Josh Hill
Photo by: Garrett Becker
BOBCAT GAME DAY NOTEBOOK: Josh Hill Expected to Return Today, While Running Back Position Takes Another Hit
10/26/2019 10:00:00 AM | Football
Logan Jones misses today's game with leg injury
Bobcat fans who feel pangs of nostalgia when catching a glimpse of jersey number 13 with the name "Griebel" above it in today's game can be excused.
North Dakota receiver Mikey Griebel is the younger brother of former Bobcat Mitch Griebel, a receiver in the Blue and Gold from 2013-15. A team captain as a senior, he is universally described as tough and smart, attributes he parlayed into 989 receiving yards in his final two seasons at Montana State.
MSU defensive coordinator Kane Ioane doesn't remember the production on the field as much as his contributions in other areas. "He was a guy who was all about the team," said Ioane, who was also an assistant during Griebel's time at MSU. "He'd do anything as far as playing any position we needed him to. He was a great leader on and off the field, just a really good Bobcat."
Mikey Griebel is a sophomore receiver at North Dakota – where he wears #13, like his brother – with four catches for 18 yards on the season. Ioane calls Mikey "a dynamic player with the ball in his hands," a phrase he applies to Mitch, as well. Mitch Griebel caught six passes for 70 yards in the Alerus Center as a senior in 2015. North Dakota won that game, 44-38.
* * * * *
The injury list giveth, and also it taketh away today. Senior linebacker Josh Hill returns to the lineup, and running back Isaiah Ifanse is expected to play (it is officially a game-time decision on Ifanse). But running back Logan Jones did not travel. He is healing from a leg injury, and will miss a game for the first time this season.
* * * * *
Running back injuries is nothing new during Jeff Choate's time at MSU. "It started with Chad (Newell) and Gunnar (Brekke during the 2016 season), and it's something we've just had to deal with." Jones and Tyler Natee missed most of the 2018 season, while Edward Vander and Nick LaSane (suspension) missed time in 2017.
* * * * *
For anyone wondering how Jeff Choate deals with the memory of North Dakota quarterback Nate Ketteringham's time at Sacramento State, when the then-sophomore led the Hornets to a come-from-behind win against the Bobcats in Choate's first season, he doesn't.
"I think I've blocked that game out of my brain," Choate said with a laugh this week.
For the record, Sac State scored 20 straight fourth quarter points to beat Montana State 41-38. Ketteringham completed 34 of his 54 pass attempts, threw for 356 yards and four touchdowns, and also rushed for 30 yards. He was marvelous on that night.
Choate has plenty of praise for Ketteringham. "I think this kid does what they ask him to do very well. That's what I'm seeing. He gets up on the line of scrimmage and if you're two-over-two on the outside they've got their (run-pass option) and he's going to get the ball out there. I think he's an accurate passer, he's got big targets. They're 6-4 guys, they're build-up speed guys, not short-area quick, and he will throw them open and use their catch radius whether that's back-shoulder or a 50-50 ball. He has a lot of confidence in those guys down the field."
* * * * *
Today's game is the fourth a Jeff Choate-coached Bobcat team has played indoors. Montana State won its first game indoors, at North Dakota in 2017, then dropped a game later that season at NAU and lost last fall at Idaho State.
"It's a tough environment to play in," Choate said of the Alerus Center. "You have that student section right behind you… That's one thing I definitely remember from our last trip over there, they have definitely done their homework and you better had some ear-plugs in. I was called some new names, and I've been called a lot of names."
North Dakota receiver Mikey Griebel is the younger brother of former Bobcat Mitch Griebel, a receiver in the Blue and Gold from 2013-15. A team captain as a senior, he is universally described as tough and smart, attributes he parlayed into 989 receiving yards in his final two seasons at Montana State.
MSU defensive coordinator Kane Ioane doesn't remember the production on the field as much as his contributions in other areas. "He was a guy who was all about the team," said Ioane, who was also an assistant during Griebel's time at MSU. "He'd do anything as far as playing any position we needed him to. He was a great leader on and off the field, just a really good Bobcat."
Mikey Griebel is a sophomore receiver at North Dakota – where he wears #13, like his brother – with four catches for 18 yards on the season. Ioane calls Mikey "a dynamic player with the ball in his hands," a phrase he applies to Mitch, as well. Mitch Griebel caught six passes for 70 yards in the Alerus Center as a senior in 2015. North Dakota won that game, 44-38.
* * * * *
The injury list giveth, and also it taketh away today. Senior linebacker Josh Hill returns to the lineup, and running back Isaiah Ifanse is expected to play (it is officially a game-time decision on Ifanse). But running back Logan Jones did not travel. He is healing from a leg injury, and will miss a game for the first time this season.
* * * * *
Running back injuries is nothing new during Jeff Choate's time at MSU. "It started with Chad (Newell) and Gunnar (Brekke during the 2016 season), and it's something we've just had to deal with." Jones and Tyler Natee missed most of the 2018 season, while Edward Vander and Nick LaSane (suspension) missed time in 2017.
* * * * *
For anyone wondering how Jeff Choate deals with the memory of North Dakota quarterback Nate Ketteringham's time at Sacramento State, when the then-sophomore led the Hornets to a come-from-behind win against the Bobcats in Choate's first season, he doesn't.
"I think I've blocked that game out of my brain," Choate said with a laugh this week.
For the record, Sac State scored 20 straight fourth quarter points to beat Montana State 41-38. Ketteringham completed 34 of his 54 pass attempts, threw for 356 yards and four touchdowns, and also rushed for 30 yards. He was marvelous on that night.
Choate has plenty of praise for Ketteringham. "I think this kid does what they ask him to do very well. That's what I'm seeing. He gets up on the line of scrimmage and if you're two-over-two on the outside they've got their (run-pass option) and he's going to get the ball out there. I think he's an accurate passer, he's got big targets. They're 6-4 guys, they're build-up speed guys, not short-area quick, and he will throw them open and use their catch radius whether that's back-shoulder or a 50-50 ball. He has a lot of confidence in those guys down the field."
* * * * *
Today's game is the fourth a Jeff Choate-coached Bobcat team has played indoors. Montana State won its first game indoors, at North Dakota in 2017, then dropped a game later that season at NAU and lost last fall at Idaho State.
"It's a tough environment to play in," Choate said of the Alerus Center. "You have that student section right behind you… That's one thing I definitely remember from our last trip over there, they have definitely done their homework and you better had some ear-plugs in. I was called some new names, and I've been called a lot of names."
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