Spring Football Notebook - Bobcats Shuffle Weekend Practice Schedule
4/2/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Montana State has canceled its Friday practice, according to head coach Rob Ash, and scaled back its planned Saturday scrimmage.
The Bobcats pushed the practice schedule back a day to accommodate some nagging injuries which, while not serious, send ripples through the depth chart. “We’re not dealing with any new injuries that are serious, but they affect our depth situation, which means practices aren’t as productive as normal.”
Montana State’s Saturday practice, originally scheduled as a full scrimmage, features an hour or so of 11-on-11 work, which should begin around 2 pm. The practice starts at 1 pm.
“We’ll do a lot of situational work,” Ash said, “specifically on red zone and third-down situations. We’ll also go up and down the field some with the ones and twos.”
Ash indicated the team will put its kicking specialists in more game-like situations.
SCRIMMAGE #1 REVIEW
If progress isn’t coming in the weather, at least Rob Ash sees some on the football field.
“We definitely saw signs of progress (in MSU’s first spring scrimmage Monday). I thought the offensive line got better as the scrimmage progressed, and the offense took a step forward because of that.”
Ash was pleased with the performance of his defensive unit, which dominated the scrimmage early, but said one technical area must improve. “Tackling will be an area we focus on,” Ash said. “We’ll work hard to get that shored up. But I’m happy with the pace they’ve played at so far.”
LOOKING AHEAD
MSU added a practice session on its last scheduled “makeup day” Monday. That leaves the team with a full scrimmage on April 11 leading to the Triangle Classic Spring Game in Great Falls on April 18.
POSITION SPOTLIGHT: Dynamic Different on D-Line
The dynamic is different from what it was last fall, and different than what it will be when the Bobcat football team reports for fall camp in August.
The expectations remain consistent no matter who lines up, though, says third-year defensive line coach Bo Beck. “They’re working hard,” Beck said of his group, which is missing departed starters Dylan Kinkelaar and Chris Kolone, along with returning starter Dane Fletcher, shelved after off-season surgery. “The focus is good, they’re learning, but the dynamic is different in this group.”
The bottom line for Beck remains production in the fall, and on that front his defensive line has performed well. The Bobcats finished second in the Big Sky in rushing defense last year, allowing just 88.8 yards a game on the ground, while the team’s 36 sacks was also second in the Big Sky last fall.
Although the faces have changed considerably since last spring, Beck likes his group’s makeup. “We have good talent, especially when Dane gets back. Guys like Ryan Cerise, John Laidet, Dan Ogden and Dustin O’Connell gained a lot of experience last year with our injury situation. The next step is for them to gain experience playing together, build that bond, develop the swagger that we had last year.”
The 2008 Bobcat defensive line returned nearly intact. Five of last year’s D-linemen had starting experience, including Chris Kolone and Dylan Kinkelaar in addition to Fletcher. “Knowing they’d started a lot of games together gave those guys a strong sense of confidence in each other,” Beck said.
The Bobcats pushed the practice schedule back a day to accommodate some nagging injuries which, while not serious, send ripples through the depth chart. “We’re not dealing with any new injuries that are serious, but they affect our depth situation, which means practices aren’t as productive as normal.”
Montana State’s Saturday practice, originally scheduled as a full scrimmage, features an hour or so of 11-on-11 work, which should begin around 2 pm. The practice starts at 1 pm.
“We’ll do a lot of situational work,” Ash said, “specifically on red zone and third-down situations. We’ll also go up and down the field some with the ones and twos.”
Ash indicated the team will put its kicking specialists in more game-like situations.
SCRIMMAGE #1 REVIEW
If progress isn’t coming in the weather, at least Rob Ash sees some on the football field.
“We definitely saw signs of progress (in MSU’s first spring scrimmage Monday). I thought the offensive line got better as the scrimmage progressed, and the offense took a step forward because of that.”
Ash was pleased with the performance of his defensive unit, which dominated the scrimmage early, but said one technical area must improve. “Tackling will be an area we focus on,” Ash said. “We’ll work hard to get that shored up. But I’m happy with the pace they’ve played at so far.”
LOOKING AHEAD
MSU added a practice session on its last scheduled “makeup day” Monday. That leaves the team with a full scrimmage on April 11 leading to the Triangle Classic Spring Game in Great Falls on April 18.
POSITION SPOTLIGHT: Dynamic Different on D-Line
The dynamic is different from what it was last fall, and different than what it will be when the Bobcat football team reports for fall camp in August.
The expectations remain consistent no matter who lines up, though, says third-year defensive line coach Bo Beck. “They’re working hard,” Beck said of his group, which is missing departed starters Dylan Kinkelaar and Chris Kolone, along with returning starter Dane Fletcher, shelved after off-season surgery. “The focus is good, they’re learning, but the dynamic is different in this group.”
The bottom line for Beck remains production in the fall, and on that front his defensive line has performed well. The Bobcats finished second in the Big Sky in rushing defense last year, allowing just 88.8 yards a game on the ground, while the team’s 36 sacks was also second in the Big Sky last fall.
Although the faces have changed considerably since last spring, Beck likes his group’s makeup. “We have good talent, especially when Dane gets back. Guys like Ryan Cerise, John Laidet, Dan Ogden and Dustin O’Connell gained a lot of experience last year with our injury situation. The next step is for them to gain experience playing together, build that bond, develop the swagger that we had last year.”
The 2008 Bobcat defensive line returned nearly intact. Five of last year’s D-linemen had starting experience, including Chris Kolone and Dylan Kinkelaar in addition to Fletcher. “Knowing they’d started a lot of games together gave those guys a strong sense of confidence in each other,” Beck said.
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