Orenzo Davis takes a handoff from DeNarius McGhee
Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
Plenty to Like on Both Sides of Ball in First Spring Scrimmage
3/31/2012 8:27:00 PM | Football
Offense sharp at times, defense comes up with big plays
Rob Ash wanted to use Montana State's first scrimmage of the spring to evaluate his team's ground game. Cody Kirk and Orenzo Davis gave him an eyeful.
The two Bobcat veterans combined for 98 yards on 17 carries to pace the offense, which scored three touchdowns in the 63-play scrimmage. Kirk punctuated the day - and opened the offense's scoring - with a 37-yard touchdown run that broke the defense's dominance during the first-third of the scrimmage.
"The defense started strong, tough, and got out of drives early," Ash said. "As the day went on the offense raised their level of play and started executing. They made the big plays, too."
Kirk rushed for 57 yards on eight carries, while Davis gained 41 yards on nine carries. Saturday's scrimmage marked the first simulated game action for the senior in 16 months, after he missed 2011 due to academic ineligibility.
"It felt good," Davis said of being back in a game atmosphere, even one in March. "The first week (back) was hard, but I'm getting used to it again."
While the offense's ground game produced numbers that were solid but not eye-popping for a unit that averaged over 200 yards on the ground a season ago, the performance was enhanced by the play of the team's young offensive line. Davis took note. "The O-line blocked great today," he said with a smile. "They may be young, but they played well."
The Bobcat defense registered a big play right out of the gates, when end Brad Daly tipped a pass, hauled it in on the deflection, then rumbled unabated toward the goal line before the play was whistled dead. That was the first of six passes in total that were tipped. One other was intercepted in a similar fashion, but linebacker Michael Foster.
"The defense made some brilliant individual plays," Ash said. "Those two tipped interceptions were really outstanding."
MSU's offense managed only one first down in its first four drives, but on the fifth possession DeNarius McGhee breathed life into the offense. He engineered a 75-yard drived capped by Kirk's touchdown that featured a nifty third-down completion to Kruiz Siewing to set up a short fourth-down play, which was converted. McGhee started the afternoon one-for-his-first-six, but completed six-of-eight after that. He finished the afternoon 7-for-14 for 122 yards.
The highlight of the passing game may have been a short dump pass by McGhee to electric sophomore Shawn Johnson. The scatback scampered 55 yards to the defense's 20, and the offense eventually scored on that drive. Johnson rushed twice for 21 yards, and caught a pair of passes for 61.
While Ash saw a lot to like in his team's first scrimmage of the spring, he also saw plenty to work on. "The offense has to eliminate negative plays," he said. "We had some big losses that really put us in a hole. I like how we responded, with some long third-down conversions, but we have to eliminate negative plays. Defensively we have to finish. Some of those big third-down plays were because the offense broke arm tackles."
The team is scheduled to scrimmage next Friday morning before getting the weekend off for Easter.
The two Bobcat veterans combined for 98 yards on 17 carries to pace the offense, which scored three touchdowns in the 63-play scrimmage. Kirk punctuated the day - and opened the offense's scoring - with a 37-yard touchdown run that broke the defense's dominance during the first-third of the scrimmage.
"The defense started strong, tough, and got out of drives early," Ash said. "As the day went on the offense raised their level of play and started executing. They made the big plays, too."
Kirk rushed for 57 yards on eight carries, while Davis gained 41 yards on nine carries. Saturday's scrimmage marked the first simulated game action for the senior in 16 months, after he missed 2011 due to academic ineligibility.
"It felt good," Davis said of being back in a game atmosphere, even one in March. "The first week (back) was hard, but I'm getting used to it again."
While the offense's ground game produced numbers that were solid but not eye-popping for a unit that averaged over 200 yards on the ground a season ago, the performance was enhanced by the play of the team's young offensive line. Davis took note. "The O-line blocked great today," he said with a smile. "They may be young, but they played well."
The Bobcat defense registered a big play right out of the gates, when end Brad Daly tipped a pass, hauled it in on the deflection, then rumbled unabated toward the goal line before the play was whistled dead. That was the first of six passes in total that were tipped. One other was intercepted in a similar fashion, but linebacker Michael Foster.
"The defense made some brilliant individual plays," Ash said. "Those two tipped interceptions were really outstanding."
MSU's offense managed only one first down in its first four drives, but on the fifth possession DeNarius McGhee breathed life into the offense. He engineered a 75-yard drived capped by Kirk's touchdown that featured a nifty third-down completion to Kruiz Siewing to set up a short fourth-down play, which was converted. McGhee started the afternoon one-for-his-first-six, but completed six-of-eight after that. He finished the afternoon 7-for-14 for 122 yards.
The highlight of the passing game may have been a short dump pass by McGhee to electric sophomore Shawn Johnson. The scatback scampered 55 yards to the defense's 20, and the offense eventually scored on that drive. Johnson rushed twice for 21 yards, and caught a pair of passes for 61.
While Ash saw a lot to like in his team's first scrimmage of the spring, he also saw plenty to work on. "The offense has to eliminate negative plays," he said. "We had some big losses that really put us in a hole. I like how we responded, with some long third-down conversions, but we have to eliminate negative plays. Defensively we have to finish. Some of those big third-down plays were because the offense broke arm tackles."
The team is scheduled to scrimmage next Friday morning before getting the weekend off for Easter.
Thursday, July 31
Monday, May 19
Wednesday, May 03
Wednesday, May 03
