QB in Spotlight Heading into Spring Ball
3/28/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Rob Ash isn't going to remind anyone of political strategist James Carville, but when he's asked about the state of Bobcat football during his first spring as Montana State's head coach his message is not unfamiliar to politicos.
It's the quarterback, stupid.
"Quarterback, by far, is going to be (most) important," said Ash, who took the reins of the Bobcat program last June. "That will be a good battle. It will be interesting to see how things shake out there."
Four Bobcats enter the spring battling for starting honors at quarterback, a race Ash says is likely to continue into fall camp in August. Sophomore Jordan Rasmussen is the only player of the four with varsity experience at the position. He played in only one game. Mark Desin, the most prolific passer in Montana history as Billings Senior's gunslinging signal caller, moves under center for the spring. He caught two passes in 10 games last year, battling an injury for much of the season.
Willie Sullivan, a redshirt last year, has raised eyebrows during winter conditioning. Mark Iddins brings junior college experience to his first spring in the Bobcat program. He brings the physical attributes Ash looks for to the position.
"He can make plays with his arm and with his feet," Ash said. "That is the prototype of the position right now, and it gives you a lot of options offensively."
Montana State's 2008 quarterback, whoever it is, will enter the season behind a veteran offensive line that includes four returning full-time starters. Demetrius Crawford proved a revelation last fall, rushing for 868 yards, while Aaron Mason returns after an injury-riddled sophomore campaign. The receiver position remains "a logjam," as Ash says, but the elevation to the varsity of DeAndre Green and the return to health of Jamelle Banks give the Bobcat offense a pair of potential game-breakers on the perimeter.
"We have to break the logjam at receiver," Ash said. "We have several guys who have played some on the offensive line to challenge the returning starters, so sorting that out will be an interesting process."
The Bobcats' defensive strength starts in the middle, where linebacker Bobby Daly enters the season as a contender for the Buchanan Trophy as FCS' top defensive player. In fact, to use a baseball analogy, the return of nose tackle Chris Kolone and safeties Kevin Retoriano and Jeff Brown give the Bobcats great strength up the middle. Establishing an end opposite Dane Fletcher, whose 19 tackles for loss led the Big Sky last year, linebackers to bookend Daly, and a pair of corners ranks high on the defensive priority list this spring.
"We start with Bobby," Ash said. "He's the catalyst for everything we do. But the other two linebacker spots are up for grabs, we lose two good players on the defensive line, and two cornerbacks who, when you look at (video) from last fall made a ton of plays. So there are jobs that are open, and we'll watch some young guys coming off of redshirt years compete with veterans that have some degree of experience."
Ash said his staff hopes to accomplish three goals each spring. "The first is scheme ideas," he said. "The spring is a great time to experiment with things that we've researched, evaluate what we did last year, (try) new ideas, tweak the system. You don't have to worry about game plans, obviously, so the spring is a good time to refine things.
"Second is personnel," Ash continued. "You have to determine the preliminary depth chart going into the fall, and there are always some great position battles. From a personnel standpoint, spring is very competitive internally. The third thing you can really get done in the spring is to focus on tackling. You really can't beat your team up in August by tackling to the ground every day, so in the spring we'll emphasize tackling on defense and breaking tackles on offense."
Even with all the traditional spring storylines - position battles, new faces, scheme adjustments - Ash said going through the period without an established quarterback changes thing "drastically. We have to see what the quarterbacks can do first, and then we can evaluate what we need (at other positions). Finding the guy that with the physical attributes we need who can establish the right tempo and command the offense is very important."
It's the quarterback, stupid.
"Quarterback, by far, is going to be (most) important," said Ash, who took the reins of the Bobcat program last June. "That will be a good battle. It will be interesting to see how things shake out there."
Four Bobcats enter the spring battling for starting honors at quarterback, a race Ash says is likely to continue into fall camp in August. Sophomore Jordan Rasmussen is the only player of the four with varsity experience at the position. He played in only one game. Mark Desin, the most prolific passer in Montana history as Billings Senior's gunslinging signal caller, moves under center for the spring. He caught two passes in 10 games last year, battling an injury for much of the season.
Willie Sullivan, a redshirt last year, has raised eyebrows during winter conditioning. Mark Iddins brings junior college experience to his first spring in the Bobcat program. He brings the physical attributes Ash looks for to the position.
"He can make plays with his arm and with his feet," Ash said. "That is the prototype of the position right now, and it gives you a lot of options offensively."
Montana State's 2008 quarterback, whoever it is, will enter the season behind a veteran offensive line that includes four returning full-time starters. Demetrius Crawford proved a revelation last fall, rushing for 868 yards, while Aaron Mason returns after an injury-riddled sophomore campaign. The receiver position remains "a logjam," as Ash says, but the elevation to the varsity of DeAndre Green and the return to health of Jamelle Banks give the Bobcat offense a pair of potential game-breakers on the perimeter.
"We have to break the logjam at receiver," Ash said. "We have several guys who have played some on the offensive line to challenge the returning starters, so sorting that out will be an interesting process."
The Bobcats' defensive strength starts in the middle, where linebacker Bobby Daly enters the season as a contender for the Buchanan Trophy as FCS' top defensive player. In fact, to use a baseball analogy, the return of nose tackle Chris Kolone and safeties Kevin Retoriano and Jeff Brown give the Bobcats great strength up the middle. Establishing an end opposite Dane Fletcher, whose 19 tackles for loss led the Big Sky last year, linebackers to bookend Daly, and a pair of corners ranks high on the defensive priority list this spring.
"We start with Bobby," Ash said. "He's the catalyst for everything we do. But the other two linebacker spots are up for grabs, we lose two good players on the defensive line, and two cornerbacks who, when you look at (video) from last fall made a ton of plays. So there are jobs that are open, and we'll watch some young guys coming off of redshirt years compete with veterans that have some degree of experience."
Ash said his staff hopes to accomplish three goals each spring. "The first is scheme ideas," he said. "The spring is a great time to experiment with things that we've researched, evaluate what we did last year, (try) new ideas, tweak the system. You don't have to worry about game plans, obviously, so the spring is a good time to refine things.
"Second is personnel," Ash continued. "You have to determine the preliminary depth chart going into the fall, and there are always some great position battles. From a personnel standpoint, spring is very competitive internally. The third thing you can really get done in the spring is to focus on tackling. You really can't beat your team up in August by tackling to the ground every day, so in the spring we'll emphasize tackling on defense and breaking tackles on offense."
Even with all the traditional spring storylines - position battles, new faces, scheme adjustments - Ash said going through the period without an established quarterback changes thing "drastically. We have to see what the quarterbacks can do first, and then we can evaluate what we need (at other positions). Finding the guy that with the physical attributes we need who can establish the right tempo and command the offense is very important."
Friday, August 28
Thursday, August 27
Monday, August 24
Monday, August 24
