Jeff Choate
Photo by: Andrew Pedersen
CATS IN CAMP #13: Bobcats Grind Through Challenging Practice Thursday
8/17/2017 4:29:00 PM | Football
MSU gears toward final preseason scrimmage on Saturday
After watching his second Montana State football grind through a difficult practice on Thursday, Bobcat coach Jeff Choate said that its ability to do so stems from work done weeks earlier.
"Moving week," Choate said after the team's final true training camp practice in which players had the opportunity to gain or lose ground on the team's depth chart, "as I just told (the players), is almost over. This was a grinder, by design, and I thought these guys pushed through. You could see some fatigue and some mental mistakes, particularly on the offensive side of the ball."
But Choate liked what he saw, and said his team's resilience during difficult practices in challenging conditions began during carefree days in June and July, when nearly the entire team gathered at appointed times in Bobcat Stadium for PRPs, or player-run practices. "There were some mitigating factors today," Choate said. "This was a smoky day, and I thought our guys responded, and even at the end got stronger. We saw the defense really rise to the occasion at the end and I was really pleased with that. I think it's a by-product of the commitment they made in the summer."
The daily routine in the summer months provides factors more tangible than mental toughness, Choate said. Veteran Bobcat Strength and Conditioning Coach Alex Willcox built conditioning into the summer workouts, giving the team a head start when it gathered for the beginning of preseason practices in early August.
"I think we're in pretty good shape," Choate said. "You could see some fatigue certainly set in (Thursday), these guys have been going at it a long time, but I think the job that Coach Willcox and his staff did, and the energy and effort they put into the player-run practices in the summer, and really the fact that we had so many guys here."
The Bobcats close preseason camp with an open scrimmage in Bobcat Stadium on Saturday morning before settling into a schedule that mimics game week next week. The team opens the 2017 campaign on September 2 at Washington State.
A LEGEND COMES CALLING: Caleb Schreibeis, one of Montana State's all-time greats and the 2012 Buck Buchanan Award winner as the top defensive player in the FCS, visited Bobcat camp this week, and MSU head coach Jeff Choate was duly impressed. "He's just an impressive young man," said of Schreibeis, now a local engineer who addressed the Bobcats. "I think I took three pages of notes. He's very thoughtful, very humble. He didn't really talk a lot about his accolades or winning championships. It was about his experience and how it helped him grow as a man and some of the things he reflects on now that he's been out about five years. Those kids were sitting up in their chairs and they were locked in. He was very impressive, and he gave all of us – coaches and players nad support staff – some things we can take away, and hopefully made us better people, as well."
SITUATIONS: With the season nearing, Montana State spends critical segments of its practice sessions drilling on game situations. Clutch situations, those arriving late in halves and games, served that purpose on Thursday. "We put in two-minute and four-minute situations (Thursday), and the pressure's really is all on the offense. The defense knows whether they're defending for a field goal or a touchdown, and they can play accordingly." The late-game situational work came at the end of the practice. "We do those at the end of practice for a reason. We don't do the two-minute stuff, the four-minute stuff to start the day, we do it at the end when they're fatigued. I think there's going to be some great film to learn from today."
TACKLE FOOTBALL: Jeff Choate said that the defense, locked into "thud" or tag-off mode during most of the practice, ratcheted up its play in full-tackle periods. "I was really pleased with the way our defensive intensity picked up in game simulations… It is so hard to play defense when everything is tag or thud." Choate said that tempo is necessary. "We're trying to do a good job of keeping our guys fresh and healthy, not doing a lot of full-contact stuff so you don't know if he would have made that tackle, the offense might have seen a little crease. It can almost be a little deflating. But when we turn them loose and play live ball I think it's been pretty even, if not the defense having the upper hand. That's kind of what you want to see."
"Moving week," Choate said after the team's final true training camp practice in which players had the opportunity to gain or lose ground on the team's depth chart, "as I just told (the players), is almost over. This was a grinder, by design, and I thought these guys pushed through. You could see some fatigue and some mental mistakes, particularly on the offensive side of the ball."
But Choate liked what he saw, and said his team's resilience during difficult practices in challenging conditions began during carefree days in June and July, when nearly the entire team gathered at appointed times in Bobcat Stadium for PRPs, or player-run practices. "There were some mitigating factors today," Choate said. "This was a smoky day, and I thought our guys responded, and even at the end got stronger. We saw the defense really rise to the occasion at the end and I was really pleased with that. I think it's a by-product of the commitment they made in the summer."
The daily routine in the summer months provides factors more tangible than mental toughness, Choate said. Veteran Bobcat Strength and Conditioning Coach Alex Willcox built conditioning into the summer workouts, giving the team a head start when it gathered for the beginning of preseason practices in early August.
"I think we're in pretty good shape," Choate said. "You could see some fatigue certainly set in (Thursday), these guys have been going at it a long time, but I think the job that Coach Willcox and his staff did, and the energy and effort they put into the player-run practices in the summer, and really the fact that we had so many guys here."
The Bobcats close preseason camp with an open scrimmage in Bobcat Stadium on Saturday morning before settling into a schedule that mimics game week next week. The team opens the 2017 campaign on September 2 at Washington State.
A LEGEND COMES CALLING: Caleb Schreibeis, one of Montana State's all-time greats and the 2012 Buck Buchanan Award winner as the top defensive player in the FCS, visited Bobcat camp this week, and MSU head coach Jeff Choate was duly impressed. "He's just an impressive young man," said of Schreibeis, now a local engineer who addressed the Bobcats. "I think I took three pages of notes. He's very thoughtful, very humble. He didn't really talk a lot about his accolades or winning championships. It was about his experience and how it helped him grow as a man and some of the things he reflects on now that he's been out about five years. Those kids were sitting up in their chairs and they were locked in. He was very impressive, and he gave all of us – coaches and players nad support staff – some things we can take away, and hopefully made us better people, as well."
SITUATIONS: With the season nearing, Montana State spends critical segments of its practice sessions drilling on game situations. Clutch situations, those arriving late in halves and games, served that purpose on Thursday. "We put in two-minute and four-minute situations (Thursday), and the pressure's really is all on the offense. The defense knows whether they're defending for a field goal or a touchdown, and they can play accordingly." The late-game situational work came at the end of the practice. "We do those at the end of practice for a reason. We don't do the two-minute stuff, the four-minute stuff to start the day, we do it at the end when they're fatigued. I think there's going to be some great film to learn from today."
TACKLE FOOTBALL: Jeff Choate said that the defense, locked into "thud" or tag-off mode during most of the practice, ratcheted up its play in full-tackle periods. "I was really pleased with the way our defensive intensity picked up in game simulations… It is so hard to play defense when everything is tag or thud." Choate said that tempo is necessary. "We're trying to do a good job of keeping our guys fresh and healthy, not doing a lot of full-contact stuff so you don't know if he would have made that tackle, the offense might have seen a little crease. It can almost be a little deflating. But when we turn them loose and play live ball I think it's been pretty even, if not the defense having the upper hand. That's kind of what you want to see."
Thursday, July 31
Monday, May 19
Wednesday, May 03
Wednesday, May 03
