Photo by: Andrew Pedersen
CATS IN CAMP DAY TWELVE: Situational Work Benefits Cats, Coaches
8/14/2019 4:38:00 PM | Football
Offense shines in four-minute drill
BOZEMAN, Montana – As the training camp segment of Montana State's preseason draws to a close, the intensity of preparing in game-like settings ramps up. That was the case in the 12th Bobcat practice of August.
It was a good day," MSU head coach Jeff Choate said Wednesday, "and I thought we got into some really good situational stuff at the end. The offense got a big chunk play, got down into the red zone. The offense needed a field goal there, (it) centered the ball and hit a mayday field goal. Very rarely do you have the opportunity to have that happen organically, you usually have to construct that, so it was awesome to operate that scenario and to execute that scenario is even better. So that was really, really good work."
As Montana State works a handful of new assistant coaches into the program this fall, Choate said the staff takes as much from game-like situational work as the players. "I think it's as important for us as it is for the guys," Choate said. "It's easy to construct (the situations) but when they happen organically you have to think on your feet. When do we use the time out, what play do we use here, would we clock it here, would we center the ball? There's all these different scenarios, so it definitely helps us as a staff to practice those situations."
More obviously, that type of work also benefits redshirt freshman Casey Bauman as his first college start nears. "He's got to think and understand," Choate said. "This is a fourth down, I've got to keep the play alive and give our team a chance here, or it's third and one, what do I have to do here, do I take a risk or do we just pour it in and try to get this first down. Even for our wide outs today, we had some communication stuff that needs to be better, needs to be cleaned up, and you don't really get exposed that way until you get into those situations."
Choate added that he's seen little difference among his quarterbacks, Bauman and Tucker Rovig, since naming a starter. "I don't really see a big difference. I think it's been more of a calming influence on the team as a whole knowing that that is behind us. I wouldn't have expected there being a difference. Tucker isn't taking a step back, he's still pushing and preparing and Casey's doing the same thing. So I don't think I've seen a difference in either of their approaches."
The Cats practice again on Thursday at 11 am in Bobcat Stadium. MSU's final preseason scrimmage is Saturday at 6 pm.
PLAYER OF THE DAY: Junior linebacker Troy Andersen was named MSU's Player of the Day on Wednesday.
GAME TIMES FINALIZED: Kick times for Montana State's final four football games were set this week with the completion of the ROOT Sports schedule. MSU home games against Southern Utah on November 2 and Montana on November 23 each begin at 12 noon, and both air on ROOT Sports. Two road games fall in between, with the Northern Colorado game beginning at 12 noon and the UC Davis game on November 16 at 5 pm MT/4 pm PT. MSU's other contests: August 31 at Texas Tech, 2 pm MT/3 pm CT; September 7 vs. Southeast Missouri, 6 pm; September 14 at Western Illinois, 2 pm MT/3 pm CT; September 21 vs. Norfolk State, 1 pm; September 28 vs. NAU, 1 pm; October 5 at Cal Poly, 6 pm MT/5 pm PT; October 12 vs. Sacramento State (Homecoming), 2 pm; October 26 at North Dakota, 11 am MT/12 noon CT.
#GoCatsGo
It was a good day," MSU head coach Jeff Choate said Wednesday, "and I thought we got into some really good situational stuff at the end. The offense got a big chunk play, got down into the red zone. The offense needed a field goal there, (it) centered the ball and hit a mayday field goal. Very rarely do you have the opportunity to have that happen organically, you usually have to construct that, so it was awesome to operate that scenario and to execute that scenario is even better. So that was really, really good work."
As Montana State works a handful of new assistant coaches into the program this fall, Choate said the staff takes as much from game-like situational work as the players. "I think it's as important for us as it is for the guys," Choate said. "It's easy to construct (the situations) but when they happen organically you have to think on your feet. When do we use the time out, what play do we use here, would we clock it here, would we center the ball? There's all these different scenarios, so it definitely helps us as a staff to practice those situations."
More obviously, that type of work also benefits redshirt freshman Casey Bauman as his first college start nears. "He's got to think and understand," Choate said. "This is a fourth down, I've got to keep the play alive and give our team a chance here, or it's third and one, what do I have to do here, do I take a risk or do we just pour it in and try to get this first down. Even for our wide outs today, we had some communication stuff that needs to be better, needs to be cleaned up, and you don't really get exposed that way until you get into those situations."
Choate added that he's seen little difference among his quarterbacks, Bauman and Tucker Rovig, since naming a starter. "I don't really see a big difference. I think it's been more of a calming influence on the team as a whole knowing that that is behind us. I wouldn't have expected there being a difference. Tucker isn't taking a step back, he's still pushing and preparing and Casey's doing the same thing. So I don't think I've seen a difference in either of their approaches."
The Cats practice again on Thursday at 11 am in Bobcat Stadium. MSU's final preseason scrimmage is Saturday at 6 pm.
PLAYER OF THE DAY: Junior linebacker Troy Andersen was named MSU's Player of the Day on Wednesday.
GAME TIMES FINALIZED: Kick times for Montana State's final four football games were set this week with the completion of the ROOT Sports schedule. MSU home games against Southern Utah on November 2 and Montana on November 23 each begin at 12 noon, and both air on ROOT Sports. Two road games fall in between, with the Northern Colorado game beginning at 12 noon and the UC Davis game on November 16 at 5 pm MT/4 pm PT. MSU's other contests: August 31 at Texas Tech, 2 pm MT/3 pm CT; September 7 vs. Southeast Missouri, 6 pm; September 14 at Western Illinois, 2 pm MT/3 pm CT; September 21 vs. Norfolk State, 1 pm; September 28 vs. NAU, 1 pm; October 5 at Cal Poly, 6 pm MT/5 pm PT; October 12 vs. Sacramento State (Homecoming), 2 pm; October 26 at North Dakota, 11 am MT/12 noon CT.
#GoCatsGo
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