GAME DAY FEATURE: Northern's Personal Protector

Dedication, leadership, work ethic. Those are all things an offensive linemen needs to have to be successful at the collegiate level. Those things, are every bit as important to an offensive lineman as size, strength, and intelligence.

Montana State University-Northern senior Trenton Woodward checks all those boxes, and then some.

After all, through a tumultuous time in Northern's football history, Woodward has remained a pillar of the program, and that's because he has one more characteristic that sets him apart - loyalty.

"I'm a big loyalty guy," Woodward, who is Northern's starting left tackle in his senior season said. I was part of (Andrew) Christensen's first-ever recruiting class here. And Jett (Robertson) and I are the only two guys left from that recruiting class. And a big reason why is loyalty. Northern was the first team to offer me a scholarship, and this program, and this school has shown me nothing but love in my time here."

Like so many that did, there would be times when it could have been easy to walk away from the MSU-N program. The struggles have been many, and they've been well chronicled. But, Woodward isn't just loyal to the name on the front of his jersey, he's loyal to men who stand beside him, behind him and in front of him. In other words, like every offensive linemen should, Woodward, an imposing figure at 6-5 and 275 pounds, has his teammate's backs, and he always has.

"I've never been part of a team that's won more than one game in a season," Woodward said. "That's been hard. Everybody has seen what we've gone through. There have been a lot of tough times, and tough games. But, when I first got here, I had a lot of great teammates who helped me grow, who stuck with us, who were great leaders, and being a good teammate, being there for the guy standing next to you, that's always been important to me."

Playing college football has always been important to Woodward too. He said, not many players from Three Forks, a traditionally basketball-rich Class B school, have gone on to play college football, but, from an early point in his high school career, he made that a goal, and it's one he achieved at Northern.

"Another big reason why I have kept going, kept working, kept on playing, is because of that hometown pride I have," Woodward said. "I was the first guy from Three Forks to play college football in five or six years, at least. So it's something I'm really proud of. I'm proud to represent Three Forks at Northern. And I still get so much support from home. It's a pretty cool feeling."

Support is also something Woodward got when he arrived in Havre, even if it was a case of tough love.

"My expectation when I got here was, I wanted to start as a freshman," Woodward said. "But, going against guys like Tyler Craig and Pat Barnett, and dudes like that every day, they showed me that I had a long way to go. They taught me a lot. I realized, playing with those guys, that I had to put in the work, all year, not just during the season, I had to get better."

And that's what Woodward did. He got better. He starting seeing the field more and more during the 2017 campaign, but still waited his turn for a full-time starting gig. That opportunity came last fall, when Woodward started every game for the Lights, including helping pave the way for their thrilling opening-day win over Mayville State. From that point on, Woodward not only was a rock for the Northern offense, he, along with now-senior Darius Alexander-Jones, were the building-blocks of an offensive line that has been an impressive in so far this fall.

"This line is so much different," Woodward said,. "Last year, we were just so young, but now, with Darius and I, and the guys we have, they all have a lot of talent, we really feel like we're a really good unit. We feel like we've gelled together really well since last spring. So we have high expectations for ourselves.

"The offensive line has to be one unit," he continued. "It has to be a team within a team really. You have to trust the guy next to you and he has to trust you. You all have to work together as one, and I think we really have that this year. We still have room to grow and get better, but it's really nice being part of an o-line like the one we have."

Not only is Northern's offensive line thriving this season, that line has been charged with an important task - protecting and helping a freshman quarterback, against some of the best defenses in the NAIA.

And yet, while it's true, QB Brenden Medina is young, as he's made just three college starts heading into Saturday's home tilt against Montana Tech, Woodward notes that, Medina doesn't play like a rookie QB.

"He's got a hell of a lot of potential," Woodward said of Medina. "He's young, but he's doing things some fifth year senior quarterbacks can't do right now. So while he is a kid still, we don't focus on that, or look at it as, we have to do more because he's young. We look at as, he's our guy, he's our quarterback, he leads our offense. So we have to do our jobs because when we do, he can do his thing, and that's going to help us win football games."

That kind of respect Woodward has for his quarterback is a prime example of why he's succeeded at Northern, and why he is the leader he is. In short, Woodward is not just the consummate offensive linemen, physically or mentally, but he's the consummate teammate.

And if the Lights are going to break through, after a pretty dark period in their football history, it's linemen like Woodward, leaders like Woodward, who are going to be the reason why.

"In my time here, I'll say, we've had seasons where, you're filled with hope at the beginning, but by the end, it felt like everybody just couldn't wait for it to be over. But things are totally different now, and it's awesome to see it changing. Since Coach Rolin got here, the tide has been turning.

"And I think we've already come so far," he continued. "I already feel like we're a team that's gone from a winless team that gets no respect, to a team that is on the verge of being very good, a team we're all proud to be a part of. I really believe we're right there. You can feel it, you can see it in how we practice and how we play. You can see the support from the community really coming back now. It's cool to see it all changing, and to know you're a part of it."

A big part of it actually.

Big is what Trenton Woodward is. An offensive lineman kind of has to be. But, it's what's inside of Woodward that has really counted. His loyalty, his dedication, his leadership, those things are why he works his butt off to protect his quarterback, to block for his running backs and to lead his team on the field.