Everett Gilbert is among the receivers driving improvement in MSU's passing game.
Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
Bobcat Passing Game Develops
8/17/2010 6:15:23 PM | Football
MSU's young receivers show productivity as fall camp progresses
For those so inclined, close observers of Montana State's fall football drills could participate in a fun little game called “Young Receiver of the Day.”
“It's been like that,” said MSU's second-year receiver coach Brian Von Bergen, who is sculpting a youthful collection of receivers into what appears to be MSU's deepest and most talented group of pass-catchers of recent times. “Tanner (Bleskin) has been steady, and the rest of those guys have all had some good moments.”
MSU returns it's top three receivers from 2009, and in fact lose only 22 catches of the 139 passes caught by receivers last fall. With the experience returning, only Julius Lloyd (36 catches, 442 yards in 2009) is a senior. Elvis Akpla (27 catches, 180 yards) and DeSean Thomas (8 catches, 107 yards while recovering from knee surgergy) are juniors, and Everett Gilbert (team-leader in catches with 46 and yards with 556) is a sophomore.
MSU coach Rob Ash placed an emphasis on improving pass game productivity since the 2009 campaign ended, and said his receivers are holding up their end of the bargain, particularly the younger players. “Tanner Bleskin, Kruizz Siewing, those guys are really coming along,” Ash said. “(Brian) Floetkoetter's doing a nice job also. The young guys are starting to learn the system. At first they played slow because they weren't sure where to go, but now they have the routes figured out and they're starting to work better.”
The presence of productive veterans has allowed younger players to develop at their own pace, Von Bergen said. “I think that is what happening. I think there has been some good leadership by example. Julius (Lloyd) has always been good for giving leadership, for saying what we want things to look like. Elvis (Akpla) has also been a player that's shown leadership, and DeSean (Thomas). The experienced guys have made it easier for the younger guys.”
Just as they've taken turns catching passes and coaches eyes, MSU's group of young receivers shows a wide array of skills. Bleskin is a big receiver who has caught balls consistently through the fall, while Gianni Carter turned heads with a pair of long catches in Tuesday morning's practice session. Both players redshirted a season ago, while third-year sophomore Kruizz Siewing caught several passes Monday's team segment.
Buffeting those players is a group of true freshmen who have also played well this fall. Floetkoetter has strung together a handful of strong practices, while Matt Thibault and John Ellis have also flashed moments of productivity.
The receivers corps has excelled at the position's most fundamental skill, catching the ball, Ash said. “That's Coach Wright's mantra, keep the ball off the ground,” Ash said, “and I think everyone's buying into that. The tight ends are catching the ball well, the receivers are doing a very good job.”
MSU's passing game is constructed from the middle of the field out, he said, lauding the Bobcat offense for clicking in timing routes. “The short passing game looks the best it has since I've been here,” he said. “We're hitting the slants and the quick-outs and the spot routes underneath. That's what sets everything else up, because the defense has to converge on the short routes and that's what opens up your intermediate and deeper balls.”
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Ash likes the team's condition as it plows through two-a-days, and says his philosophy has always been to let the team's practice structure drive conditioning.
“I believe in conditioning by doing the game,” Ash said. “In other words, you don't see us running a lot of sprints, up downs, that kind of thing. We want to get into condition to play the game, so what we did today in the team period, the long drive, guys having to sustain it out there, that's exactly what we need. I was glad it was a little warmer, I think that's good, we could have a warm early-season game or two. All those things are playing into our hands right now. The guys had a good base from the summer. They were in good shape when we started, so they don't really need to get in shape, they need to stay in shape and make sure we're in shape for football-type activities.”
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