BOZEMAN — The NFL 53-man roster deadline arrived last Tuesday, and more former Big Sky Conference players survived the cuts.
The conference claims 23 ex-players on 53-man rosters, including three who finished their careers at Montana State: defensive lineman Daniel Hardy (Chicago Bears), safety Ty Okada (Seattle Seahawks) and linebacker Alex Singleton (Denver Broncos).
Okada is teammates with former Eastern Washington and Los Angeles star wide receiver Cooper Kupp.
Seahawks Camp Football
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp waves at fans while arriving with safety Ty Okada, left, during the team's training camp Friday, July 25 in Renton, Wash. Lindsey Wasson, Associated Press
Ex-MSU LB Troy Andersen will join the Atlanta Falcons’ active roster (barring something unforeseen) once he’s healthy. Atlanta placed the Dillon native on the physically unable to perform list, which will make him miss at least the first four games.
Also in the Falcons’ LB room is Idaho graduate Kaden Elliss.
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There are two ex-Bobcats on practice squads: WR Tommy Mellott (New Orleans Saints) and DL Sebastian Valdez (San Francisco 49ers).
Chiefs Falcons Football
Atlanta Falcons linebacker Troy Andersen (44) tackles Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes on Sept. 22, 2024, in Atlanta. John Bazemore, Associated Press
Montana and Portland State are the only Big Sky teams with no former players on NFL 53-man rosters. UM has three ex-players on practice squads: WR Junior Bergen (San Francisco 49ers), offensive lineman Dylan Cook (Pittsburgh Steelers) and LB Patrick O’Connell (Seattle Seahawks).
Former UC Davis running back Lan Larison (New England Patriots) and ex-Weber State LB Winston Reid (Cleveland Browns) will begin the season on injured reserve.
The Patriots released ex-EWU receiver Kendrick Bourne last week, but the eight-year veteran reportedly has interest from multiple teams.
Southern Utah, which left the Big Sky in 2021 and will return to the conference next year, has two former players on active rosters: Bears OL Braxton Jones and Pittsburgh Steelers DB Miles Killebrew.
Bears Chiefs Football
Chicago Bears defensive end Daniel Hardy leaves the field after a preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Friday, Aug. 22 in Kansas City, Mo. Reed Hoffmann, Associated Press
Below is a list of every ex-Big Sky player on an NFL 53-man roster, based primarily on information from Pro-Football-Reference.com and NFL.com.
Arizona Cardinals: None
Atlanta Falcons: LB Kaden Elliss (Idaho)
Baltimore Ravens: LB Teddye Buchanan (UC Davis; finished at Cal)
Buffalo Bills: DB Taron Johnson (Weber State)
Carolina Panthers: None
Cincinnati Bengals: None
Chicago Bears: DL Daniel Hardy (Montana State)
Cleveland Browns: WR DeAndre Carter (Sacramento State)
Dallas Cowboys: DB DaRon Bland (Sacramento State; finished at Fresno State)
Denver Broncos: LB Alex Singleton (Montana State)
Detroit Lions: DB Khalil Dorsey (Northern Arizona), LS Hogan Hatten (Idaho)
Green Bay Packers: P Daniel Whelan (UC Davis)
Houston Texans: None
Indianapolis Colts: DE Samson Ebukam (Eastern Washington)
Jacksonville Jaguars: None
Kansas City Chiefs: None
Las Vegas Raiders: LS Jacob Bobenmoyer (Northern Colorado)
Los Angeles Chargers: None
Los Angeles Rams: None
Miami Dolphins: TE Tanner Conner (Idaho State)
Minnesota Vikings: None
New England Patriots: WR Efton Chism III (Eastern Washington), LB Christian Elliss (Idaho), LB Marte Mapu (Sacramento State), LB Elijah Ponder (Cal Poly)
New Orleans Saints: WR Rashid Shaheed (Weber State)
New York Giants: None
New York Jets: TE Stone Smartt (Northern Arizona, finished at Old Dominion)
Philadelphia Eagles: None
Pittsburgh Steelers: None
San Francisco 49ers: None
Seattle Seahawks: WR Cooper Kupp (Eastern Washington), Ty Okada (Montana State)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: None
Tennessee Titans: DB Marcus Harris (Idaho, finished at Cal), OL Jackson Slater (Sacramento State)
Washington Commanders: None
Montana State head football coach Brent Vigen reflects on the Bobcats’ 59-13 season-opening loss at Oregon, previews the upcoming Gold Rush game against South Dakota State and more Monday, Sept. 1, 2024, at the Bobcat Athletic Complex in Bozeman. VICTOR FLORES 406 MT Sports
Week 0 and 1 results, standings, upcoming schedule
Week 0 Big Sky scores
• UNLV 38, Idaho State 31
• Tarleton State 42, Portland State 0
• Mercer vs. UC Davis, no contest
Week 1 Big Sky scores
• Cal Poly 41, San Diego 17
• Incarnate Word 31, Eastern Washington 21
• Washington State 13, Idaho 10
• Southern Utah 46, Idaho State 24
• Oregon 59, Montana State 13
• Arizona State 38, Northern Arizona 19
• Northern Colorado 17, Chadron State 3
• BYU 69, Portland State 0
• South Dakota State 20, Sacramento State 3
• UC Davis 31, Utah Tech 24
• James Madison 45, Weber State 10
Big Sky standings (overall, in conference)
T-1. Cal Poly (1-0, 0-0)
T-1. Northern Colorado (1-0, 0-0)
T-1. UC Davis (1-0, 0-0)
4. Montana (0-0, 0-0)
T-5. Eastern Washington (0-1, 0-0)
T-5. Idaho (0-1, 0-0)
T-5. Montana State (0-1, 0-0)
T-5. Northern Arizona (0-1, 0-0)
T-5. Sacramento State (0-1, 0-0)
T-5. Weber State (0-1, 0-0)
T-11. Idaho State (0-2, 0-0)
T-11. Portland State (0-2, 0-0)
Week 2 Big Sky schedule (all times Mountain):
• Eastern Washington at Boise State, 7 p.m. Friday
• Idaho State at New Mexico, 1 p.m. Saturday
• St. Thomas at Idaho, 2 p.m. Saturday
• Utah Tech at Northern Arizona, 3 p.m. Saturday
• Sacramento State at Nevada, 3 p.m. Saturday
• Cal Poly at Utah, 4 p.m. Saturday
• Northern Colorado at Colorado State, 5 p.m. Saturday
• Portland State at North Dakota, 5 p.m. Saturday
• Central Washington at Montana, 6 p.m. Saturday
• South Dakota State at Montana State, 6 p.m. Saturday
• Weber State at Arizona, 8 p.m. Saturday
• UC Davis at Washington, 9 p.m. Saturday
Montana State quarterback Justin Lamson reflects on the Bobcats’ 59-13 season-opening loss at Oregon, looks ahead to the upcoming Gold Rush game against South Dakota State and more Monday, Sept. 1, 2024, at the Bobcat Athletic Complex in Bozeman.VICTOR FLORES 406 MT Sports
Cats fall, Griz rise in top 25
Montana State’s lopsided loss at FBS Oregon and South Dakota State’s ranked win over Sacramento State led to some movement in the latest Stats Perform FCS Top 25, released Monday.
SDSU rose to No. 2 and MSU to No. 3. The Bobcats will host the Jackrabbits on Saturday.
Montana had a bye last week but still moved up in the rankings, trading places with Illinois State, which fell from No. 6 to No. 7 following a blowout loss at Oklahoma State.
UC Davis remained at No. 8, Idaho moved up two spots to No. 10, Sac State dropped three spots to No. 18 and Northern Arizona stayed put at No. 19.
Montana State safety Caden Dowler reflects on the Bobcats’ 59-13 season-opening loss at Oregon, looks ahead to the upcoming Gold Rush game against South Dakota State and more Monday, Sept. 1, 2024, at the Bobcat Athletic Complex in Bozeman.VICTOR FLORES 406 MT Sports
Players of the week
The Big Sky players of the week are Cal Poly quarterback Ty Dieffenbach, UC Davis defensive back Rex Connors and Eastern Washington punter Landon Ogles, the league announced Monday.
Dieffenbach earned the offensive honor after completing 18 of 27 passes for 263 yards and two touchdowns with 69 rushing yards in the Mustangs’ win over San Diego.
Rex Connors was named defensive player of the week thanks to his 15 tackles (eight solo) and pass breakup in the Aggies’ win over Utah Tech.
The special teams accolade went to Ogles, who averaged 42.3 yards on seven punts (one of which went a career-long 72 yards) in the Eagles’ loss to Incarnate Word.
Victor Flores is the Montana State Bobcats beat writer for 406 MT Sports. Email him at victor.flores@406mtsports.com and follow him on Twitter/X at @VictorFlores406
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