Montana blogger's take on the Yotes:South Dakota Coyotes Scouting Report
by BWahlberg » Fri Aug 24, 2012 6:37 pm
Whatever this early fall crud is that's going around is no fun, I was feeling better yesterday and it came back and hit me good today. I've had some time though to get digging on our first opponent. It seems wild to think that in a week from now it'll be the night before our home opener!
Last year's team went 6-5 on the season and had some fairly close losses losing their opener against Air Force by just 17, losing to North Dakota who finished 7-3 on the season by just 1, and losing to Cal Poly by just 3. Of course they had some big wins as well, beating then defending national champs EWU and beating Southern Utah by 5. The USD media indicates that the 2012 team returns just 4 starters on offense and 6 on defense. Comparatively the UM returns 3 starters on defense (Tripp, JP, Tully) and I think 6 on offense (Kistler, Poehls, Oiland, Nguyen, Gratton, Hardy).
Of course I've got nothing to recap on them in terms of games/system/etc - I might add to this but it's even tough to find write-ups on this team. Here's some general snippets though of what to expect and players to watch:
#11 Tyler Starr - 6-5 236 pound linebacker who had 14 sacks last season and 19 TFL to finish the year. Starr was named to the Missouri Valley Conference pre-season team and 3rd team all-American FCS. Joe Glenn compared him to NFL linebacker Aaron Smith that he coached at UNC.
#69 Tim Ross - The 6-2, 285 pound center is an honorable mention MVC pick and the only O-line player with returning experience.
#9 Aaron Swift - At 5-8, 170 he's undersized as a safety but has 2 years of starting experience and was 4th on the team in tackles last year with 54, he had 2 forced fumbles, and tied for 3rd best with 5 pass break ups.
#7 Chris Frierson - A 6-1 corner, started last year, had 36 tackles, 1 int, and 5 PBU's.
#16 Josh Vander Maten - the starting QB. Josh is 6-2, 205 and a red-shirt sophomore. He contributed in 7 games last year and his season stat line was 22-38, 221 yards, 3 TDs, 0 ints. He also had 94 rushing yards and 1 TD. He was scout team player of the year 2 years ago and in high school started all four years in prep. He's a bit of a runner as well, per his prior stats. Played point guard as well in high school.
#17 Will Powell - Starting and most experienced WR. Powell was the team leader in receptions (42), yards (763), and TDs (5) last year. He's their only experienced threat that returns on offense. He accounted for nearly 40% of the USD passing game last year.
#83 Austin Koch - a 6-1 junior Austin has been getting props in fall camp as the other starting #1 WR, he had no stats from last year though.
#32 Marcus Sims - The split-starting running back Sims didn't start a single game last year but lead the team in rushing with 660 yards and 4 TDs, he added 53 receiving yards as well.
#5 Jasper Sanders - Will also get carries, also 5-10, 200 like Sims he's a CC transfer where he was averaging nearly 80 yards per game there.
#43 Darius Hogans - 4th on the team with 59 tackles, a returning linebacker, 6-1, 215 pounds.
General Observations:
- USD, much like Montana, has a ton of new guys in the trenches, they return just 1 starter on the Oline and no starters on the Dline as best I can tell. Montana returns 3 starters on the Oline and no starters on the Dline.
- Per press suggestions it appears that USD's probable starting Oline will average about 6-5 and 294 pounds. Compare that to the Griz Oline which is pegged to be at 6-6 and 308 pounds.
- An article I read about the USD o-line suggests they were having a lot of issues one the defense started throwing blitzes at them just a few weeks back.
- Joe Glenn was quoted saying he wants to use his QB's mobility. I don't expect a spread like we have but we will see some zone-read stuff where Vander Maten keeps the ball and runs with it.
- Additionally it sounds like the LB Starr is their version of Jordan Tripp, they talk about playing him all over. I'm not sure but I wonder if USD will use a 3-4 defense, based on the articles I read.
- The USD coaching staff has some familiar names. Obviously there's head coach Joe Glenn, there's also linebackers coach Adam Breske (son of Mike Breske). Additionally DC Jason Petrino is a Carroll alum and cousin of Bobby Petrino. Shane VanDiest, grad assistant, former Carroll safety.
- Joe Glenn retained the USD OC (Beschorner) who is in his 4th year in that spot. Assuming there won't be a major shake up in the system then we can look at last year's team for a suggestion of what they'll run. If that's the case look for a team that goes for a rush-leaning attack which uses the rush to set up the pass. Last year's team had 444 rushes on the season and 245 pass attempts. It averaged about 150 rushing yards per game and 180 passing yards per game. It was a pretty sound group committing just about 1 turnover per game. So expect disciplined football that will try to smash the ball first.
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Keys to winning the game
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It's the opening game of the season against a somewhat unknown opponent, here's the best I can put forth;
1. Keep it simple for now. There'll be lots of jitters on both sides of the ball and I expect both coaching staffs will be working to cut out as many errors as possible. With both teams breaking in new QBs but having experienced running backs I'd expect a lot of early running plays. As the game goes on and as McKinney shows increased comfort "in-game" then start to expand the playbook.
2. Blitz. Test that OL out, that could help put pressure on their QB and fluster them.
3. Keep an eye on Starr. In one article he talked about making sure the QB knew when he was blitzing... ok. Make sure we've got a TE chipping him and Moore or Counts or whoever ready to block him when needed. Don't let this guy get rolling.
4. I'm thinking some smash-mouth football is in order on Saturday to test out that USD d-line and see what they're made of. Grind them out and get them worn out by the 3rd qtr.
5. Stay safe in the passing game. Per what I read USD's secondary returns 3 starters. While these guys look a little undersized in some positions they're experienced. Don't go right after them.
6. Cash-in when in the red-zone. USD holds one distinct advantage and that's in the kicking department, they've got a senior kicker who is a pretty steady kicker. If this game comes down to the better kicker they'll have to like their chances. Of course the Griz can remove that option by making sure to not turn this game into a low-scoring kicking affair, but rather getting in the endzone rather than settling for 3 points.
7. Win the turnover battle. A tall order against a team whose history suggests they don't turn it over. I'm carrying this over from last year, every game where the Griz won the turnover battle they were victorious.
8. Don't get beat deep. Our safeties and young corners showed real good discipline this fall camp, need to keep it up against a team that's going to try to get them to creep in.
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Overall I do see a Griz win in this first game, although it'll probably be close well into the 4th qtr. Both teams are dealing with a lot of coaching turnover and losses due to graduation. The Griz should be bolstered by the home crowd as well as more experienced depth in many positions. As long as Trent's confidence isn't crushed (which I don't see how it could be) and the Griz OL wins in the trenches, I think the Griz could come out with a win along the lines of 31-17.Griz practice and news updates
twitter.com/BwahlbergBrint Wahlberg - Realtor, Windermere Real Estate
The egriz poster formerly known as Re/maxGriz
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