Bobcat Portal News Only

[SparkCat]

I’m frustrated too. But to make decisions on how you feel about a player or if you’re going to support them because of other players isn’t quite right. Support the guys while they are here.

What I can say is Jhase's dad stays away from this board purposefully. And jhase rarely gets on social media at all. He, jhase, could careless if you support him or not... the kid is focused and outside voices mean little to him... if he cared about what people thought he wouldn't be at Montana St in the first place so take that for what it's worth.....

Yeah, I, not sure what Jhase has to do with this. To pick him out is kind of bizarre.

It's weirdo behavior and quiet frankly is the type of behavior that is very off putting to a family member. Like I get you're a super bobcat fan but to make a public decree to NOT support a player is something that can easily keep kids from wanting to come here.... but hey who cares right?

Wait wait wait, I can take some blame on this. When I was having a meltdown about losing people I asked Texas how long Jhase was planning on staying… so I’ll admit to that. Never said I would not support him, I’m actually pumped about Jhase, and it’s a big reason I’m not to up in arms about losing some DB’s

Not you..... the other post where my guy said that everyone should stay away from his NIL shop goods..... then another poster backed it up by saying to get merch from some other place... like it's that kind of weirdo behavior that depending on the family will keep kids from coming here...... because what I see is if you're a really good player from out of state the montana folk are going to think you're going to leave so they shouldn't support you with an NIL.... that tells me as a parent of athlete I shouldn't consider msu cause you only support montana....... I'm sure the out of state families would love that.

I interpreted the post as donate to direct NIL rather than products for specific players. Some will likely do that. Used to be able to buy a young players jersey and wear it 4 years, not that might not be the case.

I took it the same way.... don't support the individual.... as stated I'm sure out of state parents are gonna love to know that's how thier kids are viewed and treated. I'm sure that will make them want to leave even more. The approach of some of these fans is wild to me. I'm just hoping they are the few and not the many because it darn sure seems right now that it's the many and not the few. This mindset doesn't bode well for the future of msu...... have no faith in the outsiders don't support the outsiders.

Look man, it’s a fan message board. Most everybody here is going to be overly emotional about good players leaving right now.

And come next fall, we’ll all be cheering like crazy for the all of the players that are here. Don’t take this too seriously. The future of MSU is more than fine. If any player or parent is swayed by the opinion of some randoms on a message board, then that’s pretty weak.

Call it weak but when parents are sending their children 20+hrs away from home they want to know they will be good all around. They don't know who on here has the power to move mountains or if any of these posts influence your donors. Parents look at and for everything when their kid is involved and they don't know they area they are sending them to. My mother refused to let me go to Ole miss because they were the rebels and have a confederate general as their mascot. My mother and father grew up during the civil rights era so they are extremely sensitive to any type of racial situations. You may find it very stupid but little things matter to parents, especially when they are going far away.

What I can say is, anyone that can move mountains for this program rarely post, or are the rational minds that tell most of us to shut up. We do tend to eat our own on this message board, I’m guessing a lot of fan boards are like this. At least on my part, I’ll keep in mind how it affects others, especially kids living aways away. I always took it as a badge of honor when some dork on this board would mention my name or someone I knew, however, times have also changed and I think the collective tone here has become cautious and more defensive. I’m sure for many it’s worrying that our neighbors to the west will rise to the top again and we will be left indefinitely rebuilding.

[Monymony]

I think this is a stupid thing to argue about. Guys are going to leave. Hundreds of thousands of dollars is so much money and even more for college kids. Instead of bashing the guys who leave we should raise up the kids who stayed. Taco, Adam Jones, and maybe some others probably just turned down a TON of money, and some pretty incredible opportunities at FBS programs. We should all show extreme support for those who stay. Whether that’s NIL, going to games, or just continuing your bobcat support that’s what every one of us should do. If those guys want to take the money, that’s fine, if they think they are better and can compete at the FBS level, thats’s fine. At the end of the day those who stay bobcats will pour their soul into this program and be even more dedicated to us.

[nanacat]

What I can say is Jhase's dad stays away from this board purposefully. And jhase rarely gets on social media at all. He, jhase, could careless if you support him or not... the kid is focused and outside voices mean little to him... if he cared about what people thought he wouldn't be at Montana St in the first place so take that for what it's worth.....

Yeah, I, not sure what Jhase has to do with this. To pick him out is kind of bizarre.

It's weirdo behavior and quiet frankly is the type of behavior that is very off putting to a family member. Like I get you're a super bobcat fan but to make a public decree to NOT support a player is something that can easily keep kids from wanting to come here.... but hey who cares right?

Wait wait wait, I can take some blame on this. When I was having a meltdown about losing people I asked Texas how long Jhase was planning on staying… so I’ll admit to that. Never said I would not support him, I’m actually pumped about Jhase, and it’s a big reason I’m not to up in arms about losing some DB’s

Not you..... the other post where my guy said that everyone should stay away from his NIL shop goods..... then another poster backed it up by saying to get merch from some other place... like it's that kind of weirdo behavior that depending on the family will keep kids from coming here...... because what I see is if you're a really good player from out of state the montana folk are going to think you're going to leave so they shouldn't support you with an NIL.... that tells me as a parent of athlete I shouldn't consider msu cause you only support montana....... I'm sure the out of state families would love that.

I interpreted the post as donate to direct NIL rather than products for specific players. Some will likely do that. Used to be able to buy a young players jersey and wear it 4 years, not that might not be the case.

I took it the same way.... don't support the individual.... as stated I'm sure out of state parents are gonna love to know that's how thier kids are viewed and treated. I'm sure that will make them want to leave even more. The approach of some of these fans is wild to me. I'm just hoping they are the few and not the many because it darn sure seems right now that it's the many and not the few. This mindset doesn't bode well for the future of msu...... have no faith in the outsiders don't support the outsiders.

Look man, it’s a fan message board. Most everybody here is going to be overly emotional about good players leaving right now.

And come next fall, we’ll all be cheering like crazy for the all of the players that are here. Don’t take this too seriously. The future of MSU is more than fine. If any player or parent is swayed by the opinion of some randoms on a message board, then that’s pretty weak.

Call it weak but when parents are sending their children 20+hrs away from home they want to know they will be good all around. They don't know who on here has the power to move mountains or if any of these posts influence your donors. Parents look at and for everything when their kid is involved and they don't know they area they are sending them to. My mother refused to let me go to Ole miss because they were the rebels and have a confederate general as their mascot. My mother and father grew up during the civil rights era so they are extremely sensitive to any type of racial situations. You may find it very stupid but little things matter to parents, especially when they are going far away.

What I can say is, anyone that can move mountains for this program rarely post, or are the rational minds that tell most of us to shut up. We do tend to eat our own on this message board, I’m guessing a lot of fan boards are like this. At least on my part, I’ll keep in mind how it affects others, especially kids living aways away. I always took it as a badge of honor when some dork on this board would mention my name or someone I knew, however, times have also changed and I think the collective tone here has become cautious and more defensive. I’m sure for many it’s worrying that our neighbors to the west will rise to the top again and we will be left indefinitely rebuilding.

BBT, I think it's important to consider that of the 21,000+ who attend home games, and even the multiple thousands who travel to away games, this board reflects a very small percentage of fans. Most of those fans hardly know the individuals who they're cheering for unless they've got a catchy nickname like "Touchdown Tommy" or "Taco." Well, I take that back, everyone knew Tommy. But even a rabid fan like me didn't have jersey numbers memorized and depended on the announcers to say the name of the guy who just made a play. All I'm saying is don't interpret the emotional postings on this board, that stem from a very disappointing loss, knowing a bunch of superb seniors graduated, followed by losing two great coaches and a large number of players entering the portal, as anything but that, emotional postings. Once we start hearing some good news it will all turn around and we'll feel some hope again. The portal is a frustrating reality that many hate, not because we don't want players to succeed, we just want them to stay here and help THIS program succeed.

You weren't around during "the streak", neither was I. But there are many in this board who were. Who have been referred to as "little brother" by griz fans ad nauseum FOR YEARS, and finally, over the past 8-9 years are excited that Bobcat sports in general, but mostly football, have reached a place of dominance in the state. The tables have turned and its natural as a fan to want that to continue. To see so many good players portal out is devastating in the moment and adds insult to injury after losing a game that should have been won. Hopefully new fans to this board, along with parents of players not from Montana, can reason through and understand that.

[ND0479]

You want to hear something depressing. Just talked to offensively player who is a starter and touchdown maker. I asked if he will be back and he said he doesn’t know. He said with all the portal money he is taking calls and just got off the phone with a Big 12 school. I said I hope you’re back, and it’s a pleasure watching you. He said he would most likely be back but hasn’t decided yet. He also said the cats are targeting the QB from Stanford and the Martinez kid that played at NAU then went to Baylor.

Yeah it’s about the money folks and it sucks.

If it's Taco of Jones, that'll put the state loyalty to the test. If Jones follows up this year with similar numbers next year, I think the offers will be too much to turn down.

I love watching Taco play here, but in a perfect world, I'd also be happy seeing him play at Texas Tech...the tortillas they throw, the history with undersized WR's, the NIL opportunities are limitless. I think he'd get into 7 figures out there and how could you fault a kid for that.

I do hope they both stay though!

[nanacat]

All his post says is Homegrown. Not sure what that means, but sure hope he's staying.
https://www.instagram.com/share/p/BBTn0SAQfO

[cat22[2010]]

You want to hear something depressing. Just talked to offensively player who is a starter and touchdown maker. I asked if he will be back and he said he doesn’t know. He said with all the portal money he is taking calls and just got off the phone with a Big 12 school. I said I hope you’re back, and it’s a pleasure watching you. He said he would most likely be back but hasn’t decided yet. He also said the cats are targeting the QB from Stanford and the Martinez kid that played at NAU then went to Baylor.

Yeah it’s about the money folks and it sucks.

Will you call your guy again and see what he decided? My heart can't take much more of the waiting...

[MSU01]

Remember everyone that the 5-day window for MSU players to enter the transfer portal after the championship game closed on Saturday, so if players were making posts over the weekend indicating that they're staying at MSU then they likely are...at least until the Spring portal window opens up in a few months. It's entirely possible that there are players who entered the portal but haven't announced it publicly yet, but I think the news is going to very quickly shift from outgoing transfers to incoming ones.

[Lord Vigo]

The way this board acts towards the players is why my interest is certain players and the whole program. The quote program includes the fans and some of yall the way you turn on players that helped you get to the the NC is crazy to me. PEOPLE will always come before the institution for me. These athletes are people so the way I've been raised is that the people come ahead of the school itself. You don't feel that way... cook we just have different view points. I'm good with that.

I'm good with it too! I don't have a problem with you primarily being a Jhase McMillan fan. My point is that most of us are MSU Bobcats fans first and foremost, so it's not reasonable to expect us to be otherwise or to pretend to be all excited when a bevvy of great players get poached by bigger programs.

[MSU01]

The way this board acts towards the players is why my interest is certain players and the whole program. The quote program includes the fans and some of yall the way you turn on players that helped you get to the the NC is crazy to me. PEOPLE will always come before the institution for me. These athletes are people so the way I've been raised is that the people come ahead of the school itself. You don't feel that way... cook we just have different view points. I'm good with that.

I'm good with it too! I don't have a problem with you primarily being a Jhase McMillan fan. My point is that most of us are MSU Bobcats fans first and foremost, so it's not reasonable to expect us to be otherwise or to pretend to be all excited when a bevvy of great players get poached by bigger programs.

There's a mature and reasonable middle ground that can be found between being "excited" when players leave MSU (of course fans aren't going to be excited), and some of the rather hateful and unnecessary comments that have been posted here over the past week - some of which have even been directed towards players who aren't in the portal at this time. I am getting somewhat tired of people on here talking about these players like they're football playing robots or money-grabbing mercenaries, and not human beings who may have things going on in their lives influencing the decisions they make that we have no clue about.

[The Butcher]

Now the question becomes, what's going on with the program? Clearly something is happening within the program, and that something isn't positive.

Oh please. This isn't hard you guys. These kids are getting floated huge offers from 3rd parties and they don't want to turn down the potential of going to the Power 4 and getting paid handsomely for it. Moore, Humphrey, Jones, Powdrell, and now potentially Johnson and Polidore are all going to get paid. Dru has a shot at making a lot of money and he likely found out how much in the past 5 days.

As for guys like Alexander, thats a tale as old as time with WRs.

Is this a problem with the program? No...but it's something we better be recruiting for every year. Holes will have to be filled through developing high schoolers (which we are obviously very good at) or finding Rohan's every year (mercenaries). It certainly doesn't feel good but we don't have the collective or FCOA that the Bison have. Adapt or die I suppose.

Sorry, but Powdrell, Johnson, and I'd argue even Polidore are not P4 players. Anybody telling them otherwise is feeding them BS. Is making a bunch of money to be a back up more important than playing? I remember when transfers transfered because they didn't get to play. Now transfers transfer because they can get paid, whether they play or not.

I don't think Polidore leaves unless he knows he has P4 offers waiting. I agree with you on the other two. As fans, just don't get too attached to transfer players or our really good high school players. Sounds fun to be a fan!

I get that Polidore probably has P4 offers, but I don't see him being a starting safety at a P4 school, unless it's a bottom feeder. It's crazy SDSU and NDSU have had so many guys return to try to win titles, or in SDSUs case, go back to back, yet we can't keep guys trying to get one. How much more money does NDSU have than us to keep Lance??

I've heard NDSU has close to $6 million in their collective on top of the school perks they offer. Quiee a bit more.

How does that compare to what the Bobcat collective has? I don’t know that I’ve ever really heard a number.
Is $6 million double ours, triple? Less?

I've heard that the Bobcat Collective's annual budget is approximately $500,000. While individual businesses provide additional opportunities for players, it's clear that larger programs can easily outbid the Cats. For context, many Group of Five (G5) collectives operate with budgets of $1 million or less. To put it in perspective, Choate helped Nevada reach a $1 million budget for this coming year.

[Lord Vigo]

The way this board acts towards the players is why my interest is certain players and the whole program. The quote program includes the fans and some of yall the way you turn on players that helped you get to the the NC is crazy to me. PEOPLE will always come before the institution for me. These athletes are people so the way I've been raised is that the people come ahead of the school itself. You don't feel that way... cook we just have different view points. I'm good with that.

I'm good with it too! I don't have a problem with you primarily being a Jhase McMillan fan. My point is that most of us are MSU Bobcats fans first and foremost, so it's not reasonable to expect us to be otherwise or to pretend to be all excited when a bevvy of great players get poached by bigger programs.

There's a mature and reasonable middle ground that can be found between being "excited" when players leave MSU (of course fans aren't going to be excited), and some of the rather hateful and unnecessary comments that have been posted here over the past week - some of which have even been directed towards players who aren't in the portal at this time. I am getting somewhat tired of people on here talking about these players like they're football playing robots or money-grabbing mercenaries, and not human beings who may have things going on in their lives influencing the decisions they make that we have no clue about.

The ironic thing to me about the current state of college football is that the only groups that are supposed to shut up and accept whatever happens are the very fan bases that make football lucrative and special in the first place.

Most of these kids are clearly just leaving for money. As I've said time and again, that's their prerogative. But in regards to their football allegiance/commitment, it literally makes them mercenaries. Maybe some people have said things that are hateful, but it isn't hateful to simply be frank about what's happening.

[GoldstoneCat]

Does anyone here wonder if the manner in which we glorify Montana-born kids is off-putting to kids that come from out-of-state? Came up in conversation this morning and I can see some validity in it. If we go out of state to get "arms and legs," or "speed," just to augment the montana kids, and essentially as a program couch it in those terms, should we be shocked that that doesn't engender supreme loyalty?

[MSU01]

The way this board acts towards the players is why my interest is certain players and the whole program. The quote program includes the fans and some of yall the way you turn on players that helped you get to the the NC is crazy to me. PEOPLE will always come before the institution for me. These athletes are people so the way I've been raised is that the people come ahead of the school itself. You don't feel that way... cook we just have different view points. I'm good with that.

I'm good with it too! I don't have a problem with you primarily being a Jhase McMillan fan. My point is that most of us are MSU Bobcats fans first and foremost, so it's not reasonable to expect us to be otherwise or to pretend to be all excited when a bevvy of great players get poached by bigger programs.

There's a mature and reasonable middle ground that can be found between being "excited" when players leave MSU (of course fans aren't going to be excited), and some of the rather hateful and unnecessary comments that have been posted here over the past week - some of which have even been directed towards players who aren't in the portal at this time. I am getting somewhat tired of people on here talking about these players like they're football playing robots or money-grabbing mercenaries, and not human beings who may have things going on in their lives influencing the decisions they make that we have no clue about.

The ironic thing to me about the current state of college football is that the only groups that are supposed to shut up and accept whatever happens are the very fan bases that make football lucrative and special in the first place.

Most of these kids are clearly just leaving for money. As I've said time and again, that's their prerogative. But in regards to their football allegiance/commitment, it literally makes them mercenaries. Maybe some people have said things that are hateful, but it isn't hateful to simply be frank about what's happening.

A scholarship is a one-year agreement between the player and school, and either side can choose to not renew that agreement after the year has ended. We're holding players to an unfairly high standard if we expect four or five or even six years of allegiance and commitment to a program that doesn't have to uphold that same level of commitment to them. You aren't being "frank" by saying that most of the players are just leaving for money, you're just making assumptions and ignoring the many other factors which might play into a player deciding to transfer...playing closer to home/family reasons, Montana and Bozeman isn't a good fit for everyone, a perceived improvement in pro prospects by playing at a higher level, have already graduated and want to move on to something new, etc. Does money/NIL play a role? Of course. Is it the only reason these guys are leaving? Absolutely not.

[Lord Vigo]

Money is nearly all of this and to pretend otherwise is absurd.

[nanacat]

Does anyone here wonder if the manner in which we glorify Montana-born kids is off-putting to kids that come from out-of-state? Came up in conversation this morning and I can see some validity in it. If we go out of state to get "arms and legs," or "speed," just to augment the montana kids, and essentially as a program couch it in those terms, should we be shocked that that doesn't engender supreme loyalty?

I actually made that same point several days ago regarding all the press about the Montana bred players on this year's team, and wondered the exact thing. Not sure we'll ever really know the answer but I think it's a valid question. We definitely want all players to feel welcome and a part of the team, and I do think the fan base does a great job of that overall. This year was unique in the strength of Montana players on the team and the recognition they received with POY awards. Could that have created some jealousy or animosity? Perhaps. But at the same time, seeing the videos after Tommy won the Payton, and hearing comments by the players, it seemed like they were all unified.

[MSU01]

Money is nearly all of this and to pretend otherwise is absurd.

If it were really all about money then I could give you a long list of players who wouldn't have stayed at MSU for their entire careers.

[wbtfg]

I feel like I've gone through all of the stages of grief on this....hahaha.

I think I've finally come to they stage where I can accept the new reality. If we are a great team with great players, the players and coaches are going to leave for bigger (not necessarily better) opportunities. That's just the new reality of it all.

[nanacat]

I feel like I've gone through all of the stages of grief on this....hahaha.

I think I've finally come to part where I can accept the new reality. If we are a great team with great players, the players and coaches are going to leave for bigger (not necessarily better) opportunities. That's just the new reality of it all.

I guess it is the new reality. I don't see a lot of players being poached from losing programs, so I guess this is a good thing, even if it feels bad.

[TomCat88]

I feel like I've gone through all of the stages of grief on this....hahaha.

I think I've finally come to part where I can accept the new reality. If we are a great team with great players, the players and coaches are going to leave for bigger (not necessarily better) opportunities. That's just the new reality of it all.

I think you might have to include an annual contribution to the fund for player retention.

[CodyCat]

In terms of NIL monies. If donors and/or The Collective are going to start matching some of these offers. How are people or how would people verify the offers these guys are getting. Let’s use Humphrey for an example. Let’s say he comes to the Collective and says, UNC is offering me $300,000, a car, and a place to live. How do you verify that. And are those things happening. Or does it not matter?