Clark Judisch
Photo by: Andrew Pedersen
CATS IN CAMP #8: Bobcats Grind Through Dog Days as Scrimmage Nears
8/10/2017 4:49:00 PM | Football
MSU works through heat, fatigue
Call it the dog days of August, when swimming pools are crowded and baseball pennant races take shape and football teams slog through preseason training.
"The fatigue's starting to set in mentally and physically a little, going eight straight days," Montana State coach Jeff Choate said after Thursday's practice. He assigned some late-practice sloppiness in the form of false starts to "fatigue. Mental and physical. But that's the end of the game, and that happened to us last year at the end of the games. I can dial up against North Dakota, against Sac State, we were getting procedure penalties in first-and-10. Our guys have got to lock in in those situations, and we have to continue to mature."
The grind of Montana State's camp-opening 10-day stretch that includes no days off and three full-contact practices in the last four days leads to Saturday's first full scrimmage of the camp. "We'll back off on them a little, go helmets only on the grass (Friday) and try to get their legs back a little bit, and see what they can get done Saturday. It's an opportunity for those guys to get a lot of really good reps."
While physical fatigue was evident to Choate on Thursday, he said the mental side of the game continues to evolve, as well, as input of offensive and defensive schemes and game administration prep each near completion. "We've got a little information overload, even for the coaches, with new situations. It's important not just to put players into these situations, it's important for (coaches) to practice them as well. What happens a lot of time is that something happens organically and you can say, 'I didn't really anticipate that, but how do we handle it?' And that starts a conversation in the staff room and allows us to formulate our end-of-game plan or end-of-half plan."
From a big picture perspective, Choate remains pleased with where his team is as the first live scrimmage nears. "There were some really positive things there (Thursday), and I'm looking forward to seeing the guys get their legs back a little bit and see them compete for the first time live on Saturday.
MORE PRODUCTION AT TIGHT END: Montana State tight ends caught 17 passes for 290 yards last season, and Bobcat head coach Jeff Choate said he expects more production as the team settles into its current offensive system even more in 2017, but that might not always show up in statistics. "It's going to be a really critical position for us. I don't know that it's a group that's going to be targeted a whole lot, but there's a lot of things they do for us in the run game and the pass game in protections. It's a complicated position to play because you've got to learn it all.
PLAY CLOCK: One of the elements Choate looks forward to more thoroughly incorporating into his team's preparations for the season beginning Saturday is management of the play clock. "I think we would have had some delay of game (penalties during Thursday's live portion of practice.) It'll be interesting Saturday, we probably won't throw the flags, that will be really the first time since we've been using the grass fields so much that we've got the chance to (use the play clock) with a sense of urgency."
PROGRESS UNDER CENTER: Head coach Jeff Choate and offensive coordinator Brian Armstrong both expressed positive thoughts about sophomore quarterback Chris Murray as the Cats passed the one-week mark of preseason camp. "The one thing I really like about Chris right now is that he's correcting himself and thinking about things," Choate said. "That growth in terms of him putting himself in that situation and playing the game within the game shows some real growth." Armstrong added, "Chris has done a good job picking things up. It's a work in progress, but I think all the quarterbacks are getting more comfortable."
HEATING UP: Slightly warmer conditions punctuated by lack of cloud cover gave Thursday's practice session a warmer feel than in recent days – "It was warmer today, but I've had worse," said Texas product Curtis Amos Jr. – Jeff Choate was pleased. "It was just a little warmer today, the turf heated up a little bit, and that's good," he said. "We need that. We've been pretty blessed that we've had football lite with nice temperatures. They need to feel a little strain, we're going to be in some humid and hot environments at times and we're certainly going to be fatigued at the end of games. It's kind of like going to the free throw line with the game on the line. You've got to be able to lock in and execute."
"The fatigue's starting to set in mentally and physically a little, going eight straight days," Montana State coach Jeff Choate said after Thursday's practice. He assigned some late-practice sloppiness in the form of false starts to "fatigue. Mental and physical. But that's the end of the game, and that happened to us last year at the end of the games. I can dial up against North Dakota, against Sac State, we were getting procedure penalties in first-and-10. Our guys have got to lock in in those situations, and we have to continue to mature."
The grind of Montana State's camp-opening 10-day stretch that includes no days off and three full-contact practices in the last four days leads to Saturday's first full scrimmage of the camp. "We'll back off on them a little, go helmets only on the grass (Friday) and try to get their legs back a little bit, and see what they can get done Saturday. It's an opportunity for those guys to get a lot of really good reps."
While physical fatigue was evident to Choate on Thursday, he said the mental side of the game continues to evolve, as well, as input of offensive and defensive schemes and game administration prep each near completion. "We've got a little information overload, even for the coaches, with new situations. It's important not just to put players into these situations, it's important for (coaches) to practice them as well. What happens a lot of time is that something happens organically and you can say, 'I didn't really anticipate that, but how do we handle it?' And that starts a conversation in the staff room and allows us to formulate our end-of-game plan or end-of-half plan."
From a big picture perspective, Choate remains pleased with where his team is as the first live scrimmage nears. "There were some really positive things there (Thursday), and I'm looking forward to seeing the guys get their legs back a little bit and see them compete for the first time live on Saturday.
MORE PRODUCTION AT TIGHT END: Montana State tight ends caught 17 passes for 290 yards last season, and Bobcat head coach Jeff Choate said he expects more production as the team settles into its current offensive system even more in 2017, but that might not always show up in statistics. "It's going to be a really critical position for us. I don't know that it's a group that's going to be targeted a whole lot, but there's a lot of things they do for us in the run game and the pass game in protections. It's a complicated position to play because you've got to learn it all.
PLAY CLOCK: One of the elements Choate looks forward to more thoroughly incorporating into his team's preparations for the season beginning Saturday is management of the play clock. "I think we would have had some delay of game (penalties during Thursday's live portion of practice.) It'll be interesting Saturday, we probably won't throw the flags, that will be really the first time since we've been using the grass fields so much that we've got the chance to (use the play clock) with a sense of urgency."
PROGRESS UNDER CENTER: Head coach Jeff Choate and offensive coordinator Brian Armstrong both expressed positive thoughts about sophomore quarterback Chris Murray as the Cats passed the one-week mark of preseason camp. "The one thing I really like about Chris right now is that he's correcting himself and thinking about things," Choate said. "That growth in terms of him putting himself in that situation and playing the game within the game shows some real growth." Armstrong added, "Chris has done a good job picking things up. It's a work in progress, but I think all the quarterbacks are getting more comfortable."
HEATING UP: Slightly warmer conditions punctuated by lack of cloud cover gave Thursday's practice session a warmer feel than in recent days – "It was warmer today, but I've had worse," said Texas product Curtis Amos Jr. – Jeff Choate was pleased. "It was just a little warmer today, the turf heated up a little bit, and that's good," he said. "We need that. We've been pretty blessed that we've had football lite with nice temperatures. They need to feel a little strain, we're going to be in some humid and hot environments at times and we're certainly going to be fatigued at the end of games. It's kind of like going to the free throw line with the game on the line. You've got to be able to lock in and execute."
Players Mentioned
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