Photo by: Garrett Becker
Bobcat Coach Jeff Choate Pleased with Scheme Adjustments early in fall camp
8/9/2020 4:00:00 PM | Football
MSU tweaked its offensive and defensive systems over the summer
BOZEMAN, Montana - Even without a game on the schedule, Montana State's football team began practice this weekend with a simple idea.
"Ultimately our message has always been consistent," said Bobcat head coach Jeff Choate. "All we want to do is get better every day."
That commitment carried through the team's first three practices, conducted Friday through Sunday in Bozeman, but it was certainly present throughout the spring and summer even in the absence of normal workouts. Spring football was canceled in March after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and through summer workouts proceeded at a lower intensity and regularity than usual.
"We've made adjustments," Choate said.
On the offensive side of the line of scrimmage, the Bobcat coaching staff worked throughout the spring and summer to diversify the offense. On the ground, that meant the addition of outside runs utilizing the zone blocking scheme. "One (addition late last season and throughout the off-season) was the outside zone run game," Choate said. "We were a very heavy inside zone team last year, and very good at it, so we've front-loaded our install with (outside zone runs) so that we can get better at that."
The Bobcat offense hopes to complement its run-oriented offense by improving its screen pass and play-action pass attacks. "(First-year offensive coordinator) Justin Udy has brought some really good things in the screen game, which was good to us at the end of last year but we didn't have a lot of options early in the year. We've also placed a huge emphasis on the play-action pass game."
Defensively, Choate said the Bobcats have worked to implement concepts that will aid the team against talent-rich pass attacks the best FCS teams employ. "Realizing as you get deeper in the playoffs every (opponent) has a great receiver, we're tweaking some coverages to allow us to be able to eliminate one side of the field by doing some brackets, some doubles. We're still in the experimental stages with that, but as we get through these next couple of days hopefully we get some good film so we can evaluate whether we like what we're doing."
#GoCatsGo
"Ultimately our message has always been consistent," said Bobcat head coach Jeff Choate. "All we want to do is get better every day."
That commitment carried through the team's first three practices, conducted Friday through Sunday in Bozeman, but it was certainly present throughout the spring and summer even in the absence of normal workouts. Spring football was canceled in March after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and through summer workouts proceeded at a lower intensity and regularity than usual.
"We've made adjustments," Choate said.
On the offensive side of the line of scrimmage, the Bobcat coaching staff worked throughout the spring and summer to diversify the offense. On the ground, that meant the addition of outside runs utilizing the zone blocking scheme. "One (addition late last season and throughout the off-season) was the outside zone run game," Choate said. "We were a very heavy inside zone team last year, and very good at it, so we've front-loaded our install with (outside zone runs) so that we can get better at that."
The Bobcat offense hopes to complement its run-oriented offense by improving its screen pass and play-action pass attacks. "(First-year offensive coordinator) Justin Udy has brought some really good things in the screen game, which was good to us at the end of last year but we didn't have a lot of options early in the year. We've also placed a huge emphasis on the play-action pass game."
Defensively, Choate said the Bobcats have worked to implement concepts that will aid the team against talent-rich pass attacks the best FCS teams employ. "Realizing as you get deeper in the playoffs every (opponent) has a great receiver, we're tweaking some coverages to allow us to be able to eliminate one side of the field by doing some brackets, some doubles. We're still in the experimental stages with that, but as we get through these next couple of days hopefully we get some good film so we can evaluate whether we like what we're doing."
#GoCatsGo
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