Rolovich, Carpenter Adapting to New System
8/10/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Ask Jack Rolovich and Cory Carpenter what's new these days, and you're not likely to get a courtesy "Not much" reply.
That's because, for Montana State's two quarterbacks who split starts and snaps almost right down the middle last year, there's a simple answer: "Everything," Carpenter says, with a smile.
Rolovich and Carpenter stand at the center of the frenzy that is Montana State's 2007 fall football camp, as first-year head coach Rob Ash and his staff crams its new offensive system into three short weeks of preseason. Friday marked the team's fifth practice session, and its first in full pads.
In spite of the steep learning curve, both are picking things up. "They really have a good work ethic," said first-year quarterbacks coach Jim Svoboda. "They're open to new things, but they have a good background for understanding the coverages and concepts. We're just trying to work on blending the fundamentals and all the new things we have to teach them, terminology and formations and all that. They have a lot on their plate, but they're picking it up fast."
While the system is new, along with the entire vocabulary, Rolovich said he, Carpenter, redshirt freshman Jordan Rasmussen and true freshman Willie Sullivan are taking it as it comes. "I wouldn't say it's much different in the football aspect, but it's different in that everyone who's here is learning new plays. Everyone is a little more focused, a little more attention to detail."
For Rolovich, learning a new system is not new at all. "This is my fifth year (as a college football player), and I've been at Hawai'i and (learned) last year's system, I'm kind of used to (learning) new terminology. I feel like a lot of the concepts are the same. You can change the terminology, but football's still football. Defenses still play their defenses. Everything's still similar."
According to Svoboda, the learning curve is mitigated by the experience of MSU's two experienced signal callers. "There's no question that when you have two quarterbacks with starting experience that's a great advantage," he said. "The games are different. Doing it under fire is different, doing it in front of a crowd is different, all those kinds of things. That's a big advantage, and you can tell with those guys they've been under fire already."
Svoboda also believes that experience allows Carpenter and Rolovich to pick things up quickly. "There's definitely some carryover and some transfer. A lot of the concepts are similar, it's just putting it in different terminology. You kind of start with what they know and how they've been taught and relate it from there. I usually start with, 'Did you guys have this concept before, and how was it taught to you,' and if it's different, 'Here's what we're going to do.' We can figure out what applies, what's different, then try to fit it together."
Most of the time, Carpenter said, is spent learning that new language. "I wouldn't say it's been a barrier, but it's been something to get used to. Everybody starts from square one, instead of other teams who have a spring ball or have returners who already know the system."
Carpenter also indicated that the finished product will not be terribly dissimilar from that which Bobcat fans are accustomed to. "I don't think it will look so much different. You might have a few more guys going in motion, a few more shifts here or there, but it will still look the same, spread here, throw here, run there, that kind of stuff."
At the end of the day, Carpenter said, "football's football. (The system) is new, but we've made major progress since day one. We've had (five) days of install and the guys are handling it really well."
That's because, for Montana State's two quarterbacks who split starts and snaps almost right down the middle last year, there's a simple answer: "Everything," Carpenter says, with a smile.
Rolovich and Carpenter stand at the center of the frenzy that is Montana State's 2007 fall football camp, as first-year head coach Rob Ash and his staff crams its new offensive system into three short weeks of preseason. Friday marked the team's fifth practice session, and its first in full pads.
In spite of the steep learning curve, both are picking things up. "They really have a good work ethic," said first-year quarterbacks coach Jim Svoboda. "They're open to new things, but they have a good background for understanding the coverages and concepts. We're just trying to work on blending the fundamentals and all the new things we have to teach them, terminology and formations and all that. They have a lot on their plate, but they're picking it up fast."
While the system is new, along with the entire vocabulary, Rolovich said he, Carpenter, redshirt freshman Jordan Rasmussen and true freshman Willie Sullivan are taking it as it comes. "I wouldn't say it's much different in the football aspect, but it's different in that everyone who's here is learning new plays. Everyone is a little more focused, a little more attention to detail."
For Rolovich, learning a new system is not new at all. "This is my fifth year (as a college football player), and I've been at Hawai'i and (learned) last year's system, I'm kind of used to (learning) new terminology. I feel like a lot of the concepts are the same. You can change the terminology, but football's still football. Defenses still play their defenses. Everything's still similar."
According to Svoboda, the learning curve is mitigated by the experience of MSU's two experienced signal callers. "There's no question that when you have two quarterbacks with starting experience that's a great advantage," he said. "The games are different. Doing it under fire is different, doing it in front of a crowd is different, all those kinds of things. That's a big advantage, and you can tell with those guys they've been under fire already."
Svoboda also believes that experience allows Carpenter and Rolovich to pick things up quickly. "There's definitely some carryover and some transfer. A lot of the concepts are similar, it's just putting it in different terminology. You kind of start with what they know and how they've been taught and relate it from there. I usually start with, 'Did you guys have this concept before, and how was it taught to you,' and if it's different, 'Here's what we're going to do.' We can figure out what applies, what's different, then try to fit it together."
Most of the time, Carpenter said, is spent learning that new language. "I wouldn't say it's been a barrier, but it's been something to get used to. Everybody starts from square one, instead of other teams who have a spring ball or have returners who already know the system."
Carpenter also indicated that the finished product will not be terribly dissimilar from that which Bobcat fans are accustomed to. "I don't think it will look so much different. You might have a few more guys going in motion, a few more shifts here or there, but it will still look the same, spread here, throw here, run there, that kind of stuff."
At the end of the day, Carpenter said, "football's football. (The system) is new, but we've made major progress since day one. We've had (five) days of install and the guys are handling it really well."
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