BOZEMAN — Although the temperature was in the 40s and the weather was gloomy on Sunday, the energy was high at the Bobcat Legacy Combine.
Both former and current Montana State football players came together to put on the youth camp for the community at Bobcat Stadium.
"Really it’s just an opportunity to give back," former Bobcat and current Chicago Bears defensive end Daniel Hardy said. "So many kids from this community, so many families from this community were out here cheering for me in my time here at Montana State, so it’s just nice to come back and share a special moment with them in the same place where it all went down."
Hardy was joined by Tommy Mellott, Ty Okada, Lance McCutcheon and Troy Andersen as fellow former Cats now in the NFL to come back and conduct the camp.
Mellott is the most recent Bobcat who has made it to the next level, as he was drafted by the Las Vegas Raiders just a couple months ago.
"The resiliency and consistency to be in year three, four for all these guys, going on four, five coming up, and it’s certainly an honor," Mellott said. "I got to get my toes in the water in the next pool here, but it’s been awesome to obviously join the likes of all the amazing athletes from Montana State."
The players all have a similar sentiment they took from the MSU program that has stuck with them in the league.
"Something that strikes me the most is just the work ethic, and I think that transcends just our university, but just the state of Montana as a whole," said Okada, who is now a safety with the Seattle Seahawks. "You come in here whether you’re from Montana or from a different state, you get indoctrinated into this culture of work ethic and sense of community here."
"Man, just work hard," Hardy said. "That’s it. There’s so much talent out there, but hard work beats talent when talent refuses to work hard, you know what I mean? So just give it everything you’ve got every single day."
The former Cats have kept up with the current team and enjoy watching the next generation of players continue the rich tradition of the program.
"It’s so special to see those guys continue to build on this culture of winning and what it takes to win, right?" Okada explained. "There’s so much that goes into that and the leadership that we continue to build around this program. The pinnacle of leadership is not just how good of a leader you were, but how does it transcend you?"
Wise words that continue to hold true for those at MSU.
