MSU's offensive line performed well in 2010
Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
Bobcat O-Line Works on Fundamentals, Cohesiveness During Spring
4/6/2011 4:42:32 PM | Football
Returners anchor offensive line effort
Jason McEndoo, Montana State's offensive line coach for the past eight seasons, feels like the tamer of two completely different animals.
“During the season you have a week to prepare for your opponent,” McEndoo said, and there's proven to be no one in the Big Sky Conference better at knowing an opponent. “You study their blitzes, you know their tendencies, you know what they're going to do.”
A Bobcat offensive line under McEndoo's watch during the spring, however, is completely different. “During the spring sometimes it feels like a shotgun start,” McEndoo said with a smile, saying that teaching and preparation come from a different angle than during the fall. “I purposely don't try to break down (the offense's) blitzes and what they're doing because I have the script right in front of me. I want guys to react to what they're seeing. That's the hardest thing to do, react and execute when you don't know what's coming at you.”
Unlike the fall, when engineering cohesiveness rooted in synchronization and timing is the top priority, McEndoo emphasizes individual soundness during the spring. “Fundamentals,” he said, “just working on footwork and execute the blocking scheme. My big focus in the spring is working on fundamentals.”
Ash said the timing of an offensive line is often the last key element to emerge during the spring. “It's such a foreign skill, with all those moving parts. You can't work on that during the off-seasno when you don't go out there and practice it. You can go out and throw the ball around and run routes in the off-season, but you just don't go out and run into each other in January and February.”
The Bobcats return experience in the offensive line in 2011, but not considerable depth. “On a good day we have 10 guys, but of those 10 only six-and-a-half are scholarship guys,” McEndoo said. Conrad Burbank moves to left tackle, opposite returning right tackle Leo Davis. Alex Terrien returns at center with, while guards Casey Dennehy and Ben Tauanuu and center Shaun Sampson each have starting experience.
In spite of a solid group of returners, McEndoo says spring drills can be hit-and-miss at times. “You usually have a guy or two banged up, and some with classes (during practice),” he said. “You have to make do with what you have, and that's been my theme since I've been here. To me it's not important who's in there during the spring, it's about the reps that you get while you're in there.”
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