This is the seventh edition of the Montana State football 2024 positional preview from 406 MT Sports and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Previously published were breakdowns of the quarterbacks, running backs, tight ends/fullbacks, wide receivers, offensive linemen and defensive linemen. Next up: defensive backs on Wednesday.
People are also reading…
BOZEMAN — The Montana State football team lost irreplaceable linebacker Troy Andersen (now with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons) in 2022 but returned starting LB Callahan O’Reilly and backup Nolan Askelson, who was considered a third starter in MSU’s 4-2-5 scheme the previous season.
O’Reilly (now with the UFL’s St. Louis Battlehawks) exhausted his eligibility in 2022, but Askelson came back and MSU elevated unofficial third starter Danny Uluilakepa to the top of its depth chart in 2023.
Askelson was a senior last season, his absence will be felt in 2024. But Uluilakepa is back, as is 2023 key backup/third starter McCade O’Reilly (Callahan’s brother). It remains to be seen which LB, if any, will step into that third starter role, but the Cats have several promising players behind their experienced starters.
“That was tough losing Nolan,” McCade O’Reilly said July 25. “He was a hell of a guy, a guy that I looked up to a lot. Filling those shoes, it’s going to be impossible. We’re just going to have to bring our own mentalities and our own values to the program to step up as leaders, especially in the linebacker room.”
Montana State linebacker McCade O’Reilly talks to reporters about the Bobcats’ upcoming fall camp, LBs coach/first-year defensive coordinator Bobby Daly and more on Thursday, July 25, 2024, at the Bobcat Athletic Complex in Bozeman.
For starters
Uluilakepa’s production in 2022 — 81 tackles, four tackles for loss, two interceptions — helped him become a team captain last year. An injury last year forced him sit out two games for the second straight season. The Puyallup, Washington, native finished 2023 with 59 tackles, 5 ½ TFLs, one sack and one forced fumble.
Montana State linebacker Danny Uluilakepa tackles North Dakota State quarterback Cole Payton during an FCS playoff game at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023.
Uluilakepa, an All-Big Sky Conference preseason selection, played an equal split of reps with Askelson and McCade O’Reilly last season when healthy, according to MSU LBs coach Bobby Daly, who added defensive coordinator duties to his plate earlier this year. O’Reilly, a Bozeman native, played all 12 games in 2023 and recorded 70 tackles, three TFLs, 1 ½ sacks, one forced fumble and five pass breakups.
“They’re both really smart players,” MSU head coach Brent Vigen said Monday, referring to O’Reilly and Uluilakepa. “What you can’t do as a linebacker is for every good play, you have a play that you bust, you miss your assignment, because it’s so assignment specific, your communication has to be at such a premium. I think that’s where those guys have continued to take their games to another level.
“I think physically, they’re both in the best condition, strength and speed wise, that they have been in their careers. We need them both to have big years.”
Your Trusted Source for Accurate and Timely Updates!
