Montana State’s third Friday practice of the five-week spring session began with what new defensive coordinator Ty Gregorak called, “Bear Bryant stuff, man.”
The Oklahoma drill is nothing new or rare for Division I football practices. But doing it at the beginning of the ninth practice of spring drills is certainly new for this collection of Bobcats.
[restrict paid=”true”]“Mentally, you better get ready to play,” Gregorak said. “You are banging right from the get go. Cat Jacks and we are rolling. Go hit somebody.”
During Friday’s practice — a brisk 97-minute session largely conducted like a scrimmage but also filled with one-on-ones and board drills pitting two teammates against one another in confined space along with a practice-closing red-zone competition — the Bobcats started with a bang, endured an eruption from Choate and responded by closing the performance with good competition.
“The idea is to start fast,” Choate said of the physical start. “I felt like we have been a little sluggish starting practice. We want to get our motor running. You don’t get a chance to ease into a ball game. You can’t ease into practice either. The intensity level picks up, we get a little contact, we get ready to go.”
During one-on-one board drills, Choate dressed down the team, colorfully emphasizing in no certain terms that they must improve their effort, toughness and competitive pride when the moment becomes dire. The Bobcats responded with a solid back and forth battle during the final red-zone sessions.
“I think they get it,” Choate said. “They understand. They are responding when we challenge them. That speaks to the fact that they are taking coaching. That’s an important part of progressing as a football player and as a team.”
Montana State lacked continuity, passion and physicality during a discombobulated 2015 season that began with a preseason No. 9 national ranking and ended with a 5-6 record, MSU’s first losing finish since 2001. The fall from grace ended the Rob Ash era in Bozeman. Choate took over in December and has feverishly gone to work revamping the Bobcats, from a schematic overhaul to a brand new mentality.
“They are working hard but we need to be tougher, not just physically but mentally,” said Gregorak, an assistant at Montana in all but one of the last 13 seasons. “We are looking for the toughest, nastiest group of 11 to 22 dudes we can find. We might not have the best football player on the field but we are going to be nasty, we are going to be tough. We are not going to run 1,000 different things. We are going to be good at what we do.”
On defense, Gregorak is keeping the installation of his team-oriented scheme to a minimum as he continues to feel out his personnel. New offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham is also keeping it simple while he searches for replacements for All-America quarterback Dakota Prukop, future NFL Draft pick tight end Beau Sandland, captain wide receiver Mitch Griebel, All-America left tackle John Weidenaar and three other starters up front
“The biggest thing for us is not worrying about winning the spring,” Messingham said. “We have to stick with the plan of installing the offense, getting guys being able to play next to each other and trust each other and know that they are playing for the guy next to him.”
During the first team period, Montana State’s offense chewed up most of the field before Mac Bignell took over. The Drummond native snared an interception inside the 30-yard line and notched two tackles for loss later on in the practice. The junior was an All-Big Sky selection after piling up 20.5 tackles for loss last season.
During the third team series, the offense retook control. Junior transfer quarterback Tyler Bruggman threw two straight darts, the first to junior Mitch Herbert to draw a pass interference penalty on junior safety Khari Garcia and the second an out route to redshirt freshman Cam Sutton that was a second too late. On his third throw, he laced a rope to the center of the end zone. Sophomore John D’Agostino, a Bozeman High product, absorbed contact from junior safety Bryson McCabe and Garcia before coming down with the 27-yard touchdown catch.
“Tyler’s got a very, very strong arm,” said Messingham, who spent the last two seasons as an offensive quality control coach on Kevin Wilson’s staff at Indiana. “He’s getting to the point where he understands when he can take some shots.
“But I’m telling you, it’s a big-time play by the receiver. Johnny made big-time, big-time catch. He’ll help us. I’m very happy with him as much as anything because he spends the time learning the offense so when he gets the opportunities, he takes full advantage of them.”
Ben Folsom, a redshirt freshman from Dillon who returned to MSU after a two-year LDS mission before last season, seems to have shaken the rust off. He threw the ball with zip consistently when needed and with touch on a 27-yard back-shoulder lofting touchdown toss to redshirt freshman Cam Sutton.
Junior running back Nick LaSane used a nicely blocked power play to score a four-yard touchdown during the red-zone period. But he also was smothered by a host of defenders and fumbled, a miscue recovered by redshirt freshman middle linebacker Walker Cozzie.
On a fourth down and goal from the three-yard line, LaSane lowered his shoulder but sophomore Buck end Grant Collins and a host of defenders finished the red-zone series and the practice with a stout tackle to deny LaSane another touchdown.
“One of the reasons why we do so much red-zone is the nature of modern football is offenses are going to get their yards,” Choate said. “The money downs are the downs in the red-zone. We have to keep them out of the end zone. That’s something we struggled with a year ago.
The quick session included officials and chain gangs during the team periods. The play clocks influenced the situations as did the roughly six dozen observers in the stands. On the sidelines, recently graduated players like Griebel, Beau Sandland, Trace Timmer and Nate Bignell took in their first practices of the Choate era. Dane Fletcher and Zach Minter, each former Bobcats playing professional football, also got their first look at the post-Ash Bobcats. Before the session, NFL Hall of Famer and former MSU kicker Jan Stenerud addressed the team.
“Who are the first guys everyone see? Dane (Fletcher), (Zach) Minter, Big Beau (Sandland), Mitch (Griebel),” Gregorak said. “I hope they like what they are seeing. I know it’s not perfect but Fletcher and Minter, they played dang good defense when they were here and we have to get back to that. Those guys have been so supportive to me. We have to get those guys around. Those guys were war daddies. I want more of those guys. I want them at every single practice.”
[/restrict]Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
