Jeff Choate Pleased with Bobcats' Progress
3/11/2016 10:51:00 AM | Football
MSU emphasizing fundamentals during spring drills
Two practices into his first spring session as Montana State's head football coach, Jeff Choate likes the competition. In many spots, he is impressed with the team's personnel. But the two practices just completed and the 13 to follow are really about building a solid base of fundamentals for Choate.
"That's going to continue to be our theme throughout spring ball," he said Friday, the day his team dons pads for the first time in the spring. "There probably won't be as much (11-on-11 emphasis) as Coach (Ty) Gregorak (the team's defensive coordinator) and Coach (Courtney) Messingham (offensive coordinator) would like, but we're not trying to beat the Bobcats in spring ball. We're trying to improve and focus on ourselves."
Among the things most directly in his team's control, Choate praised his team for its work in the first two practices of spring ball. "I like the energy," he said, "and I like the enthusiasm. That's been good. There is a lot of competition, and that's a positive."
Much of the team's experience lies on the offensive side of the ball, where multiple starters return at receiver (Mitchell Herbert and Justin Paige), and running back (Chad Newell and Gunnar Brekke have each started). Honors candidate JP Flynn returns as an anchor in the offensive line and Dylan Mahoney also has starting experience, but building a unit that lost four starters remains a priority this spring.
"Offensive line has been an area where we have a lot of finding out to do, so to speak, so we have a lot of kids we need to get different looks," Choate said. "That's a challenge because you need to let those guys gel and play together. But we're trying to find our best five right now, so there's been a lot of good competition there."
The most notable position battle of the spring is under center, where transfer Tyler Bruggman and redshirt freshman Jordan Hoy have moved to the front of the pack, Choate said. "Jordan and Tyler have stepped up and emerged. That's going to be a good competition. I like what I see there."
MSU's next starting quarterback stands to receive plenty of help in the backfield. "At running back we are loaded," Choate said, "I really like our running back group. It's going to be a battle for carries. All those guys are doing a tremendous job, and Coach (Michael) Pitre's done a really good job developing that group over a couple of years. You can see the maturity and competitiveness."
Choate also likes the work his defense has put in early. "We have a lot of depth at linebacker, and I think Coach (Gerald) Alexander has done a really good job in a short amount of time shoring up our secondary."
After Friday's 4 pm practice, the Cats take next week off for Montana State's spring break. The team resume practice on Monday, March 21.
