Photo by: Bobcat Creative Services
CATS IN CAMP DAY #13: Recovery Emerges as Important Part of Training Process
8/13/2026 10:19:00 PM | Football
MSU points toward Saturday scrimmage
After a year unlike any other in Montana State football history, the Bobcats prepare for the 2026 season beginning with the first preseason practice on July 30 and culminating with the season opener at Utah Tech on August 29.
THE STRAIGHT SKINNY: The Cats practiced on the grass intramural fields for about two hours on Thursday morning.
RECOVERY: It's an easy concept. When athletes expend energy, recovering from that process is necessary. Intentional recovery, though, is not simple.
"There's a physical toll that's taken out here," Montana State head coach Brent Vigen said, "and you have to regain from that. So whether it's stretching, rolling out, (Thursday afternoon) we go to the pool, it's a necessary part of the process."
Vigen said that recovery is the back end of a cycle that begins with "stretching and warming up" and features "stretching on the tail and, and things like prehab." The importance of getting the body right has escalated in recent years. "I think in this day and age," Vigen said, "athletes are more in tune with how their body should feel. They've come a long way in the last 20, 30 years."
Keeping athletes' bodies tuned up has become an important part of the program's operation. "Coach (Sean) Herrin and his (strength and conditioning) staff, Sarah (Bowman) and Megan (Ryan) and Emma (Kyes) in the athletic training room, the nutrition staff, they all play a big part of getting our guys right. They get them in a routine."
ONE QUICK QUOTE: "Our defensive mentality is to find the ball and attack the ball."
-MSU linebackers coach Jody Owens, a former Bobcat All-America, on the defense's Swarm philosophy
COMING UP: The Bobcats practice in Bobcat Stadium at 10 am on Friday.
THE STRAIGHT SKINNY: The Cats practiced on the grass intramural fields for about two hours on Thursday morning.
RECOVERY: It's an easy concept. When athletes expend energy, recovering from that process is necessary. Intentional recovery, though, is not simple.
"There's a physical toll that's taken out here," Montana State head coach Brent Vigen said, "and you have to regain from that. So whether it's stretching, rolling out, (Thursday afternoon) we go to the pool, it's a necessary part of the process."
Vigen said that recovery is the back end of a cycle that begins with "stretching and warming up" and features "stretching on the tail and, and things like prehab." The importance of getting the body right has escalated in recent years. "I think in this day and age," Vigen said, "athletes are more in tune with how their body should feel. They've come a long way in the last 20, 30 years."
Keeping athletes' bodies tuned up has become an important part of the program's operation. "Coach (Sean) Herrin and his (strength and conditioning) staff, Sarah (Bowman) and Megan (Ryan) and Emma (Kyes) in the athletic training room, the nutrition staff, they all play a big part of getting our guys right. They get them in a routine."
ONE QUICK QUOTE: "Our defensive mentality is to find the ball and attack the ball."
-MSU linebackers coach Jody Owens, a former Bobcat All-America, on the defense's Swarm philosophy
COMING UP: The Bobcats practice in Bobcat Stadium at 10 am on Friday.
Thursday, July 31
Monday, May 19
Wednesday, May 03
Wednesday, May 03
