Viking out to prove his strength
http://portlandtribune.com/sports/story.php?story_id=120820781230712300
http://portlandtribune.com/sports/story.php?story_id=120820781230712300
-
Hi Guest, want to participate in the discussions, keep track of read/unread posts, upgrade to remove ads and more? Create your free account and increase the benefits of your BigSkyFans.com experience today!
Spring Football '08 Thread
- Thread starter JerryGlanvilleFan90
- Start date
Back to business
http://media.www.dailyvanguard.com/media/storage/paper941/news/2008/04/15/Sports/Back-To.Business-3325387.shtml
http://media.www.dailyvanguard.com/media/storage/paper941/news/2008/04/15/Sports/Back-To.Business-3325387.shtml
Portland State football Glanville era's second spring gets up to speed in a hurry
http://www.oregonlive.com/vikings/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/sports/1208224541102980.xml&coll=7
http://www.oregonlive.com/vikings/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/sports/1208224541102980.xml&coll=7
VikThunder1
Active member
dystopiamembrane said:
Why are we rebuilding? Walsh had a winning program. We should have been building on that.
Why are we rebuilding? Sure, Walsh had a winning program ... but it was let's say tedious. And very conservative. And we didn't win the conference. And because it was boring, fans didn't come. So we brought in Glanville and Mouse last year to install a radically different program - 4-3 defense and run and shoot offense. The team had to learn a whole new complex of plays, and do them on the run and without thinking. Plus, the players are different individuals. Walsh recruited 4-5 big guys to hold the line defensively. Glanville goes for 3 big guys who are in addition fast and quick-thinking, relying on four medium-sized linebackers to fill the holes and more easily go for the sacks. Whole different philosophy. Makes for a much faster higher-scoring game. In theory, more fans (but we'll have to do better than 3-8 this year).
This is the first year of recruiting for the new style. But they were most of them freshmen. Yes, we have returnees from last year who were introduced to the new game. But all of them didn't make the transition well. So yes, we're rebuilding this year, and will still be doing it next year. We can be sure of seeing the results in two years, and then can make some judgement on the new system. Realistically, we can expect 4-5 wins this year. But heck, who knows. It might be more. And it certainly will be fun. Which is what the game is all about.
This is the first year of recruiting for the new style. But they were most of them freshmen. Yes, we have returnees from last year who were introduced to the new game. But all of them didn't make the transition well. So yes, we're rebuilding this year, and will still be doing it next year. We can be sure of seeing the results in two years, and then can make some judgement on the new system. Realistically, we can expect 4-5 wins this year. But heck, who knows. It might be more. And it certainly will be fun. Which is what the game is all about.
PortlandStater
Active member
And then everyone graduated... :mrgreen:pdxfan said:
I agree with much of your post. And we should not forget how often it happens that a young and determined team has amazing results. Let's hope Mouse and JG will be here in two years. It will be hard to for any successor to work with a team raised by the two.
ManOfVision
Active member
I certainly don't see this as a playoff team, but I think people underestimate the strength of the defense and the impact of Bobby returning at FB.
ManOfVision said:
The caliber of the defense won't be known until we start playing games in the fall when we see the unit as a whole play 80 - 100 downs. I recall last year thinking that the starting defense was really, really quick and hard hitting. What I didn't see is just how shallow we were in certain positions. We will have the depth at DL and LB, but the corners and safeties will be the position to watch during the spring and early fall.
The offense has holes to fill, but Mouse will end up putting points on the board. The success and failure of this team lies in the ability to stop our opponents.
ManOfVision
Active member
Great point. I look around and see one or two quality guys at a defensive position, and I forget that in the game of football, depth is invaluable.
On the other hand, I think my point about the FB position remains valid. There were some games in the first half of the season, before Nee really got going, that our inability to run the ball on offense clearly cost us games. Stability from that standpoint, combined with strong play from either Holwand or Hubel, could really improve the offense.
On the other hand, I think my point about the FB position remains valid. There were some games in the first half of the season, before Nee really got going, that our inability to run the ball on offense clearly cost us games. Stability from that standpoint, combined with strong play from either Holwand or Hubel, could really improve the offense.
Last year's team fell short of expectations for various reasons; mismatched personnel (due to change from running game to passing game), long learning curve for new system, TOUGH early games, INJURIES, lack of depth...I'm sure I've missed something. We should see improvement in all areas, especially defense where the LB's are experienced and talented. Opening at home against Western Oregon will prove advantageous on the field if not the box office. Scheduling only one 1A team might reduce the injury problem. Playing Montana at the Park will help. Remember we nearly upset them in Missoula. Winning the close games could put us in the playoffs and that is what I am hoping for.
As far as the coaches being here for 3 more years. Don't expect them to leave until they have turned the program around!
As far as the coaches being here for 3 more years. Don't expect them to leave until they have turned the program around!
PSU Football
http://www.portlandtribune.com/sports/story.php?story_id=120846574080552600
Pass blocking was a problem for Portland State last season as the injury-riddled Vikings slumped to 3-8 in their maiden voyage under coach Jerry Glanville and offensive coordinator Mouse Davis. The offensive line will be even younger this season and is relatively thin this spring, but fullback Bobby McClintock – himself a punishing blocker – isn’t worried.
“The O-line is definitely quicker than last year,” he says. “Adam Kleffner (redshirt freshman center) is a big boy, about 310 pounds. Moses Punzal (returning left guard) is about 310. Clayton Rios (returning right guard) is about 300. The tackles (redshirt freshman Jasper Croome and junior Matt Leunen) are about 270. We’re blocking things differently, more firm on the edge. I have all the faith in the world in Leunen and Jasper, and they’ll get up to 285 by the season.
“Schematically, if a tackle picks up the wrong guy (to block), it can still be a good play if I pick up the right guy.”
As quarterback Tygue Howland puts it, “Our line is young, but Bobby takes up about three guys right there. We’ve got a new O-line coach (Aleki Pascua), more guys coming in the fall and everybody has a better sense of the offense this year. We’ll be good.”
• For now, redshirt freshman Grant Schuberg from Grant High is the backup fullback, but other strong candidates will arrive for August camp.
http://www.portlandtribune.com/sports/story.php?story_id=120846574080552600
Pass blocking was a problem for Portland State last season as the injury-riddled Vikings slumped to 3-8 in their maiden voyage under coach Jerry Glanville and offensive coordinator Mouse Davis. The offensive line will be even younger this season and is relatively thin this spring, but fullback Bobby McClintock – himself a punishing blocker – isn’t worried.
“The O-line is definitely quicker than last year,” he says. “Adam Kleffner (redshirt freshman center) is a big boy, about 310 pounds. Moses Punzal (returning left guard) is about 310. Clayton Rios (returning right guard) is about 300. The tackles (redshirt freshman Jasper Croome and junior Matt Leunen) are about 270. We’re blocking things differently, more firm on the edge. I have all the faith in the world in Leunen and Jasper, and they’ll get up to 285 by the season.
“Schematically, if a tackle picks up the wrong guy (to block), it can still be a good play if I pick up the right guy.”
As quarterback Tygue Howland puts it, “Our line is young, but Bobby takes up about three guys right there. We’ve got a new O-line coach (Aleki Pascua), more guys coming in the fall and everybody has a better sense of the offense this year. We’ll be good.”
• For now, redshirt freshman Grant Schuberg from Grant High is the backup fullback, but other strong candidates will arrive for August camp.
Am I reading that Jones may move to WR from CB or that he may play both ways?
http://www.goviks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?temp_site=NO&DB_OEM_ID=19300&ATCLID=1445184
http://www.goviks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?temp_site=NO&DB_OEM_ID=19300&ATCLID=1445184
ManOfVision
Active member
My understanding from reading that article (and reading between the lines) is that he'll be the starting CB for sure and that he may also play at WR depending on how desperate Mouse is after he sees the newcomers in Fall camp.
I thought the end of the release was interesting too:
A CLOSE UP LOOK AT CAMP GLANVILLE
It's always interesting when Jerry Glanville is involved, and that is why Comcast SportsNet Northwest has been following the Viking football team around practice, meetings and campus this spring. CSNNW is preparing a 20-week television series to begin airing on May 5. The show "Camp Glanville: PSU VIking Quest," will follow the Viking team's preparation from the start of spring practice, through the summer, to the start of fall practice and into the first game.
FROM PSU TO THE PROS
Another television feature by CSNNW, "From PSU To The Pros", will feature former All-American center Brennen Carvalho as he prepares for a shot at the NFL. The show, which is coming soon to CSNNW, has interviews and highlights, and features Carvalho's training as the NFL Draft and free agent signings near. Also featured in the show is a Viking who has already made it to the Pros and is flourishing - NBA forward Ime Udoka of the San Antonio Spurs. The exact broadcast time and date has yet to be determined.
A CLOSE UP LOOK AT CAMP GLANVILLE
It's always interesting when Jerry Glanville is involved, and that is why Comcast SportsNet Northwest has been following the Viking football team around practice, meetings and campus this spring. CSNNW is preparing a 20-week television series to begin airing on May 5. The show "Camp Glanville: PSU VIking Quest," will follow the Viking team's preparation from the start of spring practice, through the summer, to the start of fall practice and into the first game.
FROM PSU TO THE PROS
Another television feature by CSNNW, "From PSU To The Pros", will feature former All-American center Brennen Carvalho as he prepares for a shot at the NFL. The show, which is coming soon to CSNNW, has interviews and highlights, and features Carvalho's training as the NFL Draft and free agent signings near. Also featured in the show is a Viking who has already made it to the Pros and is flourishing - NBA forward Ime Udoka of the San Antonio Spurs. The exact broadcast time and date has yet to be determined.
WiViking
Active member
Good article on Reggie Jones, the man who should help PSU get a lot better defending the pass this year.
http://www.portlandtribune.com/sports/story.php?story_id=120881304204234200
NFL dreams and ability drive new PSU corner
Transfer Reggie Jones wants to provide for family, including imprisoned mother
The Portland State player with perhaps the best chance to make it to the NFL someday has played very little college football going into his junior year. But cornerback Reggie “Showtime” Jones is understandably driven.
“His goal in life is to make sure the ladies in his life are taken care of,” PSU secondary coach Alundis Brice says.
These aren’t women he takes out on a Saturday night. They are his sisters, ages 16 and 11, and his mother, Tonya Jones, who hasn’t seen him play anything in nearly eight years.
In November 2000, Tonya Jones was convicted of second-degree murder of her husband, Donny Jones, the man Reggie Jones called Dad and who was the father of Reggie’s sisters. Reggie has never met his real dad.
Jones was a seventh-grader in Federal Way, Wash., when Donny died of severe burns in October 1999. He managed to tell police that Tonya had poured gasoline on him and then thrown a match at him. Tonya denied it, but she eventually was sentenced to 14 years.
“It really hurt,” Jones says. “It hurts going up to see her (in prison). I was definitely close to her, when all that happened. I keep that with me. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about it. She writes me letters all the time. When she gets out, I want to be able to show her the good life. And my sisters need somebody to look up to.”
For them, and just because he’s so competitive, Jones wants to have the kind of big year at PSU that gets him to the next level.
“I plan on doing something big with football,” he says.
Brice, who says he relates to Jones because he was like him in some ways as a youngster, thinks he can achieve his goals.
“He has to learn a lot more (defensive back) technique – all his life he’s covered receivers just on his ability,” says Brice, who played cornerback for two NFL teams and two Canadian Football League clubs and won a Super Bowl ring with the Dallas Cowboys. “If he can do that, I’d bet you a million dollars that this kid would play in the NFL for a long time … as long as he’s healthy.”
Sounds great to Jones, a transfer from Idaho, where he suffered knee and ankle injuries and saw limited action in three years before things soured as the Vandals changed coaches, from Nick Holt to Dennis Erickson to Robb Akey. Brice came to PSU from Idaho, too, and recruited Jones, who appeared headed to Oregon out of high school until he had trouble passing his SAT. Jones says Brice is “somewhat like a dad to me.”
“I had the honor of coaching him at Idaho,” Brice says, “and he came here, frankly, because he wanted to stay around me. I’ve known him a long time. He was just a kid who didn’t trust anybody, and he had to scratch and fight and claw for his grandmother and his sisters. Every time he had a problem, he had to solve it himself. I’m lucky I was one of those he trusted.
“At Idaho, Reggie was flunking out. I used to pick him up and he would sit at my desk and do his work, and when I got done at 10 or 11 at night, that’s when I took him home.”
These days, Jones laughs, jokes around and enjoys being a Viking football player. “If you saw him a few years ago, you’d swear it was two different guys,” Brice says.
Jones says he is on pace to graduate after the football season, too, with a degree in sociology. Broadcasting or a job “helping people” would be nice, he says, “but right now my eyes are set on football.”
He’s 6-0, 200 pounds, runs close to a 4.4 40, has a 37 1/2-inch vertical leap and thrives on contact. He can return kicks, and he’ll probably play some offense, too, for PSU, catching passes in the run-and-shoot. “He’ll eat and sleep on defense,” Brice says, “but we want him to learn three or four pass routes, and he might get a couple of series on offense.”
Head coach Jerry Glanville wants to give Jones a try at wideout.
“He is a good person, fun to coach, there is good stuff inside of him,” Glanville says.
Jones, who got the nickname “Showtime” while in high school, says he loves the pressure that a cornerback faces. “If you get beat, everyone knows it, but if you make a great play, everyone knows that,” he says.
His favorite player was Deion Sanders, and “if you put a camera in my face, I will entertain. … I plan on playing football until my legs fall off.”
Brice preaches that Jones first must learn enough to conquer the Big Sky Conference.
“But with his speed and agility, if he works hard on making himself the best player he can be, every day, there’s no doubt in my mind somebody could call his name on NFL draft day.”
PSUFootball
The Vikings have nine more practices before the spring game at 1 p.m. May 10 at PGE Park. Season-ticket holders get in free, others pay $5.
• Coach Jerry Glanville says he is pleased with the look of his defensive front seven. The Vikings return three solid linebackers and have added two good junior college defensive ends.
Glanville also says he sees improvement in sophomore lineman Travis Beckley and senior nose tackle Lloyd Talakai, a 6-1, 340-pounder who “has gotten in better shape.”
http://www.portlandtribune.com/sports/story.php?story_id=120881304204234200
NFL dreams and ability drive new PSU corner
Transfer Reggie Jones wants to provide for family, including imprisoned mother
The Portland State player with perhaps the best chance to make it to the NFL someday has played very little college football going into his junior year. But cornerback Reggie “Showtime” Jones is understandably driven.
“His goal in life is to make sure the ladies in his life are taken care of,” PSU secondary coach Alundis Brice says.
These aren’t women he takes out on a Saturday night. They are his sisters, ages 16 and 11, and his mother, Tonya Jones, who hasn’t seen him play anything in nearly eight years.
In November 2000, Tonya Jones was convicted of second-degree murder of her husband, Donny Jones, the man Reggie Jones called Dad and who was the father of Reggie’s sisters. Reggie has never met his real dad.
Jones was a seventh-grader in Federal Way, Wash., when Donny died of severe burns in October 1999. He managed to tell police that Tonya had poured gasoline on him and then thrown a match at him. Tonya denied it, but she eventually was sentenced to 14 years.
“It really hurt,” Jones says. “It hurts going up to see her (in prison). I was definitely close to her, when all that happened. I keep that with me. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about it. She writes me letters all the time. When she gets out, I want to be able to show her the good life. And my sisters need somebody to look up to.”
For them, and just because he’s so competitive, Jones wants to have the kind of big year at PSU that gets him to the next level.
“I plan on doing something big with football,” he says.
Brice, who says he relates to Jones because he was like him in some ways as a youngster, thinks he can achieve his goals.
“He has to learn a lot more (defensive back) technique – all his life he’s covered receivers just on his ability,” says Brice, who played cornerback for two NFL teams and two Canadian Football League clubs and won a Super Bowl ring with the Dallas Cowboys. “If he can do that, I’d bet you a million dollars that this kid would play in the NFL for a long time … as long as he’s healthy.”
Sounds great to Jones, a transfer from Idaho, where he suffered knee and ankle injuries and saw limited action in three years before things soured as the Vandals changed coaches, from Nick Holt to Dennis Erickson to Robb Akey. Brice came to PSU from Idaho, too, and recruited Jones, who appeared headed to Oregon out of high school until he had trouble passing his SAT. Jones says Brice is “somewhat like a dad to me.”
“I had the honor of coaching him at Idaho,” Brice says, “and he came here, frankly, because he wanted to stay around me. I’ve known him a long time. He was just a kid who didn’t trust anybody, and he had to scratch and fight and claw for his grandmother and his sisters. Every time he had a problem, he had to solve it himself. I’m lucky I was one of those he trusted.
“At Idaho, Reggie was flunking out. I used to pick him up and he would sit at my desk and do his work, and when I got done at 10 or 11 at night, that’s when I took him home.”
These days, Jones laughs, jokes around and enjoys being a Viking football player. “If you saw him a few years ago, you’d swear it was two different guys,” Brice says.
Jones says he is on pace to graduate after the football season, too, with a degree in sociology. Broadcasting or a job “helping people” would be nice, he says, “but right now my eyes are set on football.”
He’s 6-0, 200 pounds, runs close to a 4.4 40, has a 37 1/2-inch vertical leap and thrives on contact. He can return kicks, and he’ll probably play some offense, too, for PSU, catching passes in the run-and-shoot. “He’ll eat and sleep on defense,” Brice says, “but we want him to learn three or four pass routes, and he might get a couple of series on offense.”
Head coach Jerry Glanville wants to give Jones a try at wideout.
“He is a good person, fun to coach, there is good stuff inside of him,” Glanville says.
Jones, who got the nickname “Showtime” while in high school, says he loves the pressure that a cornerback faces. “If you get beat, everyone knows it, but if you make a great play, everyone knows that,” he says.
His favorite player was Deion Sanders, and “if you put a camera in my face, I will entertain. … I plan on playing football until my legs fall off.”
Brice preaches that Jones first must learn enough to conquer the Big Sky Conference.
“But with his speed and agility, if he works hard on making himself the best player he can be, every day, there’s no doubt in my mind somebody could call his name on NFL draft day.”
PSUFootball
The Vikings have nine more practices before the spring game at 1 p.m. May 10 at PGE Park. Season-ticket holders get in free, others pay $5.
• Coach Jerry Glanville says he is pleased with the look of his defensive front seven. The Vikings return three solid linebackers and have added two good junior college defensive ends.
Glanville also says he sees improvement in sophomore lineman Travis Beckley and senior nose tackle Lloyd Talakai, a 6-1, 340-pounder who “has gotten in better shape.”
Departure to dearth
With the Vikings' top three wide receivers graduated, the receiving corps has a new identity
http://media.www.dailyvanguard.com/media/storage/paper941/news/2008/04/25/Sports/Departure.To.Dearth-3350001.shtml
Quarterback Tygue Howland dropped back for a pass amid blustery conditions Wednesday morning, planting his foot into the turf and hitting his wide receiver in stride along the sideline.
After sustaining a season-ending foot injury in Portland State's first game a year ago, Howland was an enormous question mark heading into spring practice. However, by all accounts, the junior has performed superbly and appears to be recovering well from a broken bone in his right foot.
Howland said his foot is at about 80 percent, meaning the question mark now lies on those streaking down the sidelines, not the player with the red No. 14 jersey taking snaps under center.
Three statistics shed light on exactly why the doubt has been diverted to the Portland State wide receivers: 2,261 yards receiving, 20 touchdowns and 171 receptions.
These numbers represent the combined production of graduated wide receivers Tremayne Kirkland, Kenneth Mackins and David Lewis, who gained 57 percent of the Vikings' receiving yards and had almost two-thirds of the team's touchdown receptions last year.
With the trio's departure, Portland State appears to have a dearth of experienced playmakers lining up at wide receiver this spring.
"We've struggled a little in the spring," said offensive coordinator Darrell "Mouse" Davis. "That has to be a point of emphasis as we get to the summer and spring-that we have to improve our receiver corps."
Davis, the architect of the run-and-shoot offense, believes the Vikings' situation at wide receiver will improve greatly once Portland State has its full complement of pass catchers, as several transfers and high school recruits will join the team in the fall.
Portland State secured a couple of blue-chippers at wide receiver, recruiting high school stars Zach Todd and Cory McCaffery. Both Todd and McCaffery were prolific running backs as preps, but will now face the challenge of converting to wide receiver in college.
Another player high on the offensive mastermind's list as a difference maker is Deric Davis, a transfer from City College of San Francisco who is a two-time All-NorCal Conference award winner.
While the Vikings are waiting for these talents to arrive, spring practice must go on with the receivers already in the team's fold-a group Howland is becoming accustomed to on the practice field.
"The offense is light-years ahead of where it was last year," Howland said. "All the wide outs know exactly what's going on, and we're getting the right routes. And if that happens, we're going to be fine."
With a season of the run-and-shoot offense under its belt, the Portland State offense appears to be clicking entering the second week of spring practice, unlike a year ago, when players were simply trying to grasp the scheme.
But level of understanding is not the only difference between year one and two. The Vikings' receiving corps is noticeably smaller in the second year of the Glanville and Davis Era, with seven standing at 5-10 or shorter.
However, Davis is far from worried about their small stature.
"If we're attacking the defense, size isn't necessarily an important thing," Davis said. "Someone once said, 'The ball is real light; you don't have to be real big to carry it,' and they still count seven, no matter what the size of the guy is going across the end zone."
In the run-and-shoot offense, the Vikings place a premium on speed, quickness and intelligence at the wide receiver position.
The emphasis on speed and quickness derives from the number of short- to medium-length routes the Vikings' four-receiver sets run, while intelligence is required because the receivers frequently make adjustments based on the defense's alignment.
Despite the departures, Portland State has speed, quickness and intelligence at wide receiver this spring, though Davis is not yet satisfied with the current group and knows his squad must continue to improve.
"There's plenty of work to do," Davis said. "We don't have to quit practicing."
With the Vikings' top three wide receivers graduated, the receiving corps has a new identity
http://media.www.dailyvanguard.com/media/storage/paper941/news/2008/04/25/Sports/Departure.To.Dearth-3350001.shtml
Quarterback Tygue Howland dropped back for a pass amid blustery conditions Wednesday morning, planting his foot into the turf and hitting his wide receiver in stride along the sideline.
After sustaining a season-ending foot injury in Portland State's first game a year ago, Howland was an enormous question mark heading into spring practice. However, by all accounts, the junior has performed superbly and appears to be recovering well from a broken bone in his right foot.
Howland said his foot is at about 80 percent, meaning the question mark now lies on those streaking down the sidelines, not the player with the red No. 14 jersey taking snaps under center.
Three statistics shed light on exactly why the doubt has been diverted to the Portland State wide receivers: 2,261 yards receiving, 20 touchdowns and 171 receptions.
These numbers represent the combined production of graduated wide receivers Tremayne Kirkland, Kenneth Mackins and David Lewis, who gained 57 percent of the Vikings' receiving yards and had almost two-thirds of the team's touchdown receptions last year.
With the trio's departure, Portland State appears to have a dearth of experienced playmakers lining up at wide receiver this spring.
"We've struggled a little in the spring," said offensive coordinator Darrell "Mouse" Davis. "That has to be a point of emphasis as we get to the summer and spring-that we have to improve our receiver corps."
Davis, the architect of the run-and-shoot offense, believes the Vikings' situation at wide receiver will improve greatly once Portland State has its full complement of pass catchers, as several transfers and high school recruits will join the team in the fall.
Portland State secured a couple of blue-chippers at wide receiver, recruiting high school stars Zach Todd and Cory McCaffery. Both Todd and McCaffery were prolific running backs as preps, but will now face the challenge of converting to wide receiver in college.
Another player high on the offensive mastermind's list as a difference maker is Deric Davis, a transfer from City College of San Francisco who is a two-time All-NorCal Conference award winner.
While the Vikings are waiting for these talents to arrive, spring practice must go on with the receivers already in the team's fold-a group Howland is becoming accustomed to on the practice field.
"The offense is light-years ahead of where it was last year," Howland said. "All the wide outs know exactly what's going on, and we're getting the right routes. And if that happens, we're going to be fine."
With a season of the run-and-shoot offense under its belt, the Portland State offense appears to be clicking entering the second week of spring practice, unlike a year ago, when players were simply trying to grasp the scheme.
But level of understanding is not the only difference between year one and two. The Vikings' receiving corps is noticeably smaller in the second year of the Glanville and Davis Era, with seven standing at 5-10 or shorter.
However, Davis is far from worried about their small stature.
"If we're attacking the defense, size isn't necessarily an important thing," Davis said. "Someone once said, 'The ball is real light; you don't have to be real big to carry it,' and they still count seven, no matter what the size of the guy is going across the end zone."
In the run-and-shoot offense, the Vikings place a premium on speed, quickness and intelligence at the wide receiver position.
The emphasis on speed and quickness derives from the number of short- to medium-length routes the Vikings' four-receiver sets run, while intelligence is required because the receivers frequently make adjustments based on the defense's alignment.
Despite the departures, Portland State has speed, quickness and intelligence at wide receiver this spring, though Davis is not yet satisfied with the current group and knows his squad must continue to improve.
"There's plenty of work to do," Davis said. "We don't have to quit practicing."
Viks aim to Fry competition
Idaho transfer says he’s ready to catch, rack up some wins
http://portlandtribune.com/sports/story.php?story_id=120941803360571900
Idaho transfer says he’s ready to catch, rack up some wins
http://portlandtribune.com/sports/story.php?story_id=120941803360571900
PSU pals make an odd couple
http://www.portlandtribune.com/sports/story.php?story_id=120967156180637000
A California country boy and a South Pacific native have joined Portland State’s football team — and bonded.
“We have way different backgrounds, and don’t have much in common, but our personalities really go together,” John Shackford says.
Coach Jerry Glanville expects that defensive ends Shackford and Joseph Ma’aseia will be impact players.
Shackford grew up near Napa, Calif., playing football, riding dirt bikes, wakeboarding and hunting. Ma’aseia, born and raised in American Samoa, came to the states to play football and get his education; his hobbies are weight lifting and basketball, but he wants to go with Shackford to Mount Hood to try snowboarding.
“He’s a cool guy, no different than the country boys I was with at Butte (College in Oroville, Calif.),” Ma’aseia says. “Then again, I’m cool with everybody. My motto is, ‘If you’re cool with me, I’m cool with you.’ ”
They met in the Sacramento airport on their way to PSU recruiting visits, Shackford from Santa Rosa (Calif.) Junior College and Ma’aseia from Butte. Here, each of them had lunch with Glanville, who thinks highly of them.
“Really, these two are not children. These are men,” Glanville says of the 6-4, 265-pound Shackford and 6-5, 280-pound Ma’aseia, both 23. “They understand things. They don’t like football — they love football. It’s their passion. These two want to live it.
“They’re tough, they run very well. We’re very fortunate to get these two, really. They could change who we are and what we are.”
Whoa. In August, fellow JC Jermaine Jacobs, a 6-2, 285 nose tackle, will join them on the Viks’ three-man defensive line. “He’s not a child. He’s a man,” Glanville says of Jacobs, from Mendocino College and the MVP of the Bay Valley Conference last season.
Shackford once played receiver, but he bulked up and moved positions. He has dealt with a persistent knee problem, a subluxed patella, where his knee cap pops out. It happened in the second week of spring drills, but Shackford expected to be back at practice Monday as the Viks prepare for their spring game May 10 at PGE Park.
“It didn’t tear anything, it’s just swollen,” he says.
Shackford’s father is in real estate and his mother is an officer with the California Highway Patrol. “It got me out of some trouble as a kid growing up,” he says, chuckling.
New Mexico State, Sacramento State and Western Illinois also made scholarship offers, but Shackford visited PSU and liked Glanville and the coaches. Even though, as would be the case with many of the Vikings, Shackford had not heard of Glanville.
“My dad knew him. I Googled his name and read about him,” Shackford says. “He was down to earth, fun to be with, and that was the biggest thing for me. It seemed like it would be an enjoyable experience playing for him.”
Like Shackford, Ma’aseia had to get used to the Division I speed and size of athletes and work rate. It takes time for JC transfers to adapt, but Ma’aseia has adjusted.
“I’m feeling it,” he says. “I like how they keep everything going in practice. Everything’s on point.”
Ma’aseia says he played well in Butte’s 3-4 defense, the same scheme PSU uses. “This is my bread and butter,” he says. He chose Portland State over Montana and some smaller schools.
One of six siblings, he is the only one to play football. His father, Lagi, died last year and Ma’aseia could not get away from football or pay for his trip back to American Samoa for the funeral.
His mother, Luisa, moved to New Zealand to be with two of her kids.
It’s tough being far away from home, but Ma’aseia feels good that he can quickly become part of the PSU program. He already has practiced at end with the starters. “I’m excited and up for the competition,” he says.
Lloyd Talakai, a 6-1, 340-pound nose tackle from City College of San Francisco, also has been playing with the No. 1 defense. But Glanville expects Jacobs to be the man in the middle next season.
For now, the coach can’t say enough of Shackford and Ma’aseia.
“In their hearts, they’re good people,” Glanville says. “There’s absolutely no reason you wouldn’t try to get two guys like this the rest of your life.”
http://www.portlandtribune.com/sports/story.php?story_id=120967156180637000
A California country boy and a South Pacific native have joined Portland State’s football team — and bonded.
“We have way different backgrounds, and don’t have much in common, but our personalities really go together,” John Shackford says.
Coach Jerry Glanville expects that defensive ends Shackford and Joseph Ma’aseia will be impact players.
Shackford grew up near Napa, Calif., playing football, riding dirt bikes, wakeboarding and hunting. Ma’aseia, born and raised in American Samoa, came to the states to play football and get his education; his hobbies are weight lifting and basketball, but he wants to go with Shackford to Mount Hood to try snowboarding.
“He’s a cool guy, no different than the country boys I was with at Butte (College in Oroville, Calif.),” Ma’aseia says. “Then again, I’m cool with everybody. My motto is, ‘If you’re cool with me, I’m cool with you.’ ”
They met in the Sacramento airport on their way to PSU recruiting visits, Shackford from Santa Rosa (Calif.) Junior College and Ma’aseia from Butte. Here, each of them had lunch with Glanville, who thinks highly of them.
“Really, these two are not children. These are men,” Glanville says of the 6-4, 265-pound Shackford and 6-5, 280-pound Ma’aseia, both 23. “They understand things. They don’t like football — they love football. It’s their passion. These two want to live it.
“They’re tough, they run very well. We’re very fortunate to get these two, really. They could change who we are and what we are.”
Whoa. In August, fellow JC Jermaine Jacobs, a 6-2, 285 nose tackle, will join them on the Viks’ three-man defensive line. “He’s not a child. He’s a man,” Glanville says of Jacobs, from Mendocino College and the MVP of the Bay Valley Conference last season.
Shackford once played receiver, but he bulked up and moved positions. He has dealt with a persistent knee problem, a subluxed patella, where his knee cap pops out. It happened in the second week of spring drills, but Shackford expected to be back at practice Monday as the Viks prepare for their spring game May 10 at PGE Park.
“It didn’t tear anything, it’s just swollen,” he says.
Shackford’s father is in real estate and his mother is an officer with the California Highway Patrol. “It got me out of some trouble as a kid growing up,” he says, chuckling.
New Mexico State, Sacramento State and Western Illinois also made scholarship offers, but Shackford visited PSU and liked Glanville and the coaches. Even though, as would be the case with many of the Vikings, Shackford had not heard of Glanville.
“My dad knew him. I Googled his name and read about him,” Shackford says. “He was down to earth, fun to be with, and that was the biggest thing for me. It seemed like it would be an enjoyable experience playing for him.”
Like Shackford, Ma’aseia had to get used to the Division I speed and size of athletes and work rate. It takes time for JC transfers to adapt, but Ma’aseia has adjusted.
“I’m feeling it,” he says. “I like how they keep everything going in practice. Everything’s on point.”
Ma’aseia says he played well in Butte’s 3-4 defense, the same scheme PSU uses. “This is my bread and butter,” he says. He chose Portland State over Montana and some smaller schools.
One of six siblings, he is the only one to play football. His father, Lagi, died last year and Ma’aseia could not get away from football or pay for his trip back to American Samoa for the funeral.
His mother, Luisa, moved to New Zealand to be with two of her kids.
It’s tough being far away from home, but Ma’aseia feels good that he can quickly become part of the PSU program. He already has practiced at end with the starters. “I’m excited and up for the competition,” he says.
Lloyd Talakai, a 6-1, 340-pound nose tackle from City College of San Francisco, also has been playing with the No. 1 defense. But Glanville expects Jacobs to be the man in the middle next season.
For now, the coach can’t say enough of Shackford and Ma’aseia.
“In their hearts, they’re good people,” Glanville says. “There’s absolutely no reason you wouldn’t try to get two guys like this the rest of your life.”
