MSU HC Brent Vigen talks Oregon, QB Justin Lamson

Oregon is ack in Autzen stadium this weekend and will host a dangerous Montana State. Maybe not dangerous in terms of being a matchup in talent, but being a disciplined, well-coached, hungry team. I mean Idaho made a run at Oregon to start last season so anything is possible in your opener.

Montana State head coach Brent Vigen met with media on Monday. He talked about his team, playing Oregon and naming a starter at quarterback.

Here are his top comments and the video included below. (Fair warning, it’s 30 minutes long.)

———————————————————————————————————

Opening Statement:

“All right, great to be here, game week. I think this is always that transition you look forward to, and there’s a lot of curiosity, obviously, within this team. And our opportunity to go out there on the field Saturday, we’ll sort some of that out. I really appreciate the efforts of this group going back to January and then followed up with the winter and the spring and the summer that we needed.

And I think we, by and large, really thought our fall allowed us to continue to take that step in the right direction. And now we’re poised with this first opportunity. And this opportunity, obviously, is gonna be a big, big challenge. Oregon, the number seventh ranked team in the country. Undefeated number one at the end of the regular season last year. Been a perennial powerhouse for many, many years.

And we’re gonna have to go out there and obviously play very well. And that’s gonna be a challenge. And I think our guys are looking forward to that challenge. And the opportunity to play in an environment like Austin Stadium. And all that means is we gotta go out there and still play the game regardless of the environment. So we’ve done some things to prepare us the best we can. But until you get out there and are amongst the crowd like they have, you won’t quite know what that feels like. So again, excited about it. I know releasing a depth chart today, formalizing our ideas, our thoughts at a few positions as we head into the week was important.”

On Naming Justin Lamson Starter:

“Naming Justin the starter, I think that was clear for us as we came out of fall camp. And Justin still is learning by the day, I would say. And without the luxury of spring ball, we have appreciated how he’s went after it with his attention to detail and willingness to work through the course of the summer and then fall camp.

You know it’s clear that this opportunity really matters to him and you know I think our team has really embraced him because of who he is and you know beyond his ability I think that played a key role into his continued growth. He’s a really good teammate, he’s clearly got leadership capabilities and I think we feel like he’s got some teammate he’s clearly got leadership capabilities and I think we feel like he’s got some playmaking capabilities as well so with that I’ll open it up but I’m excited for the opportunity. I think underneath it all he’s really good person he’s a he’s a hard worker he didn’t take anything for granted. Being a transfer, I think sometimes people certainly on the outside could have took for granted that Justin Lampson would start for us, but he didn’t take that for granted. I think his personality just fits with our guys.

From the time he got here late spring early summer his work ethic just just being one of the guys has been I think his his biggest priority and and when you have that and you don’t assume anything uh i think in our culture you’re gonna you’re gonna fit in just fine and you know that’s what we’ve tried to do regardless of the position with transfers find guys that will fit um into our culture versus our culture having to fit them.

But I think it goes both ways. I think that’s part of the reason Justin wanted to come here is I think he saw a place that would suit him and fit him as well.”

On Oregon:

“Well, they turn over quite a bit. I think that’s the first thing that you see. But you go back to the style of play, I guess, were able to you know get to last year by the end of the season and you know go through the regular season undefeated win the Big Ten championship and then go on in the playoff you know they have talent all over the place and you know I think the things that jump out is they were extremely disruptive up front on defense, offensively, playmakers all over the place.

They had a really experienced quarterback in Dillon Gabriel that they put a lot on. So what does that mean for this year? I think you’re gonna be a team that’s got so many of the same characteristics, even though it’s going to be some different guys. So you can’t get locked into who’s going to be their primary guys at some places relative to how it’s going to be maybe a few weeks down the road.

But they are going to be disruptive up front. They do return some guys up front that did that last year, and they’ve added pieces like that. Extremely athletic on the back end. Offensively, less experienced, certainly, at quarterback than they’ve been the last few years. They’ve had the two most experienced quarterbacks in the history of college football.

So that’s going to change. So what does that mean? I would suggest that’s going to mean they’re going to have to lean more and more on all those playmakers, and those playmakers have changed a little bit too. So I think the big thing is let’s not get caught up in maybe certain individuals so much as know that they’re gonna be good all over the place.

We gotta be on our game and probably then some. We’re capable of that and we can’t do anything to inflict wounds on our own self. I think that’s the type of game you need to play. They’re going to make plays. They’ve got playmakers abound on both sides of the ball. But we have guys that make plays and we’re going to have to go in and do that and be able to withstand a bunch of blows at the same time.
We have guys that make plays and we’re gonna have to go in and do that and be able to withstand a bunch of blows at the same time.

So, not getting too deep into the individuals on their team, but they’re gonna look the part. They’re gonna play real hard cuz that’s what they’ve certainly become, is not just a talented team, but a very well coached team. A team that plays with the right type of passion and emotion for the game and you know that’s why they were so successful not only last year but in the you know the years building up to last year.”

On Idaho’s Success vs Oregon:

“Well you watch all the games. And that game happened, and we can’t count on some of the things that maybe happened in that game happening again. I think – but the big thing is you’ve got to hang in there, and that’s what Idaho was able to do. They didn’t do much offensively in the first half, but they hung in there on defense.

And you find yourself getting into that second half and you’re in the game, that’s what you wanna be. And it becomes more and more maybe complicated on their side and you build confidence off that. But our expectation more than anything is we’ve got to play as well as we can play. We can’t assume anything but Oregon’s best.

And we believe that our best can stack up. And that’s how we’ve got to go about it. We’ve got guys, again, that can make plays, and come Saturday, we’re going to have to be in the right place. We’re going to have to make the plays when we’ve got an opportunity to and understand they’re going to make some along the way as well.”

On Oregon’s Offense/New QB:

“Yeah, same coordinator. So, you know, you look at their volume, which became, you know, very extensive, I would say, by the end of the year. And you really try to do the best you can to, you know, predict out of that. I think the expectation is they’ve done a great job of getting their playmakers opportunities. So identifying, you know, I guess who those playmakers are going to be is part of how you’re going to take last year’s film and the departures they’ve had and translate it to this year.

You know, I think the quarterback piece is one that, yes, whoever it is is going to be new, but they’ve been in the program too, so they’re not brand new. Both guys that are battling for the job were both there last fall, so you have to assume that they were pretty entrenched with what they were doing all year.

So not an easy job, think to predict but I think when you get in the game you know hopefully you know a few drives in you can you know back away and assess it and get a you know a more narrow scope of what you think because because if you take a look at all 14 other games it’s a pretty broad scope and yes they graduate the guy that was pulling the trigger for the most part, but they were about much more than that last year and they’re going to be about much more than that this year. And in terms of defense, you know, I know Dan Lanning obviously has a defensive background.”