Quick scrimmage overview before we get into some more detailed observations. The scrimmage lasted just under an hour. The offense ran about 60 plays and there were about 30 special teams snaps. All plays were run live, meaning full hitting, full contact, and everything else you'd see in a normal game except for hits on the quarterbacks. There were roughly 400-450 fans in attendance.
After a couple early drives, most of the regulars were relegated to the sidelines and the backups took the field the rest of the way. Head Coach Bobby Hauck said all week this scrimmage was mainly to get the freshman used to the speed and level of play they'll see this season. Many players who wont be seeing too much time on Saturday's this year got a lot of action today, but it was also a valuable day for the freshman who will be expected to contribute this year. Here are some observations:
- Very impressive opening drive by the first team offense. They marched 65 yards down the field in 8 plays, highlighted by a couple nice hookups between Cole Bergquist and Mike Ferriter and a big gainer on a screen pass to Chase Reynolds. Reynolds punched it in from the 3 yard-line with a nice second effort run up the middle after he looked to be stopped short of the goal line. Bergquist finished the day going 5-7 for 90 yards.
- Although Reynolds got the carries with the first team to open the scrimmage, he, Thomas Brooks-Fletcher, and Andrew Schmidt all got an even share of the workload. Reynolds carried 4 times for 6 yards, TBF had 4 carries for 17yards, and Schmidt had 4 rushes for 13 yards.
When Head Coach Bobby Hauck was asked afterwards if Reynolds starting out with the first team was at all significant, he said, "We're rolling those guys through so I'd have to say no. We're going to play all the guys, so flip a coin I guess on who got the first rep."
Tough to get a read on the running back situation. At this point none of the running backs has really stood out, at least in terms of rushing ability. Reynolds seems to be the most talented pass catcher of the group. He was the best of the bunch during the spring scrimmage in Polson and based on his performance on the opening drive today (he didn't do much after that, but to be fair he didn't have too many more opportunities), he looks to be a slight favorite to be the guy in there on the opening series against Cal Poly.
I don't know when it's time to be concerned about the running game, but it might be getting close to that time. Reynolds had a nice second effort on his TD run, but it seems like a lot of times when these guys get hit they go down immediately or get driven backwards instead of moving the pile like Lex Hilliard used to do. The Griz managed just 58 yards on the ground on 36 carries. Freshman Beau Donaldson (Missoula Big Sky HS) and junior Brandon Utterback had little success against the backup defense.
- The second team offense also moved the ball downfield on their first drive, but stalled at the 6 yard-line. Andrew Selle was in at QB and Schmidt took the snaps at RB. Wide receiver Tony Kazmierczak continued his strong camp with two catches on the drive. He finished with a team high 4 catches for 47 yards. Coach Hauck had to this to say about Kaz yesterday. "Tony has had maybe had the best fall camp of anyone and could be a major factor for us this season."
- Some of the biggest highlights came when the team moved to kickoff returns. Junior WR Marc Mariani took the first kickoff back 93 yards for a touchdown, showing patience waiting for his blocks to set up and then sprinting down the left sideline. On the third kickoff, freshman linebacker Alex Shaw (Spokane, WA) delivered the hit of the day, coming out of nowhere and destroying freshman WR Jabin Sambrano (Temecula, CA). Said Shaw afterwards, "I was running down the field and nobody blocked me." He is someone else that Coach Hauck has singled out as having a good camp and may be counted on to provide depth at linebacker. With more plays like that, he could play himself into the rotation.
- It was a strong day for junior defensive end Jace Palmer. He finished with two sacks and intercepted a Selle pass and took it 70 yards the other way for a TD. The entire defense tackled well and played stout run D all morning.
- On the last drive of the scrimmage, freshman QB Gerald Kemp (San Diego, CA) capped things off with a 1 yard TD run on 4th and goal. That TD and the Reynolds TD run on the opening drive were the only two offensive touchdowns of the day.
Click on the watch video link to see extended highlights of the scrimmage, and tune in to the 10 @ 10 at 10 PM tonight and the rest of the weekend for more scrimmage coverage.
~ Varun
varun@maxmontana.com
