Photo by: Andrew Pedersen
CATS IN CAT DAY FOURTEEN: MSU Holds Final Preseason Scrimmage Saturday at 6 pm in Bobcat Stadium
8/16/2019 4:03:00 PM | Football
Montana State hopes to narrow position battles down after Saturday's scrum
BOZEMAN, Montana – Montana State's last full dress rehearsal for the 2019 football season arrives Saturday, when the Bobcats cap a full afternoon in Bobcat Stadium with a 6 pm scrimmage. The event is free and open to the public.
Family Fun Day begins at 3 pm in the stadium, and Choate knows that his team will be ready to take the field at 6 pm. "I think our kids will be a little more amped, there will be a little more juice," Choate said. "It's definitely different when you put the game uniforms on, and I think you'll see that from our coaches too."
Choate said that while his nervousness stems from "everybody getting out of it healthy," he recognizes that several of his staff members could feel some emotions. "Bobby (Daly, first-year Bobcat assistant and former MSU All-America) being back here in his first simulated game environment as a coach, DeNarius (McGhee, the running backs coach and two-time Big Sky MVP as a Bobcat quarterback) still thinks he's playing half the time, and even Kane (Ioane, in his first yar as MSU's defensive coordinator and the school's only four-time All-America) will probably feel that a little, his first time being back in a different role. And that's what you're trying to get out of a situation like this with a simulated game."
Slated to last 80-90 plays and perhaps 90 minutes, Saturday's scrimmage could also help the staff sort out a couple of remaining position battles. "We are keeping a close eye on tight end, linebacker, corner," he said. "There are several positions where there's very tight competition and this is our last opportunity to examine that and decide how we're going to move forward because we want to be a week ahead."
The Will and Mike linebacker positions remain intensely competitive, and Choate said that the final decision could involve playing time for all. "There are six guys at the inside linebacker positions who you can probably flip a coin on. Callahan O'Reilly, Noland Askelson, Josh Hill, Chad Kanow, Walker Cozzie and Michael Jobman have been very, very close. At the Sam linebacker positions the top three are Troy, Daniel Hardy and Tadan Gilman. You've got a good, quality three deep at each position, so you can see why we need to find some clarity there. It might be one of those years, as Coach Daly and I were talking, where you roll a lot of guys. (If) there's not a lot of separation it will give us an opportunity to roll a lot of guys, especially early in the year."
The Bobcat staff has lauded the program's improved depth across the board this season, and Choate said that shows up most clearly on special teams. Three returning specialists at the primary positions of punter, kicker and long snapper also help. "We have continuity for the first time, really, with all of our specialists back from last year with Logan (MacDonald) long snapping, Tristan (Bailey at kicker) with another year under his belt and (Jered) Padmos obviously the veteran in the group. The consistency we've had in terms of how we go about putting our special teams together and the drill work that we do and the expectations. I always tell my guys, If you can't run my meeting after being here for four years I haven't done a good job, and now you can see those guys that have been here four years they finish BJ's sentences, and I think that helps the familiarity."
Choate indicated that the 6 pm scrimmage begins with the program's young players in a live situation, followed by special teams work, then segments featuring the ones and twos.
#GoCatsGo
Family Fun Day begins at 3 pm in the stadium, and Choate knows that his team will be ready to take the field at 6 pm. "I think our kids will be a little more amped, there will be a little more juice," Choate said. "It's definitely different when you put the game uniforms on, and I think you'll see that from our coaches too."
Choate said that while his nervousness stems from "everybody getting out of it healthy," he recognizes that several of his staff members could feel some emotions. "Bobby (Daly, first-year Bobcat assistant and former MSU All-America) being back here in his first simulated game environment as a coach, DeNarius (McGhee, the running backs coach and two-time Big Sky MVP as a Bobcat quarterback) still thinks he's playing half the time, and even Kane (Ioane, in his first yar as MSU's defensive coordinator and the school's only four-time All-America) will probably feel that a little, his first time being back in a different role. And that's what you're trying to get out of a situation like this with a simulated game."
Slated to last 80-90 plays and perhaps 90 minutes, Saturday's scrimmage could also help the staff sort out a couple of remaining position battles. "We are keeping a close eye on tight end, linebacker, corner," he said. "There are several positions where there's very tight competition and this is our last opportunity to examine that and decide how we're going to move forward because we want to be a week ahead."
The Will and Mike linebacker positions remain intensely competitive, and Choate said that the final decision could involve playing time for all. "There are six guys at the inside linebacker positions who you can probably flip a coin on. Callahan O'Reilly, Noland Askelson, Josh Hill, Chad Kanow, Walker Cozzie and Michael Jobman have been very, very close. At the Sam linebacker positions the top three are Troy, Daniel Hardy and Tadan Gilman. You've got a good, quality three deep at each position, so you can see why we need to find some clarity there. It might be one of those years, as Coach Daly and I were talking, where you roll a lot of guys. (If) there's not a lot of separation it will give us an opportunity to roll a lot of guys, especially early in the year."
The Bobcat staff has lauded the program's improved depth across the board this season, and Choate said that shows up most clearly on special teams. Three returning specialists at the primary positions of punter, kicker and long snapper also help. "We have continuity for the first time, really, with all of our specialists back from last year with Logan (MacDonald) long snapping, Tristan (Bailey at kicker) with another year under his belt and (Jered) Padmos obviously the veteran in the group. The consistency we've had in terms of how we go about putting our special teams together and the drill work that we do and the expectations. I always tell my guys, If you can't run my meeting after being here for four years I haven't done a good job, and now you can see those guys that have been here four years they finish BJ's sentences, and I think that helps the familiarity."
Choate indicated that the 6 pm scrimmage begins with the program's young players in a live situation, followed by special teams work, then segments featuring the ones and twos.
#GoCatsGo
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