Matt McKay into the NCAA Transfer Portal

[onceacat]

Why are we so certain it was anxiety? There has been some talk of that but he hasn’t confirmed it. It is equally plausible that he did throw a fit when he was taken out of recent plays and then was benched for the playoffs and got pissed and decided to hell with it and ditched.

This seems like a bold ass move this close to the playoffs for someone with a horrible anxiety issue.

I’m not saying it couldn’t be something mental but is it possible that he is entitled and spoiled? I wasn’t a big fan of Rovig’s game last year but I have found a new respect for how he has handled moving down the depth chart this season. Perhaps McKay just doesn’t have that kind of character to handle doing what is best for the team.

I agree 100%. Its also pretty likely that the coaches set him up to fail...and when their ****** game plan cost the Brawl & a top seed, they threw the kid under the bus.

[onceacat]

If McKay is struggling with anxiety, why transfer to another program to again play the highest pressure position on a team. Makes no sense to me. And yeah, I've dealt with my share of head ****** my whole life. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. There seems to be that pattern for McKay. I'm not bashing him but pointing out a flaw in some posters analysis.

I've watched a dysfunctional offense for the past 5 games and it got continually worse. I think this is an opportunity for a restart of the offense. There are going to be some execution problems no doubt. But new energy and confidence can overcome those. I am excited once again to see the Cats offense on the field.

No hard feelings towards McKay and wish him well in his journey.

If the entire offense is dysfunctional, seems a little harsh to put that on McKay. Its really not McKay's fault taht the O line refuses to pick up blitzes & the WRs don't block downfield & he didn't call 11 games of running Ifanse into a 9 man stacked box.

I'm not saying McKay is an all BSC QB...but this offenses problems have very little to do with QB play.

[onceacat]

The tweet from Tavin Sharp is pretty revealing. Tavin is from Raleigh, NC, McKays home town. I assume they are friends and have talked about the exit from MSU. I read this as Tavin relaying what McKay has told him was going on. If so, it's disappointing because it is everyone's fault but his.

Have you watched any games this year? McKay wasn't a world beater, but everything in this tweet is 100% true.

Oline has been terrible. Receivers haven't blocked downfield or got separation, and play calling has been suspect.

Doesn't excuse some bad play on McKay's part...but the struggles of this offense are evenly distributed among everyone on the offense not named Isaiah or Lance.

[utucats]

If McKay is struggling with anxiety, why transfer to another program to again play the highest pressure position on a team. Makes no sense to me. And yeah, I've dealt with my share of head ****** my whole life. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. There seems to be that pattern for McKay. I'm not bashing him but pointing out a flaw in some posters analysis.

I've watched a dysfunctional offense for the past 5 games and it got continually worse. I think this is an opportunity for a restart of the offense. There are going to be some execution problems no doubt. But new energy and confidence can overcome those. I am excited once again to see the Cats offense on the field.

No hard feelings towards McKay and wish him well in his journey.

If the entire offense is dysfunctional, seems a little harsh to put that on McKay. Its really not McKay's fault taht the O line refuses to pick up blitzes & the WRs don't block downfield & he didn't call 11 games of running Ifanse into a 9 man stacked box.

I'm not saying McKay is an all BSC QB...but this offenses problems have very little to do with QB play.

I don’t agree with that. Bad QB play can contribute heavily to those issues especially mentally. If the offensive unit feels like they aren’t improving and don’t have a guy that gives them a shot it effects attitude as well.

Some posters have mentioned that they see a difference in the offense when Tommy comes in.

Maybe it’s all wishful thinking but I hope that the lion share is McKay’s fault because he quit on us and everyone else is still here.

[utucats]

The tweet from Tavin Sharp is pretty revealing. Tavin is from Raleigh, NC, McKays home town. I assume they are friends and have talked about the exit from MSU. I read this as Tavin relaying what McKay has told him was going on. If so, it's disappointing because it is everyone's fault but his.

Have you watched any games this year? McKay wasn't a world beater, but everything in this tweet is 100% true.

Oline has been terrible. Receivers haven't blocked downfield or got separation, and play calling has been suspect.

Doesn't excuse some bad play on McKay's part...but the struggles of this offense are evenly distributed among everyone on the offense not named Isaiah or Lance.

Those units have to improve for sure but it is interesting that the author applies no fault at all to McKay. Seems convenient that he gets a pass for his play but everyone else needs to be BETTER.

[GoldstoneCat]

The tweet from Tavin Sharp is pretty revealing. Tavin is from Raleigh, NC, McKays home town. I assume they are friends and have talked about the exit from MSU. I read this as Tavin relaying what McKay has told him was going on. If so, it's disappointing because it is everyone's fault but his.

Have you watched any games this year? McKay wasn't a world beater, but everything in this tweet is 100% true.

Oline has been terrible. Receivers haven't blocked downfield or got separation, and play calling has been suspect.

Doesn't excuse some bad play on McKay's part...but the struggles of this offense are evenly distributed among everyone on the offense not named Isaiah or Lance.

Those units have to improve for sure but it is interesting that the author applies no fault at all to McKay. Seems convenient that he gets a pass for his play but everyone else needs to be BETTER.

I agree with you (did i just say that? ), mckay had moments like the EWU game where he was pretty darn good for stretches, but his inconsistency has bugged me all year. He'll struggle with his footwork and just dirt a ball on an out or curl that's wide open. All that said, i believe that the offensive issues largely stem from our o-line, which isn't as good as we hoped it was. As someone said after cat griz, it's hard to throw a quick to a TE if they're having to stay in every play to help block. We've been most effective when we can hit a deep shot to loosen up the box, and we never got that against UM because we never had time to even properly throw one. Some sceme change to attack both the short middle and the seams would help too, imo. Long story short, i don't really see this as detrimental because of how we were trending.

[Lord Vigo]

The tweet from Tavin Sharp is pretty revealing. Tavin is from Raleigh, NC, McKays home town. I assume they are friends and have talked about the exit from MSU. I read this as Tavin relaying what McKay has told him was going on. If so, it's disappointing because it is everyone's fault but his.

Have you watched any games this year? McKay wasn't a world beater, but everything in this tweet is 100% true.

Oline has been terrible. Receivers haven't blocked downfield or got separation, and play calling has been suspect.

Doesn't excuse some bad play on McKay's part...but the struggles of this offense are evenly distributed among everyone on the offense not named Isaiah or Lance.

There have absolutely been weaknesses on the offense that have made McKay’s job harder, but there have also been elements that have made his job significantly easier.

How much of his production involved throwing a 50/50 ball up to McCutcheon and letting him do the work? How often has he seen stacked boxes and single coverage because of how effective Ifanse has been on the ground?

He has not been the only element of the passing game to play poorly at times, but he certainly isn’t above it all either.

[Hawks86]

I think the blame for the offensive problems can be sprinkled over just about everybody.

[TomCat88]

It sure is weird that God would tell him to pack up and find some place new (again) rather than confront these anxiety issues and work through them.

If only it were that simple.

As someone that has battled against severe anxiety issues my whole adult life, I see this comment as well meaning but naive. I spend significant time and energy every day fighting. Some days I win, most days are a draw. Some days I lose. No matter what, I wake up every morning and fight.

The best reminder I have about how strong anxiety can be is knowing that Zack Greinke almost quit playing major league baseball because he wasn't the best hitter in the game. He, of course, is a Cy Young winning pitcher who played in the American League at that time.

If MM has anxiety issues, his inability to overcome them is not because he hasn't confronted them. It is because anxiety most likely cannot be overcome. If you put in enough time (it took me almost twenty years) and effort, you can reach the point that you can manage it effectively - most of the time.

I am very open about my anxiety issues because mental health issues will always be stigmatized unless people - especially those who are prominent- talk about them openly. In case you are unaware, Mike Person revealed that he dealt with anxiety when he played for the 49ers.

OK, I need to clear up what I said earlier. I said people had told me that he has anxiety about football. In games and at practice sometimes. I don't want that to be construed as someone telling me he has clinical anxiety that he's taking treatment for. Perhaps nervousness is a more accurate descriptor. I don't know the extent of whatever it is. I probably shouldn't have mentioned it. My apologies.

[kwcat]

The tweet from Tavin Sharp is pretty revealing. Tavin is from Raleigh, NC, McKays home town. I assume they are friends and have talked about the exit from MSU. I read this as Tavin relaying what McKay has told him was going on. If so, it's disappointing because it is everyone's fault but his.

Have you watched any games this year? McKay wasn't a world beater, but everything in this tweet is 100% true.

Oline has been terrible. Receivers haven't blocked downfield or got separation, and play calling has been suspect.

Doesn't excuse some bad play on McKay's part...but the struggles of this offense are evenly distributed among everyone on the offense not named Isaiah or Lance.

I think both tweets are pretty accurate. I also agree with most everything you’ve said in regards to Matt. I don’t think the offensive line play has been horrible but definitely not as good as we’ve gotten used to. I think it’s more the blocking scheme we are using and the communication from our offensive line being inexperienced.
Open field blocking by the receivers has been marginal at best as well. Many posters of said it and I will see it as well. We don’t know all of the particulars surrounding Matt but I wish him well. I still think we have bigger problems.

[94VegasCat]

The tweet from Tavin Sharp is pretty revealing. Tavin is from Raleigh, NC, McKays home town. I assume they are friends and have talked about the exit from MSU. I read this as Tavin relaying what McKay has told him was going on. If so, it's disappointing because it is everyone's fault but his.

Have you watched any games this year? McKay wasn't a world beater, but everything in this tweet is 100% true.

Oline has been terrible. Receivers haven't blocked downfield or got separation, and play calling has been suspect.

Doesn't excuse some bad play on McKay's part...but the struggles of this offense are evenly distributed among everyone on the offense not named Isaiah or Lance.

I think both tweets are pretty accurate. I also agree with most everything you’ve said in regards to Matt. I don’t think the offensive line play has been horrible but definitely not as good as we’ve gotten used to. I think it’s more the blocking scheme we are using and the communication from our offensive line being inexperienced.
Open field blocking by the receivers has been marginal at best as well. Many posters of said it and I will see it as well. We don’t know all of the particulars surrounding Matt but I wish him well. I still think we have bigger problems.

I haven’t understood the OL all year. We have several 6’5-6’6 guys and the middle of the line is a couple of short fellas. I thought Redd did a great job at C, so why move him and plug in another short dude?

[BleedingBLue]

The tweet from Tavin Sharp is pretty revealing. Tavin is from Raleigh, NC, McKays home town. I assume they are friends and have talked about the exit from MSU. I read this as Tavin relaying what McKay has told him was going on. If so, it's disappointing because it is everyone's fault but his.

Have you watched any games this year? McKay wasn't a world beater, but everything in this tweet is 100% true.

Oline has been terrible. Receivers haven't blocked downfield or got separation, and play calling has been suspect.

Doesn't excuse some bad play on McKay's part...but the struggles of this offense are evenly distributed among everyone on the offense not named Isaiah or Lance.

I think both tweets are pretty accurate. I also agree with most everything you’ve said in regards to Matt. I don’t think the offensive line play has been horrible but definitely not as good as we’ve gotten used to. I think it’s more the blocking scheme we are using and the communication from our offensive line being inexperienced.
Open field blocking by the receivers has been marginal at best as well. Many posters of said it and I will see it as well. We don’t know all of the particulars surrounding Matt but I wish him well. I still think we have bigger problems.

I think the blocking by Lance and Willie P. has been exceptional for the most part. The other WRs... not so much. Tommy isn't a WR and was asked to play there and block, very badly, in Cat/Griz. The O line has been suspect at times, but there were still plenty of instances they did their job and McKay still had happy feet and missed throws (which I originally was chalking up to wrong routes etc.).Cat/Griz made them look really bad yes, but that's also on the coaching staff. It was like we had no idea the Griz would send at least 1 LB up the middle every play. McKay has had his own issues, and while the things in the tweet contributed to it (especially the lack of trust/confidence from the coaching staff), McKay played a part as well.

A buddy defending him on twitter doesn't mean Matt isn't taking some blame either.

[justafan]

funny how we went from a being "special" to having our qb bail..I really would not touch McKay if I were any other team. I would love to hear what Troy and Infanse are saying about Mckay..

[MSU01]

funny how we went from a being "special" to having our qb bail..I really would not touch McKay if I were any other team. I would love to hear what Troy and Infanse are saying about Mckay..

I'd guess that Troy, Isaiah, and the rest of his teammates are orders of magnitude more supportive and understanding than the self-important jackasses taking their parting shots at Matt online.

[rivercat]

funny how we went from a being "special" to having our qb bail..I really would not touch McKay if I were any other team. I would love to hear what Troy and Infanse are saying about Mckay..

I'd guess that Troy, Isaiah, and the rest of his teammates are orders of magnitude more supportive and understanding than the self-important jackasses taking their parting shots at Matt online.

Really? Based on what?

To me it's just "stuff happens" and "it is what it is". I imagine the team is much more concerned about winning than being supportive of a single player who just left. Could be wrong.

[coochorama42]

And I want to clarify something as well. This is a terrible decision by MM. He really has hurt his chances of getting on somewhere else by leaving when he did. No matter what is going on in his life, he needed to make a better decision. Anxiety or no anxiety, it doesn't ultimately matter.

[MSU01]

funny how we went from a being "special" to having our qb bail..I really would not touch McKay if I were any other team. I would love to hear what Troy and Infanse are saying about Mckay..

I'd guess that Troy, Isaiah, and the rest of his teammates are orders of magnitude more supportive and understanding than the self-important jackasses taking their parting shots at Matt online.

Really? Based on what?

To me it's just "stuff happens" and "it is what it is". I imagine the team is much more concerned about winning than being supportive of a single player who just left. Could be wrong.

I have zero doubt that the team is 100% focused right now on winning tomorrow. I also think that knowing more than any of us what it's like to be in Matt's position, they're respectful and supportive of his decision (even if they may not agree with it or would have done the same thing) and will have his back in life even if he isn't on the MSU football team anymore.

[iaafan]

Its sounding like Mckay walked out and quit on the team because he was getting benched. I thought he was better than that but I guess not.

You don’t have a clue.

Obviously you don't.

Hey coach Vigen let’s call luckyirishdouchebag25 and have him tell everyone the f—king news!!

What an odd outburst you’re having.

If telling people that are berating college athletes at MSU while hiding their own identity makes me odd then so be it. I’m as odd as you can get. S—t pisses me off. So cowardly. I may not be using my own name, but I’m not running down 18-23 year olds MSU athletes. If I was going to I’d use my real name.

[iaafan]

funny how we went from a being "special" to having our qb bail..I really would not touch McKay if I were any other team. I would love to hear what Troy and Infanse are saying about Mckay..

I'd guess that Troy, Isaiah, and the rest of his teammates are orders of magnitude more supportive and understanding than the self-important jackasses taking their parting shots at Matt online.

Really? Based on what?

To me it's just "stuff happens" and "it is what it is". I imagine the team is much more concerned about winning than being supportive of a single player who just left. Could be wrong.

I have zero doubt that the team is 100% focused right now on winning tomorrow. I also think that knowing more than any of us what it's like to be in Matt's position, they're respectful and supportive of his decision (even if they may not agree with it or would have done the same thing) and will have his back in life even if he isn't on the MSU football team anymore.

Good post. Thank you!!!

[BigBruceBaker]

I think the blame for the offensive problems can be sprinkled over just about everybody.

I agree wholeheartedly, and to say otherwise shows some serious lack of even the semblance of football knowledge.

House has been calling bad plays, regardless of the reason he has been poorly prepared for the last 5 games, with EWOO being the only potential acceptable spot. He has been unable to adjust mid game to defensive schemes and has been unable to call plays that allow the offense to be successful.

McKay hasn't been good the last 6 games, again regardless of the reason, he hasn't been good. He almost NEVER makes it past his first progression and stares down his receivers to the point he was burning a hole in their helmet with his eyes. Everyone knew where the ball was going, id says its a testament to his arm strength that he didn't have more balls picked off. Overall, he did an "ok" job with the rpo, you can only do so much when the defense knows whats coming. And overall he throws a nice deep ball with relative accuracy and gets it in the spot where a wr can catch it.

O-line play has not been good the last few weeks, they are overpowered at the line of scrimmage on many run plays - not opening holes, missing assignments, letting guys come in off the edge to make a TFL. They also have not been good in pass protection, some of this is on the coordinator and qb, but the o-line must play better.

WR need to run crisper routes, block a bit better and come down with some contested balls. But I largely give a pass to the wr group. In the griz game we use Mellott as a wr instead of Nate Stewart (# 10, if i have his name wrong) who is finally healthy. I believe (but could be mistaken) he caught the fade route ball in the back of the endzone at the end of the griz game - why wasn't he playing? Again a coaching issue.

I definitely think a lot of the offensive issues stem from Coach House, he needs to get the team together, effectively game plan to his weapons strengths and prove he is a d1 coach.

Just my .02.