Photo by: Andrew Pedersen
CATS IN CAMP: Day #12 - Good 'Give-and-Take' in Bobcat Camp on Tuesday
8/14/2018 5:03:00 PM | Football
MSU offense, defense each show positive signs
BOZEMAN, Montana – The practices are piling up, and Tuesday's was a long one, but Montana State head coach Jeff Choate was happy with what he saw from his squad.
"I thought (Tuesday) was the best practice of fall camp up to this point," he said after his team's 11th practice. "In our play-it period, I thought the offense did a really nice job operating, moving the ball efficiently, and then when we got in situational stuff I thought the defense kind of rose. That's what you're looking for, a little bit of an ebb and flow. You don't want to see one side dominate, you want to see a good give and take, and I thought that's what we had today."
The weather remained warm and the Gallatin Valley was smoky on Tuesday, and the practice challenged Choate's team. "It was a longer practice and I thought our guys stayed engaged," he said. "Defensively I thought they did a good job of finishing the day in our situational stuff. Offensively I think they did a really good job operating in our play-it period."
The team is scheduled for another couple of quick-tempo practices leading up to Saturday's second and final major scrimmage of the fall. "Overall it was a really positive day for us and there will be some really great tape to learn from at every levels from our true freshmen all the way up to the seniors," Choate said.
DEPTH CHART ROUNDING INTO FORM: While Choate indicated that he is unlikely to announce a depth chart until game week, he said that the process of pulling one together is advancing. Still, he said, position battles remain. "We're getting closer to having an established two-deep on both sides of the line of scrimmage, but there are some great battles. The free safety battle, the Sam linebacker battle, the quarterback situation, running back, there are still some great battles going on."
SPECIAL TIME FOR SPECIAL TEAMS: An under-the-radar element of Saturday's scrimmage is evaluating players for special teams roles. Choate said that ability and availability on coverage units often determines lower rungs of depth charts and, particularly, travel rosters. "Those guys that are on that three/two bubble that are really going to be important contributors for us in the kicking game. That's something that we try to evaluate us a lot in those scrimmages, who's going to make enough plays that we think can help us in the kicking game."
CHANGING THINGS UP: MSU's coaching staff altered Tuesday's practice schedule, and Choate liked the outcome. "We mixed some things up in terms of how we structured practice today," he said. "We had the young guys go a nice section of about 15, 20 plays of live football kind of in the middle of practice, and I thought that was really good for them. Sometimes we save them toward the end and they get lulled to sleep a little bit, but I think they did a really nice job today. They showed some more physicality, which was nice to see. I thought Daniel Hardy did some nice things coming off the edge, the young backs (had) their first chance to get popped a little bit, I thought it was good."
#GoCatsGo
"I thought (Tuesday) was the best practice of fall camp up to this point," he said after his team's 11th practice. "In our play-it period, I thought the offense did a really nice job operating, moving the ball efficiently, and then when we got in situational stuff I thought the defense kind of rose. That's what you're looking for, a little bit of an ebb and flow. You don't want to see one side dominate, you want to see a good give and take, and I thought that's what we had today."
The weather remained warm and the Gallatin Valley was smoky on Tuesday, and the practice challenged Choate's team. "It was a longer practice and I thought our guys stayed engaged," he said. "Defensively I thought they did a good job of finishing the day in our situational stuff. Offensively I think they did a really good job operating in our play-it period."
The team is scheduled for another couple of quick-tempo practices leading up to Saturday's second and final major scrimmage of the fall. "Overall it was a really positive day for us and there will be some really great tape to learn from at every levels from our true freshmen all the way up to the seniors," Choate said.
DEPTH CHART ROUNDING INTO FORM: While Choate indicated that he is unlikely to announce a depth chart until game week, he said that the process of pulling one together is advancing. Still, he said, position battles remain. "We're getting closer to having an established two-deep on both sides of the line of scrimmage, but there are some great battles. The free safety battle, the Sam linebacker battle, the quarterback situation, running back, there are still some great battles going on."
SPECIAL TIME FOR SPECIAL TEAMS: An under-the-radar element of Saturday's scrimmage is evaluating players for special teams roles. Choate said that ability and availability on coverage units often determines lower rungs of depth charts and, particularly, travel rosters. "Those guys that are on that three/two bubble that are really going to be important contributors for us in the kicking game. That's something that we try to evaluate us a lot in those scrimmages, who's going to make enough plays that we think can help us in the kicking game."
CHANGING THINGS UP: MSU's coaching staff altered Tuesday's practice schedule, and Choate liked the outcome. "We mixed some things up in terms of how we structured practice today," he said. "We had the young guys go a nice section of about 15, 20 plays of live football kind of in the middle of practice, and I thought that was really good for them. Sometimes we save them toward the end and they get lulled to sleep a little bit, but I think they did a really nice job today. They showed some more physicality, which was nice to see. I thought Daniel Hardy did some nice things coming off the edge, the young backs (had) their first chance to get popped a little bit, I thought it was good."
#GoCatsGo
Players Mentioned
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