Lights open spring practice; add recruits
By Ryan Divish/Havre Daily News Sports Editor/rdivish@havredailynews.com
Spring football? The Montana State
University-Northern football team had milder weather in November. Fortunately
for head coach
But the brushing of snow hasn't stopped the Lights' spring season as they
practiced for the first time Thursday night in the friendly confines of the
MSU-Northern gym.
Despite the early weather issues, Samson is more than upbeat about spring
practice.
"The kids are anxious to get outside," he said. "We had a
good winter in terms of conditioning and weight training. But I think we have
some kids getting a little cabin fever. They really want to get out on the
field."
With a plethora of young players filling the Northern roster, Samson knows
that spring practices are especially important for his team.
"We want to get a little tougher physically and mentally," he
said. "We had so many young kids playing last year and that's one thing
that stood out that we needed to get better at."
Northern will practice three times a week, primarily on Tuesdays, Thursdays
and Fridays, with three scrimmages set for Saturday in April, starting on April
2.
"We had a lot of kids redshirt last
year," Samson said. "We really hope to see them take a step forward
and see if they compete for playing time. The scrimmages will give them that
chance."
If the prospect of his returning players getting better isn't enough for
Samson, the prospects he's added to his 2005 recruiting class can only help.
Samson has signed 13 more athletes to go with the 13 other players he signed
earlier this spring.
Headlining the list is
"Having Kennedy in the program really helped," Samson said.
"They both understand that the program is on the upswing and headed in the
right direction."
He is a solid all-around athlete, having recently wrapped up basketball
season with the Longhorns. This spring he will look to defend his state titles
in the long jump and triple jump and will be a serious contender in the
100-meter dash after finishing second last season.
"We expect a kid like Khalin to come and
compete to get on the field right away," Samson said. "He is as good
of all-around athlete as there is in the state. He brings the type of
athleticism and play-making ability that we need."
Samson got another athlete from a few miles down the road, adding former Big
Sandy standout Adam Jesperson, who will transfer in
from Montana Tech.
As a senior in 2003, Jesperson was a key member of
the Big Sandy team that advanced to the Class C title game. Jesperson
recorded 145 tackles and 10 interceptions that season, earning all-state
honors. He redshirted for the Orediggers
this past season.
"I've already told Adam that when we walks in here this fall that he's
going to be on the field," Samson said. "Now, whether that's 60 or 70
plays a game remains to be seen. He's gotten quite a bit bigger and stronger
since high school. He gives us some depth in our secondary that we didn't' have
last season."
Samson addressed one of Northern's biggest needs,
signing CMR kicker Luke McKinley to an NAIA national letter of intent.
McKinley was one of the top kickers in
"It's huge signing him," Samson said. "He's very, very
consistent and has kicked in a lot of big games in his career. We're going to
bring in another kicker as well, but getting Luke is very big."
Another area in need of depth is offensive line, and Samson added three
players to help, signing Ben Benhart (6-0, 320) of
Belt, Dustin Merritt (5-11, 270) of Sidney and Jason Smith (6-1, 273) of
Roundup.
Benhart was all-state for the Huskies and was
named to the Shrine game. Merritt was a first-team all-state offensive lineman
for the Eagles and was named as a Shrine game alternate. Smith was an all-state
center and defensive tackle for the Panthers this season.
"These three are definitely going to help us in the future,"
Samson said. "There is a period of adjustment for offensive linemen. I
don't know if any will see the field right away, but you never know. Merritt is
just a solid football player, who comes from a good program. Benhart is one of the largest human beings I've ever
seen."
Samson also fortified his linebacker corps with three in-state signees, led by
"Cory's a tough son-of-a-gun, who works really hard, particularly in
the weight room," Samson said. "He comes from a good program. He may redshirt, but I could see him contributing on special teams
next season."
Also signing were Stetson Koffman
(5-10, 200) of Helena Capital, Tony DeLeo (6-1, 200)
of Livingston and Tyler Thomas (5-10, 190).
Koffman played for Samson as a sophomore at
Capital, while DeLeo didn't play this season, but was
an all-conference center and linebacker in 2003. Thomas also earned
all-conference honors.
"I coached Koffman for three years, so I am
pretty familiar with him and he was pretty easy to recruit," Samson said.
"He blew his knee out in the first game of his senior season. He's got a
good nose for the ball and is really excited to come up here.
"Thomas is a kid that we project to be an outside linebacker,"
Samson added. "He came very highly recommended from people we know in
Samson didn't limit himself to just recruiting in-state. Instead, he added
three skill players from out-of-state, two of whom could make an immediate
impact.
He picked up some much needed help with the signing of wide receiver Justin Kissee of
Kissee is a big receiver, standing 6-4 and 185
pounds. He racked up 465 yards receiving and seven touchdowns en route to
grabbing first-team all-conference honors as receiver and defensive back in the
Cook Inlet Conference. He also earned second-team all-state honors at wide
receiver and defensive back.
"He's a true 6-4 and we're going to use him at receiver," Samson
said. "You know he was in a passing offense his first few year, but his team ran more of a Wing-T offense this year,
so his numbers were down a little."
Kissee is still a bit raw, but Samson hopes he
will have an immediate impact this fall.
"He's going to take a little coaching and polishing," he said.
"But how often do I get a chance to sign a 6-4 receiver that's athletic
and can run. I really do believe he can help us right away."
Samson added a pair of quarterbacks, signing Kelly McBryan
(6-0, 200) of
McBryan played in the Canadian Junior Football
League the past two years and will be a 21-year old freshman.
This past season, he helped lead the Edmonton Huskies to a win in the
Canadian Bowl and was named the Prairie Conference league MVP and offensive
player of the year.
McBryan completed 108 of 193 passes for 1,813
yards and eight touchdowns.
"He's a good athlete," Samson said. "He's played junior football
the last four years, which is better competition than high school ball."
McBryan will back up Northern's
all-conference quarterback Kyle Samson, but will also be on the field some as a
receiver.
"Kelly understands the situation with Kyle,"
Van Nest had a solid year for Meridian High, leading the Warriors to a 6-4
record and a place in the
"Van Nest is an intriguing prospect," Samson said.
"Offensively, what his high school program ran is very similar to the
things we run. That shouldn't make the transition quite as difficult. He's a
big sign. He was being recruited by
Van Nest's signing has triggered the possible signing from two other
"That's a good program," Samson said. "We wouldn't mind
getting a little pipeline going."
Samson is still recruiting and plans to add at least 10 to 15 more athletes
in the coming weeks.