Photo by: Garrett Becker
CATS IN CAMP: Day #7 Notebook - Jeff Choate Pleased with MSU's New Kicker
8/9/2018 4:53:00 PM | Football
Tristan Bailey has shown leg strength and consistency in preseason camp
BOZEMAN, Montana – Jeff Choate gets a pretty big kick out of Tristan Bailey, his new kicker, and it's not just because, as Choate says, "He looks more like a linebacker than a kicker."
Bailey capped an impressive offensive drive in the two-minute period by drilling a field goal of more than 50 yards, and that caught Choate's eye. "That's pretty good, if you don't feel like you have to the 30 or the 28 or even the 25," Choate said of managing a team's offense in terms of its kickers' range, "to have a legitimate shot of making it. That's 10 less yards you have to make to feel pretty good about the opportunity."
Opportunity is big for Bailey, giving and receiving. He had a sliver of opportunity to compete for Wyoming's kicking job in 2015, but didn't win the job and tried to earn a roster spot, possibly as a punter, at Colorado State in 2016. Things didn't work out there, either, and he headed for the plains of Kansas. Bailey reinvented himself at Coffeyville Community College, where, he said, "everyone is there for the same reason, to get somewhere else," and also where "you can reinvent yourself."
The renewal – he hit 10 of his last 11 field goals last fall – led him to Bozeman. "Just the pop on his leg," Choate said about what first drew his attention to Bailey. "He has a huge leg."
Since arriving at MSU in January, Choate says, Bailey hasn't looked back. "He's a kid from Colorado so he's a Rocky Mountain region kid, academically we were a good fit, he was a pretty productive player at Coffeyville, and I think he's been a really good fit here at Montana State, not just on the field but in terms of academics and socially. I think he can have a really good tail end of his career here."
As far as his impact on any given game, Choate knows it will be positive but can't nail down the particulars. "That's kind of a situational thing. There are so many things that go into that situation. One of the things that a lot of people don't think about is how well your defense is playing at that given moment. Statistically do we feel good about the about the opportunity that we have, and how good do we feel about making the kick."
On Thursday, and many other days, Bailey makes Choate feel pretty good about Bailey's chances of making the next kick. "He had a good day today, not just in the clutch period but he was getting great elevation on the ball and hopefully he can continue to have that confidence and that production."
LIGHTENING THE LOAD: Bobcat head coach Jeff Choate spoke about his team hitting the wall and showing less energy on Day 7 of Bobcat preseason camp, but some of that, he said, was built into the day. "By design we've built in some days in camp where certain guys aren't going to go." Physical maintenance led to key players such as Grant Collins and Travis Jonsen receiving lightened workloads. "It's just about being smart. We've had six days of practice and a couple of physical days back-to-back. A car's only got so many miles on it before it's got to go into the shop, if that makes sense, so we'd like to let it sit in the garage for a day."
CARRYING THE LOAD: Choate said that three running backs continue to stand out for consistency and availability. "The three guys that have taken the most reps and been the most consistent have been Tyrel Burgess and the two freshmen, Lane Sumner and Isaiah Ifanse." That said, Choate was quick to point out not all MSU's rushing yards need to come from running backs. "Last year our leading rusher was our quarterback, and I would not be shocked if that was the case again."
NEXT UP: The Cats will conduct a light walk-through on Friday in advance of Saturday's closed scrimmage in Bobcat Stadium.
#GoCatsGo
Bailey capped an impressive offensive drive in the two-minute period by drilling a field goal of more than 50 yards, and that caught Choate's eye. "That's pretty good, if you don't feel like you have to the 30 or the 28 or even the 25," Choate said of managing a team's offense in terms of its kickers' range, "to have a legitimate shot of making it. That's 10 less yards you have to make to feel pretty good about the opportunity."
Opportunity is big for Bailey, giving and receiving. He had a sliver of opportunity to compete for Wyoming's kicking job in 2015, but didn't win the job and tried to earn a roster spot, possibly as a punter, at Colorado State in 2016. Things didn't work out there, either, and he headed for the plains of Kansas. Bailey reinvented himself at Coffeyville Community College, where, he said, "everyone is there for the same reason, to get somewhere else," and also where "you can reinvent yourself."
The renewal – he hit 10 of his last 11 field goals last fall – led him to Bozeman. "Just the pop on his leg," Choate said about what first drew his attention to Bailey. "He has a huge leg."
Since arriving at MSU in January, Choate says, Bailey hasn't looked back. "He's a kid from Colorado so he's a Rocky Mountain region kid, academically we were a good fit, he was a pretty productive player at Coffeyville, and I think he's been a really good fit here at Montana State, not just on the field but in terms of academics and socially. I think he can have a really good tail end of his career here."
As far as his impact on any given game, Choate knows it will be positive but can't nail down the particulars. "That's kind of a situational thing. There are so many things that go into that situation. One of the things that a lot of people don't think about is how well your defense is playing at that given moment. Statistically do we feel good about the about the opportunity that we have, and how good do we feel about making the kick."
On Thursday, and many other days, Bailey makes Choate feel pretty good about Bailey's chances of making the next kick. "He had a good day today, not just in the clutch period but he was getting great elevation on the ball and hopefully he can continue to have that confidence and that production."
LIGHTENING THE LOAD: Bobcat head coach Jeff Choate spoke about his team hitting the wall and showing less energy on Day 7 of Bobcat preseason camp, but some of that, he said, was built into the day. "By design we've built in some days in camp where certain guys aren't going to go." Physical maintenance led to key players such as Grant Collins and Travis Jonsen receiving lightened workloads. "It's just about being smart. We've had six days of practice and a couple of physical days back-to-back. A car's only got so many miles on it before it's got to go into the shop, if that makes sense, so we'd like to let it sit in the garage for a day."
CARRYING THE LOAD: Choate said that three running backs continue to stand out for consistency and availability. "The three guys that have taken the most reps and been the most consistent have been Tyrel Burgess and the two freshmen, Lane Sumner and Isaiah Ifanse." That said, Choate was quick to point out not all MSU's rushing yards need to come from running backs. "Last year our leading rusher was our quarterback, and I would not be shocked if that was the case again."
NEXT UP: The Cats will conduct a light walk-through on Friday in advance of Saturday's closed scrimmage in Bobcat Stadium.
#GoCatsGo
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