Khari Garcia and DeMonte King have reversed roles so far during fall camp.
Garcia, a sophomore who played extensively as a redshirt freshman in 2014, had off-season shoulder surgery and missed the entire spring session. King, a redshirt freshman who thrived with the starters in Garcia’s absence in the spring, is now the one on the shelf. King has missed most of fall camp with turf toe.
Each mirrored one another when asked about sitting and starting.
“The practices now for me are mental, mental reps,” King said when asked if he felt like he was falling behind. “Fall, it’s not too physical. It’s more mental anyways.”
“I think I’ve picked it up pretty well,” Garcia said when asked if he fell behind in the spring. “I got a bunch of mental reps in spring ball so I carried it over until now. Now I just have to do it physically.”
Jamie Marshall coaches Des Carter & Garcia
MSU safeties coach Jamie Marshall says King won’t fall behind much despite missing time during camp. Montana State is planning on having Garcia and King ready to play in tandem next to senior Des Carter and sophomore Bryson McCabe, each hard hitters on the strong side.
“We are not even getting into starters, who’s starting, who’s not,” Marshall said. “I expect to have four guys who can play back there to split reps. We are rotating every day, every series. My plan at the end of camp is to have four guys who can play quality minutes and we will figure out the rest of it from there.”
Montana State may have full intention of rotating on the back end, but Garcia is bringing an intensity to practice every day indicative of a man battling for a starting spot.
“I want to show the coaches that I’m still physical and I’m competitive,” Garcia said. “When I get on the field, when it’s time to compete, I just compete.”
Garcia has flown around the field, notching a double-digit number of memorable pad-popping hits. On a few occasions, he’s been the subject of Marshall’s wrath because of tackling or striking his teammates with force.
Garcia
“He’s such a physical player, loves to mix it up,” new MSU defensive coordinator Kane Ioane said. “He really can’t help himself and I’m with him on that. There’s times when he truly can’t help it where if he’s going to run that far to the football, he’s going to put his pads on somebody. I love his competitive spirit and how he plays the game.”
On the third day of camp, Garcia was also the instigator of the first fight of the camp.
“Khari Garcia is just a physical kid and he’s competing for a position right now,” Ash said. “Those kinds of things wear on guys during camp. He wants to play. He worked really, really hard and had a tremendous summer. He was here. He’s paid the price. He’s just trying to win the job.”
Although Garcia is sometimes temperamental, his athleticism is apparent and his knowledge of Ioane’s scheme seems to be improving daily.
“His confidence level playing that free safety as far as assignments is awesome and you can see it in his play because he’s playing that much faster,” Ioane said. “He knows where he’s going. He’s always been the type of kid where he’s been a tremendous football player with great instincts and playmaking ability. Now you tie that in with him being assignment sound, he’s going to be a great safety for us.”
Demonte King w/ Fr. Braden Konkal
Garcia’s aggressive style is more well-suited for Ioane’s fast, aggressive attack. He has picked up the nuances quickly and the 5-foot-10, 195-pounder from Pomona, California looks primed for a standout season.
“The defense is a lot faster,” Garcia said. “I get to play faster with the scheme we have now. It’s changed all over the place. But you pretty much have one assignment. It’s not a very complex defense.”
Last season, while King was showing his versatility as a safety and cornerback on the scout team, Garcia was earning valuable playing experience. Garcia made four starts in place of the late Eryon Barnett. He had two interceptions, including one he returned from midfield for a touchdown in a 29-18 win over North Dakota. He’s MSU’s second-leading returning tackler after notching 48 tackles in 2014.
“As a redshirt freshman, he was all over the place, very aggressive, very skilled but in terms of being in the right place, that was the challenge,” Ash said. “He’s showing much improved maturity now. He’s playing like a veteran even though he’s only a sophomore.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
