Jake Bleskin throws to his brother Tanner against Colorado Mesa
Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
Bleskin, Roderick Return to the Scene of a Memorable Battle
4/11/2014 10:53:00 AM | Football
Two MSU quarterbacks squared off previously in Memorial Stadium
Montana State quarterback Jake Bleskin generated plenty of great memories in Great Falls' Memorial Stadium while starring for CM Russell High School, but one stands out.
"My best memory is probably the state quarterfinals my junior year against Bozeman," said Bleskin of a state playoff game in which his Rustlers scored more than 60 points and demolished BHS. "Nothing went wrong that game. I think we threw for 400 yards or something. It was ridiculous, and we went on to win state that year, so it's a good memory."
Bleskin heads back to Memorial Stadium on Saturday for Montana State's annual Triangle Classic Scrimmage, a decade-old tradition which always proves to be a highlight of the spring. He arrives at his old stomping grounds as one of three men in competition for starting quarterback honors throughout the spring.
One of those three was also in Memorial Stadium that cold night in 2009 when CMR drilled the Hawks. Tanner Roderick, Bozeman's starting quarterback then and a junior signal caller for the Bobcats now, barely remembers it.
"It was cold that night, I remember that," says a smiling Roderick, who would lead Bozeman to an undefeated state championship season 12 months later. "We got our butts handed to us. But I don't really remember anything about the game."
Saturday's scrimmage won't have the obvious significance for either man as that contest nearly five years ago, but MSU head coach Rob Ash said that every chance to evaluate his two junior quarterbacks, along with sophomore Dakota Prukop (freshman Quinn McQueary is injured) weighs plenty. "Sure, every rep is important. Those two guys have done a good job throughout the spring, and one scrimmage isn't going to decide the thing. But every chance they get to work against the defense and compete is important."
Saturday's scrimmage, coupled with Friday's Triangle Classic Banquet that generally draws over 1,000 fans, is old hat for Bleskin. With the time his brother Tanner spent in the program, this spring marks the sixth consecutive year that one of the two will head to Great Falls with a starting spot locked up or competing for one. The younger Bleskin approaches this weekend analytically.
"It's always really nice to go back and see the hometown guys," he says, "but I look at it more as a business trip. You go and do a banquet, see your family for about an hour, and after that it's go time. I look at it as an opportunity for the team to get better."
Bobcat offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey sees the weekend as one more opportunity for his offense to strive for consistency, and his quarterbacks are central to that process. "I want those guys to continue to get better, to continue to be more consistent," the team's second-year offensive coordinator says, "and they're doing a great job. Jake and Dakota have each completed nearly 80% of their passes. Dakota and Tanner run extremely well, and I've seen some of that from Jake lately, too."
For Bleskin, any personal gains made this spring are viewed on how they apply to the offense as a unit. "I think of us as an offense in terms of making strides. As far as the spring has gone we have made strides, and that's a good thing for us as an offensive unit. As a team we want to keep making strides and avoid injuries."
Those two goals stand at the forefront as the Bobcats head to Great Falls this weekend, but for two of the main characters the setting may elicit a hint of the past along with the future.
"The Great Falls (stadium) is a different atmosphere, for sure," Roderick says. And Bleskin adds, "It's always fun to go back there."
"My best memory is probably the state quarterfinals my junior year against Bozeman," said Bleskin of a state playoff game in which his Rustlers scored more than 60 points and demolished BHS. "Nothing went wrong that game. I think we threw for 400 yards or something. It was ridiculous, and we went on to win state that year, so it's a good memory."
Bleskin heads back to Memorial Stadium on Saturday for Montana State's annual Triangle Classic Scrimmage, a decade-old tradition which always proves to be a highlight of the spring. He arrives at his old stomping grounds as one of three men in competition for starting quarterback honors throughout the spring.
One of those three was also in Memorial Stadium that cold night in 2009 when CMR drilled the Hawks. Tanner Roderick, Bozeman's starting quarterback then and a junior signal caller for the Bobcats now, barely remembers it.
"It was cold that night, I remember that," says a smiling Roderick, who would lead Bozeman to an undefeated state championship season 12 months later. "We got our butts handed to us. But I don't really remember anything about the game."
Saturday's scrimmage won't have the obvious significance for either man as that contest nearly five years ago, but MSU head coach Rob Ash said that every chance to evaluate his two junior quarterbacks, along with sophomore Dakota Prukop (freshman Quinn McQueary is injured) weighs plenty. "Sure, every rep is important. Those two guys have done a good job throughout the spring, and one scrimmage isn't going to decide the thing. But every chance they get to work against the defense and compete is important."
Saturday's scrimmage, coupled with Friday's Triangle Classic Banquet that generally draws over 1,000 fans, is old hat for Bleskin. With the time his brother Tanner spent in the program, this spring marks the sixth consecutive year that one of the two will head to Great Falls with a starting spot locked up or competing for one. The younger Bleskin approaches this weekend analytically.
"It's always really nice to go back and see the hometown guys," he says, "but I look at it more as a business trip. You go and do a banquet, see your family for about an hour, and after that it's go time. I look at it as an opportunity for the team to get better."
Bobcat offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey sees the weekend as one more opportunity for his offense to strive for consistency, and his quarterbacks are central to that process. "I want those guys to continue to get better, to continue to be more consistent," the team's second-year offensive coordinator says, "and they're doing a great job. Jake and Dakota have each completed nearly 80% of their passes. Dakota and Tanner run extremely well, and I've seen some of that from Jake lately, too."
For Bleskin, any personal gains made this spring are viewed on how they apply to the offense as a unit. "I think of us as an offense in terms of making strides. As far as the spring has gone we have made strides, and that's a good thing for us as an offensive unit. As a team we want to keep making strides and avoid injuries."
Those two goals stand at the forefront as the Bobcats head to Great Falls this weekend, but for two of the main characters the setting may elicit a hint of the past along with the future.
"The Great Falls (stadium) is a different atmosphere, for sure," Roderick says. And Bleskin adds, "It's always fun to go back there."
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