Bobcat Portal News Only

[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.

Did we not "poach" Rohan Jones from a losing Maine team?

Of course, nobody here thought it was poaching. It was just him wanting to play for a better program. Funny how that works.

Did we "poach" Rohan Jones, or did we pick him up after he already entered the portal? I think that is different. If it is true that Scottre, Rohan, and Cole were contacted by other schools prior to entering the portal, that is "poaching" vs. taking a player who had already put themselves in the portal. My opinion.

We have no way of knowing if anybody contacted Rohan before he entered or not. He clearly knew there was a market for him if he entered.

Hmmmm, maybe. I think there are a bunch of MSU guys that entered the portal this time that don't know if there's a market for them or not, just taking a chance. However, to my original point, guys from losing programs don't seem to be doing that, whether being contacted and encouraged to portal, or taking that chance. So having a winning program will certainly make this the new normal. Having a winning program and losing players > having a losing program.

[91catAlum]

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.

Did we not "poach" Rohan Jones from a losing Maine team?

Of course, nobody here thought it was poaching. It was just him wanting to play for a better program. Funny how that works.

Did we "poach" Rohan Jones, or did we pick him up after he already entered the portal? I think that is different. If it is true that Scottre, Rohan, and Cole were contacted by other schools prior to entering the portal, that is "poaching" vs. taking a player who had already put themselves in the portal. My opinion.

Great question. I think its mostly the FBS tampering piece of this whole thing that frustrates most of us, which BTW is against the rules. Seems pretty unlikely that MSU is calling up guys from the CAA and offering them NIL money to transfer out to the Big Sky.

[Catsrgrood]

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.

Makes sense, thanks for the context. It makes NDSU’s number even more eye popping if it truly is anywhere near the $6 million mark. How are other FCS programs going to compete with that?

[AFCAT]

Obviously, the players consider it a business, the coaches consider it a business, the administration considers it a business, so the fans better start believing it's a business and treat it as such. They are selling us entertainment. Figure out how much we are willing to pay for it and support it.

[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.

Did we not "poach" Rohan Jones from a losing Maine team?

Of course, nobody here thought it was poaching. It was just him wanting to play for a better program. Funny how that works.

Did we "poach" Rohan Jones, or did we pick him up after he already entered the portal? I think that is different. If it is true that Scottre, Rohan, and Cole were contacted by other schools prior to entering the portal, that is "poaching" vs. taking a player who had already put themselves in the portal. My opinion.

Great question. I think its mostly the FBS tampering piece of this whole thing that frustrates most of us, which BTW is against the rules. Seems pretty unlikely that MSU is calling up guys from the CAA and offering them NIL money to transfer out to the Big Sky.

That's what I'm thinking too. And the NCAA doesn't have the stones to fix the problem they started. Cart - horse thing. Should have establish a plan that was legal, and beneficial for college football as a whole, but they didn't, so here we are.

[LTown Cat]

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.

Did we not "poach" Rohan Jones from a losing Maine team?

Of course, nobody here thought it was poaching. It was just him wanting to play for a better program. Funny how that works.

Did we "poach" Rohan Jones, or did we pick him up after he already entered the portal? I think that is different. If it is true that Scottre, Rohan, and Cole were contacted by other schools prior to entering the portal, that is "poaching" vs. taking a player who had already put themselves in the portal. My opinion.

Great question. I think its mostly the FBS tampering piece of this whole thing that frustrates most of us, which BTW is against the rules. Seems pretty unlikely that MSU is calling up guys from the CAA and offering them NIL money to transfer out to the Big Sky.

That's what I'm thinking too. And the NCAA doesn't have the stones to fix the problem they started. Cart - horse thing. Should have establish a plan that was legal, and beneficial for college football as a whole, but they didn't, so here we are.

Exactly--for me it's this, coupled with seeing guys like Gilman and Lance stay at UM and NDSU respectively, that has me the most frustrated. I thought with the run MSU made and Vigen staying that guys would stay...obviously that was wrong--basically any really good out of state player that could have come back is not. It might be the new norm--but it sucks.

[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.

Did we not "poach" Rohan Jones from a losing Maine team?

Of course, nobody here thought it was poaching. It was just him wanting to play for a better program. Funny how that works.

Did we "poach" Rohan Jones, or did we pick him up after he already entered the portal? I think that is different. If it is true that Scottre, Rohan, and Cole were contacted by other schools prior to entering the portal, that is "poaching" vs. taking a player who had already put themselves in the portal. My opinion.

Great question. I think its mostly the FBS tampering piece of this whole thing that frustrates most of us, which BTW is against the rules. Seems pretty unlikely that MSU is calling up guys from the CAA and offering them NIL money to transfer out to the Big Sky.

That's what I'm thinking too. And the NCAA doesn't have the stones to fix the problem they started. Cart - horse thing. Should have establish a plan that was legal, and beneficial for college football as a whole, but they didn't, so here we are.

Exactly--for me it's this, coupled with seeing guys like Gilman and Lance stay at UM and NDSU respectively, that has me the most frustrated. I thought with the run MSU made and Vigen staying that guys would stay...obviously that was wrong--basically any really good out of state player that could have come back is not. It might be the new norm--but it sucks.

"Like"

[CelticCat]

Jeff Choate famously told his players he's always trying to out-recruit you, recruit someone better than you. Any coach worth their salt is doing the same.

The reality is you can lose your spot any year. An underclassman steps up and beats you out, the staff brings in a highly touted transfer and beats you out. I know many of you say this is the exact reason you should stay, to face that adversity, embrace the challenge, and I personally agree that is good for you in the long-run in terms of building character. I only bring it up because I think it's important to note the staff isn't loyal to the players in the way you all want the players to be to the program. It's very unlikely you lose your scholarship, but we've seen time and time again players fall out of favor, or simply get beat out by someone better. Or the coach you committed to leaves in the offseason and the new one doesn't think you're all that.

Life is about striking when the iron is hot. Also the good ol' US of A is, and always has been, a me-first, capitalism based culture.

It's a hard pill to swallow, but this is the new reality. The players have all the power right now, and they'd be foolish not to use it to their benefit. Simply cheer for players who want to be here, and don't get all pouty when ones you like leave. And certainly don't overthink a bigger outgoing group one year versus the next as some sort of blow up in the program. You're going to drive yourself crazy.

[SparkCat]

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.

Did we not "poach" Rohan Jones from a losing Maine team?

Of course, nobody here thought it was poaching. It was just him wanting to play for a better program. Funny how that works.

Did we "poach" Rohan Jones, or did we pick him up after he already entered the portal? I think that is different. If it is true that Scottre, Rohan, and Cole were contacted by other schools prior to entering the portal, that is "poaching" vs. taking a player who had already put themselves in the portal. My opinion.

Great question. I think its mostly the FBS tampering piece of this whole thing that frustrates most of us, which BTW is against the rules. Seems pretty unlikely that MSU is calling up guys from the CAA and offering them NIL money to transfer out to the Big Sky.

That's what I'm thinking too. And the NCAA doesn't have the stones to fix the problem they started. Cart - horse thing. Should have establish a plan that was legal, and beneficial for college football as a whole, but they didn't, so here we are.

Exactly--for me it's this, coupled with seeing guys like Gilman and Lance stay at UM and NDSU respectively, that has me the most frustrated. I thought with the run MSU made and Vigen staying that guys would stay...obviously that was wrong--basically any really good out of state player that could have come back is not. It might be the new norm--but it sucks.

Gilman got a decent payday. However, he also could have made much more money elsewhere. He really is a rare anomaly when I say he loves this state, and will likely call Montana home for him.

[VimSince03]

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.

Did we not "poach" Rohan Jones from a losing Maine team?

Of course, nobody here thought it was poaching. It was just him wanting to play for a better program. Funny how that works.

Did we "poach" Rohan Jones, or did we pick him up after he already entered the portal? I think that is different. If it is true that Scottre, Rohan, and Cole were contacted by other schools prior to entering the portal, that is "poaching" vs. taking a player who had already put themselves in the portal. My opinion.

Great question. I think its mostly the FBS tampering piece of this whole thing that frustrates most of us, which BTW is against the rules. Seems pretty unlikely that MSU is calling up guys from the CAA and offering them NIL money to transfer out to the Big Sky.

That's what I'm thinking too. And the NCAA doesn't have the stones to fix the problem they started. Cart - horse thing. Should have establish a plan that was legal, and beneficial for college football as a whole, but they didn't, so here we are.

Exactly--for me it's this, coupled with seeing guys like Gilman and Lance stay at UM and NDSU respectively, that has me the most frustrated. I thought with the run MSU made and Vigen staying that guys would stay...obviously that was wrong--basically any really good out of state player that could have come back is not. It might be the new norm--but it sucks.

Gilman got a decent payday. However, he also could have made much more money elsewhere. He really is a rare anomaly when I say he loves this state, and will likely call Montana home for him.

His brother is also on the team and the family is well off.

[BelligerentBobcat]

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.

Did we not "poach" Rohan Jones from a losing Maine team?

Of course, nobody here thought it was poaching. It was just him wanting to play for a better program. Funny how that works.

Did we "poach" Rohan Jones, or did we pick him up after he already entered the portal? I think that is different. If it is true that Scottre, Rohan, and Cole were contacted by other schools prior to entering the portal, that is "poaching" vs. taking a player who had already put themselves in the portal. My opinion.

Great question. I think its mostly the FBS tampering piece of this whole thing that frustrates most of us, which BTW is against the rules. Seems pretty unlikely that MSU is calling up guys from the CAA and offering them NIL money to transfer out to the Big Sky.

That's what I'm thinking too. And the NCAA doesn't have the stones to fix the problem they started. Cart - horse thing. Should have establish a plan that was legal, and beneficial for college football as a whole, but they didn't, so here we are.

Exactly--for me it's this, coupled with seeing guys like Gilman and Lance stay at UM and NDSU respectively, that has me the most frustrated. I thought with the run MSU made and Vigen staying that guys would stay...obviously that was wrong--basically any really good out of state player that could have come back is not. It might be the new norm--but it sucks.

I think NDSU lost 8 transfers to the FBS last year. They're not immune either.

And lets not forget that this year, and in past years, there are plenty of players that had opportunity to leave and decided to stay.

[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 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.

Did we not "poach" Rohan Jones from a losing Maine team?

Of course, nobody here thought it was poaching. It was just him wanting to play for a better program. Funny how that works.

Did we "poach" Rohan Jones, or did we pick him up after he already entered the portal? I think that is different. If it is true that Scottre, Rohan, and Cole were contacted by other schools prior to entering the portal, that is "poaching" vs. taking a player who had already put themselves in the portal. My opinion.

Great question. I think its mostly the FBS tampering piece of this whole thing that frustrates most of us, which BTW is against the rules. Seems pretty unlikely that MSU is calling up guys from the CAA and offering them NIL money to transfer out to the Big Sky.

That's what I'm thinking too. And the NCAA doesn't have the stones to fix the problem they started. Cart - horse thing. Should have establish a plan that was legal, and beneficial for college football as a whole, but they didn't, so here we are.

Exactly--for me it's this, coupled with seeing guys like Gilman and Lance stay at UM and NDSU respectively, that has me the most frustrated. I thought with the run MSU made and Vigen staying that guys would stay...obviously that was wrong--basically any really good out of state player that could have come back is not. It might be the new norm--but it sucks.

Gilman got a decent payday. However, he also could have made much more money elsewhere. He really is a rare anomaly when I say he loves this state, and will likely call Montana home for him.

Gilman tailed off as the season went on. Perhaps teams cooled off on him.

[coloradocat]

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.

I think it seems worse this year because almost all the stars were in state guys. That's not usually the case. However, even this year Scottre, Hall and Ty got their fair share of exposure so it's not like anyone was downplaying the out of state guys. It just happened to be a particularly MT heavy year.

[CelticCat]

Looks like Polidore changed plans - into portal. Ouch

How the hell are we having more playmakers jump ship than the Griz and all the crap wrong with that program? Locker room issues? Seems spiteful at this point.

I'm telling you it's better to be a mediocre team than a great one in the current Portal era. Hurts an FCS program to develop and invest in players, make them great, only to be crapped on during this time of year. Other than the DL, OL and possibly RB, Cats are getting screwed day by day.

So you'd rather be a 6-5 team if it meant all the players stay, than a NC caliber team if 25% of the roster entered the portal?

[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.

I think it seems worse this year because almost all the stars were in state guys. That's not usually the case. However, even this year Scottre, Hall and Ty got their fair share of exposure so it's not like anyone was downplaying the out of state guys. It just happened to be a particularly MT heavy year.

I think that's absolutely true!

[HookedOnGriz]

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.

Did we not "poach" Rohan Jones from a losing Maine team?

Of course, nobody here thought it was poaching. It was just him wanting to play for a better program. Funny how that works.

Did we "poach" Rohan Jones, or did we pick him up after he already entered the portal? I think that is different. If it is true that Scottre, Rohan, and Cole were contacted by other schools prior to entering the portal, that is "poaching" vs. taking a player who had already put themselves in the portal. My opinion.

Great question. I think its mostly the FBS tampering piece of this whole thing that frustrates most of us, which BTW is against the rules. Seems pretty unlikely that MSU is calling up guys from the CAA and offering them NIL money to transfer out to the Big Sky.

That's what I'm thinking too. And the NCAA doesn't have the stones to fix the problem they started. Cart - horse thing. Should have establish a plan that was legal, and beneficial for college football as a whole, but they didn't, so here we are.

Exactly--for me it's this, coupled with seeing guys like Gilman and Lance stay at UM and NDSU respectively, that has me the most frustrated. I thought with the run MSU made and Vigen staying that guys would stay...obviously that was wrong--basically any really good out of state player that could have come back is not. It might be the new norm--but it sucks.

Gilman got a decent payday. However, he also could have made much more money elsewhere. He really is a rare anomaly when I say he loves this state, and will likely call Montana home for him.

Gilman tailed off as the season went on. Perhaps teams cooled off on him.

To be fair, he was a little dinged up (shoulder) about halfway through the season and never quite got back to 100%. He still had plenty of six figure NIL offers from FBS programs trying to lure him away. We are fortunate he is still a Griz.

[RockyBearCat]

Before NIL if we had a player having an outstanding season, they might transfer to the FBS to get more "big time" publicity for a possible NFL career. Now, it's all about the money. For example, according to most sources, Ohio State spent $20 million in NIL money in 2024. It's often said that OSU indeed has the "best team money can buy." I was so hopeful that NIL would not destroy FCS the way it has FBS, but I'm not so sure. When I say "destroy," I mean, turn college ball into NFL Lite. Actually, the NFL at least has guard rails on how teams get players. It's the Wild West in college athletics. All of those huge donationas to NIL are NOT tax deductible. I just don't see how this is sustainable. I don't know what the hell we are going to end up with. We are getting to the point where Montana State has the absolute best facilities of anyone on the FCS level, but if you have to have a bunch of billionaires donating to NIL to get and keep good players, we are in trouble.

I agree, outside of the billionaires owning some of these college teams now, NIL definitely isn’t sustainable the way it is set up. I’m sure they will find a way to make it tax deductible for the donors though, especially for the corporate and very rich ones.

It’s going to be a wild ride going forward and I’m going to reevaluate every year how much I want to participate.

It is tax deductible because they are paying players NIL which is saying they are "actors" in a commercial. Just like any advertising budget, it is tax deductible. Obviously, they are still spending the $$, but it will reduce their tax burden by a portion of that donation.

[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 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.

Did we not "poach" Rohan Jones from a losing Maine team?

Of course, nobody here thought it was poaching. It was just him wanting to play for a better program. Funny how that works.

Did we "poach" Rohan Jones, or did we pick him up after he already entered the portal? I think that is different. If it is true that Scottre, Rohan, and Cole were contacted by other schools prior to entering the portal, that is "poaching" vs. taking a player who had already put themselves in the portal. My opinion.

Great question. I think its mostly the FBS tampering piece of this whole thing that frustrates most of us, which BTW is against the rules. Seems pretty unlikely that MSU is calling up guys from the CAA and offering them NIL money to transfer out to the Big Sky.

That's what I'm thinking too. And the NCAA doesn't have the stones to fix the problem they started. Cart - horse thing. Should have establish a plan that was legal, and beneficial for college football as a whole, but they didn't, so here we are.

Exactly--for me it's this, coupled with seeing guys like Gilman and Lance stay at UM and NDSU respectively, that has me the most frustrated. I thought with the run MSU made and Vigen staying that guys would stay...obviously that was wrong--basically any really good out of state player that could have come back is not. It might be the new norm--but it sucks.

Gilman got a decent payday. However, he also could have made much more money elsewhere. He really is a rare anomaly when I say he loves this state, and will likely call Montana home for him.

Gilman tailed off as the season went on. Perhaps teams cooled off on him.

To be fair, he was a little dinged up (shoulder) about halfway through the season and never quite got back to 100%. He still had plenty of six figure NIL offers from FBS programs trying to lure him away. We are fortunate he is still a Griz.

Guessing that was late in the NAU game or early UNC? Had a week off for a bye after nau. Doesn’t look like he took a game off though. Could’ve done that the UNC and Poly games which were back to back and possibly been full strength for MSU and SDSU.

[JimboCat]

There are plenty of players that come to MSU knowing it can be a stepping stone to the big time in CFB.

I’m in the camp that we should just fully embrace it. We have the enviable position of great Montana born players turning down big offers to stay at MSU. This is the core of the team. Prioritize those HS recruits.

Then fill in the remaining pieces and depth with talented transfers looking to move up. They are highly motivated to perform. Our staff should support them on that journey, even. Be transparent. Be honest on both sides. Use the terrible portal system to our greatest advantage until something new and better comes along.

+1

[GoldstoneCat]

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.

Did we not "poach" Rohan Jones from a losing Maine team?

Of course, nobody here thought it was poaching. It was just him wanting to play for a better program. Funny how that works.

1 guy? OK, you're probably right. Got any others?

PS - FBS dropdowns looking for more playing time don't count. Lets hear the list of good players from lesser teams that MSU "poached", similar to what the FBS is doing to MSU currently.

There aren't very many, I wasn't trying to insinuate there are. But it definitely has happened. Treyton Pickering is somewhat similar in that the coaches convinced him to break his commitment to Tech (I think, foggy memory) after he had already signed there.

I'll just bet there will be more FCS-to-FCS transfers in this class, guys looking for a better opportunity. But that will be OK again because they'll be our mercenaries, then.

Mercenary by definition is somebody that does something strictly for money. Players who come to Montana State aren't doing it for the money, as there isn't any outside of tuition/room/board. As far as I know, MSU doesn't even pay FCOA yet.

So no, we aren't bringing in "mercenaries" here. We aren't luring away players from other schools with the promise of a pile of NIL cash.

When a player leaves MSU (or wherever) for a pile of cash, that is what a "mercenary" is.

Players that come here from low level FCS are no less mercenary than Rohan, polidore, Conner, pick one. The currency here may be exposure more than cash but ultimately it's still transactional. They're hired guns to help us win. Call it whatever you like, doesn't make it any less true.