Tavon Dodd
Photo by: Brooks Nuanez
Sonny Holland Classic Brings Springs Drills to a Close Saturday
4/17/2015 9:03:00 AM | Football
Final spring scrimmage, Bobcat Brewfest highlight festivities in Bobcat Stadium
Finals week for Montana State University's spring semester begins May 4 and last four days. For the Bobcat football team, the major exam is this Saturday at 12 noon and lasts around 75 plays.
"It's kind of like a final examination for spring ball," MSU coach Rob Ash said of the Sonny Holland scrimmage, which pits the offense against the defense in a format similar to last weekend's Triangle Classic Scrimmage in Great Falls. "Saturday will be kind of the final audition for a few guys whose playing time and/or roster spots are at stake. For some of the guys who are walk-ons or lower on the roster, they're trying to earn a spot on our preseason 95-man roster. Some of the guys who are alternating with the ones or twos are trying to state their case to be regular players."
The day's festivities will include traditions such as the announcement of MSU's spring award winners at halftime, and a post-scrimmage announcement of 2015 Bobcat captains. "We'll also have a special event which will be fun for the players and the fans" at the end of the scrimmage.
On the football front, Ash said Saturday's scrimmage provides one last live look at some structural changes implemented on both sides of the ball. While the scrimmage will be live, he indicated that manipulating certain matchups will aid the evaluation process. "This is a final audition for the schemes, offense and defense," he said. "Nothing new is going in, but we want to see how certain things match up."
Saturday also marks the only "dry run in game-day circumstances" for the Bobcats in their home stadium. "During practice the coaches are on the field telling the guys where to line up, coaching them up," Ash said. "In the scrimmage the coaches are upstairs or on the sideline, and the players have to show us that they can get lined up and make their calls and get things done."
Injuries continue to hamper the Bobcats, particularly on defense. In addition to the spring-long injury issues in the secondary, linebackers Blake Braun and Toti Moeakiola and defensive lineman Monte Folsom are all questionable or doubtful. Cornerback Bryson Keeton and safety Demonte King are also questionable, and receiver Mitchell Herbert is out.
Saturday marks the only live action this spring for the team's top offensive skill players, who have been withheld from contact throughout the spring. "We're doing that because of numbers," Ash said, "and because guys like (running backs) Gunnar Brekke and Chad Newell and Anthony Knight are champing at the bit to play. We've been riding Nick LaSane and Tavon Dodd and Noah James pretty hard, and we have a pretty good evaluation of them. So we'll let the receivers play, we'll let Beau Sandland play, but the scrimmage will only be about 75 plays so we won't extend them too far."
The coaching staff's personnel evaluation is mostly complete, and Saturday's scrimmage provides one last look at a cluster of players that include "the redshirts that didn't play last year" and those "eligible to play but who maybe has played sparingly or didn't play full-time. Those are the guys we needed a good look at, and they're the ones that got most of the reps. We've had a pretty good idea of who the starters and primary backups are at most position, but we have every position ranked now."
The first Bobcat Brewfest begins at 11 am in Bobcat Stadium's south end zone complex, and costs $30. There is no admission to the Sonny Holland Classic scrimmage, which begins with one-on-one and position group drills and competitions.
"It's kind of like a final examination for spring ball," MSU coach Rob Ash said of the Sonny Holland scrimmage, which pits the offense against the defense in a format similar to last weekend's Triangle Classic Scrimmage in Great Falls. "Saturday will be kind of the final audition for a few guys whose playing time and/or roster spots are at stake. For some of the guys who are walk-ons or lower on the roster, they're trying to earn a spot on our preseason 95-man roster. Some of the guys who are alternating with the ones or twos are trying to state their case to be regular players."
The day's festivities will include traditions such as the announcement of MSU's spring award winners at halftime, and a post-scrimmage announcement of 2015 Bobcat captains. "We'll also have a special event which will be fun for the players and the fans" at the end of the scrimmage.
On the football front, Ash said Saturday's scrimmage provides one last live look at some structural changes implemented on both sides of the ball. While the scrimmage will be live, he indicated that manipulating certain matchups will aid the evaluation process. "This is a final audition for the schemes, offense and defense," he said. "Nothing new is going in, but we want to see how certain things match up."
Saturday also marks the only "dry run in game-day circumstances" for the Bobcats in their home stadium. "During practice the coaches are on the field telling the guys where to line up, coaching them up," Ash said. "In the scrimmage the coaches are upstairs or on the sideline, and the players have to show us that they can get lined up and make their calls and get things done."
Injuries continue to hamper the Bobcats, particularly on defense. In addition to the spring-long injury issues in the secondary, linebackers Blake Braun and Toti Moeakiola and defensive lineman Monte Folsom are all questionable or doubtful. Cornerback Bryson Keeton and safety Demonte King are also questionable, and receiver Mitchell Herbert is out.
Saturday marks the only live action this spring for the team's top offensive skill players, who have been withheld from contact throughout the spring. "We're doing that because of numbers," Ash said, "and because guys like (running backs) Gunnar Brekke and Chad Newell and Anthony Knight are champing at the bit to play. We've been riding Nick LaSane and Tavon Dodd and Noah James pretty hard, and we have a pretty good evaluation of them. So we'll let the receivers play, we'll let Beau Sandland play, but the scrimmage will only be about 75 plays so we won't extend them too far."
The coaching staff's personnel evaluation is mostly complete, and Saturday's scrimmage provides one last look at a cluster of players that include "the redshirts that didn't play last year" and those "eligible to play but who maybe has played sparingly or didn't play full-time. Those are the guys we needed a good look at, and they're the ones that got most of the reps. We've had a pretty good idea of who the starters and primary backups are at most position, but we have every position ranked now."
The first Bobcat Brewfest begins at 11 am in Bobcat Stadium's south end zone complex, and costs $30. There is no admission to the Sonny Holland Classic scrimmage, which begins with one-on-one and position group drills and competitions.
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