Time to turn on the Lights

If head coach Andrew Rolin and the Montana State University-Northern football team is going to win more games in 2019, there is a lot of work to do and that work starts this Sunday with the opening of fall camp.

Rolin said that the Lights would start having players report as early as today. That's when the freshman and newcomers will report, while the veterans will follow on Saturday. Then, Sunday afternoon from 4-6 p.m., the Lights will hold their first practice of the season.

"It's just exciting for us to build on what we did in the spring," Rolin said. "We have seen a lot of maturity in this team, as well as growth and development and we just want to continue to see that. That is what this camp is all about and I am excited to see us grow as a team."

While the Lights face plenty of questions heading into training camp before they head to Phoenix, Arizona, to take on Arizona Christian Aug. 31, no question is more important than who will be the starting quarterback?

"That's always the most important position," Rolin said. "So that is the position battle that gets focused on and it's going to be huge for us. Brenden (Medina) did a really nice job during the spring and made a good statement. But we are going to give the other guys a chance to compete. That's what we believe in and I always like to have a couple of scrimmages and get the chance to evaluate guys in game-like situations."

With the season kicking off for MSU-N in just three weeks from Saturday, the Lights will be on a tight schedule to prep for the 2019 season and Rolin said his team will be practicing each day of the week from 4-6 p.m. He also said the first scrimmage of fall camp will start at 10 a.m., Aug. 17, followed by another at 4 p.m. Aug. 24.

"I think that when you are able to have scrimmages, it's more game-like and it puts more pressure on guys and we want to see how they respond to that," Rolin said. "The second scrimmage is also going to be the same time as freshmen orientation, so we are going to have a BBQ and have all the new students there, so it should be a great atmosphere and a lot of fun."

Joining the competition at quarterback with redshirt Brenden Medina will be incoming freshmen Tre' Long out of Washington and Oakley Kopp out of Utah. While they will be slightly behind the 8-ball in terms of the offensive system, Rolin said he believes the cream will rise to the top.

But he also said, whoever it ends up being, he wants to stick with just one quarterback.

"I want to give these guys a chance to compete and let the best man win. The best players will play, always," Rolin said. "I have never believed in having two quarterbacks. I believe you need one guy and I want to stick with that guy. Using two quarterbacks just doesn't have much success and that's just what I believe."

Northern may have some questions at quarterback, but the guys catching the passes will be well known to Lights fans as Bryce Bumgardner, Marvin Williams and Keagan Stroop are all back, along with Cal Holgate, who transferred from Minto State to MSU-N. Another former transfer, Darius Alexander-Jones will lead the way for the offensive line, which Rolin said will need three starters to emerge in camp.

"We have some experience at wide receiver," Rolin said. "And that is one of our strengths, but we still need to add depth. We need a few guys to step up on the offensive line and fill those jobs too."

Defensively, the Lights will be counting on a front seven that is loaded with experience. Guys like Justin Pfeifer and Trendae Umi-Tuato'o will be forces in the middle of the defense, while B.J. Hatcher and Joe Fehr are familiar faces at defensive end. At the second level, Jake Norby, Jaren Maki and Chase Gilbert should all be in the mix. But the real battle will take place in the backend of the defense, where returning players and new guys will battle it out at corner and safety.

"I think the defensive backfield will be fascinating to watch," Rolin said. "We have some guys back from last year, but we also brought in a lot of new faces. It will be run to see who rises up and takes ownership of that group."

The Havre Daily News will have full coverage of Northern training camp and all practices are open to the public and will be held at the MSU-N practice field. The Lights will travel to Arizona Christian Aug. 31 before traveling to Rocky Mountain College to open conference play Sept. 7. The home opener at Blue Pony Stadium will be against Montana Western Sept. 14.