Southern Utah's Brad Sorensen leads the Thunderbirds
FIRST LOOK: Bobcats Face Tough Challenge at Southern Utah
9/26/2012 9:11:00 AM | Football
MSU faces its first league road test at an unfamiliar venue
Montana State's first taste of the new school Big Sky has a definite old school flavor.
Brad Sorensen, Southern Utah's highly-acclaimed quarterback with the thunderous right arm and statuesque build, looks like something straight out of central casting for college quarterbacks circa the 1980s. A 6-foot-5 transfer from BYU, Sorensen's presence in the pocket is hard to miss.
And his production is hard to miss, too. The Big Sky's Preseason Offensive MVP averages 242.0 yards passing per game, with 11 TDs and only five interceptions through four games, out of a conventional offensive look that often features the I formation and pro sets.
Bobcat coach Rob Ash says the contrast Southern Utah, and specifically Sorensen, offers to the spread offense widely in use is stark.
"Sorensen's kind of a throwback," Ash says, "he's more of the type of quarterback I can remember being typical several years ago. He's athletic, but they don't use the quarterback run game heavily. Their offense is extremely productive and he is hard to rush because he's so big and strong that he's able to stay upright in the pocket and get the ball away."
And about that size? "He's immense," Ash says. "He's got great size, and he can see the field becaue of his size. He's got a terrific arm, and he's such a good athlete he could probably play other positions as well. But he's a terrific quarterback."
While Montana State's DeNarius McGhee may appear to be more of a typical spread-option quarterback, and he's carried 28 times more than Sorensen excluding sacks, he remains a pass-first signal caller. "I might move around back there," he says with a smile, "but I'm always looking downfield."
Under first-year offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven, a former SUU assistant, McGhee and the Bobcat offense have flourished. Ash says the foundation of that success comes in its structure. "It's a good design," he said. "Every route we run on offense has multiple options we can go to. We can go here against this coverage, we can go there against another coverage, and somewhere else against pressure. As long as DeNarius can understand all those options and can read what's going on, he should get it to a man that's open."
Ash was quick to praise his junior trigger man. "I thought DeNarius' game on Saturday was magnificent, I thought thought Kevin McGiven's plan was just as magnificent. The two of them seem to be working really well together right now. DeNarius is playing fast, throwing accurately, knows exactly where he's supposed to go with the ball."
While each team's quarterback may dominate the headlines heading into Saturday's showdown, Ash knows McGhee will have no easy task against the Thunderbird defense. "You watch their film (from Portland State) and they gave up 42 points, but when the team needed the defense the most it was fabulous. Portland State had a chance to tie from the two-yard line in the last seconds of the game, and the Southern Utah defense made a stand. They were terrific. So I know they will be motivated to carry that into this week and they'll play with a lot of confidence and energy."
Kickoff is 1:35 pm, and the game is televised on ROOT Sports.
Brad Sorensen, Southern Utah's highly-acclaimed quarterback with the thunderous right arm and statuesque build, looks like something straight out of central casting for college quarterbacks circa the 1980s. A 6-foot-5 transfer from BYU, Sorensen's presence in the pocket is hard to miss.
And his production is hard to miss, too. The Big Sky's Preseason Offensive MVP averages 242.0 yards passing per game, with 11 TDs and only five interceptions through four games, out of a conventional offensive look that often features the I formation and pro sets.
Bobcat coach Rob Ash says the contrast Southern Utah, and specifically Sorensen, offers to the spread offense widely in use is stark.
"Sorensen's kind of a throwback," Ash says, "he's more of the type of quarterback I can remember being typical several years ago. He's athletic, but they don't use the quarterback run game heavily. Their offense is extremely productive and he is hard to rush because he's so big and strong that he's able to stay upright in the pocket and get the ball away."
And about that size? "He's immense," Ash says. "He's got great size, and he can see the field becaue of his size. He's got a terrific arm, and he's such a good athlete he could probably play other positions as well. But he's a terrific quarterback."
While Montana State's DeNarius McGhee may appear to be more of a typical spread-option quarterback, and he's carried 28 times more than Sorensen excluding sacks, he remains a pass-first signal caller. "I might move around back there," he says with a smile, "but I'm always looking downfield."
Under first-year offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven, a former SUU assistant, McGhee and the Bobcat offense have flourished. Ash says the foundation of that success comes in its structure. "It's a good design," he said. "Every route we run on offense has multiple options we can go to. We can go here against this coverage, we can go there against another coverage, and somewhere else against pressure. As long as DeNarius can understand all those options and can read what's going on, he should get it to a man that's open."
Ash was quick to praise his junior trigger man. "I thought DeNarius' game on Saturday was magnificent, I thought thought Kevin McGiven's plan was just as magnificent. The two of them seem to be working really well together right now. DeNarius is playing fast, throwing accurately, knows exactly where he's supposed to go with the ball."
While each team's quarterback may dominate the headlines heading into Saturday's showdown, Ash knows McGhee will have no easy task against the Thunderbird defense. "You watch their film (from Portland State) and they gave up 42 points, but when the team needed the defense the most it was fabulous. Portland State had a chance to tie from the two-yard line in the last seconds of the game, and the Southern Utah defense made a stand. They were terrific. So I know they will be motivated to carry that into this week and they'll play with a lot of confidence and energy."
Kickoff is 1:35 pm, and the game is televised on ROOT Sports.
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