Bobcat Offense Clicks in Red Zone
8/19/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
The Bobcats saw red on Tuesday.
Actually, Montana State's football team saw the red zone, and plenty of it, according to MSU coach Rob Ash. "Today was 50% red zone, and the rest was typical down-and-distance situations, so it was kind of a red zone emphasis," he said.
In that context, Ash was pleased with the performance of his offense, which has struggled with consistency while battling injuries during the dog days of August. "I was very happy with the offense today," Ash said. "I thought the offense performed well in the red zone, got hats on a hat in the running game, had good execution in the pass game, and overall had a pretty good day. I was happy there, not necessarily because I want the defense not to do well, but the defense has dominated and offense needed a shot in the arm. I think they got that today."
At least part of the credit for the team's increased offensive consistency comes from stability in the offensive line, even with center Jim Verlanic temporarily sidelined with an ankle injury. "We settled on an offensive line," Ash said, "though that'll change when Jimmy Verlanic comes back. That's given our offense more consistency, having one lineup in the offensive line for the last three practices."
Ash indicated that guard Jeff Hansen slides over to center, with redshirt freshmen Alex Terrien and Conrad Burbank flanking him at the guard positions. Lou Saucedo and Jeff Miller hold down the tackle spots.
The spot drawing the most attention continues to be the quarterback position. Ash said that with junior Mark Iddins and sophomore Cody Kempt running neck-and-neck, no timeline exists for selecting a starting quarterback. "I think we'll probably just go through Saturday, then come back on Sunday and look at a full-camp evaluation statistically and see if we can come to some conclusion early next week."
* * *
Ash offered evaluations of several positions, including...
* Kicker: Eric Fisher, MSU's returner who has battled leg injuries during camp, is likely to handle kickoffs and punts, while freshman Jason Cunningham has a leg up on place-kicking duties. "Eric Fisher did kick some placements today... Jason Cunningham is very accurate, and I like what he's doing. I'd say he's likely to be the guy, but we're going to keep an open mind. Fish wants to try to have a shot at that, as well. Eric's leg is great for punting right now, and kickoffs, and he'll do both of those for sure."
* Sophomore Arnold Briggs has moved from cornerback to safety. "I think he's coming along a little bit there, although we still have some uncertainty at safety because we still have five guys for two spots."
* MSU remains "a work in progress" at receiver, largely due to nagging injuries. DeAndre Green returned to practice Tuesday, but Mark Desin missed the session with a slight hamstring strain.
* Ash characterized Jim Verlanic as questionable for MSU's season opener against Adams State. "I would say that's questionable for now. We want to make sure Jimmy's 100 percent healthy and that he doesn't have any setbacks when he does come back. We want him to be able to be full-go and be able to go the rest of the season at whatever point he comes back."
Actually, Montana State's football team saw the red zone, and plenty of it, according to MSU coach Rob Ash. "Today was 50% red zone, and the rest was typical down-and-distance situations, so it was kind of a red zone emphasis," he said.
In that context, Ash was pleased with the performance of his offense, which has struggled with consistency while battling injuries during the dog days of August. "I was very happy with the offense today," Ash said. "I thought the offense performed well in the red zone, got hats on a hat in the running game, had good execution in the pass game, and overall had a pretty good day. I was happy there, not necessarily because I want the defense not to do well, but the defense has dominated and offense needed a shot in the arm. I think they got that today."
At least part of the credit for the team's increased offensive consistency comes from stability in the offensive line, even with center Jim Verlanic temporarily sidelined with an ankle injury. "We settled on an offensive line," Ash said, "though that'll change when Jimmy Verlanic comes back. That's given our offense more consistency, having one lineup in the offensive line for the last three practices."
Ash indicated that guard Jeff Hansen slides over to center, with redshirt freshmen Alex Terrien and Conrad Burbank flanking him at the guard positions. Lou Saucedo and Jeff Miller hold down the tackle spots.
The spot drawing the most attention continues to be the quarterback position. Ash said that with junior Mark Iddins and sophomore Cody Kempt running neck-and-neck, no timeline exists for selecting a starting quarterback. "I think we'll probably just go through Saturday, then come back on Sunday and look at a full-camp evaluation statistically and see if we can come to some conclusion early next week."
* * *
Ash offered evaluations of several positions, including...
* Kicker: Eric Fisher, MSU's returner who has battled leg injuries during camp, is likely to handle kickoffs and punts, while freshman Jason Cunningham has a leg up on place-kicking duties. "Eric Fisher did kick some placements today... Jason Cunningham is very accurate, and I like what he's doing. I'd say he's likely to be the guy, but we're going to keep an open mind. Fish wants to try to have a shot at that, as well. Eric's leg is great for punting right now, and kickoffs, and he'll do both of those for sure."
* Sophomore Arnold Briggs has moved from cornerback to safety. "I think he's coming along a little bit there, although we still have some uncertainty at safety because we still have five guys for two spots."
* MSU remains "a work in progress" at receiver, largely due to nagging injuries. DeAndre Green returned to practice Tuesday, but Mark Desin missed the session with a slight hamstring strain.
* Ash characterized Jim Verlanic as questionable for MSU's season opener against Adams State. "I would say that's questionable for now. We want to make sure Jimmy's 100 percent healthy and that he doesn't have any setbacks when he does come back. We want him to be able to be full-go and be able to go the rest of the season at whatever point he comes back."
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