Being a two-way player–make that an effective two-player–isn’t easy. It takes extra work in the film room, the weight room, and most important–it takes a special athletic ability that not everyone is blessed to have.
Weeki Wachee’s Montae Bostick has plenty of athletic ability to play both ways, and he has plenty of expectations surrounding him following the departure of “Mr. Weeki Wachee” aka Shawn O’Gorman–one of the best to ever do it for the Hornets in their (albeit brief) school history. The good news is O’Gorman has been helping Bostick get right this offseason, but the “bad” news is that O’Gorman is going to take his 4,217 all-purpose yards with him to Florida International University as a preferred walk-on in June.
Bostick knows that he will be expected to step-up in a major way this season for the Hornets, though. He played just three games his sophomore season, but then averaged 6.4 yards per carry and five touchdowns as a running back his junior season totaling 706 yards on 111 carries. He was credited with 45 tackles from his cornerback position–with 34 of those solo. His relationship with O’Gorman has been beneficial as the two prepare for their respective seasons and puts his offseason into detail thus far.
“I’ve been working with Shawn (O’Gorman) because he doesn’t leave until June and we’ve been working on footwork drills and he even though he doesn’t play DB–he gets me right because of all the DB’s he went against and teaches me a few things I can learn about playing against my position. I’ve also been working with Coach Kaz (Rob Kazmier)–he’s put me in the weight room a lot.” said Bostick.
As alluded to in the opening, it takes more than just hard work–it takes athletic ability. Bostick’s coaches knew from an early age that he had the talent and ability to play pretty much wherever he wanted. Something not mentioned above everything else–is the “will” to become great-not-good at multiple positions. You’ve got to love being on the field at all times and play through just about anything that comes your way–especially at the two spots that Bostick likes to play. They are two positions that are a combination of mental and physical toughness. Cornerback and running back aren’t for the faint of heart.
“I like playing both ways. Since I was kid I learned how to play both ways because some kids just don’t have that athletic ability to do certain things–so my coaches would just stick me at different positions to see what I could do and cornerback and running back were the positions I ended up learning how to do.”
Bostick alludes to the ripple effect that good defense can have on the offense, which is why he likes playing on that side of the ball a little bit more than the offense.
“I like playing cornerback more because of that feeling that if you stop the offense on three-and-out and that leads to a touchdown the next series then you’ve just made the team’s job that much easier. I like cornerback because I like to talk a lot of smack, too–getting into the opposing teams’ heads, because if you can throw them off mentally–that makes your job a lot easier as well.”
Bostick knows that to play out on the island as corner means you’ve also got to have a short memory. Otherwise, things could get ugly. Just because you get beat for a 65-yard splash play that sets up the opposing offense in the red zone, doesn’t mean you can’t be the hero on the very NEXT play by making a pick-six.
“Cornerbacks play with a lot of swag. I feel like cornerbacks are the players out on the field. You’ve got back it up though and people expect a lot and expect you to make plays–even if you don’t make a play, you still gotta come back and make the next play.”
What is about running back that has his attention, though? Bostick’s film when he’s running the ball is fun to watch, because he’s a north-south runner–even for his size. There’s little wasted movement and not much commitment to making a pretty move in the open field. That’s by design. From a mental standpoint, he compares what it’s like to carry the football versus trying to detach and/or intercept it.
“Running back just feels a little different. When you’re the running back, everybody’s counting on you to get the tempo going on the offense. If certain plays like a drop from the wide receiver happen and the coach gives you the ball on the next play to go and make that first down, you’ve got to go and make that first down without excuses. You’ve got to go and make a play. If you can make big plays as a running back, then you’ve taken a big burden off the offense in a lot of ways.”
Bostick’s philosophy when running the ball is simple. And the guys he tries to emulate his game after on both sides of the ball tell you a lot about his confidence level. After all–it takes a different kind of person to be committed to playing them like we said.
“I feel like any running backs’ first responsibility is to get down the field and make a first down. I worry about getting a first down than I do about getting a touchdown. As far as influences go–at cornerback, I like to keep my eyes on Louisville’s Shaq Wiggins and at running back, I like to watch Adrian Peterson. He makes the moves, but he’s always been about being a lateral running back and getting first downs.”
Bostick (5-10/165) is expected to be a major part of Team Tampa’s defensive unit this summer for 7-on-7 as well.