DILLON – Montana Western will be looking for a new starting running back after Hunter Thomsen finished his playing career in the fall. However, head coach Ryan Nourse got the former team captain and Great Falls CMR standout to stick around and help out with some of the coaching duties through the spring.
Thomsen led the Rustlers to the semifinals of the Class AA state playoffs as a senior before signing with the Bulldogs. At Montana Western, Thomsen wouldn’t get significant playing time until his junior season. The Bulldogs’ all-time leading rusher Sam Rutherford went down with an injury ultimately thrusting Thomsen into action. Thomsen ran for over 800 yards and nine touchdowns in just nine games, including 196 yards and four touchdowns against rival Rocky Mountain College, then ran for 975 yards and five touchdowns in his senior campaign.
“It is really fun to have all of these guys who’ve graduated and who have the opportunity to stay with us as far as spring, or with us for a fall, and start to learn how to be a football coach, use their experiences, and start to communicate to our current guys,” head coach Ryan Nourse said. “The guys who stick it out and (coach), the (players) look up to because they’ve done things the right way, and Hunter certainly did things the right way.”
Thomsen was a second-team all-conference running back this past fall. He also landed on the academic all-conference team majoring in Health & Physical Education (K-12).
