It’s a good thing football’s a team sport, because if you’re seeking attention, it can be hard to come by in this game. That’s especially true on the defensive side of the ball at Montana State.
Yes, the Bobcats have a household name in Troy Andersen and a few others like Chase Benson, Amandre Williams, Daniel Hardy, Callahan O’Reilly, and Ty Okada, who are often spoken of and written about. But MSU has players that don’t even start or that have just won starting spots making huge plays.
This past Saturday’s 23-20 win over Eastern Washington is a prime example.
That holding call in the end zone that awarded the Bobcats a safety: that was reserve defensive end David Alston, who is a transfer from the University of Nebraska.
That stop on the two-point conversion: that was the St. Paul, Minnesota product Alston, too.
The only two sacks MSU had in the game: that was another reserve defensive end, Brody Grebe of the mighty metropolis of Melstone, Montana – population 126. Grebe pulled down EWU’s Eric Barriere – the leading Payton Award candidate – on third down in the middle of the second quarter to force a punt, and again in the fourth quarter, again on third down to force another punt.
The biggest play of the game: that was Sebastian “Sea Bass” Valdez taking down EWU star running back Dennis Merritt behind the line of scrimmage on fourth down on EWU’s own 10-yard line forcing EWU to punt and never get the ball back. Valdez just became the full-time starter at the defensive tackle spot opposite Benson two games ago.
“Guys that are ready to go, we want to put them on the field, playing as many guys as we can,” MSU defensive coordinator Freddie Banks said on Monday. “Now we can be fresher, play harder for longer.”
Other backups, such as Ben Seymour, Danny Uluilakepa, Byron Rollins, Blake Schmidt, Blake Hehl, Rylan Ortt, Alex Johnson, and Tadan Gilman have been flying under the radar, but have made significant contributions on defense for the Bobcats.
Hehl took over at tackle when season-opening starter Kyle Rygg went down for the season and has since been moved to the No. 2 spot behind Valdez. Seymour, Rollins, and Schmidt all rotate in on the defensive line regularly.
Johnson started for O’Reilly against Idaho State, while Uluilakepa spells Andersen when he needs a break. Those two inside linebackers have also risen up after Nolan Askelson went down with a serious knee injury.
Rylan Ortt has made numerous plays filling for Tre Webb and Jeff Manning at safety, while Gilman had one of the most impressive plays of the year when he intercepted a pass against Cal Poly.
Two young cornerbacks are now starting as Eric Zambrano started the season filling for the injured senior Tyrel Thomas and hasn’t relinquished his spot, and Simeon Woodard took on the other corner when James Campbell, who just returned from a leg injury against EWU, went down for several weeks.
The depth has been a key for MSU’s success in 2021 as it leads the Big Sky in nearly every defensive category. They rank first in scoring allowed, total defense, pass defense, pass efficiency defense; third in run defense (second per carry) and fourth in sacks.
Nationally, the Bobcats are second in scoring allowed, fourth in passing yards allowed, seventh in pass efficiency defense, and 11th in total defense.
The Bobcats await the Idaho Vandals Saturday in Bozeman.
