Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
Gilbert Happy However He Gets the Ball
10/12/2011 9:17:00 AM | Football
Catching it or carrying it, Everett Gilbert has a positive impact on the Bobcat offense
Everett Gilbert has looked right at home in a Bobcat uniform catching passes for the past two-plus seasons. For the past two-plus weeks he's looked right at home taking handoffs, too.
“We like the ball in Everett's hands, and the earlier in a play the better,” Montana State coach Rob Ash said of his junior scatback whose eight carries in the last two games is more than in the Bobcats' first four combined. “He's a dynamic player. We'll keep looking for ways to get him the ball.”
For the record, the player who set MSU's record for receiving yards by a freshman two seasons ago couldn't care less how the ball gets to him.
“I did some of everything in high school,” said Gilbert, who came to MSU in the fall of 2009 as part of a recruiting class from Texas that also includes quarterback DeNarius McGhee and cornerback Darius Jones. “I mostly carried the ball (as a running back). I'm comfortable doing that.”
Seeing Gilbert's familiar no. 14 in a drill during some practice segments brightens the day of Bobcat running backs coach Kerry Dixon. “He's with the running backs for the first part of practice (some days), and it's fun having him,” Dixon said. “He has some tools we really like to utilize.”
Gilbert's skill set diversifies Montana State's backfield weaponry, said MSU offensive coordinator Brian Wright. “We're very happy with what our running backs bring to the offense, but Everett allows us to throw a curve ball once in a while. He just brings a different dynamic to the backfield.”
Wright agrees with Ash's assessment that Gilbert's explosiveness demands the Bobcat offense utilize him more consistently. “To me, he's a more natural player when he's closer to the ball – in the slot, in the backfield, getting the ball on underneath routes. That's a good way to use his skills.”
While Gilbert nears MSU's career top 10 charts with 101 catches and 1,183 receiving yards, he's made his mark carrying the ball this year, too. In the last two games he has carried eight times for 81 yards, or a shade over 10 yards a carry. On the season he maintains the same rate, gaining 101 yards on 10 carries.
“He is such a dynamic player,” Ash says.
“We like the ball in Everett's hands, and the earlier in a play the better,” Montana State coach Rob Ash said of his junior scatback whose eight carries in the last two games is more than in the Bobcats' first four combined. “He's a dynamic player. We'll keep looking for ways to get him the ball.”
For the record, the player who set MSU's record for receiving yards by a freshman two seasons ago couldn't care less how the ball gets to him.
“I did some of everything in high school,” said Gilbert, who came to MSU in the fall of 2009 as part of a recruiting class from Texas that also includes quarterback DeNarius McGhee and cornerback Darius Jones. “I mostly carried the ball (as a running back). I'm comfortable doing that.”
Seeing Gilbert's familiar no. 14 in a drill during some practice segments brightens the day of Bobcat running backs coach Kerry Dixon. “He's with the running backs for the first part of practice (some days), and it's fun having him,” Dixon said. “He has some tools we really like to utilize.”
Gilbert's skill set diversifies Montana State's backfield weaponry, said MSU offensive coordinator Brian Wright. “We're very happy with what our running backs bring to the offense, but Everett allows us to throw a curve ball once in a while. He just brings a different dynamic to the backfield.”
Wright agrees with Ash's assessment that Gilbert's explosiveness demands the Bobcat offense utilize him more consistently. “To me, he's a more natural player when he's closer to the ball – in the slot, in the backfield, getting the ball on underneath routes. That's a good way to use his skills.”
While Gilbert nears MSU's career top 10 charts with 101 catches and 1,183 receiving yards, he's made his mark carrying the ball this year, too. In the last two games he has carried eight times for 81 yards, or a shade over 10 yards a carry. On the season he maintains the same rate, gaining 101 yards on 10 carries.
“He is such a dynamic player,” Ash says.
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