Robert Wilcox (white jersey) battles Wilson Brott (#79)
Photo by: Brian Morse
CATS IN CAMP DAY 12: Defense Shines in Physical Practice
8/17/2016 6:58:00 PM | Football
Technique, conditioning come to fore for MSU's defensive unit
In a practice geared toward physical play, Montana State's defense responded.
The Bobcat defense forced turnovers, excelled during third-down and inside-run segments, and drew the praise of head coach Jeff Choate as his team passed the two-thirds mark of fall camp. "I thought the defense had a really good day," Choate said after the morning's full-contact session. "They got their turnovers, I thought they competed well, I thought their verbal combat was right where it needed to be, and so I think they've had two really good back-to-back practices."
Flipping the full-contact session from afternoon to morning to combat both a potential "easing back into" the routine after the first day off of fall camp, as well as high afternoon heat, Choate was pleased with his team's effort. "I thought they bounced back well. There's still going to be some mental fatigue at times. We're still doing some install, some situational things, and so I think it will be good to get a good physical practice this morning and back off, make it a little more mental in the afternoon and hopefully build toward the scrimmage Friday."
Citing the defense specifically, Choate said he can see the fundamentals and techniques taught through the 15 spring practices and the first 14 fall sessions taking hold. "I really think the discipline of sticking to the same things with the guys up front defensively, you can start to see the carryover in terms of their base technique, their hand placement, their eye placement, where their footwork needs to be," Choate said. "And now they're seeing the results, so they're buying in even more. It's like pouring gas on the fire."
Senior running back Gunnar Brekke was happy to testify to the physical nature of this year's fall practices. "This has been the most physical camp I've been a part of. Our bodies hurt. But you come to work every day."
Montana State's defense received an infusion of talent in the off-season, including six new players – two each in the secondary, defensive line and linebacker corps – that joined in July or later. The effects were apparent early, Choate said, and the familiarity and conditioning gains are apparent now.
"Early in camp you'd like to see the defense be ahead a little bit, but some of the guys we brought in late (in the summer) like Fou (Polataivao) and (Brandon) Hayashi, those are guys we've had to rely on a lot in the interior, and their conditioning wasn't where it needed to be. Now we're on practice 13 in camp, they're starting to get their legs underneath them, and you can see what they're going to bring to the defense. That's been a real positive."
Montana State conducts practice #15 on Thursday morning at 10:15 am.
The Bobcat defense forced turnovers, excelled during third-down and inside-run segments, and drew the praise of head coach Jeff Choate as his team passed the two-thirds mark of fall camp. "I thought the defense had a really good day," Choate said after the morning's full-contact session. "They got their turnovers, I thought they competed well, I thought their verbal combat was right where it needed to be, and so I think they've had two really good back-to-back practices."
Flipping the full-contact session from afternoon to morning to combat both a potential "easing back into" the routine after the first day off of fall camp, as well as high afternoon heat, Choate was pleased with his team's effort. "I thought they bounced back well. There's still going to be some mental fatigue at times. We're still doing some install, some situational things, and so I think it will be good to get a good physical practice this morning and back off, make it a little more mental in the afternoon and hopefully build toward the scrimmage Friday."
Citing the defense specifically, Choate said he can see the fundamentals and techniques taught through the 15 spring practices and the first 14 fall sessions taking hold. "I really think the discipline of sticking to the same things with the guys up front defensively, you can start to see the carryover in terms of their base technique, their hand placement, their eye placement, where their footwork needs to be," Choate said. "And now they're seeing the results, so they're buying in even more. It's like pouring gas on the fire."
Senior running back Gunnar Brekke was happy to testify to the physical nature of this year's fall practices. "This has been the most physical camp I've been a part of. Our bodies hurt. But you come to work every day."
Montana State's defense received an infusion of talent in the off-season, including six new players – two each in the secondary, defensive line and linebacker corps – that joined in July or later. The effects were apparent early, Choate said, and the familiarity and conditioning gains are apparent now.
"Early in camp you'd like to see the defense be ahead a little bit, but some of the guys we brought in late (in the summer) like Fou (Polataivao) and (Brandon) Hayashi, those are guys we've had to rely on a lot in the interior, and their conditioning wasn't where it needed to be. Now we're on practice 13 in camp, they're starting to get their legs underneath them, and you can see what they're going to bring to the defense. That's been a real positive."
Montana State conducts practice #15 on Thursday morning at 10:15 am.
Players Mentioned
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