Bobcat O, D Each Show Positives in First Scrum
3/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Rob Ash got two scrimmages for the price of one Monday during Montana State's first live 11-on-11 work of the spring.
"It was kind of a tale of two halves," Ash said after MSU's 75-play scrimmage. "Early on I thought we were very shaky (offensively). The offense sputtered, I thought the defense might have brought a little more intensity (early). The kicking game was sloppy early. That would be the way to describe the first half-hour, pretty sloppy."
About 25 plays into the scrimmage though, Ash saw a change, spurred by a reserve running back and the team's veteran offensive line. "Eventually, the offense found some rhythm," Ash said. "I thought Blayde Becksted was a real spark for the offense today. He scored a three-yard touchdown, and was pretty consistent.
"I thought the O-line continually got better throughout the day. Maybe they're in a little better shape, maybe they just settled down and got a handle on what their assignments were. I thought the trenches were dominated early on by the defense, especially the twos and threes, but in the last two-thirds of the scrimmage I thought the offensive line, especially the ones and the twos, really played well."
Each of MSU's four available running backs showed positives behind MSU's talented offensive front. Becksted rushed for 34 yards on eight carries, and scored the day's first touchdown. CJ Palmer rushed for 37 yards on 10 carries, Rick Haluszka carried eight times for 20 yards, and on the strength of a 70-yard scoring sprint Ricky Evans rushed for 79 yards on six carries. Aaron Mason missed the scrimmage with an injury.
With Cody Kempt unavailable for live 11-on-11 work this spring, Mark Iddins and Mark Desin played well at quarterback. Iddins was 7-for-13 for 96 yards, while Desin was 10-for-14 for 128 yards, with his interception on the final play standing as the day's only turnovers.
Defensive end Brian Bignell turned in an outstanding scrimmage. The redshirt freshman from Helena registered two tackles-for-loss, one sack, a forced fumble, and a pass breakup. Michael Rider and Dan Ogden also registered sacks.
MSU is scheduled to scrimmage Wednesday and Friday, before scrimmaging on Saturday.
RUSHING: Ricky Evans 6-79-1, CJ Palmer 10-37-0, Blayde Becksted 8-34-1, Rick Haluszka 1-34.
PASSING: Mark Iddins 13-7-0, 96, 0; Mark Desin 14-10-1, 128, 1; Byron Campbell 1-1-0, 19, 0.
RECEIVING: Michael Chopp 3-67, Daniel Malison 3-37, Elvis Akpla 2-18, Steven Foster 2-25, Kruiz Siewing 2-7, CJ Palmer 1-12, Blayde Becksted 1-2, Kyle Begger 1-11, Derek Green 1-38, Ricky Evans 1-24.
"It was kind of a tale of two halves," Ash said after MSU's 75-play scrimmage. "Early on I thought we were very shaky (offensively). The offense sputtered, I thought the defense might have brought a little more intensity (early). The kicking game was sloppy early. That would be the way to describe the first half-hour, pretty sloppy."
About 25 plays into the scrimmage though, Ash saw a change, spurred by a reserve running back and the team's veteran offensive line. "Eventually, the offense found some rhythm," Ash said. "I thought Blayde Becksted was a real spark for the offense today. He scored a three-yard touchdown, and was pretty consistent.
"I thought the O-line continually got better throughout the day. Maybe they're in a little better shape, maybe they just settled down and got a handle on what their assignments were. I thought the trenches were dominated early on by the defense, especially the twos and threes, but in the last two-thirds of the scrimmage I thought the offensive line, especially the ones and the twos, really played well."
Each of MSU's four available running backs showed positives behind MSU's talented offensive front. Becksted rushed for 34 yards on eight carries, and scored the day's first touchdown. CJ Palmer rushed for 37 yards on 10 carries, Rick Haluszka carried eight times for 20 yards, and on the strength of a 70-yard scoring sprint Ricky Evans rushed for 79 yards on six carries. Aaron Mason missed the scrimmage with an injury.
With Cody Kempt unavailable for live 11-on-11 work this spring, Mark Iddins and Mark Desin played well at quarterback. Iddins was 7-for-13 for 96 yards, while Desin was 10-for-14 for 128 yards, with his interception on the final play standing as the day's only turnovers.
Defensive end Brian Bignell turned in an outstanding scrimmage. The redshirt freshman from Helena registered two tackles-for-loss, one sack, a forced fumble, and a pass breakup. Michael Rider and Dan Ogden also registered sacks.
MSU is scheduled to scrimmage Wednesday and Friday, before scrimmaging on Saturday.
RUSHING: Ricky Evans 6-79-1, CJ Palmer 10-37-0, Blayde Becksted 8-34-1, Rick Haluszka 1-34.
PASSING: Mark Iddins 13-7-0, 96, 0; Mark Desin 14-10-1, 128, 1; Byron Campbell 1-1-0, 19, 0.
RECEIVING: Michael Chopp 3-67, Daniel Malison 3-37, Elvis Akpla 2-18, Steven Foster 2-25, Kruiz Siewing 2-7, CJ Palmer 1-12, Blayde Becksted 1-2, Kyle Begger 1-11, Derek Green 1-38, Ricky Evans 1-24.
Monday, August 24
Monday, August 24
Wednesday, August 19
Wednesday, June 10
