Montana State’s aerial arsenal plans to be on full display at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday morning.
“Given this particular season with what we have going on and the running backs depth we have, there will probably be more passing than usual in this first scrimmage,” Montana State ninth-year head coach Rob Ash said following Friday morning’s session, the first of fall camp completed in Bobcat Stadium. “We have a lot of receivers to evaluate in this scrimmage and a lot of defensive backs to evaluate so we will probably go off the script a little bit and it won’t be as run-oriented as our first scrimmage usually is.”
Jones
Montana State veteran running backs Chad Newell (thigh bruise) and Gunnar Brekke (leg tightness) will not participate in the action, but Ash said he is not worried about his running back depth. In the duo’s absence, redshirt freshman Tavon Dodd and sophomore Nick LaSane figure to get the bulk of the first-team reps. Redshirt freshman Noah James will get carries but he’s banged up too, Ash said. Logan Jones, a true freshman out of Kalispell Glacier like James, has impressed so far and figures to get some carries as well.
“They are good,” Ash said. “I like Logan Jones. He’s made a big impact in camp and he’s done a nice job and showed he can compete at this level with these guys. Noah has had a very good camp also. He’s getting some leg tightness that will slow him down. Nick and Tavon have picked up right where they left off from spring ball. It’s really good work for them.”
Because MSU has as many as six running backs who will play alongside junior quarterback Dakota Prukop and behind a veteran offensive line featuring as many as four senior starters, the Bobcats will use Saturday to evaluate the wide receivers and defensive backs. Senior captain Mitch Griebel has been his consistent self all camp and sophomore Mitch Herbert has made highlight reel catches seemingly every day. But a group that includes senior Tanner Roderick, juniors Brandon Brown and Will Krolick, sophomores Jayshawn Gates and Justin Paige and redshirt freshmen Conner Sullivan and John D’Agostino is still trying to figure out its rotation hierarchy.
Senior Manny Kalfell (hamstring) and D’Agostino (quad) have been nursing injuries and might see limited reps.
Alley & Sutton
Across the line, the MSU defensive backs find themselves in a heated battle as well. The Montana State coaches have proclaimed that senior Bryson Keeton is entrenched as a starter at cornerback. Senior UAB transfer Des
Carter looks to be a safe bet to start at strong safety. The free safety battle is a hotly contested competition between sophomore Khari Garcia and redshirt freshman DeMonte King, although King sat out Friday’s practice with a toe injury. At the corner spot opposite Keeton, senior Trace Timmer and sophomore Bryce Alley continue to battle and each has had a strong camp so far. True freshman Tre’Von Strong has risen to the top of a trio of rookies who hoped to vie for playing time.
The defensive backfield is just one question mark on a defense trying to redefine its identity. The Bobcats graduated 11 seniors from last season’s defense, including five linebackers and five from the secondary.
Defensive tackle Taylor Sheridan, a senior team captain, is the lone returning starter in the front seven. The defensive line has consistently rotated 10 players, although defensive end Zach Wright went down with an ankle injury on Friday. Senior tackle Conner Thomas, senior tackle Nate Bignell, junior tackle Joe Naotala and redshirt freshman tackle Tucker Yates have been the standouts in the middle. On the outside, junior Zach Hutchins appears to have the inside track as the starting Bandit end, particularly with sophomore Devin Jeffries on the shelf with a hamstring injury. Sophomore Tyrone Fa’anono is the lead man at the other defensive end spot with junior college transfer Shiloh LaBoy providing relief at both ends.
At the linebacker spots, sophomore Mac Bignell (Sam) and redshirt freshman Grant Collins (Mike) are the leaders for playing time.
Braun
Sophomore Blake Braun continues to try to hold off Cincinatti transfer Marcus Tappan for the starting job at Will. Junior college transfer Zach Stern should push Bignell while junior Fletcher Collins will spell Grant Collins.
The collection of players is trying to master new defensive coordinator Kane Ioane’s multiple scheme. Saturday will be the first real look at it for the coaching staff.
“We will really find out tomorrow but in my opinion, we are way better than we were in the spring,” Carter said. “Saturday will be the first real test.”
Practice will begin at 9:15 a.m. at Bobcat Stadium. By 10 a.m., the live session will ensue. Ash said the Bobcats will run roughly 75 plays, with 30 live reps each for the first and second teams and the remaining going to the third stringers. Officials will be there to monitor 1-on-1s, passing skeleton, 7-on-7 and the scrimmage portion of the practice.
“We’ve got to go,” Ash said. “We are only going to have two real scrimmages — this Saturday and next Saturday — since camp is so short (two weeks) so we are going to go pretty good.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
