Garrett Becker
Football Bill Lamberty
Four newcomers anchor MSU's kicking game entering 2021
BOZEMAN, Montana (August 12, 2021) – On a special day on the college football calendar – the first day of full pads – Montana State's specialists entered a new phase of preseason camp.
"You can say we eased into it," Bobcat coach Brent Vigen said of his team's approach to the workload of his team's kicking specialists, and that approach isn't accidental. Montana State's punter, kicker and long snapper will make their debuts in the Blue and Gold in 2021.
"There wasn't heavy charting, and we wanted to get our operation time down, but today we're charting," Vigen said regarding how his program quantifies the competition between kickers Blake Glessner and Luke Pawlak. "It comes down to numbers."
Vigen said the time it takes from snap to kick, and the distance and placement of punts, place kicks and kickoffs, are tracked for each boot from now until the week of MSU's season opener at Wyoming.
"It's operation time, that's a piece of it," Vigen said. "It's ultimately about who gets the ball between the uprights. (Thursday) was the first day of a lot of days when those numbers are going to matter. Certainly distance can come into play, who's going to (have the) range, but then who's going to have the accuracy. You could potentially use two guys (one for placements, one for kickoffs, or one for shorter kicks and one for longer kicks), but hopefully we'll settle on one."
During the spring, Pawlak – who redshirted at Kent State in 2019 before transferring to MSU in 2020 – was considered the more accurate and consistent kicker in placements, while Glessner was seen to have a stronger leg.
That isn't necessarily still the case, Vigen said. "Coming out of spring that was the case, but a few days in they've both improved on the perceived dieficiency from the spring. Luke has shown better pop and Blake's been more consistent. To this point it's been relatively even, honestly, whether you're talking accuracy or length."
Bryce Leighton is the team's punter entering the season. He was among the top five prep punters in 2019, and was one of MSU's highest-ranked recruits in history. "Bryce has a big leg and he's mobile enough to do the things from a punt perspective that Jared was able to do," Vigen said. "I think he's a guy that, maybe not immediately, can be a game changer from a field position perspective, his ability to turn the ball over (mid-flight). He's diligent."
Like Glessner and Leighton, long snapper Tommy Sullivan came to MSU in the summer of 2020 as a highly-rated prep specialist. "We feel good about where Tommy Sullivan is right now," Vigen said, "but we need to develop backups, and I say backups plural."
Sophomore linebacker Jory Choate, redshirt freshman linebacker Cooper Thomas, and redshirt freshman offensive lineman Holden Sampson have each taken up long snapping in case of emergency. "Jory's been working at it (since the spring), Cooper Thomas, and Holden Sampson's been doing some short snapping. We'll keep working those guys in because you just never know. The last thing you want is to get into a game and not have anyone to snap it back there."
Montana State's specialists in 2021 may have no varsity experience, but Vigen said his confidence is well-founded. "They're all young," he said, "but their approach is what you like."
#GoCatsGo
"You can say we eased into it," Bobcat coach Brent Vigen said of his team's approach to the workload of his team's kicking specialists, and that approach isn't accidental. Montana State's punter, kicker and long snapper will make their debuts in the Blue and Gold in 2021.
"There wasn't heavy charting, and we wanted to get our operation time down, but today we're charting," Vigen said regarding how his program quantifies the competition between kickers Blake Glessner and Luke Pawlak. "It comes down to numbers."
Vigen said the time it takes from snap to kick, and the distance and placement of punts, place kicks and kickoffs, are tracked for each boot from now until the week of MSU's season opener at Wyoming.
"It's operation time, that's a piece of it," Vigen said. "It's ultimately about who gets the ball between the uprights. (Thursday) was the first day of a lot of days when those numbers are going to matter. Certainly distance can come into play, who's going to (have the) range, but then who's going to have the accuracy. You could potentially use two guys (one for placements, one for kickoffs, or one for shorter kicks and one for longer kicks), but hopefully we'll settle on one."
During the spring, Pawlak – who redshirted at Kent State in 2019 before transferring to MSU in 2020 – was considered the more accurate and consistent kicker in placements, while Glessner was seen to have a stronger leg.
That isn't necessarily still the case, Vigen said. "Coming out of spring that was the case, but a few days in they've both improved on the perceived dieficiency from the spring. Luke has shown better pop and Blake's been more consistent. To this point it's been relatively even, honestly, whether you're talking accuracy or length."
Bryce Leighton is the team's punter entering the season. He was among the top five prep punters in 2019, and was one of MSU's highest-ranked recruits in history. "Bryce has a big leg and he's mobile enough to do the things from a punt perspective that Jared was able to do," Vigen said. "I think he's a guy that, maybe not immediately, can be a game changer from a field position perspective, his ability to turn the ball over (mid-flight). He's diligent."
Like Glessner and Leighton, long snapper Tommy Sullivan came to MSU in the summer of 2020 as a highly-rated prep specialist. "We feel good about where Tommy Sullivan is right now," Vigen said, "but we need to develop backups, and I say backups plural."
Sophomore linebacker Jory Choate, redshirt freshman linebacker Cooper Thomas, and redshirt freshman offensive lineman Holden Sampson have each taken up long snapping in case of emergency. "Jory's been working at it (since the spring), Cooper Thomas, and Holden Sampson's been doing some short snapping. We'll keep working those guys in because you just never know. The last thing you want is to get into a game and not have anyone to snap it back there."
Montana State's specialists in 2021 may have no varsity experience, but Vigen said his confidence is well-founded. "They're all young," he said, "but their approach is what you like."
#GoCatsGo
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Preparation Begins Ramping Up for Bobcat Specialists - Bobcats Athletics
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