BOZEMAN — A cohort of NFL scouts arrived in Bozeman on Monday to see what kind of talent resides at Montana State.
There was plenty to capture their attention.
MSU saw 11 players participate in Montana State's 2022 Pro Day while Montana Tech's Hunter Spartz also put his skills on display in the first Pro Day at MSU since 2019.
"I came to send a message," said defensive end Daniel Hardy, who put up 20 bench press reps as well as an eye-popping 40-inch vertical leap. "I belong in the NFL and I wanted to communicate that to the scouts who were here to see me. I've been putting in the work and it was time for it to show."
On the bench press, defensive tackle Chase Benson led the pack with 30 reps, followed by 28 from Tech lineman Hunter Spartz and 26 from offensive lineman Lewis Kidd.
#MSUBobcatsFB bench results:
— Ashley Washburn (@ashleyjwashburn) April 4, 2022
Troy Andersen: X
Lewis Kidd: 26
Taylor Tuiasosopo: 22
Chase Benson: 30
Daniel Hardy: 20
Amandre Williams: 20
Tre Webb: 17
Lance McCutcheon: 19
Nate Stewart: 9
Hunter Spartz: 28
Jacque Alleyne: 16
Kevin Kassis: 23
Hardy's vertical leap was the top mark of the day, followed by 36.5 from wide receivers Lance McCutcheon and Kevin Kassis.
#MSUBobcatsFB vertical results:
— Ashley Washburn (@ashleyjwashburn) April 4, 2022
Andersen: 36 (NFL Combine)
Kidd: 28.5
Tuiasosopo: 27.5
Benson: X
Hardy: 40
Williams: 28.5
Webb: 35.5
McCutcheon: 36.5
Nate Stewart: 32.5
Hunter Spartz: 30
Jacque Alleyne: 35
Kevin Kassis: 36.5
Linebacker Troy Andersen forwent both those events at MSU's Pro Day but participated in the vertical at the NFL Combine where he had a jump of 36 inches. He also ran a 4.42 40-yard dash at the combine to lead all linebackers.
Andersen did participate in the shuttle run at the Bobcats' Pro Day, notching a time of 3.99 seconds which also would have placed him in the lead for linebackers at the Combine.
Montana State’s Troy Andersen, the Combine’s fastest LB at 4.42 official, just hit 3.99 SS & 6.72 3C at pro-day. Andersen didn’t do shuttles at Combine and both of times are significantly faster than any LB at Indy. Andersen continues crush pre-draft process from Mobile➡️today.📈 pic.twitter.com/b7HPFUzGnl
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) April 4, 2022
"It was fun, it's always good to see the guys I played with last year," Andersen said following the Pro Day. "It was just kind of the finishing touches. Get the shuttles out of the way, do some position work. It's always fun to move on to real football instead of the track stuff that we've been doing the past couple of months."
The 6-foot-3, 305-pound Spartz was the lone non-Bobcats at the Pro Day but had a strong showing for both Montana Tech and the Frontier Conference. In addition to his 28 bench press reps, the lineman also logged a 30-inch vertical leap.
"Growing up playing football you always dream of playing in the NFL," Spartz said. "Getting a shot is kind of a big deal for me, even just to come out and participate in the Pro Day."
