The Bobcat Nation

From the Great Falls Tribune
Cats lose starting tackle to torn ACL

By SCOTT MANSCH
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The start of the college football season is still about four months away, but the Montana State Bobcats suffered a big loss this week.

Offensive right tackle Joe Hirst, a 6-foot-7, 275-pounder who started all but one game at right tackle as a redshirt freshman last fall, is expected to miss the 2004 season with a knee injury. Hirst, a Spokane native, earned honorable mention all-Big Sky Conference honors last year and is considered a rising star on the Bobcat team.

Montana State coach Mike Kramer, in Great Falls Wednesday night to meet boosters, said Hirst was injured playing basketball. He suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee and will likely have season-ending surgery soon.

The MSU offensive line was expected to be a team strength in the fall, what with center Zach Wolf, All-American candidate Jeff Bolton at guard and Hirst returning to the starting lineup. Kramer said either Peder Jensen or Adam DeCock, redshirt freshmen who alternated at left tackle during spring drills, might be shifted to the other side of the line.

Joaquin Echauri, a 285-pound senior who missed much of last season with shoulder and hamstring injuries, is listed as Hirst's backup on the most recent MSU depth chart. Senior Dusty Daws, a fine long snapper who came to MSU as a tight end, is another tackle candidate. But he has also been bothered with shoulder injuries in the past.

Kramer said Brant Birkeland, a former Fort Benton and Helena High star, had a fine spring and seems entrenched as the starter at left guard. He said Jensen and DeCock, a 6-6, 290-pounder from Harlowton, have fine futures on the Bobcat offensive front.

So the injury to Hirst, Kramer said, isn't devastating.

I won't disguise it - this hurts. But I'm confident that someone will step up. The transfer from Houston really needs to make an impact now.

Joe, heal up soon - we're with you.

I had heard about this yesterday, but the report I got (admittedly secondhand) was that it was not Joe's ACL and that major surgery was probably not needed. i hope the report I heard was right!

UGH ... unfortunately I just had it in my gut and was waiting for an injury like this to happen. Seems like we get 1-2 a year that get hurt lifting weights or conditioning in offseason. Decock could do okay, but I watched him during spring drills and he is still a little raw playing left tackle (big though). This is a bad loss for us, but won't doom our season. It will decrease our depth though. I'm wondering why there was no talk of Garrison playing left tackle at all from Kramer? Are they moving him to right tackle or something?

Anyway, not the news I was hoping for when reading the board today

I have to think that Brewton and Beniger might be in the mix somewhere as well.

Pretty sure Garrison is set at LT - for protection of Lulay's backside - we dont want to mess with that. The left side of our OL is stacked with Bolton and Garrison.

That leaves the shuffle of Jensen, DeCock, Echuari and Brewton at LT from springball to move over to RT for Hirst's replacement. I'd also bet this will force us to burn Benigers redshirt. Still, I feel confident that the team will overcome this injury and the line will still be one of the strong points this year.

Does your boy Hirst have a redshirt year to use?

Does your boy Hirst have a redshirt year to use?

Did you read the article???

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Big loss, but not sure if it will be a devastating loss. We do have a couple of seniors (Echauri and Daws) plus a bunch of young guys that should fight like hell to get on the field (Brewton, Jensen, DeCock and Beniger).

My guess it will be Jensen and Echauri doing some sort of rotation with Jensen getting more playing time as the season goes on. I am sure DeCock and Brewton will get some reps as well. Especially against Adams State to open the season.

I Hope that Beniger gets redshirted this year. I really think that a season of watching, lifting and learning will help him in the long run.

This is a very young line with just a ton of potential. They are going to be very good this year even with out Big Joe. McAndoo will put something together. I think this guy is a hell of a coach!

GO CATS!!

What does everyone think about trying to go out and get another I-A transfer sometime this summer? Personally, I am not exactly comfortable with our options right now.

Here are some impressions of who we have in the stable for the fall.

DeCock- Could be very good...is he ready this year?
Brewton- Looks like he's finally starting to understand the position.
Echauri- Needs to find some toughness over the summer.
Jensen- Needs to add A LOT of strength...he's still a bit soft.
Beniger- Great strength, good footwork, great attitude, not sure if he's ready for prime time.

Actually the question should be, can he Grey shirt or get a medical waive on an offseason non related football injury?

Actually the question should be, can he Grey shirt or get a medical waive on an offseason non related football injury?

I'm sure he will end up getting a medical redshirt, but I believe that is up to the NCAA.

It is my understanding that a "grey shirt" is an unofficial term to describe when a player pays his own way to school before playing or practicing or recieving a scholarship with a team. If he played or is under scholarship the clock is ticking. He could take a medical redshirt if he has not taken a redshirt previuosly. Generally, the official rule is the NCAA gives you 5 consecutive years of eligiblity to play 4. On some rare occations the NCAA has granted a 6th year.

Gfallscat, and any other cats in the electric city,
Anything else to report from Kramer's visit last night at the boosters meeting?
Something good I hope.

hirst is a tough lose, but we have to move on.
said something about decock (sp) being 6'7'' and weighing 319.
looks like beniger (sp) having his chances.

also said the defense is fast..real fast with the front 7.

maybe little lulay might play..reciever that is

great time..very upbeat..

100 days or so until we start!

HOLY @#$%! Did DeCock eat Swaggert?

Did Kramer say anything about kids sticking around this summer? Or anything about the JCs we are counting on getting to town early to meet and work with new teammates?

Injuries are never good, but every team has to deal with them. The main thing is that Hirst will be OK and after that perhaps a med. hardship year will come his way. He may not want or need a medical hardship, since he's already taken a red-shirt year and may be ahead of schedule with his studies and not want to stick around another year in favor of getting on with his life.
Kramer has been saying that the team now has "depth" something that has been slowly coming around. Depth is the most overlooked variable. Two years ago this injury would've been hard to absorb, but I tend to agree with the coach on this one in that it isn't devastating.
If you look at any of the great teams around the country, you'll see depth as being the one common denominator. People say it takes defense to win championships, but I tend to look at a team's depth...especially in college football.
One reason it's hard to pencil in starters is because all the postions in question have 2 or 3 players that seem capable of stepping in. Other than QB, def. tackle, TE, and LB there's no telling for sure who will be a starter when the season starts.
This reminds me of a team some 200 miles west on I-90. That's not Griz envy, but Griz admiration.

wbtfg wrote:What does everyone think about trying to go out and get another I-A transfer sometime this summer? Personally, I am not exactly comfortable with our options right now.

Here are some impressions of who we have in the stable for the fall.

DeCock- Could be very good...is he ready this year?
Brewton- Looks like he's finally starting to understand the position.
Echauri- Needs to find some toughness over the summer.
Jensen- Needs to add A LOT of strength...he's still a bit soft.
Beniger- Great strength, good footwork, great attitude, not sure if he's ready for prime time.

It's sometimes fun to go back to past threads and see what they say.

BobcatLionFan wrote:

wbtfg wrote:What does everyone think about trying to go out and get another I-A transfer sometime this summer? Personally, I am not exactly comfortable with our options right now.

Here are some impressions of who we have in the stable for the fall.

DeCock- Could be very good...is he ready this year?
Brewton- Looks like he's finally starting to understand the position.
Echauri- Needs to find some toughness over the summer.
Jensen- Needs to add A LOT of strength...he's still a bit soft.
Beniger- Great strength, good footwork, great attitude, not sure if he's ready for prime time.

It's sometimes fun to go back to past threads and see what they say.

Point taken, but how about next time you pick one with a little less ominous title, eh?