was also one of the great figures in the rivalry against the Grizzlies. Some 10 years later, it's still the first and the last thing he wants to talk about. After his playing days were over at MSU, I remember being at a BBQ where JO saw that the host had a picture of Washington-Grizzly Stadium on the wall. He said, "That's my house. We walked in there and stole it from them." He took a great deal of pride in going 2-0 in Missoula, in the rivalry and in being a Bobcat in general."
FROM FORMER BOBCAT ASSISTANT COACH KANE IOANE: "One of the best players I've been around because he got so much out of himself on a day-to-day basis. He's a guy who came in weighing 185 pounds and no one, including myself in the initial moment, thought, 'This guy is exactly what you're looking for,' right? He's a 185 pound linebacker. But once I started talking to him and once I started working with him you could see and feel the desire he had to be great. In his competitive nature and who he was, he made that choice. He wanted to be the best that he could be every single day. He took on the mentality of I'm never satisfied, I want to continue to grow, and he was a guy that was an absolute pleasure and he made me a better coach at the end of the day. I've been around a lot of different players, whether it was playing with them or coaching them, but Jody made me a better coach because I had to come every day with something that was going to get him better or I was failing him. To this day I still think of Jody when I'm coaching - how would Jody see this meeting or that drill - so he's one of those players that made everyone him better, made every coach in the building better, and along the way became one of the best Bobcat that ever strapped on the Blue and Gold."
Jody Owens, LB, 2009-12
ALL-TIME TEAM: None previously
HONORS: Big Sky MVP in 2012, 1st Team All-America and 1st Team All-Big Sky in 2012, 2nd Team All-America and 1st Team All-Big Sky in 2011
A CLOSER LOOK: Jody Owens was not the guy you always heard away from the field on those 2009-12 Bobcat teams, but he played loud. He was respectful and polite away from the field, belying his reputation as a talker during games. His size wasn't what the recruiting gurus wanted, but he was aggressive and physical on the gridiron.
The 6-0, 223 product of Mesquite, Texas, redshirted in 2008 but jumped into the starting lineup in 2009 and contributed a tremendous season. He logged 61 tackles, four for a loss, with an interception and a fumble recovery. One season later he was in on 80 tackle, 8.5 for a loss, with two forced fumbles. As a junior he earned 1st Team All-Big Sky honors by registering 105 tackles, 17 for a loss, with an interception and a fumble recovery. As a senior he got 97 tackles, 15.5 for a loss, with four sacks, and five forced fumbles, the second-best season in Bobcat history. His seven career forced fumbles is second-most at MSU.
Owens' senior season certainly amounted to more than his accumulated statistics, and Big Sky coaches agreed by naming him the league's defensive player of the year. He was consensus 1st Team All-America that year, and as a junior was 2nd Team All-America and unanimous All-Big Sky.
Owens was never about awards, though. He was about wins. His Bobcat teams rolled up a lot of those. In 2009 the Cats finished 7-4 when Owens played as a freshman, and a year later the Bobcats won the first of three straight Big Sky titles with a 9-3 record. The Cats finished 2011 10-3, and 2012 11-2, advancing to the FCS playoffs in his final three seasons.
All wins are not created equal, and without question two stand out above all the rest. In 2010, the Bobcats crashed the party at Washington-Grizzly Stadium and beat the Grizzlies 21-16. Owens led Montana State with 10 tackles, and late in the third quarter he made what may have been the play of the game. With UM at the Bobcat five, Owens hammered Chase Reynolds to force a fumble, which Clay Bignell recovered. The Cats turned UM away then, and held off the home team for a remarkable win.
Two years later Owens was in the middle of another MSU win in Missoula, getting 12 tackles, two for a loss, and another forced fumble. On UM's second drive of the game Owens stripped Dan Moore and Cole Moore recovered. MSU turned that possession into a Rory Perez field goal. The Bobcats won that game 16-7.
Two trips to Missoula. Two wins. There's nothing Jody Owens is prouder of as a Bobcat than his Cat-Griz road wins.
FROM TEAMMATE DeNARIUS McGHEE: "ExPLOsive. He was an explosive defensive player who was relentless. He was relentless in effort, he was relentless in work ethic, and he got the most out of his body. He's from a suburb of Dallas, as well, and having him here definitely made it easier for me to come here. He won the Defensive Player of the Year the same year that I was fortunate enough to win the Offensive Player of the Year in the Big Sky, so that was pretty cool."
FROM SKYLINE SPORTS MANAGING EDITOR AND ESPN MONTANA HOST COLTER NUANEZ: "One of the first stories I wrote for the Bozeman Chronicle during the fall of 2011 was about Jody Owens. I remember being instantly impressed with his closing speed in the open field and his speed, period. But I remember writing that story as if I was writing about an undersized coverage linebacker who made up for his lack of mass with great wheels. Little did I know this guy was the Will linebacker in that Tampa 2 scheme, the dude the Bobcat defensive front would filter everything back to in the run game.
"And that was the perfect fit for JO. He was aggressive, explosive, tough and one of the best point of attack finishers I've covered in the Big Sky Conference. He was also a polite, humble guy with an endearing Texas twang in his voice.
"Not only was he a Big Sky Conference MVP talent but he was also one of the great figures in the rivalry against the Grizzlies. Some 10 years later, it's still the first and the last thing he wants to talk about. After his playing days were over at MSU, I remember being at a BBQ where JO saw that the host had a picture of Washington-Grizzly Stadium on the wall. He said, "That's my house. We walked in there and stole it from them." He took a great deal of pride in going 2-0 in Missoula, in the rivalry and in being a Bobcat in general."
FROM FORMER BOBCAT ASSISTANT COACH KANE IOANE: "One of the best players I've been around because he got so much out of himself on a day-to-day basis. He's a guy who came in weighing 185 pounds and no one, including myself in the initial moment, thought, 'This guy is exactly what you're looking for,' right? He's a 185 pound linebacker. But once I started talking to him and once I started working with him you could see and feel the desire he had to be great. In his competitive nature and who he was, he made that choice. He wanted to be the best that he could be every single day. He took on the mentality of I'm never satisfied, I want to continue to grow, and he was a guy that was an absolute pleasure and he made me a better coach at the end of the day. I've been around a lot of different players, whether it was playing with them or coaching them, but Jody made me a better coach because I had to come every day with something that was going to get him better or I was failing him. To this day I still think of Jody when I'm coaching - how would Jody see this meeting or that drill - so he's one of those players that made everyone him better, made every coach in the building better, and along the way became one of the best Bobcat that ever strapped on the Blue and Gold."
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