Trio of fine freshmen greeted Fort Lewis five years ago

The last time the Fort Lewis (Colo.) Skyhawks were in Bozeman to meet the Bobcats, a trio of superb freshmen provided quite a welcoming party.

Quarterback DeNarius McGhee, halfback Cody Kirk and receiver Tanner Bleskin all had memorable debuts as Montana State hammered Fort Lewis 59-10 on Sept. 4, 2010.

And the last time John L. Smith brought his football team to Bozeman, thousands of Cat fans went home happy as Montana State knocked off top-ranked Idaho 40-35, a victory for coach Cliff Hysell in 1993 that arguably ushered in a new era of competitive football in the Gallatin Valley.

On Thursday night, Smith and Fort Lewis provide the opposition as the Bobcats of coach Rob Ash open the football season under the lights. Montana State’s offense is laden with veteran performers, which positively wasn’t the case five years ago as McGhee, Kirk and Bleskin starred at Bobcat Stadium for the first time.

But not the last time.

“All those guys were redshirt freshmen and it was quite a group,” Ash said. “Looking back the amazing thing is we were able to redshirt all those guys, as good as they all turned out to be. That really, really helped their careers, of course.”

In that memorable opener against Fort Lewis in 2010, McGhee tossed two touchdown passes, including a 32-yarder to Bleskin, the former superb Great Falls athlete destined to set MSU records for receptions and receiving yards.

And Kirk rushed for two touchdowns; he ended up rushing for more than any player in Bobcat history.

The Bobcats, ranked highly in the preseason FCS polls and expected to contend for the Big Sky Conference championship, take on Smith’s Fort Lewis club, an NCAA Division II outfit that was 3-8 last year in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

Smith’s excellent coaching career has included stops at Utah State, Louisville, Michigan State and Arkansas. He also coached at Idaho, and on Oct. 23, 1993, in his last trip to Bozeman brought an Idaho Vandals squad that was top-ranked in NCAA I-AA (now called FCS). Led by All-Americans like quarterback Doug Nussmier and halfback Sherridan May, the Vandals gained 486 yards and scored 35 points that day.

But it wasn’t enough to beat Hysell’s Bobcats.

Montana State prevailed behind the thunder and lightning of halfbacks Clint Morton and Fred Moore, plus the passing of previously obscure quarterback Brock Spencer. For a Bobcat program that had suffered significantly on the scoreboard in previous years, that October Saturday was one to savor.

“It was when Cliff was getting things up and going,” said Bill Lamberty, the longtime Montana State sports information director. “And then the next week we went to Boise State and beat them (42-21).

“It was pretty exciting, I remember that.”

While the tremendous trio of redshirt freshmen starred on the big stage at MSU five years ago, there are young players expected to contribute for the Bobcats this season.

Who might emerge Thursday night?

“Probably the surprise of our entire camp has been Logan Jones,” Ash said, referring to the former Kalispell Glacier running back. “He’s a walk-on and he’ll be the only true freshman that will play in this game. Logan Jones is going to start on some special teams. You will probably notice this young man on our special teams units. He’s very dynamic. Quick and strong and powerful. We’re very, very impressed with him.”

Thursday’s game, designed MSU’s “Gold Rush” with fans encouraged to wear gold attire, promises to attract a substantial crowd. Only a few hundred tickets were available as of Tuesday. On Monday, the Cats announced that a record 9,000-plus season tickets have been sold for the 2015 season.

Thursday might mark the last time Montana State brings in a team from Division II, which has a 63 scholarship limit compared to the 84 allowed in the FCS. Ash said he’d like to play an all Division I schedule.

“I’ve talked to Peter Fields about it a lot, and we agree that if we can make it work from a financial standpoint that’s what we prefer to do,” Ash said. “The harsh reality is that FCS games are going to cost us more money that Division II games. As long as we have continued great ticket sales and revenue coming in for our home games that will allow us to play the schedule that we want to play.

“In the best interests of our fan base, our first priority is to have six home games every year.”