Welcome to the 2023 FCS Jersey Countdown.
Leading up to Week 0 games on Aug. 26, HERO Sports will name the best returning FCS player by jersey number, 99-0. Because team rosters are updated at different times across the country and to keep things consistent, jersey numbers are based on last season’s rosters.
The 99-0 countdown central page can be found here.
Note: Jersey numbers are based on 2022 rosters.
95: Sebastian Valdez, DL (Jr.) — Montana State
Valdez has developed into a top interior defensive lineman in the Big Sky Conference and the FCS. And the big man is only halfway through his college career.
As a freshman in 2021, he tallied 38 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks. Valdez took on a bigger role in 2022 after the Bobcats lost some standout names on the d-line. He stepped up and delivered.
Valdez was a wrecking ball in the middle, eating up blocks while also having high production for a defensive tackle. He totaled 44 tackles, 10 TFLs, 7.5 sacks, three QB hurries, two passes defended, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery.
Valdez earned First Team All-Conference honors and was named a HERO Sports Sophomore All-American.
He was part of a young group of players in the trenches for the Bobcats last year. Seven of MSU’s nine starters on the OL and DL were sophomores or freshmen with the other two being juniors. MSU reached the 2021 FCS title game and advanced to the 2022 semifinals. But for the Bobcats to complete its program rise and win a national championship, the end of the last two seasons has shown they need to go from great to elite on the lines.
The 6-foot-3, 291-pound Valdez will be a major piece of that improvement in 2023.
