It was good to see the guys back on the field and take in the sights and sounds of spring camp! Yesterday I caught a little over an hour, there were 15 or so fans in the stands, a few us QB club guys milling around, a few former players, and quite a bit of press.
Amie summed up what's basically lead up to this point pretty well, here's her article if you've not seen it: http://406mtsports.com/college/big-sky-conference/university-of-montana/bobby-hauck-orchestrates-montana-grizzlies-first-spring-practice/article_ad3d762c-7322-5acc-8031-2fdc186a6c4a.html
I'll be probably catching 1 to 2 practices per week, as my schedule allows, but no videos, no live tweets, nothing like that - at the request of the staff and athletic department.
Yesterday was no pads, they rotated guys all over the place, and it was really tough to generally get a "read" on where things are when it comes to offense, defense, special teams, and whatnot. Having been a QB Club guy for a little while now I've taken in my share of Hauck, Pflugrad, Delaney, and Stitt practices, and now it's come full circle as Hauck is back and running things in a very similar fashion to the way he used to the first time he was here.
It's a totally different spring camp than it's been in quite some time. For Bobby a player MUST run on and off the field at all times. Even yesterday in no pads if a linebacker or any defender let up just a little running down a play he got an earful. Receivers caught hell for drops (and there were some of those). There were two fumbles, one was a scoop and score, and the guys that fumbled paid the price, having to run around the field with a ball tucked tight to remind them the importance of ball security.
At one point a player on offense jogged off the field when the 1st and 2nd teams were rotating. Bobby stopped practice, brought the guy back out, and made the whole offense do up-downs. No one would be safe from lazy or half-assed attempts. Additionally praise came heavy when good results happened. As I see it, no player is viewed as being special or a unique asset at this point, which is going to really test a few guys I'd venture.
The O-line is missing some guys, the defense is testing some different looks, at this moment it seems the guys that had the best efforts in winter conditioning are being rewarded with 1st and 2nd team snaps. Once the pads come on (Friday) and as the camp grind really gets rolling we'll see how things shake out. It's a lot more tense and raw in there. The defense was rowdy as hell, but per Amie's article I think the coaches recognize that right now it's a little manufactured. They want this team to get to that point on their own, without having to be encouraged by their coaches to do so.
This coaching staff as a whole is very vocal, and much like Bobby's prior staffs he's got some guys there that chew everyones ass when they're mad and some other guys that are there to build guys back up and support them when good things happen. It's going to be a fascinating spring camp, one unlike anything these players have experienced at Montana, while it was just day 1 I liked how I saw them responding.
Amie summed up what's basically lead up to this point pretty well, here's her article if you've not seen it: http://406mtsports.com/college/big-sky-conference/university-of-montana/bobby-hauck-orchestrates-montana-grizzlies-first-spring-practice/article_ad3d762c-7322-5acc-8031-2fdc186a6c4a.html
I'll be probably catching 1 to 2 practices per week, as my schedule allows, but no videos, no live tweets, nothing like that - at the request of the staff and athletic department.
Yesterday was no pads, they rotated guys all over the place, and it was really tough to generally get a "read" on where things are when it comes to offense, defense, special teams, and whatnot. Having been a QB Club guy for a little while now I've taken in my share of Hauck, Pflugrad, Delaney, and Stitt practices, and now it's come full circle as Hauck is back and running things in a very similar fashion to the way he used to the first time he was here.
It's a totally different spring camp than it's been in quite some time. For Bobby a player MUST run on and off the field at all times. Even yesterday in no pads if a linebacker or any defender let up just a little running down a play he got an earful. Receivers caught hell for drops (and there were some of those). There were two fumbles, one was a scoop and score, and the guys that fumbled paid the price, having to run around the field with a ball tucked tight to remind them the importance of ball security.
At one point a player on offense jogged off the field when the 1st and 2nd teams were rotating. Bobby stopped practice, brought the guy back out, and made the whole offense do up-downs. No one would be safe from lazy or half-assed attempts. Additionally praise came heavy when good results happened. As I see it, no player is viewed as being special or a unique asset at this point, which is going to really test a few guys I'd venture.
The O-line is missing some guys, the defense is testing some different looks, at this moment it seems the guys that had the best efforts in winter conditioning are being rewarded with 1st and 2nd team snaps. Once the pads come on (Friday) and as the camp grind really gets rolling we'll see how things shake out. It's a lot more tense and raw in there. The defense was rowdy as hell, but per Amie's article I think the coaches recognize that right now it's a little manufactured. They want this team to get to that point on their own, without having to be encouraged by their coaches to do so.
This coaching staff as a whole is very vocal, and much like Bobby's prior staffs he's got some guys there that chew everyones ass when they're mad and some other guys that are there to build guys back up and support them when good things happen. It's going to be a fascinating spring camp, one unlike anything these players have experienced at Montana, while it was just day 1 I liked how I saw them responding.
