Tyler Emmert

By TOM STUBER –Helena IR Sports Writer - 08/21/05

Nationally, winners like Joe Montana and Johnny Unitas are often stacked up against each other. Statistical juggernaut's like Dan Marino and Fran Tarkenton can create quite a debate. In Montana circles Carroll College senior Tyler Emmert can only be measured against University of Montana legend Dave Dickenson.

The two played exactly ten years apart in high school and college, but they have had strikingly similar careers.

Dickenson played for perennial powerhouse C.M. Russell, while Emmert starred at perennial powerhouse Capital High. Both led their teams to back-to-back 12-0 seasons and AA State championships.

Dickenson went on to set numerous school, conference and national records at the University of Montana. Emmert did, and is doing, the same at Carroll.

"There are a lot of similarities between the two," Carroll coach Mike Van Diest says. "Especially in the way they compete. They don't put pressure on themselves to be perfect, but they are always looking to improve and stay with the status quo."

"He was a natural at the position," C.M. Russell coach Jack Johnson said of Dickenson under center. "A lot people talk about arm strength and size, but there's also something to playing quarterback that involves the brain. David processed things very fast and did not make a mistake. He was like a control pitcher in baseball."

Their numbers vary slightly in some areas, but that can easily be accounted for. Both are dean's list students and both seem to have an instinctive knack for the game that goes well beyond their physical attributes.

When comparing Emmert with Dickenson, the tally sheet shows Emmert with two high school championships (both during undefeated seasons), three national championships (one title game he played sparingly with an injury), three All-America citations and two national championship game MVP awards.

Dickenson matches Emmert's two high school titles. He has one national title and had three All America seasons in leading Montana to the playoffs three times only to fall short of the title game on two occasions. Once, like Emmert, due to an injury.

The Great Falls product had his biggest year in his

final season and saved his best for the very last when he led UM 72 yards on 12 plays to set up an Andy Larson field goal to win the national title 22-20 ten years ago. He was awarded the Walter Payton Award, which is given to the best NCAA Division I-AA player each year, for his 1995 performance.

"People forget that he was a fierce competitor. How many times did he run for a first down scrambling on that drive?" Johnson asks. "He made so many great plays in his career that after awhile you just got used to it."

Emmert did exactly the same thing when he led the Saints on a 59-yard drive to set up the game-winning field goal by Marcus Miller in just 63 seconds to win the NAIA title. Two weeks earlier he marched the Saints 82 yards for the go ahead score in the national semi-finals.

"Tyler is one of the most prepared players I've ever had," Van Diest says. "Whether it's for a class or a job or football, he never leaves anything to chance."

"(Emmert) is a guy that is similar to Dave in a lot of ways," Johnson says. "He's a smart, heady player. He's probably a step quicker than Dave and taller, but they are just two great leaders that rarely make a mistake."

Dickenson didn't see much playing time during his red-shirt freshman season, while Emmert has started nearly every Fighting Saint' game after red-shirting. Dickenson threw for 11,080 yards in his career, while Emmert is at 9,455 and counting. Barring injury he is likely to throw for over 12,000 yards.

Emmert has thrown for 75 touchdowns against just 20 interceptions, while Dickenson was slightly better with 96 TD passes against just 25 picks for the Grizzlies.

Both are extremely accurate. Dickenson connected on 67.3 percent of his passes, but Emmert's 73.4 completion percentage is nothing short of eye-popping.

In high school, Emmert threw for 4,386 yards and 47 touchdowns, but Dickenson topped that with 60 TDs and 5,072 yards.

Both are mobile quarterbacks and picked valuable yardage running the ball.

Emmert, who leaves the pocket with less regularity than he once did, will probably go over the 1,000-yard mark for his career this year as he needs just 53 more yards to do so. He has 18 rushing touchdowns after a high school career in which ran for 605 yards and five TDs.

Dickenson has the edge in high school rushing as he collected 880 yards and 23 scores. His college numbers lagged, however, as he had just 126 in his last two seasons after collecting 336 yards and a whopping 15 touchdowns his sophomore year to finish with 462 career rushing yards.

While it's difficult— and perhaps unfair— to compare the two since they played at different levels of college football, one area that definitely doesn't seem right is the lack of attention the media has given to Emmert.

In that area, Dickenson reigns supreme.

He came from what was Montana's second most populated city and he went to one of the state's two major universities. Missoula was then the third largest city in the state and the UM games were rapidly becoming the hottest sporting event in Monana. Couple that with the fact that there were no college teams in Great Falls at the time and it makes sense that he was showered with attention.

Emmert, who is from Helena, opted to stay home and play for the Saints. Helena is the fifth largest city in Montana and the Capital City media doesn't reach out to a statewide audience, so the exposure possibilities are relatively limited. Certainly Emmert deserves all the laurels bestowed upon Dickenson, but unless the Montana media begins moving on that soon, there won't be any catchy nicknames such as "Legend of the Fall" or "Super Dave," which were a pair of Dickenson handles.

Of course the type of offense each played in and how early they were taken out of games also factors into just where each player is statistically, so just looking at raw numbers doesn't account for all the variables.

Both are field generals in the truest sense of the term. Neither wavered during critical times as shown by their abilities to lead their team back against seemingly insurmountable odds on numerous occasions.

"Dave has gone on to have a great career and hopefully Tyler will get the opportunity to do the same," Van Diest said. "I think he can make it, he certainly has the tools."