Big Sky Conference

Bobcats chasing dreams with NFL Draft underway

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It’s Tuesday on an overcast Bozeman morning. Chad Newell and J.P. Flynn have a one-track mind.

Neither Montana State senior has let themselves be defined by football despite reaching the upper pantheon of stardom around the Treasure State, fame the duo stamped by beating the rival Montana Grizzlies to end otherwise trying final campaigns with the Bobcats.

Although the future engineers navigated the spotlight as well as could be expected for young men going through trials on one of the Big Sky’s biggest stages, football has been just a part of their greater wholes. Both are avid fishermen. Both hold steady jobs outside athletics. Both strive to be well-rounded despite their gridiron dreams.

But the last four months, everything has been different for the All-Big Sky Bobcats. The quest to fulfill childhood dreams has consumed them. So on this Tuesday, just like every single other day since the calendar flipped to 2017, Flynn and Newell run and jump and cut and shuffle, lift and grunt and sweat and smile at former Bobcat and longtime NFL linebacker Dane Fletcher’s “The Pitt” training facility.

Chad Newell performs a deadlift at The Pitt/ by Colter Nuanez

Chad Newell performs a deadlift at The Pitt/ by Colter Nuanez

Neither Flynn, a 6-foot-5, 314-pound offensive lineman who earned All-American honors as a sophomore and senior, nor Newell, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound running back who earned All-Big Sky honors all over the field at Montana State, expect to hear their names called in this weekend’s NFL Draft, which started Thursday.

But the two former MSU captains and fixtures of the league the last handful of years are confident that the work they have put in will be enough to hear their phones ring on Saturday afternoons.

“I don’t think they had a huge step, hurdle or anything, they don’t have to defy gravity to make it to the league,” said Fletcher, a Bozeman native who earned 2009 Big Sky Defensive MVP honors, kick-starting a six-year NFL career. “Their film shows what they can do. It’s all about now understanding that it’s a whole other ball game. These guys have the right mindset.

“I haven’t had to really push them or bear down on them at all during this time. A lot of guys are taking this time off during the draft, enjoying life because they have been a really tough process, training for a combine, pro day work. But these guys understand that this is the grind they need to be on right now. This is where they get ahead.”

That grind commenced just days after the MSU captains helped lead the Bobcats to a 24-17 win at Montana to end their trying senior seasons on a high note. Newell’s off-season training took place exclusively “The Pitt”, Fletcher’s state of the art training center built in his first year since retiring from the NFL. Flynn spent two and a half months at the renown Landow Performance Center in the Denver area alongside premier talent like Stanford star Christian McCaffrey, the No. 8 overall pick Thursday night by the Carolina Panthers.

Dane Fletcher helps J.P. Flynn load a power clean bar/ by Colter Nuanez

Dane Fletcher helps J.P. Flynn load a power clean bar/ by Colter Nuanez

Now almost five months of dedication from lifting to running to sweating through Fletcher’s vigorous agility drills, it all comes to a head. The Montana State duo will either shock the Big Sky by being one of 253 names called, earn an undrafted free agent contract or at the very least, receive rookie mini camp invites.

The reality of the situation began to sink in for Flynn earlier this week when his mother, Julia, texted him from the Mayo Clinic. The breast cancer survivor is going through a radiation treatment to “clean up” some things, but is in good health, Flynn said. Flynn has dreamed of this upcoming moment for most of the last 15 years. His mom simply said, ‘By the end of the week, it could happen.’

“It kind of all donned on me then. It really could happen,” Flynn said.

“Not only have I put in the work on the field and in the weight room but I feel like keeping your name clean off the field has been a big part of it too. I’ve made some big sacrifices, blood, sweat and tears to get a shot. Hopefully it all pays off.”

Meanwhile more than 2,000 miles away, John Walker has returned to his roots. The aggressive master of verbal combat traveled a journey that took him from the projects of Washington D.C. to a starter in the Pac 12 at Colorado to his final season as a graduate transfer who earned an All-Big Sky honors as a cornerback at Montana State.

Walker is 5-foot-9, 180 pounds but he comes from a high school — D.C.’s Woodson High — with a rich tradition of producing elite defensive backs. Legendary Woodson coach Dwayne “Black” Johnson has had 32 former members of his secondary reach the NFL over the last 27 years.

Walker’s best friend Kenneth Crawley, now a starting cornerback for the New Orleans Saints, his cousin De’Jon Wilson and Walker decided to chase a fresh start, moving from the nation’s capital to Boulder, Colorado to pursue their Division I dreams.

John Walker runs his 4.51-second 40 on MSU's chilly pro day/ by Colter Nuanez

John Walker runs his 4.51-second 40 on MSU’s chilly pro day/ by Colter Nuanez

In an effort to receiving maximum level of exposure, Walker chose to pursue his graduate degree at Montana State and play his fifth season of football in Bozeman. The pressing corner helped MSU’s defense take serious strides as Walker helped limit some of the top-tier receivers in the pass-oriented Big Sky.

After MSU completed its 2016 season, Walker returned to D.C. to train at Elite 360 Fitness to prepare for his pro day at Montana State. He tweaked his knee, a setback that hurt his times in the agility drills but his 15 reps on the bench press and his back-to-back 40-yard dashes in the 4.5-second range were on par with other NFL hopeful cornerbacks.

Neither impressive physical testing nor formidable physical size are what will set Walker apart. His physicality and fearless demeanor are what gives him an outside shot at the NFL. So after MSU’s pro day in March, Walker not only returned to his roots by spending the last months in his home city, but he also returned to his roots, doing countless footwork and fundamental drills late into the night on the H.D. Woodson High field.

“I’ve been waiting to get back to real football,” Walker said from D.C. on Tuesday. “A lot of that combine stuff was stuff I’m never going to have to do again. Now getting back to fieldwork, I’m back at home.”

John Walker/ by Brooks Nuanez

John Walker/ by Brooks Nuanez

Walker grew up in the Paradise at Parkside apartments on Jay Street in Northeast Washington D.C. surrounded by violence. His father, who shares his name sake, was incarcerated for life on murder charges when Walker was a young boy. His mother Jamilah and his uncle Dale Southerland, influenced John to prioritize academics and athletics to keep him off the streets.

He started seven games as a sophomore at CU but plummeted down the depth chart while battling injuries his junior year. The Woodson High salutatorian earned his degree in sociology in four years in Boulder, making him eligible to play his final season at MSU.

Over the last few months, Walker said he has been in touch with a handful of NFL teams. He had a private workout with his hometown Washington Redskins last week. Walker said the team was pleased with his abilities, giving him at least one viable option to call his phone this weekend as he watches the draft with family and friends.

“I just put it in God’s hands and not worry about it,” Walker said. “If I get drafted, I do, if I don’t, I don’t. If I get picked up into a camp, that would still be a blessing because I know what I’m going to do once I get in a camp. But if I don’t get picked up, life still goes on. There’s life after football and I have my degree. We will be wishing for the best and whatever comes, I’ll take it.”

Flynn, a giant of a man who earned All-Big Sky honors four straight seasons and started 43 straight games despite rupturing the patella tendon in his knee in the final game of his junior year, has the best shot of the Bobcat prospects to sneak into Saturday’s seventh round.

J.P. Flynn prepares for a power clean/ by Colter Nuanez

J.P. Flynn prepares for a power clean/ by Colter Nuanez

The Bettendorf, Iowa native said he has talked to seven teams “pretty heavily” in recent months. During Tuesday’s workout, Flynn wore a Bengals shirt; Cincinnati gave former MSU left tackle John Weidenaar a training camp spot last season. Newell and Flynn have also consistently heard from the Seahawks, although both have been advised by their agents to not talk publicly about the list of potential suitors.

“I was hoping to go fishing but this weather really sucks, so I’m not sure if that’s going to happen or not,” Flynn said when asked his plans for Saturday. “Go to a place where I have service, get a fish, kind of take my mind off the draft day process, that was the plan. But either way, whatever happens happens. It’s always good to have a backup plan but as of right now, I’m hoping to play some more ball so I’m hoping to get a call on Saturday.”

Despite Newell’s steady toughness, exuberant attitude and top-notch college production, there isn’t much of a market for 215-pound fullbacks or for running backs who run 4.6 or 4.7-second 40s. But Newell showed great change of direction and agility during his pro day, while also showing scouts he can catch passes out of the backfield and has a nose for the ball covering kicks.

“Chad is a really intelligent kid who works hard,” Fletcher said. “He’s very gifted in a lot of ways. I think his work ethic alone and how smart he is about the game will help him. And he understands that special teams is one way to make the roster. That’s not the easy way but that’s the way to make it. That’s half the battle.

“Some of these hot shots coming out of college don’t want to play special teams, don’t want to commit to that part of the game. But Chad played them all throughout college and played them well so now it’s about going to the highest level and competing, getting into the camp.”

Montana State running back Chad Newell (17) /by Brooks Nuanez

Montana State running back Chad Newell (17) /by Brooks Nuanez

Newell’s story is well chronicled yet still inspiring. He suffered nasty broken leg his junior year during basketball season, an injury that affected his college football recruiting. He ended up walking on to the Bobcats and redshirting. He broke into the lineup as a redshirt freshman on MSU’s 2013 team as a sort of H-back.

By the following season, he was MSU’s bell cow, rushing for more than 100 yards in a signature win over Idaho State that helped sew up a playoff berth. He also tied a school record with five rushing touchdowns in a first-round playoff loss to South Dakota State in Bozeman.

Now Newell, like Flynn and many other fringe prospects from around the Big Sky, will wait to learn their fate. Newell will return to his native Billings to watch the draft with his parents and his sister.

“I think it will be a long day,” Newell said of the upcoming weekend. “I will be excited but it will be a little bit nerve wracking just sitting there and waiting. It will be the end of the day so it will be a long day just sitting there waiting for a phone call.”

“I’m nervous. I feel like I’m going to land some place but I just don’t know where. Not knowing for sure where your future is head is hard. But I’m excited for what’s next.”

Montana State senior J.P. Flynn/ by Brooks Nuanez

Montana State senior J.P. Flynn/ by Brooks Nuanez

Fletcher remembers being in this exact position after his MVP senior season in 2009. The former Bobcat walk-on wreaked havoc on the rest of the league as a 6-2, 245-pound defensive end. But many wondered what he would play in the NFL.

He recalls this few months leading up to the draft being “miserable, nerve-wracking and stressful.” He has done his best to advise his fellow Bobcats on trusting the process and not worrying about being a draftee. Fletcher has assured both his trainees that someone will certainly give them a chance to prove themselves in a training camp. Once to that point, the rest will be up to Newell and Flynn.

“They are both engineers,” Fletcher said. “You meet some guys who are engineers and can’t play ball because they can’t put two and two together and use their intelligence on the field. Both of them have shown time and time again that they are smart players on the field who bring that academic knowledge to the game.”

Thursday night’s first round shows the utter unpredictability of the NFL Draft. No one projected three wide receivers to go in the top 10. No one thought two running backs would be off the board by pick No. 9. No one expected the 49ers to fleece the Bears of a collection of draft picks so Chicago could pick quarterback Mitch Trubisky.

In other words, while unlikely, one of the three former Bobcats with the most solid stocks could see their names flash on ESPN on Saturday. Either way, Flynn, Newell and Walker are all trying to not worry about things outside their control.

“If my name gets called, that would be a blessing but realistically, I might be a free agent and I will have to make it in a camp,” Walker said. “That’s cool. I’m all for that. I’m used to coming from the bottom. I’ve been doing it my whole life.”

Photos by Colter and Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.

About Colter Nuanez

Colter Nuanez is the co-founder and senior writer for Skyline Sports. After spending six years in the newspaper industry with stops at the Missoulian, the Ellensburg Daily Record and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the former Washington Newspaper Association Sportswriter of the Year and University of Montana Journalism School graduate ('09) has cultivated a deep passion for sports journalism during his 13-year career covering the Big Sky Conference. In August of 2014, Colter and brother Brooks merged their passions of writing and art to found Skyline Sports.

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