The 250-pound senior tight end was blocking against Sacramento State, in a game the Montana State Bobcats would win 31-20.
“Our running back cut it up the middle, and one of the Sacramento guys came off the block, and slipped off C.J. Palmer,” said the Missoula Big Sky product. “And I just happened to be right there. He got me.”
“He was leading our team in touchdown catches,” MSU quarterback Mark Desin said. “He's just such a big, physical, dominant sort of player.”
“It's been tragic for him,” added Ash.
Four weeks later, Bostick summed it up simply.
“Freak accident,” he said. “Nothing dirty about it. It's part of football.”
But as the 108th “Brawl of the Wild” football game between Montana State and Montana approaches - it's Saturday at 12:05 p.m. inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium - Bostick isn't sure he's taken his last college snap. He wants to throw on the pads one last time.
“I'm going to try to,” he said.
The Bobcats are 7-4 heading into the game, which is a testament to their mettle in the face of several injuries. Losing Bostick could've been a death knell.
“We have some guys who love the game deeply, but Brandon just loves to play,” said Ash. “He was good. He was a great blocker and great receiver, a terrific performer. And he could've played against anybody.”
Saturday he could, conceivably, play against his hometown team, the No. 5 Griz. Bostick says he wound up with the Cats mainly because of a desire to play offense.
“It just felt like Montana State did more,” he began. “I felt like I had a better opportunity playing tight end here over playing defensive end for the Griz. The coaches were everything that I wanted, when I came here. I came on my visit and basically fell in love with the place.”
He was a redshirt in 2004, caught one pass in 2005 and 15 in 2006. Then the coach who recruited him, Mike Kramer, was dismissed the following spring.
“That was pretty tough for me,” Bostick said. “I had a pretty close relationship with Coach Kramer. It was pretty devastating for me and several guys on the team, to see him go out like that.
“But Ash has stepped in, and give him credit for our success the last couple years.”
Meanwhile Bostick's career continued its upward arc. He caught 18 passes for last year's 6-5 team; this year he continues to lead the team in touchdown receptions, with six. DeSean Thomas only recently moved past Bostick for the lead in receptions (24 to 22).
His ability as a long-snapper made him more of an NFL prospect.
“I'm not worried about that at all,” Bostick said. “This is just a little test of my courage and faith. I still believe I've got what it takes to get to the next level. And I'm going to pursue that goal until I make it.”
Meanwhile, there's a Griz-Cat game to, at the very least, suit up for. Asked what his doctors have said about such a move, Bostick says, “They haven't said too much.”
But he seems resolute: One last game, at WGS.
“It's one thing to play the Griz over here,” he said. “It's a totally different environment over there, one that not too many college players get to experience. To get to play them every year is pretty cool, and I know our guys are pretty excited to get over there and play the Griz.”
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