Everett Gilbert (left) and DeNarius McGhee produced plenty of high spots in MSU's Thursday scrimmage
Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
In Spite of Defensive Dominance, Offense Produce High Spots
4/5/2012 10:07:00 PM | Football
McGhee sharp for MSU in first full scrimmage
On a day lifted from late October, DeNarius McGhee was in mid-season form. That was the good news for Montana State's offense.
The bad news? So was Zach Minter, and the rest of his mates.
McGhee completed 17 of 22 pass3s for 192 yards and a touchdown, displaying crisp passes underneath and showing a deft touch on deep completions of 30 and 40 yards. In spite of McGhee's outstanding day, and strong performances by running back Orenzo Davis (46 yards rushing and receiving yards combined) and quarterback Jake Bleskin (7-for-15, 66 yards passing), the offense was stymied much of the day.
“I thought there were a lot of good things on both sides of the ball,” said Bobcat coach Rob Ash. “That first defense really played well. That front seven is just very hard to block. But the offense had some good plays, too.”
MSU's top defensive unit forced five three-and-out possessions, and defensive end Caleb Schreibeis and All-America defensive tackle Zach Minter seemed to be at the point of attack on nearly every play. Schreibeis had two sacks, Minter a tackle-for-loss and a pass breakup.
But the defensive play of the day came at the end of the offense's fourth drive of the day, the first that produced sustained yardage. After moving the offense into a fourth-and-six from the 36-yard line going in, McGhee aimed a pass for Everett Gilbert that could have resulted in a score. But senior cornerback Darius Jones made an acrobatic interception to thwart the scoring chance.
“It was long yardage, most of the time you'll see a fade there,” Jones said. “It felt good.”
While the first Bobcat defense held its counterpart in check for much of the scrimmage, MSU's second offense moved the ball more effectively. Jake Bleskin engineered eight first downs on the second unit's first three drives, but only a 37-yard Trevor Bolton field goal produced points.
McGhee finally heated things up on the scrimmage's 12th drive, which began at the offense's 25-yard line. A 25-yard dump pass to Cody Kirk, a counter to the defensive line's relentless pressure, moved the ball to midfield. Tray Robinson's counter picked seven yards on a fourth-and-five from just across midfield, then McGhee then found Everett Gilbert for 40 yards. After a two-yard loss by Kirk, McGhee hit Tanner Bleskin for the game's first touchdown, a seven-yard strike.
“The thing about DeNarius is that he never gets rattled,” Ash said. “He can be shut down for a long period of time, but he's going to keep competing and trying to find a way, and eventually he does. He showed that today.”
Ash said that three weeks into spring drills the offense is beginning to flow. “We're getting away from all the thinking,” he said, “and starting to just play. In terms of running plays and executing plays, it was a lot better today.”
Thursday's scrimmage was moved up from Friday due to impending bad weather, leaving the Bobcats with Easter weekend off. The team reconvenes Tuesday, and next week preps for MSU's annual trip to Great Falls for the Triangle Classic scrimmage on Saturday, April 14.
RUSHING: Orenzo Davis 8-31-1, Cody Kirk 6-4-1, Shawn Johnson 5-20-0, Tray Robinson 5-5-0, Everett Gilbert 2-2-0, Jake Bleskin 2-9-0, DeNarius McGhee 1-6-0.*
PASSING: DeNarius McGhee 17-22-1, 192, 1 TD; Jake Bleskin 7-15-1, 66, 1 TD.
RECEIVING: Everett Gilbert 5-96, John Ellis 3-5, Michael Perryman 3-35-1, Cody Kirk 3-29, David Dash 2-13, Brian Flotkoetter 1-13, Lee Perkins 2-9, Matt Thibault 1-4, Tiai Salanoa 1-16, Kruiz Siewing 1-5, Tray Robinson 1-5, Orenzo Davis 1-15, Tanner Bleskin 1-7-1.
DEFENSIVE HIGHLIGHTS: Interceptions – Darius Jones 1, Rhett Young 1; Sacks – Caleb Schreibeis 2, Michael Foster 1, Hayden Vick 1, Taylor Sheridan 1; Tackles for loss (excluding sacks) – Alex Singleton 3, Zach Minter 2, Taylor Dees 1, Hayden Vick 1, James Andrews 1, Aleksei Grosulak 1. Pass Breakups – Heath Howard 1, Zach Minter 1, Deonte Flowers 1, Zach Coleman 2, Michael Foster 1.
*-quarterback run stats only for designed run plays
The bad news? So was Zach Minter, and the rest of his mates.
McGhee completed 17 of 22 pass3s for 192 yards and a touchdown, displaying crisp passes underneath and showing a deft touch on deep completions of 30 and 40 yards. In spite of McGhee's outstanding day, and strong performances by running back Orenzo Davis (46 yards rushing and receiving yards combined) and quarterback Jake Bleskin (7-for-15, 66 yards passing), the offense was stymied much of the day.
“I thought there were a lot of good things on both sides of the ball,” said Bobcat coach Rob Ash. “That first defense really played well. That front seven is just very hard to block. But the offense had some good plays, too.”
MSU's top defensive unit forced five three-and-out possessions, and defensive end Caleb Schreibeis and All-America defensive tackle Zach Minter seemed to be at the point of attack on nearly every play. Schreibeis had two sacks, Minter a tackle-for-loss and a pass breakup.
But the defensive play of the day came at the end of the offense's fourth drive of the day, the first that produced sustained yardage. After moving the offense into a fourth-and-six from the 36-yard line going in, McGhee aimed a pass for Everett Gilbert that could have resulted in a score. But senior cornerback Darius Jones made an acrobatic interception to thwart the scoring chance.
“It was long yardage, most of the time you'll see a fade there,” Jones said. “It felt good.”
While the first Bobcat defense held its counterpart in check for much of the scrimmage, MSU's second offense moved the ball more effectively. Jake Bleskin engineered eight first downs on the second unit's first three drives, but only a 37-yard Trevor Bolton field goal produced points.
McGhee finally heated things up on the scrimmage's 12th drive, which began at the offense's 25-yard line. A 25-yard dump pass to Cody Kirk, a counter to the defensive line's relentless pressure, moved the ball to midfield. Tray Robinson's counter picked seven yards on a fourth-and-five from just across midfield, then McGhee then found Everett Gilbert for 40 yards. After a two-yard loss by Kirk, McGhee hit Tanner Bleskin for the game's first touchdown, a seven-yard strike.
“The thing about DeNarius is that he never gets rattled,” Ash said. “He can be shut down for a long period of time, but he's going to keep competing and trying to find a way, and eventually he does. He showed that today.”
Ash said that three weeks into spring drills the offense is beginning to flow. “We're getting away from all the thinking,” he said, “and starting to just play. In terms of running plays and executing plays, it was a lot better today.”
Thursday's scrimmage was moved up from Friday due to impending bad weather, leaving the Bobcats with Easter weekend off. The team reconvenes Tuesday, and next week preps for MSU's annual trip to Great Falls for the Triangle Classic scrimmage on Saturday, April 14.
RUSHING: Orenzo Davis 8-31-1, Cody Kirk 6-4-1, Shawn Johnson 5-20-0, Tray Robinson 5-5-0, Everett Gilbert 2-2-0, Jake Bleskin 2-9-0, DeNarius McGhee 1-6-0.*
PASSING: DeNarius McGhee 17-22-1, 192, 1 TD; Jake Bleskin 7-15-1, 66, 1 TD.
RECEIVING: Everett Gilbert 5-96, John Ellis 3-5, Michael Perryman 3-35-1, Cody Kirk 3-29, David Dash 2-13, Brian Flotkoetter 1-13, Lee Perkins 2-9, Matt Thibault 1-4, Tiai Salanoa 1-16, Kruiz Siewing 1-5, Tray Robinson 1-5, Orenzo Davis 1-15, Tanner Bleskin 1-7-1.
DEFENSIVE HIGHLIGHTS: Interceptions – Darius Jones 1, Rhett Young 1; Sacks – Caleb Schreibeis 2, Michael Foster 1, Hayden Vick 1, Taylor Sheridan 1; Tackles for loss (excluding sacks) – Alex Singleton 3, Zach Minter 2, Taylor Dees 1, Hayden Vick 1, James Andrews 1, Aleksei Grosulak 1. Pass Breakups – Heath Howard 1, Zach Minter 1, Deonte Flowers 1, Zach Coleman 2, Michael Foster 1.
*-quarterback run stats only for designed run plays
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