Robert Wilcox had a telling look of sadness written across his face as he sat in the front row of the student section at Bobcat Stadium during MSU’s annual ‘Gold Rush’.
This wasn’t the story he or his coaches had imagined. Just six months earlier, Wilcox seemed primed for a breakout senior season. On a sunny afternoon in April in Great Falls at Montana State’s annual Triangle Classic spring game, Wilcox notched at least five touch sacks, looking like a menace from his new defensive tackle spot.
Fast forward to fall camp in August. The same injury bug that has plagued Wilcox’s entire career bit again. The 6-foot-2, 265-pounder is as physically imposing as any player on Montana State’s roster. But the senior has among the worst luck, particularly when it comes to his fragile knee ligaments, of any Bobcat. Wilcox suffered a torn ACL in August, the second such injury of his career and the third devastating ligament tear overall. The injury ended Wilcox’s fifth and final season.
MSU defensive tackle Robert Wilcox (91) in 2015
“Rob Wilcox, love that kid and it really sucks he never stayed healthy because that kid is an unreal athlete,” MSU senior tight end Austin Barth said on Tuesday. “He’s just a stud. He’s a great guy and you hate seeing all that happen to such a good person.”
From injury set backs to personal tragedy — Wilcox’s father died in a farming accident following his sophomore year — Wilcox is one of 12 seniors supposed to be celebrating his final home game on Saturday. But the burden of a trying four years proved to be too much and Wilcox walked away from the program completely following the confirmation of his latest knee surgery.
Wilcox did not return a message or an interview request through Montana State sports information for this story.
Wilcox is one of four Bobcat seniors who have had less than storybook senior seasons. The sum of the entire season has been disappointing for all 12 as Montana State enters Saturday’s home finale against UC Davis (1-5, 2-7) with an 0-6 record in Big Sky Conference play and just two wins in nine outings overall.
Wilcox, wide receiver Brandon Brown and safety Zach Stern have all had their final seasons thwarted by injuries. Brown had season-ending hip surgery in September. Stern did not play until mid-October with a collection of ailments.
Senior wide receiver Will Krolick has been healthy all season. In fact, he has not missed a single practice, spring or fall. Yet the full scholarship player has not gotten any opportunities within the offense this season. The former walk-on has played just a handful of offensive snaps this season.
“Those guys might not play much, but they do a good job of staying a part of this,” MSU senior captain Gunnar Brekke said last week. “Will comes out to practice every day and works hard. Brandon unfortunately had to get that surgery but he’s in the locker room a lot and hangs out with the guys on the weekends. We’ve all been through something together and at the end of the day, you are still part of this family if you are still on this team.”
MSU wide receiver Will Krolick (7)
Krolick, a 6-foot-1, 190-pounder from Anchorage, Alaska, was not on any schools’ recruiting radars despite earning all-conference honors at South Anchorage High in 2011. He and his mother, Carol Kasinski, made a DVD of his highlights and sent the discs to more than 30 schools, Krolick said.
“You have to do your own recruiting,” Krolick said. “The best football players find a way to play. They will figure it out. If you are not committed to it, you will find excuses as to why you didn’t get recruited.”
The family heard back from several Division III programs and one Division I school: Montana State. Former MSU wide receivers coach Brian Von Bergen said MSU’s 94-man roster for fall camp in 2012 was full but that Krolick could join the team when school started. When Krolick learned of Montana State’s top-notch engineering program, he was sold.
Krolick redshirted in 2012 and did not sniff the field in 2013. By 2014, he earned a partial scholarship and played in 11 games, catching four passes for 38 yards and recording a pair of special teams tackles. He was named MSU’s Scout of the Year and was a special teams scout of the week once. Last season, he played in 10 games and caught one 46-yard bomb against East Tennessee State.
In the off-season before his senior year, despite a coaching change, Krolick earned a full scholarship. He graduated with his degree in aerospace engineering last spring and will graduate with his master’s degree in mechanical engineering in May.
“Will has been here since Day 1 and what a journey for him, comes in as a walk on and earns a scholarship,” Barth said. “He’s one of those guys who in the weight room, he works his ass off. He’s probably one of the best form guys we have. That’s paid off for him.”
Despite the full scholarship and a position as the only healthy senior wide receiver on the Bobcats, Krolick has seen his playing time completely disappear.
MSU wide receiver Brandon Brown (4)
“Obviously it’s not the way you want it to go, but that being said, it makes you focus on what’s really important, who’s really important, who your good friends are,” Krolick said. “It makes you really deep down ask yourself if you love the game. Only people who can make it through a season like this their senior year are people who truly love it.
“The game of football is the best game that has ever been created. I still love it and I still come out here every day with the intent of continuing to play and loving the time I have left.”
Brown tore the labrum in his hip early last season after transferring to MSU from Baylor in the off-season. He played through the injury, appearing in 11 games, catching three passes and scoring a touchdown in a 54-35 home loss to rival Montana.
He took injections of cortisone the entire season and for the first few games this year. Brown tore the labrum further in MSU’s third game this season and elected to have surgery.
“It was a rough decision but I knew it was coming,” said Brown, who got off his crutches on Friday. “I knew beforehand with the pain I had that I wasn’t going to make it the whole year. I would’ve liked to play further this season but I was prepared for it.”
Brown prepped at Vandegrift High in Austin, Texas. Dakota Prukop, an All-American as a junior in 2015 at Montana State before transferring to Oregon, was his high school quarterback. Brown walked on to Baylor and played for the Bears for three seasons. He transferred to Montana State in January of 2015.
MSU wide receiver Brandon Brown (4)
“I came up here wanting to play football for two more years, see a different part of the country, snowboard a little bit. It’s been everything I’ve hoped for,” Brown said. “I’ve enjoyed my time here, the people have been awesome. It’s been a great experience to leave Texas. I’ve enjoyed being here and making friendships for the rest of my life and being part of a team atmosphere.”
Since leaving Baylor, the football program has been awash in controversy. Popular head coach Art Briles was fired following a sexual assault scandal that tore the Waco community apart.
“I’m still close with those guys and it’s been tough on them for sure,” Brown said. “It would’ve been another bit of adversity to deal with to make you better and stronger. I enjoyed my time there and it’s been tough to watch from a distance. You see what the media says but I’m still in touch with people and there’s two sides to every story.”
“I loved Art Briles. He’s similar to Coach Choate with the passion and the energy, always fun to be around. That was tough losing that guy.”
On Saturday, Brown will celebrate the end of his Bobcat career.
“It will be cool to walk out the tunnel one last time out of the stadium,” Brown said. “It will be tough watching but my body has been telling me for a long time that I’m done.”
Stern came to Montana State from Santa Monica Community College. He was a two-sport star there, standing out as an outside linebacker as well as a 200 meter and 400 meter runner.
Stern has battled injuries since first arriving at Montana State. The 6-foot, 200-pounder suffered an injury during fall camp last season and was never able to crack the rotation at linebacker or special teams.
MSU safety Zach Stern (25)
He moved to safety in the spring and had a few voluminous hits. But he also ran track during the indoor and outdoor seasons. He tore the labrum in his hip, which resulted in a sports hernia. The imbalance of his body caused him to favor both injuries and resulted in a stress fracture in his leg. He did not return until the second half of his senior season.
“It’s frustrating because I had different aspirations,” Stern said. “I definitely wanted to be out here to practice to take the reps and improve as a player. When you get injured, you lose that opportunity but I just tried to respond to it positively. I could’ve easily hung up the cleats and retired but I chose to be patient and come back and here I am.”
Like Krolick, the love of the game and the opportunity to earn a free education has kept Stern coming back despite the disappointments of his final season.
“I love this game and it’s given me so much, a free education, I’ve been blessed because I played this game,” Stern said. “I want to give it all I got until somebody tells me I can’t do it anymore.”
Stern is closing in on a degree in community health. After he graduates, he wants to move back to California to attend community college in an effort to improve his grades so he can eventually apply for medical school. Even though he’s spent more time in the rehab room than on the football field, he has enjoyed his Bozeman experience thoroughly.
“It’s been beautiful,” Stern said. “I have never experienced snow like I have out here so that’s some adversity. But it’s not a big deal to the people who live out here. It’s been a great experience meeting new people and getting new perspectives to learn how the world works.”
MSU wide receiver Will Krolick (7)
Wilcox has had to battle repeated restarts to his career. Brown has had to share similar disappointments, as has Stern. Krolick has had to swallow his pride for the greater good of the team. But the foursome echoes their senior teammates that might have achieved more stardom.
“Stepping out onto the field and seeing 20,000 people roaring for your team, for this cause, believing in the brand, that’s amazing,” Stern said. “There is a lot of morals that I brought with me here and they have been more or less confirmed since I’ve been here.”
“The most important thing I will take from this is the camaraderie, the effort, the grind, the real grind it takes to play this game and that can be applied to all aspects of life,” added Krolick as he gazed out on the stadium following Tuesday’s practice. “These friends I’ve made here will be my best friends forever.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
