Date post: | 08-Aug-2018 |
Category: |
Documents |
Upload: | bozeman-daily-chronicle |
View: | 219 times |
Download: | 0 times |
of 6
8/22/2019 Gameday - Colorado Mesa
1/6
Saturday, Sept. 14
vS. Colorado MeSaGameDay
Full PaPer
InsIDe
InsIDe
PreDIctInG
a runawayAter a rustrating trip
to Dallas, the Chroniclesports sta believes
the Bobcats will
generate some positive
momentum with
another lopsided home
victoryI e5
uP For the
challenGeColorado Mesa readyto tackle seasons mostdifcult test I e2
weve Got youcovereD
For all o the latest
updates and analysis andto join the discussion
surrounding the Bobcats
second home game against
Colorado Mesa, visit
dailychronicle.com/live
at 1 p.m. this aternoon.
Also be sure and ollow
@jmaletz and
@kylesample_bdc
on Twitter
coloraDo mesa vs. no. 3 montana state, BoBcat staDIum, 1:05 P.m.
Cad
Msa
taback
Jak Cm
one play away...
ADriAn SAnChez-GonzAlez/ChroniCle
Dakta Pukp as yt t tak a sap f Mtaa Stat. Tat cud cag tday agast Cad Msa.
Despite the relative easewith which the Bobcats shouldhandle Mesa, this is a strangeweek. Rob Ash, the Bobcatshead coach of seven years,took time out of his scheduleto address rumors that hadbeen swirling around his
program since shortly after a31-30 loss to Southern Meth-odist in Dallas. QuarterbackDeNarius McGhee separatedhis throwing shoulder and willbe out indefinitely, Ash toldthe media members gatheredoutside of the south entrance
of Brick Breeden Fieldhouse.For the first time since No-
vember 2009, Montana Statewill have a quarterback notnamed McGhee operating theoffense. Perhaps that explainswhy three quarterbacks are sit-ting in the film room prepar-ing themselves for the comingweeks and their new positionson the depth chart.
It could also be that thesequarterbacks dont understandthe meaning of a day off.
The way current No. 2 quar-terback Dakota Prukop tellsit, this is nothing unusual forthe teams signal callers. If theteam is not practicing, playingor traveling, its a good bet atleast one of them can be foundwatching film.
When the mindset isthat youve got four startingquarterbacks and one getsto play Saturday because thecircumstances necessitate it,
everybody must be preparedas if they were the guy leadingthe offense.
Coach (Tim) Cramseyprepares all four quarterbacksevery day the same, Prukopsaid following Tuesdayspractice. We all prepare asstarters every day thats hisbig thing. I know he has dealtwith quarterback injuries inthe past so he definitely takesthat really seriously. I thinkanyone No. 1, 2, 3 or 4 couldstep in and do just fine.
McGhees injury has forcedJake Bleskin, a redshirt sopho-more from Great Falls, intothe starting role for todaysgame. Bleskin is anything butproven, throwing just eightpasses in his career, includinga 2-of-4 performance in thelatter stages of a season-opening win over Monmouth.
First-r offnsiv coorintor hs pln to prpr qurtrbcks
By Kyle SaMple ChroniCle SPorTS WriTer
Its Monday afternoon and the MontanaState football team has the day off.
The opponent this week is not a difficultone or at least its not supposed to be.
Colorado Mesa is a Division II programwith a limited number of scholarships and
a recent history of futility: The Mavericksare 22-32 over the past five years and haventwon a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conferencetitle in decade.
M Ready I e6
8/22/2019 Gameday - Colorado Mesa
2/6
E2 | Saturday, September 14, 2013 bozeman daily chronicle
Sideline Briefing
RecordsMontana State 1-1, Colorado Mesa 1-0
SeriesBobcats lead 2-1
Weather forecastScattered thunderstorms, 72 degrees
CrowdBobcat Stadium (17,777)
TVMax Media (Chris Beyer, Mike Callaghan, Je Eberle)
RadioKXLB-FM (100.7) (Tyler Wiltgen, Dan Davies)
Coaches
SchedulesCOLORADO MESA
Sp. 7 Menlo College W, 34-0
Sp. 14 @ M S 1:05 p.m.
Sp. 21 @ Ch S n
Sp. 28 BlaCk HillS State 1 p.m.
oc. 5 @ nw Mc Hhs 1 p.m.
oc. 12 WeStern neW MexiCo 1 p.m.
oc. 19 @ F lws 1 p.m.
oc. 26 Colorado SCHool oF MineS 1 p.m.
n. 2 @ CSU-Pub 6 p.m.
n. 9 @ Ws S C 1 p.m.
n. 16 adaMS State n
MOnTAnA STATE
au. 29 MonMoUtH W, 42-24
Sp. 7 @ Suh Mhs l, 31-30
Sp. 14 Colorado MeSa 1:05 p.m.Sp. 21 @ Sph F. aus 5 p.m.
Sp. 28 @ nh d 1:35 p.m.
oc. 5 nortHern arizona 2 p.m.
oc. 19 @ Wb S 3:35 p.m.
oc. 26 UC daviS 2 p.m.
n. 2 @ nh C 1:35 p.m.
n. 9 @ es Wsh 1 p.m.
n. 16 SoUtHern UtaH 4 p.m.
n. 23 Montana n
Players to watchColorado Mesa: RB Jake Cimolino, The junior rom Fort Bragg,
Cali., rushed or 120 yards on 15 carries and scored two o the
teams three touchdowns in the Mavericks season opener.
Cimolino has rushed or 2,459 yards at Mesa and needs just 376to move into third place on the programs all-time list.
Motaa State: QB Jake Bleskin, The redshirt sophomore, who
has attempted just eight passes in six appearances the past
two seasons, will make his frst start with the Bobcats today.
Teammates and coaches alike say the oense will not skip a beat
with the strong-armed, cerebral Great Falls native under center.
Injury reportColorado Mesa: Undisclosed
Motaa State: QB DeNarius McGhee (shoulder), Craig
Ashworth (ankle), DE Preston Gale (knee), LB Naa Moeakiola
(shoulder), WR Kurt Davis (knee), LS Rocky Hogue (shoulder),
C Christian Williams (eye), DL Zach Hutchins (undisclosed), LB
Rhett Young (undisclosed), DB Trace Timmer (undisclosed), OL
Charles Lee (undisclosed)
Quick hitsnMontana State won its sixth straight home opener against
Monmouth but has dropped six o its last seven road openers.
BOBCATS GAME DAY
Colorado Mesa vs. No. 3 Montana State
1:05 p.m., Bobcat Stadium
ROB ASH
MSU, 7th year
34th year overall
51-23 at MSU
227-122-5 overall
RuSS MARTIn
CMU, 2nd year
6th year overall
5-7 at CMU
17-33 overall
Weve Moved!
586-6160 1285 North Rouse Ave. Bozeman M-S 10 to 7
Come see our new larger location andcheck out our selection of Bobcat fangear for your dog including hoodies,
jerseys, collars, bowls, beds.
CHRiS TOMLiNSON/GRAND JUNCTiON SENTiNEL
Colorado Mesa wll be wthout startng quarterback Arc Kaser, rght, who left Sept. 7s game wth an njured left knee after beng
tackled by Menlos Gabrel Deol.
Colorado Mesa eager to square off aganst second Bg Sky team n as many seasons
Mavericks up for the challenge
By JON MALETZ
Chroncle Sports Edtor
Russ Martin admits the circum-stances are hardly ideal.
The second-year Colorado Mesafootball coach was led to believe hissquad had an agreement to play DixieState in one of the 2013 seasons firsttwo games. The matchup did not ma-terialize, however, which left Martinand the Mavericks scrambling.
When the program couldnt procureany contests against fellow Division
II foes, Mesa started looking bothup and down. The unenviable result:a home opener against Division IIIMenlo College followed by a bus tripto Bozeman to take on one of theFootball Championship Subdivisionstop teams.
Squaring off with the high-poweredBobcats (1-1), ranked third in the lat-est FCS poll, is a daunting proposition,Martin admitted Tuesday. His squadrelishes the opportunity, however.
Its exciting. They are a phenom-enal football team, Martin said.I told my players theres no doubtMSU will be the most talented teamwe play with the most depth of
anybody. If the good lord blessesa team with more talent and ability,so be it. It doesnt mean we have tohave blown assignments or mentalmistakes.
The Mavericks breezed throughSept. 7s opener against the Oaks.The junior tailback tandem of JakeCimolino and Ricky Trinidad rushedfor more than 200 yards, averaged 8per carry and scored two touchdowns.The CMU defense, meanwhile, sur-rendered just 204 yards of total offensein the 34-0 blowout.
The one downside to the rout: TheMavericks lost starting quarterbackArick Kaiser, who was relegated to the
sideline at the conclusion of his squadssecond offensive series with a left kneeinjury.
Kyle Duran, a fellow redshirt fresh-man from Chandler, Ariz., stepped
into his first college game and com-pleted 16-of-29 passes for 142 yardsand added a scoring scamper.
Duran will be under center againtoday when CMU squares off against aBig Sky team for the second time in asmany seasons.
The Mavericks were locked in atight contest in the third quarter whenthey headed across the state to takeon Northern Colorado in September2012. In a matter of minutes, however,CMU went from being one play awayfrom squaring the contest to trailingby more than three touchdowns.
It went on to lose 40-3, its secondof three consecutive defeats to openMartins tenure in Grand Junction.
We had a chance to tie but messedup a protection, which led to a sack,Martin lamented. In the span of afew minutes, we gave up (16 points) that totally turned the gamearound. We played well for mostof that game, but Im not a bigbeliever in moral victories. If you dothings on a consistent basis and buildfor success, eventually you will havesuccess. We dont measure success somuch based on winning or losing; we
base it on whether were getting betteras a football team and how close weare to playing as well as we possiblycan.
Just like their game last week, our
season wont be based on this onegame. Well take whatever weve got,come up there and give it a whirl.
The Mavericks bring Martins ver-sion of a fast-paced spread offense,one hes honed over 26 years in theprofession including a successfuleight-year stint as offensive coor-dinator and quarterbacks coach atNebraska-Kearney prior to taking the
job at Mesa. The system, based onthe double and triple option, includeszone-read elements and prominentlyfeatures Cimolino, one of the most ac-complished backs in program history.
CMUs high-intensity defense ispredicated on bringing seeminglyconstant pressure from a variety of dif-ferent positions. Its a scheme Martinhopes will unsettle Jake Bleskin, whowill be stepping in for the injuredDeNarius McGhee today and for theforeseeable future.
Its unfortunate for them to losetheir quarterback and unfortunatefor our fans to not get the chance tosee a young man who is one of the topplayers in the country perform buttheyre not going to change what theydo. We arent either, Martin said.They build their system around abunch of players, not just one guy.
They have a quality backup whohas the cannon and the ability to be agreat quarterback.
Added MSU head coach Rob Ash,(Bleskin) wont have the red jersey on;hell be a living target, which will bea little anxiety producing initially maybe until that first hit, the first timehe gets rattled in the pocket. Like anyplayer, it will go away and hell settleinto the game. I think Jake will betremendous.
Martin harbors no illusions aboutpulling off an upset. Rather, he hopeshis kids savor the challenge, the envi-ronment and the moment.
You dont get very many chances
to play the top teams in the nation,let alone the top teams in the divisionabove you, Martin said. This is aphenomenal opportunity for our kidsand our program.
i told my players theres no
doubt MSU wll be the most
talented team we play wth
the most depth of anybody.
if the good lord blesses a
team wth more talent and
ablty, so be t. it doesnt
mean we have to have blown
assgnments or mental
mstakes.
Russ Martin, Colorado Mesa
football coach
8/22/2019 Gameday - Colorado Mesa
3/6
Come see us: 3400 Laramie Drive Phone: (406) 556-6600New Store hours:Wednesday through Saturday 11:00AM to 5:00PMSunday through Tuesday by Appointment only. Check with our store experts.
www.vanns.com
Saturday, September 14 , 2013 | E3bozeman daily chronicle
8/22/2019 Gameday - Colorado Mesa
4/6
8/22/2019 Gameday - Colorado Mesa
5/6
Is Proud to SupportBobcat Football!Bring in this ad or 10%OFF
your fooring purchase!
GoCats!1921 West Main Bozeman, MTwww.PierceFlooring.com 406.587.5428*Discount applies to materials only, and cannot be combined with any other discounts or promotions.
Saturday, September 14 , 2013 | E5bozeman daily chronicleBOBCATS GAME DAY
Colorado Mesa vs. No. 3 Montana State
1:05 p.m., Bobcat Stadium
Depthcharts
Montana State
OffenseLEFT TACKLE
55 John Weidenaar 6-7/280 So
76 Marshall Womack 6-5/280 Fr
LEFT GUARD
63 Kyle Godecke 6-5/315 So
75 JP Flynn 6-5/304 Fr
CENTER
74 Matthew Devereaux 6-3/300 So
70 Joel Horn 6-4/295 So
RIGHT GUARD
79 Quinn Catalano 6-4/300 Jr
70 Joel Horn 6-4/295 So
RIGHT TACKLE
71 Alex Eekhoff 6-6/288 So
64 Andy Austin 6-3/285 Sr
QUARTERBACK
2 Jake Bleskin 6-1/195 So
5 Dakota Prukop 6-2/195 Fr
RUNNING BACK
25 Cody Kirk 5-10/213 Sr
33 Shawn Johnson 5-9/175 Jr
X RECEIVER
86 Tanner Bleskin 6-3/218 Sr
83 Manny Kalfell 6-3/193 So
Z RECEIVER
84 Brian Flotkoetter 6-2/211 Jr
85 Will Krolick 6-0/192 Fr
F/Y RECEIVER
4 Jon Ellis 5-10/175 Sr
12 David Dash 5-7/174 Jr
TIGHT END
80 Tiai Salanoa 6-3/257 Sr
93 Lee Perkins 6-2/240 Jr
KICKER
18 Rory Perez 6-3/185 Sr
DefenseEND
10 Odin Coe 6-3/250 So
48 Connor Verlanic 6-4/245 Jr
TACKLE
47 Taylor Dees 6-2/273 Jr
97 Connor Thomas 6-3/270 Fr
NOSE TACKLE
90 Taylor Sheridan 6-3/280 So
92 Nate Bignell 6-2/273 So
BANDIT
41 Brad Daly 6-1/240 Sr
46 Hayden Vick 6-3/236 Jr
SAM LINEBACKER
16 Cole Moore 6-2/220 Jr
34 Blake Braun 6-1/225 Fr
MIKE LINEBACKER
51 Michael Foster 6-1/228 So
59 Fletcher Collins 6-2/230 FrWILL LINEBACKER
43 Alex Singleton 6-2/240 Jr
29 Feao Vunipola 5-10/222 Fr
BOUNDARY CORNER
37 Deonte Flowers 5-11/183 Jr
8 Ijumaa Armstrong 6-0/190 Jr
ROVER
22 Eryon Barnett 6-2/200 Sr
5 Robert Marshall 6-0/200 Jr
FREE SAFETY
1 Steven Bethley 5-11/210 Sr
26 James Nelson 5-11/199 Jr
FIELD CORNER
3 Sean Gords 5-10/193 Sr36 Brad Nordahl 5-11/172 So
PUNTER
18 Rory Perez 6-3/185 Sr
Colorado Mesa
DefenseEND90 Will Harvey 6-3/225 Sr
82 Taylor Schultz 6-3/210 Fr
TACKLE
54 Ryan Sivetts 6-2/220 Jr
55 Jake Thomas 6-1/265 Fr
TACKLE
96 Zach Beach 6-1/255 Jr
99 William Milo 5-10/290 Fr
END
91 Mitch Irwin 6-0/220 So
40 Eric Nimtz 6-2/285 So
OUTSIDE LINEBACKER
42 Andrew Hurley 6-3/220 Jr
51 Marc Palacios 6-0/225 Jr
MIDDLE LINEBACKER
33 Jake Edmiston 6-2/195 Sr
31 Luke Knapton 6-1/215 Jr
OUTSIDE LINEBACKER
48 Zach Hamm 6-0/210 Fr
35 Zach Schiegg 6-0/195 Fr
CORNERBACK
22 Jordan Price 5-8/180 Jr
24 Tyler Winder 5-8/185 So
SAFETY
27 Travis McRae 5-11/175 Jr
28 Olie Olson 5-11/180 Fr
SAFETY
2 Michael Brady 5-11/200 Sr
36 Isaac Koch 5-10/185 So
CORNERBACK
7 Ryan Lendrum 5-9/190 Sr
15 Nick Yeros 5-10/175 So
PUNTER
2 Michael Brady 5-11/200 Sr
OffenseLEFT TACKLE
71 Teddy Silano 6-8/285 Jr
65 Eric Sander 6-4/255 So
LEFT GUARD
64 Mitch Wehrli 6-4/275 Fr
77 Jeff Berghorn 6-4/300 So
CENTER
58 Brett Boyer 6-3/255 Sr
69 Colter Bentley 6-2/260 Fr
RIGHT GUARD
57 Nick Leonard 6-2/250 So
70 Austin Beswick 6-4/280 Fr
RIGHT TACKLE
78 Zeth Ramsey 6-6/235 So
74 Aaron Simons 6-3/260 Fr
QUARTERBACK
12 Kyle Duran 6-0/205 Fr
10 Jason Haferman 5-11/195 Sr
RUNNING BACK
32 Jake Cimolino 5-11/200 Jr
1 Ricky Trinidad 5-9/170 Jr
RECEIVER X
84 Daniel Perse 6-5/200 Fr
11 Steven Lindquist 6-5/200 Jr
RECEIVER H
8 Ian Juede 5-9/185 Jr
21 DJ Hubbard 5-8/160 So
RECEIVER Z
83 Nate Neville 6-3/200 Sr
14 Austin Rodriguez 5-10/165 Sr
TIGHT END
45 Drew Holder 6-4/235 Sr88 Dalton Horan 6-3/215 So
KICKER
39 Tanner Donahue 6-2/185 Fr
THE EDGEcoloraDo Mesavs. Montana state
While it was little more than two weeks
ago, Montana State players, coaches and ans
might have a hard time remembering Aug. 29s
Gold Rush rout particularly ater last weeks
deating loss in Dallas. The smiles will return
today, however.
The Bobcats are an overwhelming avorite
against Colorado Mesa, no matter
who is lining up under center. That
job now alls to redshirt sophomore
Jake Bleskin, who will become the
rst person other than DeNariusMcGhee to start since Cody Kempt in
2009s Brawl o the Wild.
Teammates and coaches have
been efusive in their praise o the
talented quarterback, who has
thrown just eight passes in his college career.
By all accounts, Bleskin has mastered Tim
Cramseys zone-read attack, which should lead
to a productive day on the Bobcat Stadium tur.
Is Bleskin ready to match wits with the Big
Skys top deenses? Not yet. But against a
Division II opponent, we surmise the Great
Falls native will thrive much like he did during
preseason camp, when he routinely picked
apart the second-string deense. He completed72 percent o his passes and tossed three
touchdowns on consecutive possessions in
Augusts nal scrimmage. Today, hell have
more talented weapons at his disposal.
It wont take Bleskin long to get comortable.
Hell be joined in the backeld by a pair o
veterans: senior workhorse Cody Kirk, who has
rushed or two scores in each o the rst two
games, and speedy junior Shawn
Johnson, who burned Monmouth or
an early 90-yard touchdown run.
When he drops back, Bleskin is sure
to nd a host o open receivers andavorable matchups: 6-oot-2 Brian
Flotkoetter and Bleskins brother, 6-3
Tanner, should wreak havoc against
the Mavericks corners, which stand
5-8 and 5-9. Speedy senior Jon Ellis
and tight end Tiai Salanoa have proven to have
big-play capability, as well.
Mesa will bring the blitz oten and rom
a host o diferent positions, but it will have
trouble generating much pressure against the
Bobcats rapidly improving, stout ofensive
ront that has allowed just two sacks.
Will we learn much watching Bleskin shine
against a clearly overmatched oe? Its doubtul,
but it should be a un aternoon or everyonebut Russ Martin and his squad.
WHEN MONTANA STATE HAS THE BALL
By any measure, Colorado Mesas opener was
a success.
Juniors Jake Cimolino and Ricky Trinidad ran
wild last week, piling up more than 200 yards
on the ground while averaging 8 yards a carry.
Backup quarterback Kyle Duran, pressed
into duty ater just two series when
starter Aric Kaiser went down with
an MCL injury, acquitted himsel
quite well. The redshirt reshmancompleted 16-o-29 passes or 142
yards and aided the cause with a
rushing score. Couple their oensive
eiciency with a stout deense, and
the Mavericks were never tested in
a 34-0 rout their irst win in an
opener since 2007.
All told, they compiled 409 yards o total
oense.
This is a dierent week, however, and Mesas
opponent is not Menlo College.
With all due respect to the Oaks, the Maver-
icks leap rom opening with a Division III oe to
squaring o with one o the Football Cham-
pionship Subdivisions best will prove to be
diicult; even head coach Russ Martin admitted
the irst two games on the schedule are less
than ideal.
In order to stay in this game past the irst
quarter, Mesa will have to match scores with
the Bobcats. That will be a most diicult propo-
sition at best.
Montana States ront seven, a
question mark during preseason
camp, has emerged as a truestrength. Odin Coe and Brad Daly
have had little trouble providing
edge pressure in the irst two games
against Monmouth and Southern
Methodist, and linebacker Alex
Singleton has emerged as a star. The
Bobcats will miss Craig Ashworth in the middle
o the line, sure, but it will not matter today.
Cimolino and Trinidad will have a hard time
moving the chains, and Duran will be orced
to take on a heavy workload. An opportunistic
MSU secondary will be waiting, and it likely will
break this game open early.
Simply put, the overmatched Mavericks will
not be able to keep pace.
WHEN COLORADO MESA HAS THE BALL
While Montana States players and coaches
insist the squad prepares the same or every
opponent, todays contest
with Colorado Mesa comes
at an opportune time.
It provides the ideal
chance to break in a new
quarterback and should
help the Bobcats generate
some positive momentumin the wake o last weeks
trip to Dallas, which cost the
squad much more than an unblemished record.
Colorado Mesa walked out o Bozeman with
a 41-7 victory in 1988. The
Mavericks will be lucky i they
score seven points this time
around in ront o a raucous
crowd that will be substantially
larger than the 5,312 that
showed up or CMUs opener
the schools largest in a
decade.For the second time in three
weeks, the Cats will be heading
to Texas ater a resounding victory.45 7
EDGE
EDGE
THE BOTTOM LINE
8/22/2019 Gameday - Colorado Mesa
6/6
Gary Lusin, PT, MS, LAT, CSCS
License Athletic Trainer, Certified Strength
and Conditioning SpecialistMary Jo Lusin, PT
Geriatric Physical Therapist
Kevin Pancich, PT, DPT, SCS, LAT
Board Certified Sports Clinical Specialist,
Licensed Athletic Trainer
John Sveen, PT, MS, SCS, CSCS
Board Certified Sports Clinical Specialist,
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
John-Henry Anderson, PT, DPT,
SCS, CSCS
Board Certified Sports Clinical Specialist,
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Nancy Astrup, PT
Certified Vestibular Specialist
Meagan Binenstock, PT, DPTOrthopedic Physical Therapist
Carly Gebhardt, PT, DPT
Orthopedic Physical Therapist
Kelsey Wadsworth, PT, DPT
Orthopedic Physical Therapist
Jacque Hupp, PTA
Orthopedic Physical Therapist Assistant
APRS has proudly been serving the Gallatin Valley for 32 years. Our staff at APRS would like tooffer a sincere thank you for your continued business and support. We remain dedicated in our
pursuit of excellence in physical therapy treatment.
1532 Ellis St., Suite 201 587.4501
While we have expanded ourbusiness into the Westside ofBozeman to better serve ournew and existing patients, ouroutstanding office at 1532
Ellis Street continues to offerits same excellent physicaltherapy services.
Open House - Wednesday, September 18th5:30pm to 7:30pm
3805 Valley Commons Drive, Suite 9 404.1897
3805 Valley Commons Drive, Suite 9 404.1897
E6 | Saturday, September 14, 2013 bozeman daily chronicleBOBCATS GAME DAY
Colorado Mesa vs. No. 3 Montana State
1:05 p.m., Bobcat Stadium
Despite Bleskins glaring lack of game time,nobody within the program seems the slight-est bit concerned with what will transpirewith him at the helm.
Everything that Ive seen from Jakeleads that hes going to be fine on Saturday,Cramsey said at Tuesdays news conference.Hes shown it in practice, hes shown it inscrimmages, hes shown in the game when hegot in against Monmouth. All signs point topositive.
Added Ash, I think Jake will be tremen-dous. Hes very excited about it. Jake is veryconfident, and with good reason; hes atalented player. We brought him in here withthe idea of being our next quarterback. May-be it came a little sooner than we expected,but that day is now. Hes ready for it.
Much of the credit forBleskins preparedness hasbeen given to Cramsey.
Prukop said the first-yearoffensive coordinator ar-rived in Bozeman focusedon coaching each of thequarterbacks the same.Though there are differ-ences McGhee, and nowBleskin, take their practicereps running the first-teamoffense, while current No. 3Quinn McQueary runs thescout team Cramsey isconcentrated on equippingeach quarterback with theknowledge they need toplay.
Just to reiterate: We
really do take the backupquarterback preparingas the starter seriously. Iguarantee we all watch a lot of film, Prukopsaid. There wont be a change in the offensebecause weve all prepared like starters. Jakeis going to do a great job, Id do a great job if Istepped in and Quinn would do a great job ifhe had to step in.
Prukop estimated that he and the otherquarterbacks watch film five times a week You can easily rack up 10 to 15 hours, hesaid sometimes with Cramsey, sometimeswith teammates and other times alone.
Film study has been as important as anytool in Prukops maturation, the redshirtfreshman from Austin, Texas, said.
But for as many hours as he and the otherquarterbacks watch film, it has been Cram-seys guidance on how to watch film that hasfacilitated Prukops understanding of what istranspiring around him.
Cramseys instruction has been so success-ful that Ash said he is less worried about thetransition between McGhee and Bleskin thanhe is in preparing Prukop to be the No. 2 andMcQueary the No. 3.
The No. 3 guy doesnt get many reps, so(Prukop) hasnt had a lot yet and hes a year
younger, Ash said. So now the burden fallson him and he is one play away from beingthe starter. Thats a real focus for us this weekis to get Dakota ready.
What were going to do with Quinn isnow he will have to travel. He will be our No.3. We will absolutely try to keep his redshirt;were not going to play him if we dont haveto. But he has to be ready to be the No. 3.
Prukop wont see much change in his Sat-urday routine. Hell still be on the sidelines ina red hat, standing next to Cramsey signalingplays to Bleskin. Prukop will, however, faceone minor adjustment: Instead of learning
from the more experi-enced quarterbacks at hisdisposal, he will help in
McQuearys learning curve.While he and Bleskinworked under McGhee,Prukop said Bleskin taughthim to take mental repsas the play was unfolding.Hed signal the play in, lookat the defenses alignmentand deduce where McGheewould go with the ball.
Sometimes Jake and Iwill talk and be like, Oh,this is going to be open, itsgoing to be open, Prukopsaid. Or well kind of jokearound and be like, Hey, Ibet this is going to be open,
and then DeNarius willdrop back and fire off.Prukops daily prepa-
ration allowed him to understand whatMcGhee was trying to do, and before long,he said he was seeing things happen mo-ments before they took place.
And with Cramsey in charge of the of-fense, Prukop and the other quarterbacksfeel they are as prepared as they could be fortheir new roles.
If my job was to step in there and play,thered be no problem, Prukop said. If my
job is to do signals, theres going to be noproblem doing that. So whatever I can dobest to serve the team, thats my job andCramsey has prepared me to do that. Thatsa great thing about coach Cramsey and whathe brought to this program.
Kyle Sample can be reached at [email protected] or 582-2690. Follow himon Twitter @kylesample_bdc.
Ready/from E1
I think Jake will be
tremendous. Hes very
excited about it. Jake
is very confident, and
with good reason; hes
a talented player. We
brought him in here with
the idea of being our next
quarterback. Maybe it
came a little sooner than
we expected, but that day
is now. Hes ready for it.
Rob Ash, MSU head coachon new starter Jake Bleskin
AP
Jaxon Bailey paints the midfield logo at Kyle Field on Thursday in College Station, Texas.
Tide, Aggies a summer blockbusterHOUSTON (AP)
The last blockbuster of thesummer is set in Texas.
No. 1 Alabama vs. No.6 Texas A&M. JohnnyFootball trying to derailthe Crimson Tide dynasty.Who is the hero and whois the villain dependsupon your perspective.
And its a sequel.The Tide (1-0) and Ag-
gies (2-0) meet today inthe most anticipated game
of the season.Obviously this is anexciting game for ourteam, the players in ourprogram, Tide coachNick Saban said.
OK, so Saban isntmuch for hype, but theresno doubt this is huge.Looking online for alast-minute ticket to KyleField? Be prepared to shellout $700, give or take ahundred. A hotel room intown? Better have a planB. Most of the space wasbooked not long after theAggies upset Alabama29-24 last November inTuscaloosa. Texas A&Mwas expecting a crowdof around 50,000 at the
stadium for midnight yellpractice Friday night, theAggies unique version ofa pep rally.
Last years victory pro-pelled A&M quarterbackJohnny Manziel to theHeisman Trophy. For theTide, the loss was a detouron the way to a secondstraight national cham-pionship. Sabans team istrying to become the firstto win three straight titles.
The Aggies have champi-onship aspirations, too.In a couple of tuneup
games leading into Sat-urdays Southeastern Con-ference opener for bothteams, Manziel has lookedbetter than ever (six TDpasses and 520 yards),showing no signs that anoffseason in the spotlighthas had any adverse ef-fects on his game.
Here are a few things toknow about todays game:
HOLD THE LINE:Alabamas rebuilt of-fensive line was one ofthe few areas of concernfor the Tide coming intothe season. The Virginia
Tech game did nothing tosoothe the worry warts.The Tide didnt crack100 yards rushing againstHokies.
After Virginia Techeverybody is talkingabout being disappointedin us, guard AnthonySteen said, and weve gota chip on our shoulder ...and were ready to provesomething.
THE OTHER QB: AJMcCarron is no JohnnyFootball, but Alabamafans arent complain-ing. The senior has twonational championshiprings and is one of thebest quarterbacks in thecountry. One of his fewmistakes last season wasan interception nearA&Ms goal line late in thefourth quarter. The best-laid plans for Alabamaprobably dont involvegetting into a high-scoring game with A&Mssuper charged, up-tempooffense. But if it goes thatroute, McCarron and theTides myriad playmakersshould be up to the task.