Even after Portland State’s 80-play Spring Game Saturday, the Vikings outlook for the regular season is still fuzzy. To start, it is not entirely clear who will lead the Vikings’ attack at quarterback. It is still up in air which wide receivers the starting signal caller will target as key weapons. It is unknown whether young secondary players will pan out. And the Portland State offensive line appears to be a work in progress.
Forecast: fuzzy
Even after Portland State’s 80-play Spring Game Saturday, the Vikings outlook for the regular season is still fuzzy.
To start, it is not entirely clear who will lead the Vikings’ attack at quarterback. It is still up in air which wide receivers the starting signal caller will target as key weapons. It is unknown whether young secondary players will pan out. And the Portland State offensive line appears to be a work in progress.
But beyond those lingering question marks, the offense-versus-defense scrimmage at PGE Park this past weekend was a relatively successful conclusion to four weeks of spring practice-that is, in the eyes of head coach Jerry Glanville.
“We’ve improved mentally,” Glanville said of the Vikings’ performance over the spring. “I think we’ll improve physically once the new kids come in.”
And such as any defensive mastermind, Glanville’s praise following the game was loudest for the hard-hitting players on that side of the ball, despite the five touchdowns the unit allowed.
“Defensively and mentally, we’re so much further than we’ve ever been,” Glanville said. “We’re not out of position. We couldn’t say that for a long time last year.”
As a whole, the defense forced a pair of turnovers, compiled 10 tackles for a loss and had five pass breakups. The Portland State defense also gave up only 282 yards of total offense and held the offensive unit to one third-down conversion on 14 attempts.
With the Vikings top returning linebackers sitting out-including seniors Andy Schantz and KJ McCrae, and sophomore Ryan Pederson-a much different trio stepped up for the Vikings Saturday.
Sophomore linebacker Dallas Smith, freshman linebacker Quinn Stewart and junior free safety Matt Bramow headlined the Vikings’ defensive performance. Smith led the team with seven tackles, Stewart had four tackles, a 62-yard fumble recovery and a sack, and Bramow pulled in a first-half interception.
“We’re thinking about a championship,” Smith said of the team’s expectations heading into the season. “We’ve got to get that ring.”
In order to go from a 3-8 season to securing that Big Sky Championship ring, the Portland State offense must replicate the production that made it one of the most potent units in the conference a season ago.
The quarterback play will dictate much of the Vikings’ success next season. All four quarterbacks–juniors Tygue Howland and Jimmy Collins, and sophomores Drew Hubel and Connor Kavanaugh–performed well Saturday.
Howland and Hubel will likely battle for the starting position through fall practice. Howland led one scoring drive of 60 yards to start the game and Hubel took the reins in the second quarter to the tune of eight completions for 61 yards.
While Collins passed for 51 yards in the third period, Kavanaugh raised some eyebrows in the final quarter. Kavanaugh completed only four passes, relying on his legs instead of his arm to gain 68 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. The local product from Lincoln High School engineered a total of three scoring drives.
Outside of the quarterbacks, few other offensive players had noteworthy performances. Junior wide receiver Mario D’Ambrosio generated most of the highlights with five receptions for 57 yards and a first-quarter touchdown.
With Bobby McClintock, the probable-starter at fullback, on the sidelines still recovering from a knee injury, the Portland State rushing attack struggled, gaining just 73 net yards on 27 attempts.
Despite the lack of offensive firepower Saturday, Howland remains optimistic about the makeup of the unit.
“I think we could have played better, but there is a lot to take away from this,” Howland said following the Spring Game. “I think I’m pretty comfortable. And with the guys coming in the fall, we have some other freshman that we think are going to compete and be real good. So, I think we’ll be alright.”
Nearly the entire spring, Glanville has signaled that Portland State will receive a proverbial shot in the arm once the majority of its 24 incoming freshman from Glanville’s first recruiting class with the Vikings report to practice.
The “Man in Black” echoed this sentiment one last time following the Spring Game.
“I think we have to have help. Help is on the way,” Glanville said. “I think August will be big for us. We’re going to have to play kids who have never been here, and they’re going to have to learn.
Digits
787
Number of fans that attended the annual Spring Game this season. That figure is down significantly from the 2,014 spectators that watched head coach Jerry Glanville’s inaugural Spring Game last year.
1 of 14
The third-down conversion rate for Vikings offense, which calculates to a seven percent success rate
25 Yards
The longest play from scrimmage, which came on a fourth-quarter keeper by redshirt freshman quarterback Connor Kavanaugh.
7
Tackles for sophomore linebacker Dallas Smith, who was filling in for returning starters Andy Schantz and KJ McCrae.
3
The number of total fumbles for the Portland State offense, however, the Vikings only lost one of those fumbles Saturday.
4 of 4
The Vikings were a perfect 4 of 4 on trips to the red zone in the Spring Game.
