Shane Perry (left) and Tucker Rovig
Photo by: Garrett Becker
BOBCAT QUOTEBOOK: Week Six vs. Cal Poly
10/3/2019 10:09:00 AM | Football
A look at Montana State's matchup with Cal Poly through words of MSU players and coaches
A look at Montana State football through the thoughts of Bobcat coaches and players….
Head Coach Jeff Choate
On Cal Poly's option offense: "It's different. It's very unconventional. You do not see it on a regular basis, so when you see something like that just every-once-in-a-while you don't practice spring ball, fall camp to defeat that. The difference makes you have to simplify, and the hard part of that is those guys have answers for everything… Those guys are doing what they do on offense. It's not going to be a mystery, we've just got to stay disciplined and stop it. It doesn't really matter how well you defend it, at some point in time they're going to create plays. It's what they do. We just have to limit those. That's going to be a critical part of our success. (To defend the pass) It's all about what you do to limit them in the run and make them predictable. Like any other offense, if they get in second-and-long, third-and-long, they're going to open the set, get in shotgun, and throw the ball a little bit. They know it's low-percentage to gain eight, 10, 12 yards on a run play. Getting any option team off schedule because it takes away the element of surprise. But I definitely think they have a new, added element (in the passing game)."
On Cal Poly's defense: "They have a couple new wrinkles. I describe them as a multiple attacking style. They don't have a crazy blitz percentage, it's pretty normal, about 30 percent pressure. They give you about four different coverage looks. They move a lot up front, and I'd say the things that concern you the most are corner pressure, they bring quite a bit of corner pressure and that's always something tough to pick up. That's going to be something we've got to pay attention to. I think they're linebacker play has improved over a year ago. They're physical. That's what they hang their hat on there, running the ball and stopping the run. They play a tough non-conference schedule."
On Travis Jonsen vs. NAU: "He probably cost himself two touchdowns with a couple of reads that he should have pulled the ball. One of them was on fourth down that we didn't convert, and if he pulls the ball it's probably a walk-in from 40 yards out. But he did a great job of stepping in and giving us that element that Troy (Andersen) usually does in the plus-one run game. I thought he was on-point all day, probably played more physical than I've seen him play. You saw him finishing those runs in the fourth quarter, I thought that was awesome. I think our guys really feed off our leaders when they play a certain way, our captains, certainly, when they bring that kind of energy. You can tell that really pulled the team with him, so I was really impressed with the leadership he provided."
On Jahque Alleyn vs. NAU: "He played more physical than I've ever seen him play. In the screen game he was kicking and shooting downhill and knocking those guys around. He obviously had one mistake in the punt game but also had a significant, explosive return that set up our first score. He did a really nice job."
On JoJo Henderson: "JoJo Henderson continues to be a really productive player for us. We played with three safeties most of the game, and not only on defense but he had a big game for us on special teams. He was responsible for that forced fumble on their kickoff return that set up one of our scores."
RB Shane Perry
On attacking Cal Poly's defense:"We're going to stick to our game plan, do what we do. We like to run the ball. Tucker is a very good quarterback so hopefully he gets rolling this week. We're really not going to attack them any differently, we're just going to stick to our fundamentals, try to execute our assignments, and go 1-0 on every rep."
On fellow Bobcat running back Logan Jones: "I learn from hi every day. He's one of the toughest kids I've ever met in my life. He's a really good kid, a really good leader, he's a silent leader, he doesn't talk a lot but he leads by example. I try to mimic his game and runs like he runs. He's not the biggest but he has a huge heart. He's always putting his body into big guys, throwing himself out there for the team, so I do whatever I can do to be like him and run with the same heart and passion he has."
JoJo Henderson
On playing special teams: "Everyone has a job and we have to make sure that we do our job every play. That's kind of where they get you, lull you to sleep and expose you when someone doesn't do their job. That's kind of what happened last year, we got undisciplined in the second half and they ran all over us. This year we know that's a possibility and we have to do our best to stay focused for all four quarters."
Defensive Line Coach Byron Hout
On Cal Poly: "They have some big offensive linemen. Some of the triple option teams have O-linemen that aren't as big, but (Cal Poly) is big and physical. They're a physical offensive front, and that's what I told my guys. They have a mentality of coming off the ball, and we're going to have to match that. It's going to be a physical game for us."
Head Coach Jeff Choate
On Cal Poly's option offense: "It's different. It's very unconventional. You do not see it on a regular basis, so when you see something like that just every-once-in-a-while you don't practice spring ball, fall camp to defeat that. The difference makes you have to simplify, and the hard part of that is those guys have answers for everything… Those guys are doing what they do on offense. It's not going to be a mystery, we've just got to stay disciplined and stop it. It doesn't really matter how well you defend it, at some point in time they're going to create plays. It's what they do. We just have to limit those. That's going to be a critical part of our success. (To defend the pass) It's all about what you do to limit them in the run and make them predictable. Like any other offense, if they get in second-and-long, third-and-long, they're going to open the set, get in shotgun, and throw the ball a little bit. They know it's low-percentage to gain eight, 10, 12 yards on a run play. Getting any option team off schedule because it takes away the element of surprise. But I definitely think they have a new, added element (in the passing game)."
On Cal Poly's defense: "They have a couple new wrinkles. I describe them as a multiple attacking style. They don't have a crazy blitz percentage, it's pretty normal, about 30 percent pressure. They give you about four different coverage looks. They move a lot up front, and I'd say the things that concern you the most are corner pressure, they bring quite a bit of corner pressure and that's always something tough to pick up. That's going to be something we've got to pay attention to. I think they're linebacker play has improved over a year ago. They're physical. That's what they hang their hat on there, running the ball and stopping the run. They play a tough non-conference schedule."
On Travis Jonsen vs. NAU: "He probably cost himself two touchdowns with a couple of reads that he should have pulled the ball. One of them was on fourth down that we didn't convert, and if he pulls the ball it's probably a walk-in from 40 yards out. But he did a great job of stepping in and giving us that element that Troy (Andersen) usually does in the plus-one run game. I thought he was on-point all day, probably played more physical than I've seen him play. You saw him finishing those runs in the fourth quarter, I thought that was awesome. I think our guys really feed off our leaders when they play a certain way, our captains, certainly, when they bring that kind of energy. You can tell that really pulled the team with him, so I was really impressed with the leadership he provided."
On Jahque Alleyn vs. NAU: "He played more physical than I've ever seen him play. In the screen game he was kicking and shooting downhill and knocking those guys around. He obviously had one mistake in the punt game but also had a significant, explosive return that set up our first score. He did a really nice job."
On JoJo Henderson: "JoJo Henderson continues to be a really productive player for us. We played with three safeties most of the game, and not only on defense but he had a big game for us on special teams. He was responsible for that forced fumble on their kickoff return that set up one of our scores."
RB Shane Perry
On attacking Cal Poly's defense:"We're going to stick to our game plan, do what we do. We like to run the ball. Tucker is a very good quarterback so hopefully he gets rolling this week. We're really not going to attack them any differently, we're just going to stick to our fundamentals, try to execute our assignments, and go 1-0 on every rep."
On fellow Bobcat running back Logan Jones: "I learn from hi every day. He's one of the toughest kids I've ever met in my life. He's a really good kid, a really good leader, he's a silent leader, he doesn't talk a lot but he leads by example. I try to mimic his game and runs like he runs. He's not the biggest but he has a huge heart. He's always putting his body into big guys, throwing himself out there for the team, so I do whatever I can do to be like him and run with the same heart and passion he has."
JoJo Henderson
On playing special teams: "Everyone has a job and we have to make sure that we do our job every play. That's kind of where they get you, lull you to sleep and expose you when someone doesn't do their job. That's kind of what happened last year, we got undisciplined in the second half and they ran all over us. This year we know that's a possibility and we have to do our best to stay focused for all four quarters."
Defensive Line Coach Byron Hout
On Cal Poly: "They have some big offensive linemen. Some of the triple option teams have O-linemen that aren't as big, but (Cal Poly) is big and physical. They're a physical offensive front, and that's what I told my guys. They have a mentality of coming off the ball, and we're going to have to match that. It's going to be a physical game for us."
Players Mentioned
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