Cody Kirk (white jersey) showed good progress in pass protection Wednesday.
Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
Bobcats Don Pads Wednesday
8/11/2010 5:26:17 PM | Football
Montana State pop the pads for the first time
It started before the Montana State football team even reached the practice field.
“Right when we put the pads on in the locker room, 'I can't wait to hit,' that's what everyone was saying,” senior cornerback Arnold Briggs said with a smile. “It was amazing that we got to strap up today. I love half-pads, I'm ready to lay some wood.”
Wednesday marked the first day Bobcat football players were allowed to practice in pads, and the team took full advantage, according to MSU coach Rob Ash. “There was a lot of intensity out there today,” Ash said, “and I like that, a lot of competition. We got to do some hitting, some one-on-one drills, both line matchups and blitz pickups and one-on-ones with receivers and DBs there together. We competed hard, maybe too hard at times. We got a little over the top because we don't have the full pads on yet, but I think this will be a very physical football team and a team that likes to hit, and I think that's what we need to be.”
The addition of pads to the equation allowed coaches their first chance to evaluate the running game, and Ash was pleased with what he saw. “The run game I thought was OK,” Ash said. “It's a little bit hard to tell yet because we're not finishing off with tackles to the ground, but I thought our guys at point of attack were physical and the offensive line did a pretty good job opening some holes, and I thought the running backs did a good job of finding some daylight and accelerating, getting north and south.”
One of the key elements of playing running back is pass protection, and Ash said the process of honing that skill begins early in camp. “The first blitzes of the camp went in today and the veterans, Cody Kirk and Becksted and CJ, picked up the blitzes in great shape,” he said. “The young guys are just going to have to learn.”
Kirk caught Ash's attention, and not only for his production with the ball in his hands. “The most important thing Cody did was pick up the blitzes. He's always been good going north and south with the football. I thought he looked a little quicker today than he did in the spring, too. He's definitely in the mix.”
A redshirt freshman from Frenchtown, Kirk said blitz pickup is the most challenging part of the transition to college football. “Pass protection is hard for any freshman running back,” he said. “You're here because in high school you ran the ball a lot, but you come to college and you're responsible for more. Blitz pickup is about knowing who you have to get and technically knowing how to do it.”
MSU's second padded practice comes on Thursday morning at 9:15 am. The team is slated for a full-contact scrimmage in Bobcat Stadium on Saturday at 2:40 pm.
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