Bane’s return, Schmidt’s injury loom large during first practice

JON DYKSTRA/DAILY FORUM
Northwest Missouri State University head football coach Rich Wright demonstrates technique to sophomore defensive end Mike Ehlke (63) during the first practice of the fall on Monday at Bearcat Stadium.

With the first practice of the fall, excitement could not be higher around the Northwest Missouri State football program.

The team is coming off of its second-straight national championship season and will enter the year as the favorite to make it three-straight. Rich Wright is taking over as the team’s head coach after serving on staff since 2004. A quarterback competition between seniors Jonathan Baker and Zach Martin is just beginning to heat up and will likely lead right up to Week One against Emporia State.

“It is just getting our feet wet,” Wright explained. “We are trying to get everyone in the right direction and we set the floor. That is what we talk to our kids about and we build up from there … It is all part of that process.

“We have set goals, real specifically for camp. Every one of our position assignments has goals that are just related to camp. We are trying to focus on right now and today — what are the things we can get better at, what are the things that are going to be points of emphasis and we are going from there.”

During the first day of practice, the focus was more on who the weapons at either Baker’s or Martin’s disposal will be.

Shawn Bane, Jr. returned to the Bearcats for his first practice since a severe knee injury sidelined him late in the regular season last year.

The junior — who was the MIAA Freshman of the Year in 2015 — had 1,150 all-purpose yards last year before being injured in the 10th game of his sophomore season.

“He certainly gives that quarterback a toy, doesn’t he?” Wright said. “It is one of those things that he is out there and that is a threat. Just his presence out there dictates coverage. If you want to double him and pay attention to him, then you have other people on the field lined up one-on-one. The more of that we put out on the field, the easier we are going to make the transition for whoever ends up playing quarterback.”

While Bane was careful not to say he is quite to the level he was at when the injury occurred, he is confident that is just a matter of knocking off the rust.

Bane laughed when asked if he would see an expanded role and take some snaps as a “Wildcat” quarterback this season.

The role could open up this year with Bane’s fellow wide receiver Randy Schmidt missing the season after having surgery on his knee last Thursday.

Wright did not go into the severity of the injury, but did confirm that it would keep Schmidt on the sideline all season.

“He had surgery,” Wright said. “He is just back home taking care of his surgery and he’ll be back (in Maryville) hopefully sometime next week … It was a knee injury.”

Schmidt — one of the heroes of last season’s national championship game — was a jack-of-all trades last season with 622 all-purpose yards.

Primarily a receiver, Schmidt caught 17 passes for 279 yards and a touchdown, but the role Schmidt is most known for is playing “Wildcat” quarterback.

He completed 19-of-23 passes on the season, including 5-for-8 in the national championship game against North Alabama.

He also ran for a season-high 96 yards in the snow at Children’s Mercy Park. In total, he had 324 rushing yards on the year.

The loss of Schmidt certainly hurts the Bearcats, but Wright is excited for the return of Bane and continuing to prepare his team for the season opener.

“This is the fun part of my year,” Wright said. “If you coach college football, you get a little bit of a flutter when the first day comes around. I love what I do and it wouldn’t matter if I was the D-line coach or the defensive coordinator or the head football coach. It is fun to get back out here and I know the rest of our coaching staff feels the same way. It is just exciting.”