Bobcat Camp Day Two: Weather or Not (Hopefully Not)

If you're a morning person, Montana State's 2010 fall camp is right up your alley.

The Bobcats are on a daily 9:15 am schedule during the portion of camp when the team is allowed just one practice per day, and the primary - but not sole - reason was easily visible on Tuesday afternoon.

"The percentage of being bothered by the weather is lower in the morning," Ash said Tuesday afternoon from his office, as a late-summer storm passed over the MSU campus. "That's not the only reason, but it was definitely a huge factor."

New research also confirms what most know intuitively, as well - that people in general and athletes in particular are fresher earlier in the day. "Some research Coach (Brian) Wright found says that you're more ready to go early in the day, your muscles are fresher, and that makes sense," Ash said.

But missing out on the anxiety of the afternoon squall is nothing but a positive for Ash. "That makes it a lot easier."

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The most impressive scoop-and-score moment from the defense came late in Tuesday's practice from an All-America -- not Dan Ogden or Clay Bignell, but Bobcat assistant coach Kane Ioane, a four-time national honoree. Much less likely was the man leading the convoy toward the end zone, MSU assistant coach Noah Joseph.

After delivering a 'solid' block Joseph ended up on his back, but Ash wouldn't confirm that the play was about as much contact as the former Drake team captain ever incurred. "Well, he spent his time out on the edge," Ash said with a non-committal laugh.

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The format is the same, but the voice barking "Period 17", or whatever period the team enters, is different. Scott Gifford, an integral part of practice logistics during his two years as MSU's equipment manager, left MSU for an assistant equipment job at the University of Wyoming (following MSU men's basketball athletic trainer Dustin Enslinger, coincidentally). Now at the bullhorn is Justin Jessop, a former Bobcat track and field athlete who was one of Gifford's right-hand men the past couple of years. Jessop is running the Bobcat equipment room on an interim basis until a full-time manager can be found.