Big Sky Players in the 2024 Draft

[MinnesotaBobcat]

I’m surprised Gubner hasn’t gotten at least a mini-camp invite. I
know Snell has some injury issues, but I thought he might have gotten a look too based on his stellar career, Overall it just seemed to be a bad year for FCS players getting a shot, especially from the Big Sky.

[WetBreeches]

Lack of Big Sky players/Cat/Griz players could be an artifact of COVID years. NFL teams don't generally smile upon 22+ year old rookies. Some guys drafted were 20. Not saying it's correct, but I believe that has definitely had an effect on certain players.

Except every team was impacted by Covid. It's a slightly down year but not unusual for the Cats. Pre-2021 what was our average number of players to be drafted/UDFA/minicamp invite? Probably not higher than 2. I know we're in a different place now but I expect next year to be much higher. There weren't a lot of seniors on the 2023 team and they also weren't highly desirable positions/situations (multiple TE, backup QB, good-not-great defensive players).

Every team was impacted...but if an NFL team has a choice between a 23/24 year old FCS 5th/6th year Senior and a 21 year old FBS Junior in rounds 5-7..they're going with the 21 year old. In years past if the choice was between a 22 year old FCS Senior and a 21 year old FBS Junior NFL teams may lean the other way.

[WetBreeches]

I still believe MSU’s 2021 team stays in this Frisco game if Tommy doesn’t get hurt on the first drive while heading for a score. These Bison from that team are all on NFL rosters.

That cat team was special, but I still think it's hard for them to stay within 10 points even with a healthy Tommy. NDSU's offense could not be stopped. The only chance the cats had that year vs NDSU was on artificial turf WITH a healthy Tommy. NDSU O line was too big and strong for cats on natural grass. Add in the wet turf that year and the cats quickness and speed was completely neutralized. I do believe on artificial turf with a healthy Tommy that game is within 3 points either way.

[Colter_Nuanez]

[Colter_Nuanez]

I’m surprised Gubner hasn’t gotten at least a mini-camp invite. I
know Snell has some injury issues, but I thought he might have gotten a look too based on his stellar career, Overall it just seemed to be a bad year for FCS players getting a shot, especially from the Big Sky.

The part that I don't see anyone talking about is that this is indicative of the regression in talent in the FCS. We've been saying it ever since the pandemic. Does no one else see it?

I know it's depressing to think about as we all share college football in Montana being a big part of our lives....

[CodyCat]

I’m surprised Gubner hasn’t gotten at least a mini-camp invite. I
know Snell has some injury issues, but I thought he might have gotten a look too based on his stellar career, Overall it just seemed to be a bad year for FCS players getting a shot, especially from the Big Sky.

The part that I don't see anyone talking about is that this is indicative of the regression in talent in the FCS. We've been saying it ever since the pandemic. Does no one else see it?

I know it's depressing to think about as we all share college football in Montana being a big part of our lives....

I honestly thought the Cats have been recruiting players they never would have had a shot at before the Portal. Guess Im way off.

[HelenaCat95]

I’m surprised Gubner hasn’t gotten at least a mini-camp invite. I
know Snell has some injury issues, but I thought he might have gotten a look too based on his stellar career, Overall it just seemed to be a bad year for FCS players getting a shot, especially from the Big Sky.

The part that I don't see anyone talking about is that this is indicative of the regression in talent in the FCS. We've been saying it ever since the pandemic. Does no one else see it?

I know it's depressing to think about as we all share college football in Montana being a big part of our lives....

Yes - in your opinion, why is this? And what part does the portal play in it? This year you've got guys like Jared Verse, who started at Albany and ends up a 1st rounder out of Florida State.

[kennethnoisewater]

I still believe MSU’s 2021 team stays in this Frisco game if Tommy doesn’t get hurt on the first drive while heading for a score. These Bison from that team are all on NFL rosters.

That cat team was special, but I still think it's hard for them to stay within 10 points even with a healthy Tommy. NDSU's offense could not be stopped. The only chance the cats had that year vs NDSU was on artificial turf WITH a healthy Tommy. NDSU O line was too big and strong for cats on natural grass. Add in the wet turf that year and the cats quickness and speed was completely neutralized. I do believe on artificial turf with a healthy Tommy that game is within 3 points either way.

I agree with you that a healthy Tommy doesn't quite get them inside of 10 points, although the score is more respectable. But I still argue Chase Benson would have made a big impact on that game. At one point in the first quarter, Chase came in to give it a go. NDSU noticed and double teamed him. They'd been double teaming TA the whole time and did the rest of the game. That was the only play where I remember TA not getting doubled, and he would have made a bigger impact if he was getting blocked 1 on 1. Of course Chase's back was not good and he came right out of the game after that play. And yeah I'm sure NDSU could say "well if we had a healthy _______, we would've won by 50".

[MSU01]

I’m surprised Gubner hasn’t gotten at least a mini-camp invite. I
know Snell has some injury issues, but I thought he might have gotten a look too based on his stellar career, Overall it just seemed to be a bad year for FCS players getting a shot, especially from the Big Sky.

The part that I don't see anyone talking about is that this is indicative of the regression in talent in the FCS. We've been saying it ever since the pandemic. Does no one else see it?

I know it's depressing to think about as we all share college football in Montana being a big part of our lives....

Yes - in your opinion, why is this? And what part does the portal play in it? This year you've got guys like Jared Verse, who started at Albany and ends up a 1st rounder out of Florida State.

I don't think the portal has played a huge role so far, as Jared Verse was the only player drafted this year who had transferred from the FCS up to the FBS. Here's a good listing of the number of FCS players drafted by year. https://herosports.com/draft-fcs-picks- ... 2019-bzbz/

For whatever reason there was a huge spike in 2022, which is of course the year that Troy Andersen and Daniel Hardy both got drafted.

[MinnesotaBobcat]

I’m surprised Gubner hasn’t gotten at least a mini-camp invite. I
know Snell has some injury issues, but I thought he might have gotten a look too based on his stellar career, Overall it just seemed to be a bad year for FCS players getting a shot, especially from the Big Sky.

The part that I don't see anyone talking about is that this is indicative of the regression in talent in the FCS. We've been saying it ever since the pandemic. Does no one else see it?

I know it's depressing to think about as we all share college football in Montana being a big part of our lives....

For sure there is less talent in the FCS with the portal. I also didn’t expect the Cats/Griz to get many looks. SDSU had a once in a generation team, so of course had a good year in terms of guys getting a shot in the NFL. However, NDSU still got theirs, and in the grand scheme of things I’d say the Cats/Griz/Bison were pretty equal in terms of talent.

It just surprises me that Gubner in particular has yet to receive an invite. Snell’s injury could have scared teams off as well. Braxton Hill was the only other player that comes to mind out of the Montana schools that might have gotten a look. Obviously there are guys who are more qualified than I am to judge talent for the NFL, but those three players really stood out this year over the past couple of years.

[rivercat]

I’m surprised Gubner hasn’t gotten at least a mini-camp invite. I
know Snell has some injury issues, but I thought he might have gotten a look too based on his stellar career, Overall it just seemed to be a bad year for FCS players getting a shot, especially from the Big Sky.

The part that I don't see anyone talking about is that this is indicative of the regression in talent in the FCS. We've been saying it ever since the pandemic. Does no one else see it?

I know it's depressing to think about as we all share college football in Montana being a big part of our lives....

This is the fact. The ease of transferring combined with the NIL money results in top talent from FCS and G5 getting poached by the P5. It's that simple.

[MSU01]

I’m surprised Gubner hasn’t gotten at least a mini-camp invite. I
know Snell has some injury issues, but I thought he might have gotten a look too based on his stellar career, Overall it just seemed to be a bad year for FCS players getting a shot, especially from the Big Sky.

The part that I don't see anyone talking about is that this is indicative of the regression in talent in the FCS. We've been saying it ever since the pandemic. Does no one else see it?

I know it's depressing to think about as we all share college football in Montana being a big part of our lives....

This is the fact. The ease of transferring combined with the NIL money results in top talent from FCS and G5 getting poached by the P5. It's that simple.

I'll happily defer to Colter on his judgment of the overall talent level of the FCS division since he spends far more time paying attention to it than I do, but I don't think it's as easy as blaming it all on the Transfer Portal. In the last three drafts since the "free transfer" Portal era began, there have been a total of 47 FCS players drafted but only 6 players drafted who were FCS to FBS transfers. The 2022 Draft tied for the most FCS draft picks (24) since the year 2000 when there were 28 FCS players drafted, so at least in terms of draft picks we haven't seen some kind of huge dropoff yet. It would make sense that FCS schools are getting less talent from FBS transfers than in the past, now that an FBS to FBS transfers no longer requires the player to sit out a year.

The relatively low UDFA numbers are interesting this year though, not sure if that's because the teams are signing fewer UDFA players in general or if they're signing more FBS players over FCS ones.

[coloradocat]

I’m surprised Gubner hasn’t gotten at least a mini-camp invite. I
know Snell has some injury issues, but I thought he might have gotten a look too based on his stellar career, Overall it just seemed to be a bad year for FCS players getting a shot, especially from the Big Sky.

The part that I don't see anyone talking about is that this is indicative of the regression in talent in the FCS. We've been saying it ever since the pandemic. Does no one else see it?

I know it's depressing to think about as we all share college football in Montana being a big part of our lives....

This is the fact. The ease of transferring combined with the NIL money results in top talent from FCS and G5 getting poached by the P5. It's that simple.

I'll happily defer to Colter on his judgment of the overall talent level of the FCS division since he spends far more time paying attention to it than I do, but I don't think it's as easy as blaming it all on the Transfer Portal. In the last three drafts since the "free transfer" Portal era began, there have been a total of 47 FCS players drafted but only 6 players drafted who were FCS to FBS transfers. The 2022 Draft tied for the most FCS draft picks (24) since the year 2000 when there were 28 FCS players drafted, so at least in terms of draft picks we haven't seen some kind of huge dropoff yet. The relatively low UDFA numbers are interesting this year though, not sure if that's because the teams are signing fewer UDFA players in general or if they're signing more FBS players over FCS ones.

One other aspect that hasn't been brought up is the movement of entire teams from FCS to FBS. The talent in the FCS has dropped because teams have left, not players. The top 10-15 teams in the FCS might be better now than the top 10-15 pre-2020 but the next 10-15 are worse. Teams haven't lost top end talent or depth, the league has.

[CatBot]

Without actually disagreeing with anything Colter said I'll just say these things always seem to come in ebbs and flows. I felt the attention Troy was receiving naturally brought many extra eyes on our other guys like Hardy and Okada. Not sure Hardy gets drafted or Okada receives the same opportunities without Troy.

[mslacatfan]

[Cataholic]

I’m surprised Gubner hasn’t gotten at least a mini-camp invite. I
know Snell has some injury issues, but I thought he might have gotten a look too based on his stellar career, Overall it just seemed to be a bad year for FCS players getting a shot, especially from the Big Sky.

The part that I don't see anyone talking about is that this is indicative of the regression in talent in the FCS. We've been saying it ever since the pandemic. Does no one else see it?

I know it's depressing to think about as we all share college football in Montana being a big part of our lives....

More than teams leaving the FCS, it would seem that the best FCS players with NFL potential enter the portal. But it does not appear to be panning out for those portal guys. You have to wonder if Ifanse stayed at MSU and has an All American season, does he at least get UDFA opportunity?

[AFCAT]

I’m surprised Gubner hasn’t gotten at least a mini-camp invite. I
know Snell has some injury issues, but I thought he might have gotten a look too based on his stellar career, Overall it just seemed to be a bad year for FCS players getting a shot, especially from the Big Sky.

The part that I don't see anyone talking about is that this is indicative of the regression in talent in the FCS. We've been saying it ever since the pandemic. Does no one else see it?

I know it's depressing to think about as we all share college football in Montana being a big part of our lives....

I don't know. There are some people saying that FCS schools are picking up more talented high school kids now because FBS teams are using the portal more. I don't know what to believe.

[Cataholic]

I’m surprised Gubner hasn’t gotten at least a mini-camp invite. I
know Snell has some injury issues, but I thought he might have gotten a look too based on his stellar career, Overall it just seemed to be a bad year for FCS players getting a shot, especially from the Big Sky.

The part that I don't see anyone talking about is that this is indicative of the regression in talent in the FCS. We've been saying it ever since the pandemic. Does no one else see it?

I know it's depressing to think about as we all share college football in Montana being a big part of our lives....

More than teams leaving the FCS, it would seem that the best FCS players with NFL potential enter the portal. But it does not appear to be panning out for those portal guys. You have to wonder if Ifanse stayed at MSU and has an All American season, does he at least get UDFA opportunity?

Adding onto this, just from last year, the Cats lost 3 guys with NFL potential:

Omar Aigbedion- OL- signed with Baylor
Rush Reimer- OL- signed with Cal
Sebastian Valdez- DL- signed with Washington

If every team loses their best guys to the portal, the end product is less.

[luckyirishguy25]

I’m surprised Gubner hasn’t gotten at least a mini-camp invite. I
know Snell has some injury issues, but I thought he might have gotten a look too based on his stellar career, Overall it just seemed to be a bad year for FCS players getting a shot, especially from the Big Sky.

The part that I don't see anyone talking about is that this is indicative of the regression in talent in the FCS. We've been saying it ever since the pandemic. Does no one else see it?

I know it's depressing to think about as we all share college football in Montana being a big part of our lives....

For sure there is less talent in the FCS with the portal. I also didn’t expect the Cats/Griz to get many looks. SDSU had a once in a generation team, so of course had a good year in terms of guys getting a shot in the NFL. However, NDSU still got theirs, and in the grand scheme of things I’d say the Cats/Griz/Bison were pretty equal in terms of talent.

It just surprises me that Gubner in particular has yet to receive an invite. Snell’s injury could have scared teams off as well. Braxton Hill was the only other player that comes to mind out of the Montana schools that might have gotten a look. Obviously there are guys who are more qualified than I am to judge talent for the NFL, but those three players really stood out this year over the past couple of years.

Yeah....no. We still can't hold NDSU's jockstraps, whomever thinks we're on the same level as the Dakotas should probably lay off the wacky.

[kennethnoisewater]

I’m surprised Gubner hasn’t gotten at least a mini-camp invite. I
know Snell has some injury issues, but I thought he might have gotten a look too based on his stellar career, Overall it just seemed to be a bad year for FCS players getting a shot, especially from the Big Sky.

The part that I don't see anyone talking about is that this is indicative of the regression in talent in the FCS. We've been saying it ever since the pandemic. Does no one else see it?

I know it's depressing to think about as we all share college football in Montana being a big part of our lives....

For sure there is less talent in the FCS with the portal. I also didn’t expect the Cats/Griz to get many looks. SDSU had a once in a generation team, so of course had a good year in terms of guys getting a shot in the NFL. However, NDSU still got theirs, and in the grand scheme of things I’d say the Cats/Griz/Bison were pretty equal in terms of talent.

It just surprises me that Gubner in particular has yet to receive an invite. Snell’s injury could have scared teams off as well. Braxton Hill was the only other player that comes to mind out of the Montana schools that might have gotten a look. Obviously there are guys who are more qualified than I am to judge talent for the NFL, but those three players really stood out this year over the past couple of years.

Yeah....no. We still can't hold NDSU's jockstraps, whomever thinks we're on the same level as the Dakotas should probably lay off the wacky.

I don't know about that. Nobody's saying we're on the same level as SDSU, first of all. And second of all, you don't think MSU looked like they were at least on the same level as NDSU in the playoffs last year? I thought MSU looked better, just couldn't get it done. I won't argue if you say NDSU was slightly better, but to say MSU can't hold NDSU's jockstraps seems a little aggressive.