As Dakota Prukop darted toward the Southern Utah sideline, he slipped on the Bobcat Stadium turf. The loss of footing for the Montana State quarterback caused him to roll awkwardly, twisting his knee and ankle in the process. To add insult to potential injury, after the whistle blew, Prukop took a devastating hit to the back of his head from 262-pound Southern Utah defensive end Josh Talbot.
[restrict paid=”true”]Immediately after the collision, a strike that caused Prukop’s neck to crinkle like an accordion, the junior ripped off his helmet as he convulsed in pain. After a few seconds, he popped up and jogged to the Bobcat sideline. After a few plays, he was back in the game.
Prukop has taken his fair share of hits this season — his 135 carries lead the Bobcats — but Saturday’s beating from the top defense in the Big Sky Conference was cause for extra concern. Prukop slipped on at least four occasions. A tender knee that he injured last season and cost him two starts in 2014 looked vulnerable. On the final possession of Montana State’s 34-23 home loss to SUU, senior quarterback Jake Bleskin took all the snaps under center.
On Tuesday, the Montana State coaching staff confirmed that Prukop is expected to practice this week and lead Montana State against Idaho State on Saturday.
“Dakota is fine,” MSU head coach Rob Ash said. “He was a little sore on Sunday after a hard-hitting game just like any quarterback would be but he’ll be at practice today. He is fine.”
Prukop dressed for practice on Tuesday but wore a stocking cap and watched from the sideline for the final 30 minutes of the session, which ended at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
Prukop’s carry total leads MSU and ranks sixth in the Big Sky overall. Prukop is averaging 5.3 yards per carry and just shy of 80 yards per game. With Montana State sitting at 4-5 and out of the playoff race, the way Prukop is used going forward will be under heightened scrutiny.
“I like the word smart as opposed to careful,” MSU third-year offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tim Cramsey said. “If the quarterback is banged up, we do a little less quarterback run. Everything seems good right now so we are going to run our offense like we know how to run our offense.”
Cramsey said he has tracked the amount Prukop has been hit this season. He estimates he has taken 13 “hard hits” per game this season, down from what Cramsey estimates was “about 20” last season. Prukop took at least a dozen hard hits during a 28-carry game in a 55-50 loss at Eastern Washington. The next three weeks against Cal Poly, Northern Arizona and Sacramento State, he was kept largely under wraps and not required to run much. He rushed for 102 yards and three scores in a 59-42 loss to Portland State, avoiding much brutality against one of the league’s most physical defenses. In a 44-38 loss to North Dakota, Prukop was under constant pressure, just like against Southern Utah, and took a few hard hits.
“He empties the tank every week,” Cramsey said. “This kid is a warrior. You see him every week and he has nothing left. He gives us everything he has every game this year. His performance has shown it. One of his best characteristics is toughness. There’s a lot of quarterbacks out there who would be in my office talking to me a lot if they were taking 13 hits a game. He’s not that type of guy.”
Last season, Prukop missed starts against Idaho State and Montana, the two teams MSU has remaining on its schedule this fall.
Montana State entered last week’s game largely healthy. The injury bug has bitten MSU hard over the last two years but this fall, almost all the Bobcats have been able to stay in the rotation.
Junior linebacker Fletcher Collins had hand (thumb) surgery following the NAU game and has suited up at home, but has not traveled or played. In his place, sophomore Blake Braun has started with inconsistent results. Redshirt freshman nose tackle Tucker Yates suffered an ankle injury against North Dakota and did not play against Southern Utah. Other than that, the Montana State defense is the same unit in terms of personnel that started the season.
Offensively, senior right tackle Alex Eekhoff did not play against Southern Utah because of an engineering exam. He will return this week against ISU. Senior right guard Kyle Godecke has split time for much of the season while recovering from off-season foot surgery and battling a neck injury suffered against Portland State. Junior running back Gunnar Brekke missed two weeks from a concussion suffered against PSU as well. The rest of the starting offensive lineup has been the same for the duration of the season.
The injury report on Sunday raised many concerns for MSU. Godecke, Prukop, junior left guard J.P. Flynn, sophomore free safety Khari Garcia, senior cornerback Bryson Keeton and true freshman cornerback Tre’Von Strong were not able to finish the game against Southern Utah.
Strong suffered the most concerning of the injuries. Following a SUU run play, Strong paced back and forth on the field for a few seconds before lying down on the turf. After inspection, the medical professionals decided to load him on a stretcher and take him to Bozeman Deaconess Hospital in an ambulance. The Billings native was released later that night.
“It was just a glancing blow that caught him just right and twisted his neck sideways and shot some tingling down through his extremities, which you have to be really careful about,” Ash said. “Thankfully, as you know the tests were all negative and he just has a stiff neck. We are hopeful that he will be back on Saturday.”
Ash said Flynn “should be fine” and is expected to practice and play this week. Ash said Godecke is “questionable” but if he cannot go, sophomore Dylan Mahoney has proven to be a more than serviceable replacement. Ash said Yates is “doubtful”, and sophomore defensive end Tyrone Fa’anono did not practice Tuesday. MSU should be fine with seniors Taylor Sheridan, Connor Thomas and Nate Bignell still in the rotation inside along with Jessie Clark, Shiloh LaBoy and Robert Wilcox taking reps on the outside.
MSU’s primary concern as it heads to Pocatello is at cornerback. Strong and Keeton started six straight games on the outside. Ash said each is questionable and will likely be game-time decisions on Saturday. Neither practiced on Tuesday.
Idaho State’s run-pass option offense gets a large part of its production on deep passes down the field. Madison Mangum and KW Williams are one of the top pairs of receivers in the conference, meaning if Keeton and Strong can’t go, MSU will rely heavily on sophomore Bryce Alley and senior Trace Timmer. Third-string cornerbacks Zach Stern (converted linebacker) and Braelen Evans, who has been slow to return from off-season knee surgery, will be the back ups.
“It’s really important for those guys (Strong and Keeton) to play against a team that likes the vertical passing game and attacks you on the outside like Idaho State does,” Ash said. “Bryce Alley and Trace Timmer will be the first man up on each side if need be.”
[/restrict]Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
