BOZEMAN — Football season has commenced in Bozeman, as Montana State players officially reported Wednesday morning for fall camp.
A handful of Bobcats have garnered preseason accolades, including running back Adam Jones, who is the preseason offensive player of the year for the Big Sky Conference and was named to the Walter Payton Award preseason watch list. He is also a preseason second-team All-American.
"It is kind of a reflection of our last year’s team and the work that those guys put in, so much of that wasn’t me," Jones said. "I mean, we had so much talent around me, and that really helped me out, so I think that really speaks to what last year’s team was and kind of just motivates me to go out there and do it all again."
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Offensive lineman Titan Fleischmann and punt returner Taco Dowler were named to the preseason All-America first team and All-Big Sky team. Defensive lineman Kenneth Eiden IV also received preseason All-Big Sky honors.
Defensive lineman Paul Brott is a preseason second-team All American and first-team All-Big Sky selection. He is also on the preseason watch list for the Buck Buchanan Award.
"We call it 'taco truck' because you can have a special up there one day and then they can just wipe it off, so I try not to think about it and just focus on my game because if I get too caught up in that and play bad, I’m not going to get any of them," Brott said with a smile.
Something critical to the program over the past years is the development of the players — the ones waiting in the wings — who transition into bigger roles later in their careers and have successfully filled gaps the team lost to the transfer portal and graduation.
"We would rather look within our roster for who our next guy is than someone else’s roster," Montana State coach Brent Vigen said. "(That) doesn’t mean we’re always going to find the answer we’re looking for, but for the most part, in this transition from ‘24 to ‘25, I think we’ve felt that way.
"Guys continuing to chase a higher level is what we’re about, and I think on top of that, recruiting guys that have this capacity for development is a big piece to it. It’s a philosophy that obviously we’re committed to. And that’s not to say we haven’t had some transfers come in here and really provide key moments and grow within our program."
Despite the large departing senior class, the Bobcats' culture remains, as the program looks to build on both the success of last season as well as learn from falling short in the championship game.
"We came up one game short last season, and so the hunger coming into this season, you could see it, you could feel it in the locker room," Montana State defensive end Zac Crews said. "Everyone knew we have room to grow. We had an incredible season last year, but at the end of the day, we didn't get the job done in that last game, and so just pushing ourselves every day, whether it was on the field doing conditioning or if it was lifting heavy weight in the weight room."
"We lost a lot of key senior leaders, like everybody brings up," Fleischmann said. "We lost a lot of key senior leaders, and I think that on my end, there’s work for me to do to continue to step up as a leader. As far as the group goes, we lost a bunch of guys collectively, and so everybody else has to step up along in that process. Then overall as a team, I mean, we had a really successful year, we had a great season and all that, but we didn’t quite get it done, and so we still got work to."
The Bobcats open their season at Oregon on Aug. 30.
