A Rebuilding Season

[cats2506]

Any chance with Bobbys attitude and antics this year, that we see some transfers from UM to MSU?

I been telling my gris office mate that Eli is going to be a Bobcat next year

[WalkOn79]

It's crazy. Currently the only position group that will get hit hard is DL, but we all know how much talented depth we have there and since we rotate 8-10 dudes there... I have zero doubt that next group will be damn good. If Vigen thinks we need to bolster there with some transfers, that's what he'll do. Then we lose Julius but obviously already have excellent depth there. So IF the Cats win it all, and IF Vigen stays around next year, and IF we don't see a mass exodus of all our best players..... the 2026 Bobcats will be heavy favorites to win it all again, just as NDSU normally is.

That's the way I'm feeling as well. Hopefully whatever happened to keep Vigen here instead of going to OSU will also benefit the players enough that our key contributors stick around!

[MSU01]

Any chance with Bobbys attitude and antics this year, that we see some transfers from UM to MSU?

I doubt it, their players who are good enough to play for MSU would also be getting FBS offers. The Bobcats already have almost all of the best Montana players.

[WalkOn79]

Any chance with Bobbys attitude and antics this year, that we see some transfers from UM to MSU?

I been telling my gris office mate that Eli is going to be a Bobcat next year

Wouldn't that be something to have a tandem of Adam and Eli!!

[BelligerentBobcat]

I think this dynamic is what makes the losses so bitter for the Grizzlies. Their roster and their 2-Deep was SO heaving with seniors and grad transfers.

Their 2nd and 3rd leading rushers (Wortham and Rocker).

3 of their top 4 leading receivers (Wortham, Bohannon, and Deck).

Their top 2 tight ends (Shafer and Gale).

Virtually their entire starting offensive line.

2 starting defensive linemen (Peck and Detrick).

3 of their top linebackers (Wing, Tolbert, and Tuliaupupu).

2 top cornerbacks (Lawler and Ford).

2 starting safeties (Rausch and Harper).

That's a roster that's set up to peak. Now they have to roll the dice again in the portal and see if they get a good crop. It worked well last year. Not so much the year before. Lots of volatility in that approach.

Their hit rate on transfers is probably the best they could have ever hoped for. They got players at every level of the defense, offensive lineman, and playmakers on offense. And it still wasn’t enough.

Last year they hit the portal hard and signed some “paid mercenaries”. Is it just me that seemed to notice some of them seemed to not have their hearts in the game later in the day.

Is Lamson a paid mercenary? How about Chris Long? Whether players are moving up or down a level, I don't think it's fair to call them mercenaries for hire.

[Randy M Drivel]

3 of their top linebackers (Wing, Tolbert, and Tuliaupupu).

Wing is a junior.

[technoCat]

I think this dynamic is what makes the losses so bitter for the Grizzlies. Their roster and their 2-Deep was SO heaving with seniors and grad transfers.

Their 2nd and 3rd leading rushers (Wortham and Rocker).

3 of their top 4 leading receivers (Wortham, Bohannon, and Deck).

Their top 2 tight ends (Shafer and Gale).

Virtually their entire starting offensive line.

2 starting defensive linemen (Peck and Detrick).

3 of their top linebackers (Wing, Tolbert, and Tuliaupupu).

2 top cornerbacks (Lawler and Ford).

2 starting safeties (Rausch and Harper).

That's a roster that's set up to peak. Now they have to roll the dice again in the portal and see if they get a good crop. It worked well last year. Not so much the year before. Lots of volatility in that approach.

Their hit rate on transfers is probably the best they could have ever hoped for. They got players at every level of the defense, offensive lineman, and playmakers on offense. And it still wasn’t enough.

Last year they hit the portal hard and signed some “paid mercenaries”. Is it just me that seemed to notice some of them seemed to not have their hearts in the game later in the day.

Is Lamson a paid mercenary? How about Chris Long? Whether players are moving up or down a level, I don't think it's fair to call them mercenaries for hire.

Hell yeah they are!! But they're ours!!

[Catsrgrood]

I think this dynamic is what makes the losses so bitter for the Grizzlies. Their roster and their 2-Deep was SO heaving with seniors and grad transfers.

Their 2nd and 3rd leading rushers (Wortham and Rocker).

3 of their top 4 leading receivers (Wortham, Bohannon, and Deck).

Their top 2 tight ends (Shafer and Gale).

Virtually their entire starting offensive line.

2 starting defensive linemen (Peck and Detrick).

3 of their top linebackers (Wing, Tolbert, and Tuliaupupu).

2 top cornerbacks (Lawler and Ford).

2 starting safeties (Rausch and Harper).

That's a roster that's set up to peak. Now they have to roll the dice again in the portal and see if they get a good crop. It worked well last year. Not so much the year before. Lots of volatility in that approach.

Their hit rate on transfers is probably the best they could have ever hoped for. They got players at every level of the defense, offensive lineman, and playmakers on offense. And it still wasn’t enough.

Last year they hit the portal hard and signed some “paid mercenaries”. Is it just me that seemed to notice some of them seemed to not have their hearts in the game later in the day.

Is Lamson a paid mercenary? How about Chris Long? Whether players are moving up or down a level, I don't think it's fair to call them mercenaries for hire.

I agree we as a fan base shouldn’t throw too many stones in regards to transfers. We do it too, arguably two of our biggest pieces this year are transfers (Lamson and Davis).

But…. It is still undeniably obvious that the other guys are living and dying by the portal, while the Cats have used it to supplement the roster as needed.

The Cats have brought in minimal 1 year players. Long is a good example of one this year, but when the Cats do bring guys in, generally they have 2-3 years left to play, so they’re still developed in house to an extent.

The grizzLLies have brought in quite a few seniors the last few years. That’s where you could argue they’re going the “mercenary” route. Bring in a bunch of one year guys and hope they’re better than what you had before. Didn’t work last year, this year it did (for the most part). Now they’re going to lose 40-50 players this offseason, they’ll be forced to hit the portal again. We’ll see if they hit on them again or not. In regards to recruiting, they’ve painted themselves in a corner and we’ll see how it plays out. My guess is that it’ll be much like it’s been the last 2-3 years. Good, not great results.

[MrGoodKat]

This team lost a host of key players to graduation and several more to the portal.

They lost both coordinators and some key positional coaches.

They have 2 seniors starting on offense and 4 on defense.

Their roster is littered with key underclassmen:

-Adam Jones, RB, SO
-Dane Steel, WR, FR
-Jabez Woods, WR, FR
-Rocky Lencioni, TE, FR
-Hunter Provience, TE, SO
-Braden Zimmer, OT, FR
-Cedric Jefferson, OT, SO
-Burke Mastel, G, SO
-Dom Solano, DE, SO
-Talon Marsh, DT, SO
-Cole Taylor, LB, SO
-Xavier Ahrens, LB, FR
-Bryce Grebe, LB, SO
-Carson Williams, CB, FR
-Seth Johnson, CB, FR
-Tayden Gray, DB, SO
-Bryant Meredith, DB, SO
-J.J. Dolan, DB, SO
-Taki Uluilakepa, SAF, SO

By every indicator, this team is in a rebuilding phase. No one could be blamed for expecting them to take a step backwards after last season.

And yet, here they are, the favorite in the national championship and victorious over their senior-laden rivals twice in a month.

It's unbelievable.

Thanks for putting together the Cliffs Notes of our roster for FBS teams....I kid...but if you don't think FBS teams are going down our roster and identifying all underclassmen and then scouting them...you're ignorant...hopefully the flood gates can be stemmed a bit...especially by one previous Big Sky coach who proved this year he can take the Big Sky All Stars and compete...we certainly can use gameday environment and evidence of the grass not always being greener...but cash is definitely greener.

There will be some defections, but if Vigen and Lamson return, they will be minimal. If they leave, all bets are off.

[MrGoodKat]

3 of their top linebackers (Wing, Tolbert, and Tuliaupupu).

Wing is a junior.

My mistake! He will transfer rather than graduate .

[bobcatozzy]

The way Wortham was taking it in after the game. When all the fans were on the field. Either he is using that as motivation or he is thinking of coming here. Had about a minute talk with him. I told him great game and he said he appreciated it. Said go win the championship now. What a true good guy.

[BOBCATBORN]

I think this dynamic is what makes the losses so bitter for the Grizzlies. Their roster and their 2-Deep was SO heaving with seniors and grad transfers.

Their 2nd and 3rd leading rushers (Wortham and Rocker).

3 of their top 4 leading receivers (Wortham, Bohannon, and Deck).

Their top 2 tight ends (Shafer and Gale).

Virtually their entire starting offensive line.

2 starting defensive linemen (Peck and Detrick).

3 of their top linebackers (Wing, Tolbert, and Tuliaupupu).

2 top cornerbacks (Lawler and Ford).

2 starting safeties (Rausch and Harper).

That's a roster that's set up to peak. Now they have to roll the dice again in the portal and see if they get a good crop. It worked well last year. Not so much the year before. Lots of volatility in that approach.

Their hit rate on transfers is probably the best they could have ever hoped for. They got players at every level of the defense, offensive lineman, and playmakers on offense. And it still wasn’t enough.

Last year they hit the portal hard and signed some “paid mercenaries”. Is it just me that seemed to notice some of them seemed to not have their hearts in the game later in the day.

Is Lamson a paid mercenary? How about Chris Long? Whether players are moving up or down a level, I don't think it's fair to call them mercenaries for hire.

I agree we as a fan base shouldn’t throw too many stones in regards to transfers. We do it too, arguably two of our biggest pieces this year are transfers (Lamson and Davis).

But…. It is still undeniably obvious that the other guys are living and dying by the portal, while the Cats have used it to supplement the roster as needed.

The Cats have brought in minimal 1 year players. Long is a good example of one this year, but when the Cats do bring guys in, generally they have 2-3 years left to play, so they’re still developed in house to an extent.

The grizzLLies have brought in quite a few seniors the last few years. That’s where you could argue they’re going the “mercenary” route. Bring in a bunch of one year guys and hope they’re better than what you had before. Didn’t work last year, this year it did (for the most part). Now they’re going to lose 40-50 players this offseason, they’ll be forced to hit the portal again. We’ll see if they hit on them again or not. In regards to recruiting, they’ve painted themselves in a corner and we’ll see how it plays out. My guess is that it’ll be much like it’s been the last 2-3 years. Good, not great results.

The other thing this does is makes those players that have been a part of your program and worked really hard to earn playing time get pissed off and leave, it doesn’t help much with recruiting either because that word gets around (ie - dont play for Bobby because he’ll just replace you with some portal transfer). Doesn’t give much incentive to those players to stick around imo.

[BelligerentBobcat]

The way Wortham was taking it in after the game. When all the fans were on the field. Either he is using that as motivation or he is thinking of coming here. Had about a minute talk with him. I told him great game and he said he appreciated it. Said go win the championship now. What a true good guy.

I just don't see any way a good player from UM would come to MSU, or vice versa, and honestly if they wanted to, I'm not sure that's a player we want.

[coloradocat]

The way Wortham was taking it in after the game. When all the fans were on the field. Either he is using that as motivation or he is thinking of coming here. Had about a minute talk with him. I told him great game and he said he appreciated it. Said go win the championship now. What a true good guy.

I just don't see any way a good player from UM would come to MSU, or vice versa, and honestly if they wanted to, I'm not sure that's a player we want.

I think we want good players to join the team.

We already have one impact player that was technically a griz for a while. I'm sure there are guys over that that would have reasons for wanting to leave a runner up for a winner.

[wbtfg]

The way Wortham was taking it in after the game. When all the fans were on the field. Either he is using that as motivation or he is thinking of coming here. Had about a minute talk with him. I told him great game and he said he appreciated it. Said go win the championship now. What a true good guy.

He doesn't have any eligibility.

[BelligerentBobcat]

The way Wortham was taking it in after the game. When all the fans were on the field. Either he is using that as motivation or he is thinking of coming here. Had about a minute talk with him. I told him great game and he said he appreciated it. Said go win the championship now. What a true good guy.

I just don't see any way a good player from UM would come to MSU, or vice versa, and honestly if they wanted to, I'm not sure that's a player we want.

I think we want good players to join the team.

We already have one impact player that was technically a griz for a while. I'm sure there are guys over that that would have reasons for wanting to leave a runner up for a winner.

I hate to say it, but I'm blanking on who this would be?

[cats2506]

The way Wortham was taking it in after the game. When all the fans were on the field. Either he is using that as motivation or he is thinking of coming here. Had about a minute talk with him. I told him great game and he said he appreciated it. Said go win the championship now. What a true good guy.

He doesn't have any eligibility.

I think he is done too. But he does have some time at JC and with the lawsuits I am not sure anymore

[coloradocat]

The way Wortham was taking it in after the game. When all the fans were on the field. Either he is using that as motivation or he is thinking of coming here. Had about a minute talk with him. I told him great game and he said he appreciated it. Said go win the championship now. What a true good guy.

He doesn't have any eligibility.

I think he is done too. But he does have some time at JC and with the lawsuits I am not sure anymore

I believe this was discussed when Pavia's lawsuit was decided but I don't remember the impact to Wortham. Not sure if he has another year left or not.

[coloradocat]

The way Wortham was taking it in after the game. When all the fans were on the field. Either he is using that as motivation or he is thinking of coming here. Had about a minute talk with him. I told him great game and he said he appreciated it. Said go win the championship now. What a true good guy.

I just don't see any way a good player from UM would come to MSU, or vice versa, and honestly if they wanted to, I'm not sure that's a player we want.

I think we want good players to join the team.

We already have one impact player that was technically a griz for a while. I'm sure there are guys over that that would have reasons for wanting to leave a runner up for a winner.

I hate to say it, but I'm blanking on who this would be?

Crews. Special circumstances but it's not unheard of for guys to switch sides. They got one of our guys recently as well I believe.

[Bocephus]

Any chance with Bobbys attitude and antics this year, that we see some transfers from UM to MSU?

Is there anyone good enough?