Larson: from throwing passes to catching them
8/19/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Jeff Larson has played receiver before.
The junior out of Cut Bank started Montana's playoff game against Texas State a year ago, seven days after star Marc Mariani went down with an ankle injury while scoring against Montana State.
A few other dinged-up wideouts made for a long week, apparently.
"That was tiring," Larson said Tuesday. "Me, Mike (Ferriter) and Jabin (Sambrano) were the only receivers that were running. I got in shape really fast that week."
Larson, 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, is back at that position this fall, after a couple years - heck, longer than that - playing quarterback. And he marched into fairly new territory at the South Campus fields with Tuesday's Hitch-Tackle Drill.
The name says it all: The receiver does a "hitch," catches a pass and tries to beat his defender while staying in a coned-off area. It was safe to say it was the most contact Larson had seen since those Cut Bank-Shelby battles.
"Absolutely," said Larson, who passed and ran Cut Bank to the 2006 State B crown. "This fall camp's been a little more strenuous on the body than the last couple years.
"I think I've actually done it before," he added. "When I was running the ball in the option package (in 2007), they were trying to toughen me up. You learned how to take a hit; if you don't, you're going to be on the third unit for a couple minutes."
Larson, barring any serious injury, should be high in the receiver rotation for the Grizzlies, who went 14-2 last fall. Beyond Mariani and Sambrano, there isn't a whole lot of experience. But there's talent, and with Larson and the 6-3 Connor Smith, there's also outstanding size.
"I put a few pounds on," Larson said with a laugh. "I'm actually one of the heavier guys between the receivers and DBs, and so that's a little bit of an advantage."
His next college reception will be his first, but he figures to be a factor. He would be the latest Griz to take snaps at quarterback and run patterns later on.
The most familiar name is likely Josh Paffhausen, the Butte product who lost the quarterback battle in 1996 to Brian Ah Yat, and a year later grabbed a UM-record 15 receptions in one game, against St. Mary's. There were also Bobby Connors and Curt McGuinness in the 1980s.
All of them started at quarterback. Maybe they didn't start back to fourth grade flag football, but they lined up behind center before switching outside.
"It's different right now, but it's a good changeup," said Larson. "I've been quarterback since I can remember, but going to receiver isn't bad. I know the offense, know all the routes.
"One of the things about being receiver is it's a lot less mentally stressful. I wouldn't say I don't miss it, but it's nice not having to do that day-in and day-out."
Seventh-year coach Bobby Hauck likes the versatility of Larson, who would likely be the Big Sky Conference's best emergency QB. As it is, to this point his best play was a forced fumble by Northern Colorado's punter last year.
He could top that soon.
"It's fun," Larson said. "I'm really enjoying it right now. The wideouts are a good group of guys, and it's fun catching passes. I'm enjoying it."
Tuesday marked the first practice since the first two-a-day, and it wasn't much to Hauck's liking, though the defense certainly had moments.
Mike Cummings and Cole Lockwood had interceptions as the practice turned to 7-on-7, and then to 11-on-11 before the Griz closed practice with a red-zone two-minute drill.
The defense held, both times. On Monday the offense went short-yardage, and had a strong showing.
"Our offense is doing pretty good things right now," noted senior linebacker Shawn Lebsock. "We've got some young guys still learning on the defensive side. We're looking to just keep improving."
"We ran the ball well in short yardage (Monday)," said Hauck. "The other side of the coin is the defense didn't stop it.
"I think we folded our tent a little bit today, and the leadership on this team has to be there," he added. "The jury is out on this football team; we can't afford to have a day where we don't have great work. I thought it was pretty solid but it wasn't great today."
The practice was "thud-tempo" and meant players not be taken to the ground, but that didn't stop tight end Rob Overton from making a nice diving catch despite tight coverage from linebacker Josh Stuberg.
The Griz have a two-a-day session Wednesday, and again Friday, with a Saturday morning scrimmage on the docket.
The big news from beyond the Big Sky is that new Football Championship Subdivision member North Dakota has entered into a home-and-home contract with the Grizzlies.
The story broke in Grand Forks, N.D., Tuesday, but Montana athletic director Jim O'Day said the contract was actually signed "a month or two" before.
"We started talking early in the year," said O'Day, who got the Fighting Sioux to come to Missoula on Nov. 13, 2010. The Griz make a return trip Sept. 14, 2013.
It's a late date for a nonleague game, but the nine-team Big Sky Conference has some anomalies. The Griz had open dates Nov. 6 and Nov. 13 next season. One of those days would've been the Griz-Cat game, but that rivalry game is always moved to the Saturday before Thanksgiving.
The Griz have a similar two-game gap in 2011, as of now.
It's the latest example of O'Day branching out for nonleague opponents: In 2013 the Griz will play FCS power Appalachian State for the first time in the regular season, in Missoula.
The Griz have a long history with North Dakota, dating back to a 10-10 tie in 1915, but the two haven't played since 1973, when UND won 31-10. The Griz lead the series 10-7-1.
"There are just so few FCS teams out in the West that you're kind of restricted" as far as scheduling, O'Day said. Nonetheless, things are lining out.
"In fact I hope to have a lot of our contracts in hand for the next couple years," O'Day said. "We hope to announce tentative schedules for 2010 and 2011 fairly soon. Actually, '10, '11 and '12."
The junior out of Cut Bank started Montana's playoff game against Texas State a year ago, seven days after star Marc Mariani went down with an ankle injury while scoring against Montana State.
A few other dinged-up wideouts made for a long week, apparently.
"That was tiring," Larson said Tuesday. "Me, Mike (Ferriter) and Jabin (Sambrano) were the only receivers that were running. I got in shape really fast that week."
Larson, 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, is back at that position this fall, after a couple years - heck, longer than that - playing quarterback. And he marched into fairly new territory at the South Campus fields with Tuesday's Hitch-Tackle Drill.
The name says it all: The receiver does a "hitch," catches a pass and tries to beat his defender while staying in a coned-off area. It was safe to say it was the most contact Larson had seen since those Cut Bank-Shelby battles.
"Absolutely," said Larson, who passed and ran Cut Bank to the 2006 State B crown. "This fall camp's been a little more strenuous on the body than the last couple years.
"I think I've actually done it before," he added. "When I was running the ball in the option package (in 2007), they were trying to toughen me up. You learned how to take a hit; if you don't, you're going to be on the third unit for a couple minutes."
Larson, barring any serious injury, should be high in the receiver rotation for the Grizzlies, who went 14-2 last fall. Beyond Mariani and Sambrano, there isn't a whole lot of experience. But there's talent, and with Larson and the 6-3 Connor Smith, there's also outstanding size.
"I put a few pounds on," Larson said with a laugh. "I'm actually one of the heavier guys between the receivers and DBs, and so that's a little bit of an advantage."
His next college reception will be his first, but he figures to be a factor. He would be the latest Griz to take snaps at quarterback and run patterns later on.
The most familiar name is likely Josh Paffhausen, the Butte product who lost the quarterback battle in 1996 to Brian Ah Yat, and a year later grabbed a UM-record 15 receptions in one game, against St. Mary's. There were also Bobby Connors and Curt McGuinness in the 1980s.
All of them started at quarterback. Maybe they didn't start back to fourth grade flag football, but they lined up behind center before switching outside.
"It's different right now, but it's a good changeup," said Larson. "I've been quarterback since I can remember, but going to receiver isn't bad. I know the offense, know all the routes.
"One of the things about being receiver is it's a lot less mentally stressful. I wouldn't say I don't miss it, but it's nice not having to do that day-in and day-out."
Seventh-year coach Bobby Hauck likes the versatility of Larson, who would likely be the Big Sky Conference's best emergency QB. As it is, to this point his best play was a forced fumble by Northern Colorado's punter last year.
He could top that soon.
"It's fun," Larson said. "I'm really enjoying it right now. The wideouts are a good group of guys, and it's fun catching passes. I'm enjoying it."
Tuesday marked the first practice since the first two-a-day, and it wasn't much to Hauck's liking, though the defense certainly had moments.
Mike Cummings and Cole Lockwood had interceptions as the practice turned to 7-on-7, and then to 11-on-11 before the Griz closed practice with a red-zone two-minute drill.
The defense held, both times. On Monday the offense went short-yardage, and had a strong showing.
"Our offense is doing pretty good things right now," noted senior linebacker Shawn Lebsock. "We've got some young guys still learning on the defensive side. We're looking to just keep improving."
"We ran the ball well in short yardage (Monday)," said Hauck. "The other side of the coin is the defense didn't stop it.
"I think we folded our tent a little bit today, and the leadership on this team has to be there," he added. "The jury is out on this football team; we can't afford to have a day where we don't have great work. I thought it was pretty solid but it wasn't great today."
The practice was "thud-tempo" and meant players not be taken to the ground, but that didn't stop tight end Rob Overton from making a nice diving catch despite tight coverage from linebacker Josh Stuberg.
The Griz have a two-a-day session Wednesday, and again Friday, with a Saturday morning scrimmage on the docket.
The big news from beyond the Big Sky is that new Football Championship Subdivision member North Dakota has entered into a home-and-home contract with the Grizzlies.
The story broke in Grand Forks, N.D., Tuesday, but Montana athletic director Jim O'Day said the contract was actually signed "a month or two" before.
"We started talking early in the year," said O'Day, who got the Fighting Sioux to come to Missoula on Nov. 13, 2010. The Griz make a return trip Sept. 14, 2013.
It's a late date for a nonleague game, but the nine-team Big Sky Conference has some anomalies. The Griz had open dates Nov. 6 and Nov. 13 next season. One of those days would've been the Griz-Cat game, but that rivalry game is always moved to the Saturday before Thanksgiving.
The Griz have a similar two-game gap in 2011, as of now.
It's the latest example of O'Day branching out for nonleague opponents: In 2013 the Griz will play FCS power Appalachian State for the first time in the regular season, in Missoula.
The Griz have a long history with North Dakota, dating back to a 10-10 tie in 1915, but the two haven't played since 1973, when UND won 31-10. The Griz lead the series 10-7-1.
"There are just so few FCS teams out in the West that you're kind of restricted" as far as scheduling, O'Day said. Nonetheless, things are lining out.
"In fact I hope to have a lot of our contracts in hand for the next couple years," O'Day said. "We hope to announce tentative schedules for 2010 and 2011 fairly soon. Actually, '10, '11 and '12."
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