Montana State's Tommy Mellott (4) celebrates with Elijah Elliott (13) after Elliott's touchdown run against Eastern Washington on Saturday at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash.
Montana State quarterback Tommy Mellott runs with the ball against Oregon State on Sept. 22 at Providence Park in Portland, Ore.
Montana State's Tommy Mellott (4) celebrates with Elijah Elliott (13) after Elliott's touchdown run against Eastern Washington on Saturday at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash.
Montana State quarterback Tommy Mellott runs with the ball against Oregon State on Sept. 22 at Providence Park in Portland, Ore.
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Montana State head coach Brent Vigen confirmed Monday that starting quarterback Tommy Mellott will not play against UC Davis this Saturday.
Mellott suffered a head injury after colliding with two Eastern Washington defenders while sliding this past weekend. He was back at practice Monday but wasn’t dressed or running through drills. Vigen added that Mellott is “feeling better” after the weekend.
“Progress from Saturday, and that’s what you want to see,” Vigen said. “It’s our hope that he can continue to make progress through the next couple of days so that next week (against Idaho State) he’s able to be active.”
Vigen said after watching a replay of the hit on film, Mellott initially slid because of the deep safety that was at least five yards away from him. The two EWU defenders — safety Ely Doyle and linebacker Jaren Banks — didn’t have time to pull up, Vigen said, and actually ran into each other more so than Mellott.
“As a quarterback running, or anybody for that matter running, in the middle of the field, you got to kind of be aware from all sides,” Vigen said. “And he wasn’t necessarily in that situation, unfortunately. I hated to see it go down the way it did.
“But it’s one of those plays that happens so quickly in the game of football, that I don’t know if it could have been officiated any differently or coached any differently, anything like that.”
With that in mind, Wyoming transfer Sean Chambers will get his first career start as a Bobcat this Saturday against Davis. Vigen pointed to Chambers having previous starting experience at Wyoming, meaning this won’t be “a huge deal for him.” He added that Chambers will get more starting reps in practice this week, while Sean Austin will move into the backup role.
As for the two-quarterback system MSU has employed the first four weeks of the season, Vigen said the Bobcats don’t plan on running that in Mellott’s absence.
“With Sean (Chambers) and Tommy, I think it’s clear that those two guys are two of our better runners, especially given our situation that we’ve been in with the running back position,” Vigen said. “So no, I don’t see us going down that road.”
Elsewhere, Vigen said free safety Jeffrey Manning Jr. will return for the Davis game after sitting out last weekend. Manning initially suffered a head injury against Oregon State and was ruled out in the middle of last week, Vigen said.
Running back Lane Sumner and backup offensive tackle Titan Fleischmann have also returned to practice this week. Vigen said MSU will still have to figure out how both will enter back into the fold on offense in the coming weeks.
After looking back at the film of the EWU game, Vigen said he “didn’t talk enough” about the MSU special teams performance on Saturday after the game.
“A good chunk of the middle part of that game they were playing on the long field and we were playing on the short field,” Vigen said. “Now we didn’t take advantage of all that, but a lot of that has to do with our special teams.”
Vigen also mentioned that holding EWU wide receiver Efton Chism III to only one kickoff return for 19 yards was “very critical.”
Meanwhile, there were some special teams miscues. That included punter Bryce Leighton’s 14-yard punt in the fourth quarter and kicker Blake Glessner’s missed 19-yard field goal on a 4th-and-2.
Vigen said he opted to kick instead of go for it because he wanted to capitalize on the blocked punt by MSU nickelback Ty Okada and score before halftime. The offense had also only gained 2 total yards on the three preceding plays.
“It’s easy to say, ‘You don’t make it, you should have gone for it,’” Vigen said. “I would take the points again in that situation, given the point in time in the game. But it was really the three preceding plays as much as it was anything that caused me to make that decision.”
MSU was still able to capitalize offensively at other points in the game, finishing with 355 total rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns. That includes contributions from Chambers (160 yards, two touchdowns) and running back Elijah Elliott (156 yards, one touchdown).
Vigen said he was appreciative of how both Elliott and offensive coordinator Taylor Housewright responded after the Oregon State game.
“To get some traditional run game from a running back was big,” Vigen said. “And I think we’ll continue to get guys back and healthy. So that should continue to be part of what we expect each week.”
The special teams performance and rushing attack — along with some key turnovers forced by the defense — proved to be the difference in MSU’s win on Saturday. Vigen said he was proud of the resolve shown by his players and how this can be a “launching point” for future victories this season.
But Vigen also noted Monday that while it may have been “a heck of a win,” it was a far from perfect performance from the Bobcats, whether that be missed kicks, turnovers or giving up big plays. That was a point of emphasis in Monday’s practice.
“Get those things corrected, start digging into the next opponent and re-utilize that same formula every week,” Vigen said. “Hopefully you can in some way quantify that you are getting better each week. Because as a football team, you’re trying to gain momentum and that’s where I do think a win in that situation, from a lot of just the intangible things, you can build off of that.”
An early look ahead to UC Davis
Even though UC Davis sits at 1-3 this season, that record doesn’t tell the whole story, Vigen said.
Those three losses include a 34-13 defeat to the Pac-12’s California, a 24-22 road loss to No. 2 South Dakota State and a 17-12 loss to then-No. 12 Weber State. The SDSU loss also featured a failed two-point conversion by Davis quarterback Miles Hastings with just over two minutes to play.
Davis’ offense is “very diverse,” Vigen said, led by Hastings and running back Ulonzo Gilliam Jr. Gilliam was named the preseason Big Sky Offensive Most Valuable Player and has 365 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the season thus far. He also has a team-high 23 receptions for 197 yards.
Meanwhile, Hastings is 113 of 171 for 1,041 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions. Last week against Weber State, Hastings was 39 of 57 for 256 yards and a touchdown.
Throwing the ball 57 times in a game requires a reliable offensive line, something the Aggies have this season, Vigen said. That includes center Connor Pettek and guard Jake Parks — both of which were named to the preseason All-Big Sky team.
“Any time you’re balanced like they are, it does start with an offensive line that can both run and pass block and has athleticism and you can really ask them to do a lot,” Vigen said. “They’ve been impressive (on film).”
Defensively, Vigen said he’s also been impressed by the Aggies’ linebackers, which are led by Teddye Buchanan. Buchanan is third on the team in tackles this season with 18. Vigen also pointed to players like defensive lineman Chubba Maae — who stands at 6-foot-2, 347 pounds — that will be difficult to block up front.
Davis also has defensive backs Rex Connors (team-high 28 tackles, two interceptions) and Devon King (26 tackles) to defend the pass.
Another element to contend with will be the time of the game, with kickoff set for 8:15 p.m. MT Saturday on ESPNU. Vigen said this will be a great opportunity for both MSU and the Big Sky to have a nationally televised game this weekend.
Vigen said his team has played night games before — including games against Weber State and Sam Houston last season and McNeese State and Oregon State this season — which should prepare them to play in primetime once again.
“I think it should be a great environment for our guys,” Vigen said.
Above all, though, this will be the third-straight test for MSU after games against Oregon State and then-No. 15 Eastern Washington. Whether it’s Davis’ defense, Gilliam, or playing without Mellott, Saturday’s game will be another proving ground for the Bobcats.
“We’re going to have to play well to win, there’s no denying that,” Vigen said. “And this will be a great challenge for us.”
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Braden Shaw can be reached at bshaw@dailychronicle.com or 406-582-2690. Follow him on Twitter @ByBradenShaw
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