It took Idaho State’s defensive players a number of days to recover from what head coach Mike Kramer described as a solid beating during last Friday’s scrimmage.

    It wasn’t until Thursday’s practice — the last of the spring for the Bengals — for the players on that side of the ball to round back into form.

    “I think we had a pretty emotional scrimmage. The defense got savaged a little bit,” Kramer said. “The defense lost a little bit of its mojo. I thought we staggered a little bit for two days, but we got going (Thursday).”

    For a defense that was historically ineffective in 2012 and learning an entirely new system this year, some letdown is expected. But Kramer wants to see more today in the final scrimmage of the spring, the Dave Kragthorpe Classic.

    “New scheme, new coaches on defense, but it was not quite the performance-driven element in last Friday’s scrimmage that we really want to show,” he said. “Hopefully we rebound (today) and play a lot better defensively.”

    On the other side of the ball, there are positives and negatives.

    As the Bengals wrap up its month-long series of spring practices and scrimmages, Kramer is pleased with the progression of his offensive line.

    “Our starting group in our offensive line, we’ve got about six guys that can play better than we’ve had a unit play since I’ve been here,” he said. “I feel like that’s really been our biggest progress.”

    But with the good comes the bad. Because of injuries to players who will be starters in the fall, the receiving corps struggled to improve over the course of the last month.

    “We lost our slot receivers, and they won’t play on Saturday,” Kramer said. “That’s Luke Austin. The ability of our slot receivers to push the defense in the middle, not only in passing routes and being able to dig guys out in the running game, is a big part of a one-back offense. We’ve got to be much more durable.”

    One pleasant surprise for Kramer and his coaching staff is the emergence of redshirt senior Cameron Gupton, who moved to cornerback after playing safety last year.

    “The one guy that’s had a really exceptional spring for us defensively is Mr. Consistent, and that would be Cameron Gupton,” Kramer said. “He is really, really been a great addition to us on our defense at corner.”

    Gupton, a man of few words, is very nonchalant about the move and his potential dominance.

    “It’s been cool. I’ve been learning a lot and trying to get better everyday,” he said. “I just go out there and play, try to get better at my technique and listen to my coaches more.”

    Redshirt senior wide receiver Cam Richmond is impressed by what he sees from Gupton.

    “I would go against that guy everyday in almost every drill,” he said. “That is one of the most consistent players I have ever played against. He reminds me of Donovan Henley a little bit, minus the dreadlocks.”

    Bengal fans will get one last look at the team before fall camp opens in August today. The Dave Kragthorpe Classic begins at noon in Holt Arena.