Kramers best Recruiting class to date?

canyoncat · Post by **canyoncat** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 4:12 pm

What do you think is Kramers best class to date? My pick so far would be 2002. That class produced a great number of starters and all conference preformers, not to mention a couple of All Americans.

Kory Austin, Brant Birkeland, Jeff Bolton, Ryan Cogley, Grant Elliott, Joe Hirst, Clive Lowe, Travis Lulay, Mac Mollohan and Brandon Roosevelt. Pretty impressive.

Thoughts?

It will be fun to see how last years and this years class developes because I think they are loaded with potential!

GO CATS

El_Gato · Post by **El_Gato** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 4:18 pm

No offense, but I think Austin's name deserves no mention to this point. Maybe on Sac States site? Or EWU's? or egriz?

But not here.

JahGriz · Post by **JahGriz** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 4:28 pm

2002
Transfers
Kolby Drube, TE (6-3/220/Jr/Gillette, WY--U. Wyo)
Jason Nicastro, DL (6-2/265/Sr/Alta Loma, CA--Northridge)
High School
Kellen Alley, WR (6-2/195/Bremerton, WA--Bremerton)
Kory Austin, DB (5-11/165/Sacramento, CA--Granite Bay)
Nicholas Barbero, DL (6-3/217/San Ramon, CA--DeLasalle)
Brant Birkeland, DL (6-1/230/Helena--Helena)
Jeff Bolton, OL (6-4/270/Hailey, ID--Wood River)
Garrin Brewton, OL (6-5/245/Davie, FL--Fort Lauderdale)
Ryan Cogley, TE (6-3/195/Cheney, WA--Cheney)
Grant Elliott, FB (6-0/185/Fort Benton--Fort Benton)
Shem Hardnette, RB (5-11/185/Portland, OR--Franklin)
Joe Hirst, OL (6-7/225/Spokane, WA--East Valley)
Eric Laumatia, DL (6-0/265/Moreno Valley, CA--Rancho Verde)
Clive Lowe, DL (6-3/210/Coral Springs, FL -- Douglas)
Travis Lulay, QB (6-0/187/Aumsville, OR--Regis)
David Mayfield, RB (6-1/180/)
Mac Mollahan, LB (6-0/189/Kalispell--Flathead)
Damola Obadina, OL (6-3/248/Plymouth, MN--Wayzata)
Brent Owens, QB (5-10/172/Vienna, GA--Dooley Co.)
Brandon Roosevelt, WR (5-11/164/Wilsonville, OR--Wilsonville)
Cody Samuelson, QB (6-3/220/Volborg--Powder River)
Antwon Smith, WR (6-0/165/Oakland, CA--McClymonds)
DeAngelo Wall, DB (5-10/167/Montclair, CA--Montclair)
Mike Weiss, DL (6-1/207/Baxter, MN (Brainerd)
Mike Williams, RB (5-9/162/Lauderhill, FL--Cardinal Gibbons)

------------
It amazes me how many people even in good recruiting classes don't work out, guys that at the time may have been talked up to no end. Goes the same for the Griz.
Weren't there a couple other transfer that year, a few of Kramers usual post LOI guys he brings in?

canyoncat · Post by **canyoncat** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 4:49 pm

Had to mention Austin even though he had to (I believe) gray shirt a year and then redshirt. He was still a part of that class and is still here. Have to give him some credit for sticking it out.

Forgot to mention a late walk on by the name of Ryan Force. He has turned out pretty well. If there are any other, I can't remember right off hand.

GO CATS!

gtapp · Post by **gtapp** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 5:10 pm

As a comparison I think Hysell's last class was better than any of Kramers has been.

El_Gato · Post by **El_Gato** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 5:15 pm

I appreciate all those who played for and/or are loyal to Cliff; I don't doubt that he gave MSU football everything he had. But even if I were to grant you that he was a better recruiter than Kramer (which I'm not), how come he couldn't win with them?

There is no way the program isn't currently FAR ahead of anything we ever achieved under Cliff by ANY measurement, and you can't use the argument that these are Cliff's kids anymore; they ALL belong to Kramer now and I know that personally, my expectations have never been higher except maybe in 1985. Don't remind me how THAT turned out!

gtapp · Post by **gtapp** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 5:30 pm

El_Gato wrote:I appreciate all those who played for and/or are loyal to Cliff; I don't doubt that he gave MSU football everything he had. But even if I were to grant you that he was a better recruiter than Kramer (which I'm not), how come he couldn't win with them?

There is no way the program isn't currently FAR ahead of anything we ever achieved under Cliff by ANY measurement, and you can't use the argument that these are Cliff's kids anymore; they ALL belong to Kramer now and I know that personally, my expectations have never been higher except maybe in 1985. Don't remind me how THAT turned out!

No question. I think Kramer is a much better recruiter with the exception of Hysells last class. The original post was a disscusion of Kramer' best classes and I think the one he inherited bares mention.

94VegasCat · Post by **94VegasCat** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 5:36 pm

Who was in that last class of Hysells? To Hysells credit, he was not himself during his last year at MSU. He was a hurtin' unit! When he came to MSU, he did stabilize some things. If I recall, we went through some REALLY rough years from 85 to the Hysell era.

GOKATS · Post by **GOKATS** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 6:02 pm

94VegasCat wrote:Who was in that last class of Hysells? To Hysells credit, he was not himself during his last year at MSU. He was a hurtin' unit! When he came to MSU, he did stabilize some things. If I recall, we went through some REALLY rough years from 85 to the Hysell era.

The Solomonson era put us so far in the hole we're still trying to get out, but we're getting there. Earl was a nice guy, but nothing more than a D2 coach(who had achieved considerable success at that level) who pi$$ed off every high school coach in the state when he said Montana kids weren't good enough to play D-1AA.

Hyse' had to mend a lot of fences & worked his butt off to get the program going again. He had some good assistants who recruited well, and Coach Kramer had a much better group to start with than Cliff did. My kudoes to both of them because I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I hope we never sink to level we did beginning in '85. Can't blame all of it on Solomonson- he wasn't hired until '87. '85 & '86 were still under Arnold.

newcat · Post by **newcat** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 10:05 pm

I really think that this years class is going to be something special. there are a lot of talented freshman who probably will not see the field this year but get that precious time to develop and become studs in the future. The transfers that we have this year are going to make an immediate impact look and Murray and Kolone both already cracked the starting line up in spring. Don't forget that Chris Davis, Mike Bass, David Siataga, and Jeff Hastings all have a chance to become starters this year.

This class has all the potential, with this class you get immidiate help and help in the future.You cant ask for anything else.

longhorn_22 · Post by **longhorn_22** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 11:27 pm

I agree, this year's class could be second to none. They will have to prove their talent, but so far on paper, it is the best in my mind.

BobcatLionFan · Post by **BobcatLionFan** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 8:50 am

A good recruiting class is if you get 7 starters or more from it by the time they are seniors. It looks to me like Krammer and his buddies have done well every year. If anything 2003 or 2004 might produce as many studs as 2002. 2005 is way to early to even consider to me, many of the Transfers look to contribute (Kolone, maybe Murray and Bass, and hopefully another DL guy), but the HS players you never know. Every year they say the Freshmen are talented, but then

2002
Bolton
Lulay
Hirst
Zach Wolf
Birkeland
Lowe
Mollahan
Roosevelt (maybe starter)

2003
Eddie Sulivan
Gatewood
Fig
Jensen
King
Next starting QB (Coppack or Carpenter)
Papich
Matakis?
Fuller
Gathering (hurt last year, but could be special)
Maybe DeCock by the time he is a junior or senior.

2004
Justin Domenick
Chaz Guinn
Grenfell - FS starter
(All the rest maybes at this point)
Groves
Lulay
Sweet Lou
Eddie Smith (Hopefully this year!!)
Elliott Barnhart (Hopefully this year!!)
Chris Smith (OG)
Beniger (OL)
Verlanic (Center)
Bolton (kicker)

2005
On this years, don't say it's amazing until you see it on the field with Starters.

wbtfg · Post by **wbtfg** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 9:13 am

You can add Jason Nicastro to the 2002 list. I think that he ended up being a first or second team all conference performer the one year he was here.

mquast53000 · Post by **mquast53000** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 10:06 am

If you ask me Hysell recruited a different type of athlete then Kramer. Hysell like the “good old boys” ie: Ty O’Conner, Rob Compson, Joe Baker, ect. Kramer likes the West Coast players Gatewood, Cooper, Thomas, ect. There are both good things and bad things about each type.

I thank God Hysell was around when I played, because there is no way I would have been brought to Bozeman with Kramer at the helm (big DL from MN-no sholarship for those kind of players). You would not have seen Ryan Johnson, Brent Swaggert, John Taylor and a bunch of other good players.

One thing that I will always respect about the way Hysell recruited was that he told the student-athlete that he was guaranteed a 5-year scholarship as long as his grades kept him in school, Kramer doesn’t do the same. Of course that could be why Hysell didn’t last, he didn’t cut the players that didn’t pan out on the field. College football is a business, and you need to treat it like one-Kramer does that.

I owe a lot of my success in life to Hysell, and I will always respect that man. He had faith in me, and as a result I have enjoyed a lot of success on and off the old football field.