Gatewood to Miss First 3 Games

CelticCat · Post by **CelticCat** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 3:42 pm

wbtfg wrote:If it makes anyone feel better, last year Gatewood only had 4 catches for 48 yards during the first 3 games.

No sir, I'm afraid it doesn't.

Post by **kmax** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 3:42 pm

Okay, here are my musings on this, doubt anybody here has a definite answers to these but I will throw it out there. Does Gatewood get to practice with the team during this time? Even if he is allowed to practice how much do you let him practice with Lulay and the 1's knowing he isn't playing in the game? Both of which lead to my biggest question/concern, how much is this going to mess with the chemistry that Lulay/Gatewood built late last season and I am sure continued to build in spring and fall camps?

CatFamily · Post by **CatFamily** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 3:43 pm

Not good news at all... But HEY, let's not give up the ship and panic... we do have a lot talent at the WR... and in the long run... speaking of the conference season... this may be very helpful to the WR development and depth. Yeah.... a receiver of Gatewoods caliber hurts (and I really hope for him and the team something will happen to get him back sooner)... but... with Lulay at the helm I believe more than one receiver will step it up and be successful.

CatFamily · Post by **CatFamily** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 3:46 pm

Ditto El Gato....

El_Gato · Post by **El_Gato** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 3:47 pm

My answer, kmax? Very little. These 2 guys had little or no "chemistry" at the beginning of last year and we all know they developed into a potent combo by season's end. I don't know if he can practice but if not, I suspect there will be a little "extracurricular" throwing between them anyway...

I think these 2 will be fine upon Rick's return and the passing game will be even better as a couple other guys should emerge in games 1-3.

jagur1 · Post by **jagur1** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 3:48 pm

To answer catfamily look at above statment by WBTFG. Remember how long it took Lulay and the Wideouts to get together last year and by that time you already had 2 loses and couldn't lose anymore.

CelticCat · Post by **CelticCat** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 3:49 pm

I have no doubt this will make us stronger in the long run, but if we got 0-3 in OOC.... then our backs are to the wall, as usual.

GOKATS · Post by **GOKATS** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 3:56 pm

El_Gato wrote:My answer, kmax? Very little. These 2 guys had little or no "chemistry" at the beginning of last year and we all know they developed into a potent combo by season's end. I don't know if he can practice but if not, I suspect there will be a little "extracurricular" throwing between them anyway...

I think these 2 will be fine upon Rick's return and the passing game will be even better as a couple other guys should emerge in games 1-3.

I agree, good chance for someone else to step up (Miller, Roosevelt, Brown, etc.). My guess is Miller will be moved to slot, if the appeal fails and Gatewood is indeed out 3 games, but I'm no coach. Whoever steps in will get the job done.

El_Gato · Post by **El_Gato** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 3:58 pm

Gosh! You frickin' IDIOTS! (my Napoleon Dynamite impression)

I can't believe some of the gloom & doom already. Some of you mean to tell me you think losing ONE guy offensively suddenly makes it more likely we'll lose all 3 games in his absence? Haven't we been talking for nearly 9 months about the DEPTH this offense has, ESPECIALLY at receiver?

The loss of RG WILL NOT cost us a ballgame. Any games we lose in the first 3 weeks, we would've lost with him in the lineup as well. If you look at it any other way than that, you'd better pray we don't lose a single offensive player to injury...

I, for one, have not viewed this offense as dependent on any 1 guy, not even #14 (although that would obviously have a bigger impact). Will losing Rick for the first 3 games affect our gameplan? I doubt it. Will it affect our performance? I don't think so because I'm confident that, as we speak, several of the other WR's are licking their chops at the prospect of more playing time during his absence & earning more PT when Rick returns.

Have faith, Bobcats; this changes nothing...

Post by **rtb** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 4:05 pm

I agree that losing one guy isn't that bad. First of all we are BOBCAT fans so we should be used to having our backs against the wall and having crappy things happen right when you don't need them.

But what is our biggest strength this year? Depth at the skills positions. One WR being out a couple games won't be that big of deal. We have tons of talent at wideout.

KEEP THE FAITH!!

suckitgriz · Post by **suckitgriz** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 4:05 pm

Let's remeber JD and Mike Bass too, and the best O-line in the BSC. I think we are going to see a pretty balanced attack. This may be the opportunity we need to have JD primed come November.

CelticCat · Post by **CelticCat** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 4:09 pm

I was simply saying an 0-3 start would be bad, I don't think it will happen though. But our new WRs look awesome in practice/scrim, but they haven't played a down for us yet. They are unproven, but I really think the improvement of our running game this year will more than make up for the loss of Greatwood, I think we can still go 2-1, but you'd be kidding yourselves if you said the loss of our #1 receiver doesn't hurt just a little.

GOKATS · Post by **GOKATS** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 4:10 pm

CelticCat wrote:I have no doubt this will make us stronger in the long run, but if we got 0-3 in OOC.... then our backs are to the wall, as usual.

If there is a bright side, I don't think most of us expect a win against OSU with or without Gatewood. So we will get some other receiver(s) game time. At least we will have some experience going into the 2nd and 3rd games, which we have a shot to win. I don't think we'll go 0-3 OOC, hopefully 2-1, maybe 1-2.

Post by **kmax** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 4:11 pm

I don't think I was being doom and gloom with my questions as they were seriously my wonderings about this situation and other's thoughts on them.

I agree that we have alot of depth at WR and should be able to adjust. I tend to agree that this shouldn't fall into the category of "costing us games". My two concerns that somewhat go along with my thoughts are:

1. The lateness of this. I am sure some amount of game planning has already gone on and that it included Gatewood. Has one of the other WR's had enough reps with the 1's to immediately step in and produce or will it take a week or so?

2. When Gatewood comes back, is there a readjustment period for him and Lulay during the NDSU game.

All in all I tend to fall more on Gato's line of thinking, especially with a veteran leader like Lulay tossing the ball, that any of our number of WR's will step up and we will miss little with Gatewood out. But I still wonder about the effects of this and just really don't care for the bad feeling the timing of this causes.

BozoneCat · Post by **BozoneCat** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 4:13 pm

El_Gato wrote:Gosh! You frickin' IDIOTS! (my Napoleon Dynamite impression)

I can't believe some of the gloom & doom already. Some of you mean to tell me you think losing ONE guy offensively suddenly makes it more likely we'll lose all 3 games in his absence? Haven't we been talking for nearly 9 months about the DEPTH this offense has, ESPECIALLY at receiver?

The loss of RG WILL NOT cost us a ballgame. Any games we lose in the first 3 weeks, we would've lost with him in the lineup as well. If you look at it any other way than that, you'd better pray we don't lose a single offensive player to injury...

I, for one, have not viewed this offense as dependent on any 1 guy, not even #14 (although that would obviously have a bigger impact). Will losing Rick for the first 3 games affect our gameplan? I doubt it. Will it affect our performance? I don't think so because I'm confident that, as we speak, several of the other WR's are licking their chops at the prospect of more playing time during his absence & earning more PT when Rick returns.

Have faith, Bobcats; this changes nothing...

I don't have the mentality of "gloom and doom" - in fact, I think it could be a great opportunity for Mike Brown or Tyler Lulay or Toby Rundle to show what they can do. I am confident in any or all of those guys.

It just sucks, though, plain and simple.

JahGriz · Post by **JahGriz** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 4:16 pm

Man, I'm with EG on this. It's not as if the cats don't have other talented WR's, or RB's to help out. This is one guy, one very good guy, but one player. Sad as it is, you will have others lost due to injury before all is said and done, the test is having enough depth and resolve to overcome it.
This isht deal though, and not the players fault. They should not be expected to know all of these rules. Now if it was an issue with a grade at MSU, maybe it would be his fault. But someone cleared him to play last year when they shouldn't have. So he and the cats are having ot pay the price now.
Could be a blessing in disguise, Gatewood will stay healthy, and other players will get more game time. He'll be back for Big Sky games.
Hey, maybe you can hold him out of the last 3 games instead.

Bozgriz · Post by **Bozgriz** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 4:23 pm

At least the error was caught now and not after he had already played 3 games...

FlatheadLakeCat · Post by **FlatheadLakeCat** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 5:09 pm

These are exactly the things that happen to all teams, only its usually an injury. PLAYERS MISS GAMES.

What I have been trying to say is we are prepared for this. We have guys behind Gatewood that are capable of starting. Brown, Rundle, Roosevelt, even Lee. Hell, Roosevelt used to be a starter.

It would be nice to have him for the first three games, but it will be just as nice to see him back against NDSU fresh.

Lulay to Gatewood will not miss a beat. They have game-speed chemistry.

Cat Grad · Post by **Cat Grad** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 5:16 pm

Oh, all right. I'll point out that a converted qb scored with 1:26 against EWU to give us a seven point lead instead of allowing the clock to run down to almost nothing, then dropped the tying touchdown

Can't help but think we may have a Hawaii or WAZZU transfer that may have a little better grasp of clock management and ball control

I think we'll be fine as long as we have a certain redhead in control.

wbtfg · Post by **wbtfg** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 10:00 pm

MSU football: Gatewood ineligible for three games

By TIM DUMAS, Chronicle Sports Writer

Rick Gatewood, Montana State's leading receiver last year, has been ruled ineligible for the first three games of this season, athletic director Peter Fields announced on Monday.

The ruling came after a routine internal audit this summer showed an error in the certification of his eligibility for the 2004 season.

The university declared Gatewood ineligible upon discovering the error and notified the NCAA, which informed the school last week that Gatewood's eligibility will be restored following MSU's third game of the season, a Sept. 17 contest at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo.

The Bobcats host North Dakota State the following weekend.

Fields said MSU will appeal the decision.

"It's a complicated issue," Fields said. "We just want to make sure that everybody has looked at all the details."

Gatewood was originally certified by the NCAA as being eligible to play for last season, but since the error wasn't discovered until this past April, it was too late for the receiver to attempt to restore his eligibility.

"Had we known, Rick would have been able to go to summer school," MSU coach Mike Kramer said.

Kramer also noted that the school could pick which three games Gatewood would sit out.

"To get it over with, at the start of the season when we're in non-conference, is the best thing to do," Kramer said.

Gatewood can still practice with the team and will be traveling to Stillwater, Okla., this weekend when the Bobcats begin the season against Oklahoma State.

Chaz Guinn will start in Gatewood's spot at slot (inside) receiver. Guinn's normal position is X (outside) receiver. Washington State transfer Jevon Miller will start at X while Tramaine Murray, another WSU transfer, is the starter on the other side at Z.

"We'll still start three seniors," Kramer said.

Gatewood finished last season fourth in the Big Sky Conference with 995 receiving yards. His 6.4 receptions per game were second in the conference.

In the season finale against Montana, Gatewood caught a school-record - and conference high - 235 yards' worth of passes. He was later named as one of three newcomers of the year by the Big Sky.

'Cat scratches

Donovan Woods, who played in all 12 games as a freshman last season, will start at quarterback for Oklahoma State against MSU on Saturday. Woods threw for 1,628 yards and 13 touchdowns - against only five interceptions - in 2004 as the Cowboys (7-5) earned a spot in the Alamo Bowl, losing to Ohio State, 33-7. First-year head coach Mike Gundy said that redshirt freshman Bobby Reid will also play in the game ...

Mike Kramer and some of MSU's players are starting weekly appearances around town and on the radio this week. It all begins with today's Coaches Corner at the Bozeman Holiday Inn. The show is a discussion of MSU's upcoming game and runs every Tuesday, beginning at 10 a.m.

On Wednesday at 6 p.m., Kramer appears on The

Bobcast, a radio magazine show broadcast live from Old Chicago on North 19th. This week's guests with host Mark Martello include Kramer Bobcat quarterback Travis Lulay and linebacker Mac Mollohan.

Kramer will also be making a number of regular radio appearances throughout the season.

He appears on KJJR-AM on Monday mornings just after 7 a.m., on The Sports Nuts with Terry Michaels, Dean Alexander and Dave Visscher each Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. on 1090 KBOZ-AM in Bozeman, and on KSEN-AM in Shelby with Jim Sargent.