Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
Bobcat Football Team Begins Fall Practices Saturday
8/4/2016 10:17:00 AM | Football
First-year coach Jeff Choate welcomes transfers expecting to help right away
The football team greeted by first-year head coach Jeff Choate at 10:45 am Saturday for Montana State's first preseason practice of 2016 stands to be significantly different than the one he last saw fully assembled. And that owes to more than just work done by the 75 or so players who worked together over the summer.
"We'll have some new faces," Montana State's first-year head coach says with a smile.
Choate welcomes four returning starters on offense and eight on defense when fall drills open Saturday, but also brings into the fold 34 players who have not formally practiced at MSU. Included in that group are eight transfers – cornerbacks Naijiel Hale (Washington) and John Walker (Colorado), linebackers Lukas and Jakob McCarthy (Fullerton College), defensive linemen Brandon Hayashi (Merced) and Fou Polataivao (San Mateo College), offensive tackle Patrick Carroll (UNLV), and receiver Dalton Daum (Montana). All but Hale joined the program in the last three months, and all but Daum (who will sit out the 2016 season per NCAA transfer requirements) should impact MSU's depth chart immediately.
"Team chemistry and continuity from the spring will be important," Choate said. "Fundamentals will be hugely important, we'll work very hard on that from the beginning."
Understanding where the team is physically is job one, Choate said. "It will be important for us to evaluate the level of conditioning and the base the kids built over the summer. We certainly don't want to lose anyone to a soft tissue injury early on. It's hard to say what kind of condition they're in because football shape is different than running around shape, and we're just not around them much (in the summer). But I do know that some of them look different than they did when we stopped working with them in May."
Montana State strength coach Alex Willcox is pleased with what the team accomplished during the summer months, when only strength coaches are allowed to work with players. "They got conditioning work done," he said, "but they did a really good job with team-building, team chemistry. Far and away the best thing they did was the PRPs (player-run practices)."
Senior guard JP Flynn concurred. "We had a great summer," the fourth-year starter said. "We got a lot of work done, but it was really a lot of fun again. I think there was a lot of passion, a lot of excitement."
MSU's first five practices, one a day Saturday through Wednesday, begin at 10:45 am on the practice fields southeast of Brick Breeden Fieldhouse. The team's first practice in full pads is Wednesday, August 10, two-a-day sessions are set for Thursday, August 11, Monday August 15, Wednesday, August 17, and Sunday, August 21. Choate plans to scrimmage on Saturday, August 13 at 1:30 pm, and Friday, August 19 at 6 pm.
After drilling the basics into his squad early in camp – "We'll do tons and tons of individual work in the first five days," he said – his squad will then move on to "crossover work after that. But fundamentals will be something we work hard on the entire month (of August)."
The Bobcat staff introduced offensive and defensive systems during spring drills, but Choate said the quality of that work becomes greatly enhanced by familiarity during the fall. "Really doing a good job with install the second time around is important," he said. "It makes a big difference that rather than showing video of Iowa State or somewhere else they'll be watching video of themselves in the spring. That will really be a better situation."
Bobcat practice sessions on the practice field are open, but fans and media members are asked to stay behind the railing on the west side of the fields. Practices in Bobcat Stadium are open for the first 30 minutes, but after that are closed.
MSU's fall practice schedule is below:
August 6 – 10:45 am+
August 7 – 10:45 am+
August 8 – 10:45 am+
August 9 – 10:45 am+
August 10: 10:45 am+
August 11 – 10:15 am+, 5 pm
August 12 – 10:45 am+
August 13 – 1:30 pm scrimmage
August 14 – 10:45 am
August 15 – 10:15 am+, 5 pm
August 16 – none
August 17 – 10:15 am+, 5 pm
August 18 – 10:45 am
August 19 – 6 pm scrimmage
August 20 – 10:45 am
August 21 – 10:45 am, 4:30 pm
August 22 – 10:45 am
August 23 – Mock game
August 24 – none
August 25 – Game week routine begins
+-practice is at practice fields
"We'll have some new faces," Montana State's first-year head coach says with a smile.
Choate welcomes four returning starters on offense and eight on defense when fall drills open Saturday, but also brings into the fold 34 players who have not formally practiced at MSU. Included in that group are eight transfers – cornerbacks Naijiel Hale (Washington) and John Walker (Colorado), linebackers Lukas and Jakob McCarthy (Fullerton College), defensive linemen Brandon Hayashi (Merced) and Fou Polataivao (San Mateo College), offensive tackle Patrick Carroll (UNLV), and receiver Dalton Daum (Montana). All but Hale joined the program in the last three months, and all but Daum (who will sit out the 2016 season per NCAA transfer requirements) should impact MSU's depth chart immediately.
"Team chemistry and continuity from the spring will be important," Choate said. "Fundamentals will be hugely important, we'll work very hard on that from the beginning."
Understanding where the team is physically is job one, Choate said. "It will be important for us to evaluate the level of conditioning and the base the kids built over the summer. We certainly don't want to lose anyone to a soft tissue injury early on. It's hard to say what kind of condition they're in because football shape is different than running around shape, and we're just not around them much (in the summer). But I do know that some of them look different than they did when we stopped working with them in May."
Montana State strength coach Alex Willcox is pleased with what the team accomplished during the summer months, when only strength coaches are allowed to work with players. "They got conditioning work done," he said, "but they did a really good job with team-building, team chemistry. Far and away the best thing they did was the PRPs (player-run practices)."
Senior guard JP Flynn concurred. "We had a great summer," the fourth-year starter said. "We got a lot of work done, but it was really a lot of fun again. I think there was a lot of passion, a lot of excitement."
MSU's first five practices, one a day Saturday through Wednesday, begin at 10:45 am on the practice fields southeast of Brick Breeden Fieldhouse. The team's first practice in full pads is Wednesday, August 10, two-a-day sessions are set for Thursday, August 11, Monday August 15, Wednesday, August 17, and Sunday, August 21. Choate plans to scrimmage on Saturday, August 13 at 1:30 pm, and Friday, August 19 at 6 pm.
After drilling the basics into his squad early in camp – "We'll do tons and tons of individual work in the first five days," he said – his squad will then move on to "crossover work after that. But fundamentals will be something we work hard on the entire month (of August)."
The Bobcat staff introduced offensive and defensive systems during spring drills, but Choate said the quality of that work becomes greatly enhanced by familiarity during the fall. "Really doing a good job with install the second time around is important," he said. "It makes a big difference that rather than showing video of Iowa State or somewhere else they'll be watching video of themselves in the spring. That will really be a better situation."
Bobcat practice sessions on the practice field are open, but fans and media members are asked to stay behind the railing on the west side of the fields. Practices in Bobcat Stadium are open for the first 30 minutes, but after that are closed.
MSU's fall practice schedule is below:
August 6 – 10:45 am+
August 7 – 10:45 am+
August 8 – 10:45 am+
August 9 – 10:45 am+
August 10: 10:45 am+
August 11 – 10:15 am+, 5 pm
August 12 – 10:45 am+
August 13 – 1:30 pm scrimmage
August 14 – 10:45 am
August 15 – 10:15 am+, 5 pm
August 16 – none
August 17 – 10:15 am+, 5 pm
August 18 – 10:45 am
August 19 – 6 pm scrimmage
August 20 – 10:45 am
August 21 – 10:45 am, 4:30 pm
August 22 – 10:45 am
August 23 – Mock game
August 24 – none
August 25 – Game week routine begins
+-practice is at practice fields
Players Mentioned
OL
/ Football
CB
/ FootballThursday, July 31
Monday, May 19
Wednesday, May 03
Wednesday, May 03
