Spring Ball

94VegasCat · Post by **94VegasCat** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 5:33 pm

I hope that spring ball is covered in a positive nature by the bd comical. One thing I respect about the missoulian, is that they really cover their griz well. There is always something in the paper about them. I think that if the comical covered the CATS as well as the missoulian covers the griz, there may even be more fan support for the boys in blue.

BozoneCat · Post by **BozoneCat** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 6:02 pm

Hey 94Vegas, good (and bad

) to see you are alive and kicking in Missoula. Kramer does come to Missoula every now and again. If I remember correctly, he came last spring and the Bobcat Boosters had a big shindig at the Depot (too bad Wayne Hogan wasn't covering the bar tab). I had to miss because I had a test the next morning, but I don't think anything will keep me away this year, assuming it happens again. If and when, I'll get in touch and we can buy each other a beer or five. If you do/did drive to Helena, travel safely - the roads over the mountains haven't been kind this week.

For any and all who are young and may feel a little "odd" going to any of these functions, I'm going to offer a little advice from someone in the same boat. Go! These things are fun, you get to meet a lot of great people, who happen to be huge Bobcat fans. They also tend to have a little money, and it is a great place to make connections and network. I'll tell you one thing - if it came down to choosing to do business with someone I know is a big Bobcat booster versus someone who isn't (or even worse, a griz), and assuming everything else were equal, I would choose the Bobcat booster. I would venture to guess that everyone else on here would say the exact same thing. These things are a great way to begin getting yourself onto the "inside" of Bobcat Athletics, and it will be great for when you DO have some money a few years down the road, you will be firmly entrenched within the Athletic Dept. and may even get the opportunity to share some weighty input on the future of Bobcat Athletics (such as stadium expansion, conference decisions, etc.). Like I said, suck it up and just GO! Don't hide in a corner, buy some beers and introduce yourself, and you will have a great time.

BobcatDad · Post by **BobcatDad** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 7:57 pm

Talked to my kid a little while ago. The Fb team have been doing morning and afternoon running (conditioning). I guess to work those extra beers off from spring break. Pads go on thursday and they will even be practicing Sat. Heard that a starter twisted his knee during running drills. Don't know who it is, so I apologize in advance if I am spreading rumors. Will let you know if I find out who it was.

catatac · Post by **catatac** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 11:25 am

CelticCat wrote:I think I'll go, though I might feel weird... being a 21 year old I'm sure I'll look young in there.

I'll bring a notepad and give a little report on what the krazy man says.

What did you find out at the meeting?

CelticCat · Post by **CelticCat** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 11:52 am

catatac wrote:
CelticCat wrote:I think I'll go, though I might feel weird... being a 21 year old I'm sure I'll look young in there.

I'll bring a notepad and give a little report on what the krazy man says.
What did you find out at the meeting?

I waited a half an hour and he hadn't started talking yet. Everyone was just gabbing up a frenzy, while I was a little to shy to go up and introduce myself to anyone. I gave it a half an hour, Kramer was still chatting with a small group, so I just left. Ask Hellcat, I think he went.

catatac · Post by **catatac** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 12:43 pm

CelticCat wrote:
catatac wrote:
CelticCat wrote:I think I'll go, though I might feel weird... being a 21 year old I'm sure I'll look young in there.

I'll bring a notepad and give a little report on what the krazy man says.
What did you find out at the meeting?
I waited a half an hour and he hadn't started talking yet. Everyone was just gabbing up a frenzy, while I was a little to shy to go up and introduce myself to anyone. I gave it a half an hour, Kramer was still chatting with a small group, so I just left. Ask Hellcat, I think he went.

No Biggie - yes HellCat did a good summary - was just seeing if you had anything to add. Thanks

Helcat72 · Post by **Helcat72** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 1:13 pm

What do you want to know? He talked about almost everything to do with the team.

Like how Cris Kolone got here. He and the Arizona coaches got into some bad karma and he wanted out (after bieng originaly recruited by USC, Oregon, A state UCLA and others). Stoops wouldn't release him. Kramer met with Stoops who agreed to release him to MSU only. Probably to keep him from going to a PAC 10 school.

Also Ricky Gatewood played the whole year last year with a separated shoulder...REALLY separated. They shot him up before every game. With the games he had receiving with a searation, I can hardly wait to see him with a healthy one. He was operated on this winter and the whole AC joint had to be held together with a twist tie!

94VegasCat · Post by **94VegasCat** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 2:39 pm

Helcat72 wrote:What do you want to know? He talked about almost everything to do with the team.

Like how Cris Kolone got here. He and the Arizona coaches got into some bad karma and he wanted out (after bieng originaly recruited by USC, Oregon, A state UCLA and others). Stoops wouldn't release him. Kramer met with Stoops who agreed to release him to MSU only. Probably to keep him from going to a PAC 10 school.

Also Ricky Gatewood played the whole year last year with a separated shoulder...REALLY separated. They shot him up before every game. With the games he had receiving with a searation, I can hardly wait to see him with a healthy one. He was operated on this winter and the whole AC joint had to be held together with a twist tie!

MORE MORE MORE MORE. Whatever you can remember........spew it out. I am dying for info on the FB team.

Let's get the season started early.

catatac · Post by **catatac** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 3:22 pm

Ditto. Thanks for the info Hellcat. Other topics I've been curious about - probably need Spring ball to actually START before answering some of these but maybe he touched on some of them:

Backup\2006 QB status?
Tyler Lulay
How did J.D. winter?
All the secondary guys healthy going into Spring Ball?
Return men?
Kickers?

Lastly - Did he say who he thought the #1 team in the Sky would be at the start or end of the season?

Helcat72 · Post by **Helcat72** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 3:40 pm

These were his impressions as of the beginning of spring ball:

He said there would be no changes in the offensive line. that means Bolton will start at left tackle. Peder Jensen, DeCock and Louis Saucedo were the only three he talked about being the "backups". He felt that they had the best offensive line last year that he's had there so there's no reason to break them up. Saucedo is 6-51/2 331! The other linemen were mentioned as "working hard to get playing time".

He wants to run the ball. He will hope to sign another 1-A running back later this spring or early summer. He already has one in mind. somebody asked about Mike Bass. He said he couldn't comment!

He said Bolton, Fischer and a JC transfer will handle the kicking. It's wide open, but he hopes Bolton will be at least be the type of kicker that Cook was two years ago...just dependable inside the 25.

He said that Rosevelt will handle the kickoff returns and either Eddie Smith or the new corner from New Mexico will handle punts.

He said that Tyler Lulay as well as the other redshirts will earn their stripes in spring ball. This is the time where they will show what they can do and serve notice that they might get playing time in the fall.

iaafan · Post by **iaafan** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 3:45 pm

I didn't go, but heard that MSU is eyeing a drop down QB or what Kramer was leading to believe was the best HS qb in Montana. He didn't say the name, but I'd assume that to be the Selle kid from West.

Apparently Kramer had some video gadget with a bunch of highlights and he was raving about Gatewood and how tough he is and what his background is.

He said the o-line is the best ever with one of the linemen from the 70s (Daly?) sitting right there. Said the team is healthy, but knocked on wood after all the injuries last year.

He isn't going to play any freshmen this year, the one cb that was moved from safety (from Florida) he thinks will be real good back at safety. He thinks the team has great depth all around, esp LB, OL, TE. They are going 3-4 with Lowe dropping back to OLB and running two TEs and not passing so much.

Thinks last November was an aberation, hoped you enjoyed the passes to the TE cuz that's not happening anymore.

Davis will return kicks or punts and Roosevelt will do the other. Didn't say who, but said a dropdown D1 TB is prob. coming in May. Led to believe it is probably Mike Bass from Hawaii.

iaafan · Post by **iaafan** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 3:49 pm

You'd think the Helena newspaper would have something with sports being kind of light now.

Helcat72 · Post by **Helcat72** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 4:00 pm

iaafan wrote:I didn't go, but heard that MSU is eyeing a drop down QB or what Kramer was leading to believe was the best HS qb in Montana. He didn't say the name, but I'd assume that to be the Selle kid from West.

Apparently Kramer had some video gadget with a bunch of highlights and he was raving about Gatewood and how tough he is and what his background is.

He said the o-line is the best ever with one of the linemen from the 70s (Daly?) sitting right there. Said the team is healthy, but knocked on wood after all the injuries last year.

He isn't going to play any freshmen this year, the one cb that was moved from safety (from Florida) he thinks will be real good back at safety. He thinks the team has great depth all around, esp LB, OL, TE. They are going 3-4 with Lowe dropping back to OLB and running two TEs and not passing so much.

Thinks last November was an aberation, hoped you enjoyed the passes to the TE cuz that's not happening anymore.

Davis will return kicks or punts and Roosevelt will do the other. Didn't say who, but said a dropdown D1 TB is prob. coming in May. Led to believe it is probably Mike Bass from Hawaii.

The plan for the dropdown QB is for next year along with (probably Selle who we have already offered, no names mentioned)

The video was Kramers own computer projector with great sound, he showed the 2004 highlight film that he shows the recruits with a bunch of rap background.

Jay and Sue Daly were there, but the Benigers were'nt. Bobby Daly is thought of as one of the backups at LB along with (I suppose) Wesley Mauia.

He said having Travis Lulay is not the kind of offense he would have had in mind...it's like if you have a Porsche, you'll drive it, but you can't afford one all the time...so you plan your transportation around a good dependable car. He hopes the 500 yard games are a thing of the past with rushing taking over the bulk of the offense withthe use of the tight ends who have all gotten bigger...and there are a lot of them!

CelticCat · Post by **CelticCat** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 4:36 pm

So Salle and Bass are both possibilities? I'm excited to hear the prospect of Bass hasn't been ruled out completely, but I'm not holding my breath. I'm also excited to hear we won't be such a pass-dimensional team next year. Granted I love Lulay and think he is a great passer, but we can't rely on one man so much. Can you imagine the Cats with the same passing game as last year (hopefully even better) and a much improved running game?

94VegasCat · Post by **94VegasCat** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 4:40 pm

Thank you for every update guys. If Kramer comes to Missoula and speaks I hope that I can update you guys this well. Thank you thank you thank you.

I can never read enough about those beloved CATS!!!

PDXKat · Post by **PDXKat** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 5:10 pm

Helcat72 wrote:
iaafan wrote: He said having Travis Lulay is not the kind of offense he would have had in mind...it's like if you have a Porsche, you'll drive it, but you can't afford one all the time...so you plan your transportation around a good dependable car. He hopes the 500 yard games are a thing of the past with rushing taking over the bulk of the offense withthe use of the tight ends who have all gotten bigger...and there are a lot of them!

Come on Krames, I want to see 500 yard passing games and 350 rushing!
Really though, I have no idea why he wouldn't want our TE's to catch balls - that was huge last year. I'm hoping he means he would like to see an ability to excercise some ball control when we need to. Do you rememeber the week before the NAU game when Kramer said that Wolf was going to pass protect only that game to protect Travis coming off the PSU game? We open up and we start off 5 wide with Wolf lining up like The Hulk playing wideout. Pretty funny. The real key this year isn't can we move the ball, we will, but do we regain our trademark defense? I for one think that we will - last year we gained some valuable experience and created depth as well. The EWU game is haunting. Had we had a running game, we could have eaten up clock and kicked a field goal to win, or had we had a defense we could depend on, you'd think that we could keep them out of the endzone with a little over a minute left. We can always get better but this years team could be our best one yet - it is hard at this point to find the holes.
Our OL situation looks good, it would be great to see Bolton move to a guard spot, thats where he is most dominant. Ideally the quicker longer armed types are out there at the tackle spot not letting that DE get the quick rush on the outside. Our DL line looks great with Rodgers, Kolone, Papich, Matakis.. LB's stocked... secondary- questions but we will definitely be better with the addition of Eddie and Hunter..
Let the current conversation be about UM, EWU battling for first. I say we have a lot to get excited about for this upcoming season guys and in the end, we'll be right there beating up on the preseason favorites!

Robcat · Post by **Robcat** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 5:18 pm

If Kramer sticks to his plan and does not pass as much, I will be dissapointed. Gatewood, or Greatwood as Kramer was calling him last year, is a mighty fine reciever he made some great catches. And we all know that Lulay is a great passer. What a shame it would be not use all this talent. It was fun watching the passing game last season, however one dimensional that made the offense.

Now before everyone jumps on me, I am sure Kramer did not mean the passing game was going to dissapear, it just would not be 80% of the game. And yes I do want to see a much improved running game, however I have not seen any talent so far that has proven to me that the we can have a solid running game. I feel the roster is still missing that person. I had hoped that JD would step up last year and be our go to guy, but we all know how that went. Maybe this will be Justins year?

raincat · Post by **raincat** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 5:30 pm

You have Travis Lulay and Ricky Gatewood and you don't want to throw? I think what Coach Kramer is saying is he badly wants a running game to balance the attack. Again, witness the Eastern game last year. But then I remember Coach talking after Ryan Johnson's junior year saying no way was he going to be carrying the ball as much in his senior year and then promptly went out and ran him like a rented mule!
As it looks to me right now the running back spot is our biggest question mark followed by depth at quarterback. I remember when Lulay got crunched at the end of the half against PSU and had to be guided off the field. You could feel the air go out of Bobcat Stadium.

Bleedinbluengold · Post by **Bleedinbluengold** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 5:33 pm

Helcat72 wrote:Also Ricky Gatewood played the whole year last year with a separated shoulder...REALLY separated. They shot him up before every game. With the games he had receiving with a searation, I can hardly wait to see him with a healthy one. He was operated on this winter and the whole AC joint had to be held together with a twist tie!

Unbelievable! That definitely explains the dropped passes...Of course, now I feel like sh!t, because I'm sure I blasted the dropped passes (once or twice

).

I think the gathering in Mizzola was light this year. It's especially difficult in this town when the Cats don't win that last conference game. The group of boosters that consistantly show, though, is as die-hard as they come. Also, Krames couldn't make the trip, which I'm sure had somewhat of an affect once people found out.

Balancing the excellent passing game with an approved (and hopefully effective running game) will make the offense significantly better. An improved running game will also make the defense much better.

mslacat · Post by **mslacat** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 5:43 pm

bleedinblue wrote:
I think the gathering in Mizzola was light this year. It's especially difficult in this town when the Cats don't win that last conference game. The group of boosters that consistantly show, though, is as die-hard as they come. Also, Krames couldn't make the trip, which I'm sure had somewhat of an affect once people found out.
.

They already HAD IT!!! I tell you since Sully left Missoula I don't hear anything!!