Bobcat coach Rob Ash liked what he saw during MSU's first practice of the fall on Monday.
Photo by: Kelly Gorham
Positive Vibes Reverberate Through Bobcat Camp on Day One
8/9/2010 4:39:33 PM | Football
Everyone knows the drill. On the first day of fall camp on any college campus in the nation, everyone says the right things.
We're excited to be here. We're looking forward to getting back to work. We had a great summer.
Rob Ash likes what he hears from his players. But Montana State's veteran head coach really likes what he sees.
"Every (first day) is different," Ash said during his 2010 team's first practice. "Every team has a different personality and attitude. I really like the energy that this group has. These first days of meetings can really be tedious, but the meetings the last two days have been energized. There's a real sense that we want to get every meeting, every drill, right."
Senior offensive tackle Mike Person hung his hopes for the new season on the phrase "refuse to lose," but rather than a rah-rah cliche' thrown around on Saturdays, Person said this mantra is applicable to every moment from the onset of fall practice until helmets are packed away at some point early in the winter.
"We have a new attitude this year," Person said.
Michael Rider, a senior safety who is co-captain with Person, called it "an attitude adjustment. It's just expecting to do good things, expect to win, expect to do good things at all costs, and that's what's going to put us over the top."
Rider said the urgency of his senior season has set in. "It's not a maybe-win thing, we're going to win at all costs. We refuse to lose in any drill, we want to win every rep. Being so close (the past two seasons) and falling short, nobody wants that."
On day one, it's all talk. But Ash feels it's more than that.
"This team has a positive energy right now that is very important," he said. "I'm excited to see them get to work."
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