Photo by: Andrew Pedersen
CATS IN CAMP #7: Maturity, Intensity on Display as MSU Closes First Week of Preseason
8/9/2017 4:31:00 PM | Football
Helmets-only session leaves Jeff Choate Impressed
College football coaches never stop evaluating physical performance, but Montana State coach Jeff Choate was interested in a different facet of his team's play on Wednesday, when the Bobcats passed the one-week mark of preseason camp.
"It was a test of their maturity," Choate said, "to see what kind of work we could get done if we took the shoulder pads off. I was very, very pleased. I thought these guys had great energy, competed extremely hard. I'm just really happy with the way they approached the day."
The Bobcats followed the preseason's first two days of full-contact practice Monday and Tuesday with a helmets-only session on Wednesday. Maintaining intensity was Choate's primary read for the day. "A lot of times you go two days in full pads and mentally they back off a little bit just because you took the shoulder pads off," he said. "They didn't do that. They kept their foot on the gas pedal, and that's a huge step forward for us in terms of their level of maturity. That allows us to take care of their bodies and still get really good work (done)."
MSU opened Wednesday's practice with a passing drill pitting offensive linemen against defensive linemen, which drew hoots from every corner of the practice field. "You want to get the energy level correct," Choate said, "and sometimes you have to manufacture that. When you let the fat guys play catch that always seems to manufacture energy. I was really, really pleased with that."
Montana State dons full pad for a Bobcat Stadium session at around 11 am on Thursday, dials it back to just helmets on the Dyche Practice Fields on Friday, and scrimmages for the first time on Saturday.
FAT GUY CATCH, PART II: The "fat guy catch" segment of Wednesday's practice ended with assistant coaches dueling. "Coach Hout really let me down," Choate said, feigning disappointment. "One of my North Idaho guys, I recruited him to Boise State and he was a great player for us there, but you can't get beat by the O-line coach in a one-on-one (pass-and-catch) situation like that. I'm hoping Byron will rebound the next time he gets a chance to compete."
MORE ON ASSISTANT THROW-AND-CATCH: DeNarius McGhee had good success against the Grizzlies as a Bobcat quarterback, winning twice in Washington-Grizzly Stadium, and extended that for one glorious moment on Wednesday. Against excellent coverage by MSU defensive intern Kendrick Van Ackeren, a former star linebacker at UM, McGhee made a spectacular one-handed catch. The ruling generated controversy, but MSU Sports Information deemed the catch good and it will forever stand in the record books as a touchdown.
LINING UP AT LINEBACKER: One of the intriguing position evaluations during spring and preseason training camps, the team's linebacker positions overcame the loss of potential starter Jacob Hadley in the spring to develop what appears to be reasonable depth. The question after a week of camp, then, isn't who plays – many could – but where. Grant Collins return as the Buck, a hybrid defensive end and linebacker, and Josh Hill and Mac Bignell return as linebackers. The emergence of several others has Choate and the defensive staff evaluating who fits which roles. "Balue Chapman is starting to emerge as a guy that can get us some quality reps in pass rush situations in our nickel package," Choate said, adding that Bignell "is going to be a highly-productive, consistent player for us. Luke McCarthy thus far has had an excellent camp. Josh is such a consistent, reliable guy. Jakob has flashed at times. Walker Cozzie has really taken the next step, and Chad Kanow is a swing guy at Buck that could emerge, too. Then you throw in a guy like Tadan Gilman who needs to take the next step but has a lot of talent. How fast is he going to pick things up as we get into next week in camp? We have some really good options."
"It was a test of their maturity," Choate said, "to see what kind of work we could get done if we took the shoulder pads off. I was very, very pleased. I thought these guys had great energy, competed extremely hard. I'm just really happy with the way they approached the day."
The Bobcats followed the preseason's first two days of full-contact practice Monday and Tuesday with a helmets-only session on Wednesday. Maintaining intensity was Choate's primary read for the day. "A lot of times you go two days in full pads and mentally they back off a little bit just because you took the shoulder pads off," he said. "They didn't do that. They kept their foot on the gas pedal, and that's a huge step forward for us in terms of their level of maturity. That allows us to take care of their bodies and still get really good work (done)."
MSU opened Wednesday's practice with a passing drill pitting offensive linemen against defensive linemen, which drew hoots from every corner of the practice field. "You want to get the energy level correct," Choate said, "and sometimes you have to manufacture that. When you let the fat guys play catch that always seems to manufacture energy. I was really, really pleased with that."
Montana State dons full pad for a Bobcat Stadium session at around 11 am on Thursday, dials it back to just helmets on the Dyche Practice Fields on Friday, and scrimmages for the first time on Saturday.
FAT GUY CATCH, PART II: The "fat guy catch" segment of Wednesday's practice ended with assistant coaches dueling. "Coach Hout really let me down," Choate said, feigning disappointment. "One of my North Idaho guys, I recruited him to Boise State and he was a great player for us there, but you can't get beat by the O-line coach in a one-on-one (pass-and-catch) situation like that. I'm hoping Byron will rebound the next time he gets a chance to compete."
MORE ON ASSISTANT THROW-AND-CATCH: DeNarius McGhee had good success against the Grizzlies as a Bobcat quarterback, winning twice in Washington-Grizzly Stadium, and extended that for one glorious moment on Wednesday. Against excellent coverage by MSU defensive intern Kendrick Van Ackeren, a former star linebacker at UM, McGhee made a spectacular one-handed catch. The ruling generated controversy, but MSU Sports Information deemed the catch good and it will forever stand in the record books as a touchdown.
LINING UP AT LINEBACKER: One of the intriguing position evaluations during spring and preseason training camps, the team's linebacker positions overcame the loss of potential starter Jacob Hadley in the spring to develop what appears to be reasonable depth. The question after a week of camp, then, isn't who plays – many could – but where. Grant Collins return as the Buck, a hybrid defensive end and linebacker, and Josh Hill and Mac Bignell return as linebackers. The emergence of several others has Choate and the defensive staff evaluating who fits which roles. "Balue Chapman is starting to emerge as a guy that can get us some quality reps in pass rush situations in our nickel package," Choate said, adding that Bignell "is going to be a highly-productive, consistent player for us. Luke McCarthy thus far has had an excellent camp. Josh is such a consistent, reliable guy. Jakob has flashed at times. Walker Cozzie has really taken the next step, and Chad Kanow is a swing guy at Buck that could emerge, too. Then you throw in a guy like Tadan Gilman who needs to take the next step but has a lot of talent. How fast is he going to pick things up as we get into next week in camp? We have some really good options."
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