Elijah Elliott
Photo by: Garrett Becker
Bobcats Begin Preseason Football Camp with High Expectations and High Standards
8/4/2023 8:47:00 AM | Football
Returning depth and quality boosts the Bobcats as the 2023 season looms
BOZEMAN, Montana – As a moment during a long college football season, the first day of preseason camp doesn't amount to much. But in the moment, it's a fulcrum that generates considerable excitement.
"It's exciting to be back on the field and see the work that's been put in over the last three months in play," said third-year Bobcat coach Brent Vigen. "A lot of our returning guys are a different version of themselves, and this is the first opportunity to integrate our freshman and some of our newcomers into a real team-like setting with helmets and everything. The energy, like it should be, is great, the effort is great on a first day, and now we have to keep stacking these days up."
Montana State practices at 9:15 am on Friday and Saturday and at 9:30 am on Monday through Wednesday next week on the grass at the Lambert Field intramural complex near the Hedges and Roskie residence halls. Wednesday, August 9, marks the team's first practice in full pads.
While freshmen and other newcomers participated in team workouts in July, but Thursday's first preseason practice marked the first look at them for Bobcat coaches. "I'm really excited about this class," Vigen said, "not only the guys from Montana but the guys from out-of-state. It's not only a good-looking group, but they've done well during their time here, which has been a little over a month now. It was fun to see them out there today."
Eight starters return to the Bobcat offense and seven on the defensive side, with 46 lettermen back from the 2022 squad that won the program's first Big Sky Championship in a decade and advanced to the FCS Playoffs Semifinals for the third straight season. Every position group returns at least one returning starter, which Vigen said creates only limited opportunities for newcomers, particularly freshmen.
"Typically you look at which positions are a need" when evaluating the need for new players to step into significant roles, Vigen said, "and I don't think there's a glaring need anywhere, but I think there's some guys physically that can make that transition. A guy like (running back) Scottre Humphrey is going to be in the mix, he's that type of young athlete. On the defensive side Andrew Powdrell can figure somewhere in the secondary. Then special teams becomes that game-changer, and that's the work that will occur in the next couple weeks."
The teams greatest need for an infusion of talent arises on special teams, where punter and kicker are both open entering fall camp. Sophomore Brendan Hall transferred to MSU from SMU during the summer, and is in line to handle punts and kickoffs. Redshirt freshmen Casey Kautzman and Myles Sansted join the mix as place kickers.
"Seeing Brendan Hall kick live a little bit more, I'd seen him a little bit in the summer, that's something that stood out," Vigen said. "We didn't do anything in practice with special teams, but on the surface he certainly lives up to our expectations."
Montana State enters 2023 ranked among the top four teams in the FCS, and to the outside world managing they hype emerges as a task. But Vigen said that process rolls into the standard operation for the Bobcats.
"We have high expectations and a lot of guys returning, but we have some unproven areas, too," he said. "When you get into August it's fun to see where the new guys will ultimately fit in when you start playing games in September. The rankings are a reflection of where we finished the last couple of years and what we return. We'd rather be in a position where we finished higher and we return a lot of guys than the other side but beyond that those rankings don't mean a whole lot. You have to go out and work on a daily basis and live up to the expectations you've created for yourself."
Even the work ahead, enthusiasm bubbles into Vigen's normally stoic presence. "To me this is the most exciting time as a football coach," he said. "When you look at the whole year, as you transition from July to August and you have fall camp in front of you and the work that's been put in behind you, it's an exciting time. What's in front of us now is having the best three weeks of fall camp that we can until we start school, and then transitioning to the first opponent, which is Utah Tech. It's as simple as that."
#GoCatsGo
"It's exciting to be back on the field and see the work that's been put in over the last three months in play," said third-year Bobcat coach Brent Vigen. "A lot of our returning guys are a different version of themselves, and this is the first opportunity to integrate our freshman and some of our newcomers into a real team-like setting with helmets and everything. The energy, like it should be, is great, the effort is great on a first day, and now we have to keep stacking these days up."
Montana State practices at 9:15 am on Friday and Saturday and at 9:30 am on Monday through Wednesday next week on the grass at the Lambert Field intramural complex near the Hedges and Roskie residence halls. Wednesday, August 9, marks the team's first practice in full pads.
While freshmen and other newcomers participated in team workouts in July, but Thursday's first preseason practice marked the first look at them for Bobcat coaches. "I'm really excited about this class," Vigen said, "not only the guys from Montana but the guys from out-of-state. It's not only a good-looking group, but they've done well during their time here, which has been a little over a month now. It was fun to see them out there today."
Eight starters return to the Bobcat offense and seven on the defensive side, with 46 lettermen back from the 2022 squad that won the program's first Big Sky Championship in a decade and advanced to the FCS Playoffs Semifinals for the third straight season. Every position group returns at least one returning starter, which Vigen said creates only limited opportunities for newcomers, particularly freshmen.
"Typically you look at which positions are a need" when evaluating the need for new players to step into significant roles, Vigen said, "and I don't think there's a glaring need anywhere, but I think there's some guys physically that can make that transition. A guy like (running back) Scottre Humphrey is going to be in the mix, he's that type of young athlete. On the defensive side Andrew Powdrell can figure somewhere in the secondary. Then special teams becomes that game-changer, and that's the work that will occur in the next couple weeks."
The teams greatest need for an infusion of talent arises on special teams, where punter and kicker are both open entering fall camp. Sophomore Brendan Hall transferred to MSU from SMU during the summer, and is in line to handle punts and kickoffs. Redshirt freshmen Casey Kautzman and Myles Sansted join the mix as place kickers.
"Seeing Brendan Hall kick live a little bit more, I'd seen him a little bit in the summer, that's something that stood out," Vigen said. "We didn't do anything in practice with special teams, but on the surface he certainly lives up to our expectations."
Montana State enters 2023 ranked among the top four teams in the FCS, and to the outside world managing they hype emerges as a task. But Vigen said that process rolls into the standard operation for the Bobcats.
"We have high expectations and a lot of guys returning, but we have some unproven areas, too," he said. "When you get into August it's fun to see where the new guys will ultimately fit in when you start playing games in September. The rankings are a reflection of where we finished the last couple of years and what we return. We'd rather be in a position where we finished higher and we return a lot of guys than the other side but beyond that those rankings don't mean a whole lot. You have to go out and work on a daily basis and live up to the expectations you've created for yourself."
Even the work ahead, enthusiasm bubbles into Vigen's normally stoic presence. "To me this is the most exciting time as a football coach," he said. "When you look at the whole year, as you transition from July to August and you have fall camp in front of you and the work that's been put in behind you, it's an exciting time. What's in front of us now is having the best three weeks of fall camp that we can until we start school, and then transitioning to the first opponent, which is Utah Tech. It's as simple as that."
#GoCatsGo
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