Bobcat Portal News Only

[nanacat]

My contention is that if Cal is going to be poaching many of our best players, they should try not being so pathetic.

I hope Polidore enjoys being another player who no one is aware of at an irrelevant program at a school that is far more passionate about communism than football.

That said, I’m fully prepared to forget about him and focus on the players who want to come to Bozeman.

As a former resident I must totally agree. It didn't get the nickname Bezerkley by mistake. It does have a short list list of positives but it is a huge ZOO.

I ought to be one of the greatest areas in our whole country but mismanagement has brutalized it.

Polidore is a Business Finance major. Cal-Berkeley is the #3 school in the nation for business programs. So, this looks like a good secondary reason for his choice, after money. #22 school overall; #2 public school. #1 computer science program, #2 engineering (undergrad) program. Seems like a good career decision.

He already graduated from MSU. If he can secure a Masters or some sort of a graduate certificate in his time at Cal, then that would look good to a future employer.

Berkley has an good academic reputation for sure, but having grown up in CA, it's not a place I'd want to go to play football or anything else. Best of luck to Polidore though.

[AFCAT]

Getting some news.

That’s awesome thanks for sharing.

It’s hilarious, you share the first positive portal news, yet lots of squabbling.

So this is cool. Is a commitment likely, and can that happen anytime or is it necessary to wait until the next signing period?

Commitments can come at any time. Commitments also don’t mean much and aren’t binding. The Bobcats have had players commit and then decommit. Players need to sign a contract and even then they can get out of it. That happens less often, but it does happen. At least four that I can remember during the Choate reign committed, signed, and then left for elsewhere. Junior Bergen committed, signed, and then bailed after Choate left. Donny Long, committed, signed, and showed up to a fall camp, only to run home a week later because of homesickness. He went to a JC and eventually ended up at Sac State. Another commit, the name escapes me right now, committed, signed, and was then offered by the USAFA. The young man requested to be released and Choate granted the request.

[91catAlum]

Getting some news.

That’s awesome thanks for sharing.

It’s hilarious, you share the first positive portal news, yet lots of squabbling.

Was originally recruited and committed to NAU in 2021. Only other interest looked to be from Cal and San Jose, however no offers from them. From his highlight film, which is hard to judge from as it’s highlights, he plays the ball well, gets turned around and attacks the ball, not the receiver. Also looks quick to get up and hit on runs.

Pinned our offer on his Twitter feed, has to be a good sign.

Awesome!!

ALTHOUGH NO POINT IN POSTING SINCE NO ONE ON THIS THREAD GIVES A CRAP ABOUT INCOMING PLAYERS.

It's not an incoming player. It's a player who was offered but hasn't accepted/committed yet.

[AFCAT]

MSU out looking for transfers and assistant coaches.



Before some gets triggered, I’m only joking.

[SparkCat]

Getting some news.

That’s awesome thanks for sharing.

It’s hilarious, you share the first positive portal news, yet lots of squabbling.

Was originally recruited and committed to NAU in 2021. Only other interest looked to be from Cal and San Jose, however no offers from them. From his highlight film, which is hard to judge from as it’s highlights, he plays the ball well, gets turned around and attacks the ball, not the receiver. Also looks quick to get up and hit on runs.

Pinned our offer on his Twitter feed, has to be a good sign.

Awesome!!

ALTHOUGH NO POINT IN POSTING SINCE NO ONE ON THIS THREAD GIVES A CRAP ABOUT INCOMING PLAYERS.

It's not an incoming player. It's a player who was offered but hasn't accepted/committed yet.

I understand that. Just seems like a better way to spend time looking ay potential players, rather than discuss to death why a particular player left. None of my business I guess

[tetoncat]

My contention is that if Cal is going to be poaching many of our best players, they should try not being so pathetic.

I hope Polidore enjoys being another player who no one is aware of at an irrelevant program at a school that is far more passionate about communism than football.

That said, I’m fully prepared to forget about him and focus on the players who want to come to Bozeman.

I apologize. I will try to be more excited about the players whom MSU develops and then leave for money, as well as the institutions that hire them away in order to maintain their sterling mediocrity.

With my extended family and I having had many very positive interactions with Dru Polidore it is painful to see him leave at this time. All the same we feel very blessed to have had him here as a student and player who always gave his best. We will always wish the very best for him, and his decision will have no effect on how much respect we have for him.

I’m sure he’s a great guy and I’m sure if I knew him, I would be excited for him.

But I’m just tired of and reject this notion that Cat fans (or Griz fans or whoever) ought to feel so honored that some kid came to MSU to use it as a stepping stone to a payday.

I think that’s being content with taking on the mentality of a JUCO or farm system and MSU is better than that.

Agree. I can't blame a 20 year old for jumping at the chance for a 6-figure payday. But I certainly don't have to cheer about it when they bail, or be happy about the current free agency farm league we're in. I'm tired of watching it, and tired of the posters here who wag their finger at me for not embracing it when our best players get picked off by richer FBS schools.

I find grown men being so upset about the athletic/academic decisions of college students to be a bit sad. I generally try not to partake in leisure time activities that impact me in a negative manner, be they physical or mental. This NIL/portal stuff isn’t going away, so I adjusted and go with it as the new reality. Wishing players a bad experience, or claiming they are making dumb decisions, is a way for some to cope I suppose, but it seems an unhealthy waste of energy. That’s just me, though, and we are all here to exchange our ideas and beliefs.

People mad at Dru Polidore going to Cal to play for more money, as an example, and get a Cal degree seem overly invested in a football team as a place in their life, but that’s just my opinion. Maybe it’s because I went to MSU during dark years for football, but I’d rather the players be wanted by bigger programs than struggling to beat Montana Tech, which happened in the mid-1990s when I was in Bozeman after graduating. Yet, I still had fun at all those games, win or lose. A few buddies and I even had our own section at times on the west side of the stadium.

Can’t be mad at a young man for going to cal. They are a top tier, elite academic institution.

A few years ago, the daughter of a family friend graduated high school. She was 4.0 valedictorian (all honors/AP classes), 30+ act score, student body president, cheer squad captain, etc etc. she had full ride academic scholarships to msu and tech, but she wanted to go to cali for school. She was denied admission at Cal, Stanford UCLA and USC.

All that to say, a CAL diploma is a significant accomplishment.

But if your good at football you can get in with far fewer academic accomplishments. Kind of takes some shine off that prestigious degree

Do employers see a candidate with a cal/stanford/usc diploma and say “yeah, but he was a football player”

You totally missed the point.

[MTnative]

My contention is that if Cal is going to be poaching many of our best players, they should try not being so pathetic.

I hope Polidore enjoys being another player who no one is aware of at an irrelevant program at a school that is far more passionate about communism than football.

That said, I’m fully prepared to forget about him and focus on the players who want to come to Bozeman.

I apologize. I will try to be more excited about the players whom MSU develops and then leave for money, as well as the institutions that hire them away in order to maintain their sterling mediocrity.

With my extended family and I having had many very positive interactions with Dru Polidore it is painful to see him leave at this time. All the same we feel very blessed to have had him here as a student and player who always gave his best. We will always wish the very best for him, and his decision will have no effect on how much respect we have for him.

I’m sure he’s a great guy and I’m sure if I knew him, I would be excited for him.

But I’m just tired of and reject this notion that Cat fans (or Griz fans or whoever) ought to feel so honored that some kid came to MSU to use it as a stepping stone to a payday.

I think that’s being content with taking on the mentality of a JUCO or farm system and MSU is better than that.

Agree. I can't blame a 20 year old for jumping at the chance for a 6-figure payday. But I certainly don't have to cheer about it when they bail, or be happy about the current free agency farm league we're in. I'm tired of watching it, and tired of the posters here who wag their finger at me for not embracing it when our best players get picked off by richer FBS schools.

I find grown men being so upset about the athletic/academic decisions of college students to be a bit sad. I generally try not to partake in leisure time activities that impact me in a negative manner, be they physical or mental. This NIL/portal stuff isn’t going away, so I adjusted and go with it as the new reality. Wishing players a bad experience, or claiming they are making dumb decisions, is a way for some to cope I suppose, but it seems an unhealthy waste of energy. That’s just me, though, and we are all here to exchange our ideas and beliefs.

People mad at Dru Polidore going to Cal to play for more money, as an example, and get a Cal degree seem overly invested in a football team as a place in their life, but that’s just my opinion. Maybe it’s because I went to MSU during dark years for football, but I’d rather the players be wanted by bigger programs than struggling to beat Montana Tech, which happened in the mid-1990s when I was in Bozeman after graduating. Yet, I still had fun at all those games, win or lose. A few buddies and I even had our own section at times on the west side of the stadium.

Can’t be mad at a young man for going to cal. They are a top tier, elite academic institution.

A few years ago, the daughter of a family friend graduated high school. She was 4.0 valedictorian (all honors/AP classes), 30+ act score, student body president, cheer squad captain, etc etc. she had full ride academic scholarships to msu and tech, but she wanted to go to cali for school. She was denied admission at Cal, Stanford UCLA and USC.

All that to say, a CAL diploma is a significant accomplishment.

If that’s true, that is absolute garbage.

[TomCat88]

So does anyone know who/how many transfers visited this weekend?

I’d say it’s about 50-50.

[BLACKnBLUEnGOLD]

Getting some news.

That’s awesome thanks for sharing.

It’s hilarious, you share the first positive portal news, yet lots of squabbling.

So this is cool. Is a commitment likely, and can that happen anytime or is it necessary to wait until the next signing period?

Commitments can come at any time. Commitments also don’t mean much and aren’t binding. The Bobcats have had players commit and then decommit. Players need to sign a contract and even then they can get out of it. That happens less often, but it does happen. At least four that I can remember during the Choate reign committed, signed, and then left for elsewhere. Junior Bergen committed, signed, and then bailed after Choate left. Donny Long, committed, signed, and showed up to a fall camp, only to run home a week later because of homesickness. He went to a JC and eventually ended up at Sac State. Another commit, the name escapes me right now, committed, signed, and was then offered by the USAFA. The young man requested to be released and Choate granted the request.

Teams only commit to players one year at a time. Teams also over-recruit and pull offers.

But now that the playing field is level, lack of commitment is suddenly a problem.

[Common Cat]

So does anyone know who/how many transfers visited this weekend?

I’d say it’s about 50-50.

Did you hit your head on a mogul?

[TomCat88]

So does anyone know who/how many transfers visited this weekend?

I’d say it’s about 50-50.

Did you hit your head on a mogul?

Just answered his question.

[Common Cat]

So does anyone know who/how many transfers visited this weekend?

I’d say it’s about 50-50.

Did you hit your head on a mogul?

Just answered his question.

lol

[onceacat]

My contention is that if Cal is going to be poaching many of our best players, they should try not being so pathetic.

I hope Polidore enjoys being another player who no one is aware of at an irrelevant program at a school that is far more passionate about communism than football.

That said, I’m fully prepared to forget about him and focus on the players who want to come to Bozeman.

I apologize. I will try to be more excited about the players whom MSU develops and then leave for money, as well as the institutions that hire them away in order to maintain their sterling mediocrity.

With my extended family and I having had many very positive interactions with Dru Polidore it is painful to see him leave at this time. All the same we feel very blessed to have had him here as a student and player who always gave his best. We will always wish the very best for him, and his decision will have no effect on how much respect we have for him.

I’m sure he’s a great guy and I’m sure if I knew him, I would be excited for him.

But I’m just tired of and reject this notion that Cat fans (or Griz fans or whoever) ought to feel so honored that some kid came to MSU to use it as a stepping stone to a payday.

I think that’s being content with taking on the mentality of a JUCO or farm system and MSU is better than that.

Agree. I can't blame a 20 year old for jumping at the chance for a 6-figure payday. But I certainly don't have to cheer about it when they bail, or be happy about the current free agency farm league we're in. I'm tired of watching it, and tired of the posters here who wag their finger at me for not embracing it when our best players get picked off by richer FBS schools.

I find grown men being so upset about the athletic/academic decisions of college students to be a bit sad. I generally try not to partake in leisure time activities that impact me in a negative manner, be they physical or mental. This NIL/portal stuff isn’t going away, so I adjusted and go with it as the new reality. Wishing players a bad experience, or claiming they are making dumb decisions, is a way for some to cope I suppose, but it seems an unhealthy waste of energy. That’s just me, though, and we are all here to exchange our ideas and beliefs.

People mad at Dru Polidore going to Cal to play for more money, as an example, and get a Cal degree seem overly invested in a football team as a place in their life, but that’s just my opinion. Maybe it’s because I went to MSU during dark years for football, but I’d rather the players be wanted by bigger programs than struggling to beat Montana Tech, which happened in the mid-1990s when I was in Bozeman after graduating. Yet, I still had fun at all those games, win or lose. A few buddies and I even had our own section at times on the west side of the stadium.

Can’t be mad at a young man for going to cal. They are a top tier, elite academic institution.

A few years ago, the daughter of a family friend graduated high school. She was 4.0 valedictorian (all honors/AP classes), 30+ act score, student body president, cheer squad captain, etc etc. she had full ride academic scholarships to msu and tech, but she wanted to go to cali for school. She was denied admission at Cal, Stanford UCLA and USC.

All that to say, a CAL diploma is a significant accomplishment.

If that’s true, that is absolute garbage.

That’s standard for every single top 20 college in the country, especially for girls. I know a similarly qualified applicant who was rejected from a dozen schools.

There are so many spots reserved for legacies, families of donors, and athletes that there are very few spots r left over for top academic performers.

[AFCAT]

My contention is that if Cal is going to be poaching many of our best players, they should try not being so pathetic.

I hope Polidore enjoys being another player who no one is aware of at an irrelevant program at a school that is far more passionate about communism than football.

That said, I’m fully prepared to forget about him and focus on the players who want to come to Bozeman.

I apologize. I will try to be more excited about the players whom MSU develops and then leave for money, as well as the institutions that hire them away in order to maintain their sterling mediocrity.

With my extended family and I having had many very positive interactions with Dru Polidore it is painful to see him leave at this time. All the same we feel very blessed to have had him here as a student and player who always gave his best. We will always wish the very best for him, and his decision will have no effect on how much respect we have for him.

I’m sure he’s a great guy and I’m sure if I knew him, I would be excited for him.

But I’m just tired of and reject this notion that Cat fans (or Griz fans or whoever) ought to feel so honored that some kid came to MSU to use it as a stepping stone to a payday.

I think that’s being content with taking on the mentality of a JUCO or farm system and MSU is better than that.

Agree. I can't blame a 20 year old for jumping at the chance for a 6-figure payday. But I certainly don't have to cheer about it when they bail, or be happy about the current free agency farm league we're in. I'm tired of watching it, and tired of the posters here who wag their finger at me for not embracing it when our best players get picked off by richer FBS schools.

I find grown men being so upset about the athletic/academic decisions of college students to be a bit sad. I generally try not to partake in leisure time activities that impact me in a negative manner, be they physical or mental. This NIL/portal stuff isn’t going away, so I adjusted and go with it as the new reality. Wishing players a bad experience, or claiming they are making dumb decisions, is a way for some to cope I suppose, but it seems an unhealthy waste of energy. That’s just me, though, and we are all here to exchange our ideas and beliefs.

People mad at Dru Polidore going to Cal to play for more money, as an example, and get a Cal degree seem overly invested in a football team as a place in their life, but that’s just my opinion. Maybe it’s because I went to MSU during dark years for football, but I’d rather the players be wanted by bigger programs than struggling to beat Montana Tech, which happened in the mid-1990s when I was in Bozeman after graduating. Yet, I still had fun at all those games, win or lose. A few buddies and I even had our own section at times on the west side of the stadium.

Can’t be mad at a young man for going to cal. They are a top tier, elite academic institution.

A few years ago, the daughter of a family friend graduated high school. She was 4.0 valedictorian (all honors/AP classes), 30+ act score, student body president, cheer squad captain, etc etc. she had full ride academic scholarships to msu and tech, but she wanted to go to cali for school. She was denied admission at Cal, Stanford UCLA and USC.

All that to say, a CAL diploma is a significant accomplishment.

If that’s true, that is absolute garbage.

That’s standard for every single top 20 college in the country, especially for girls. I know a similarly qualified applicant who was rejected from a dozen schools.

There are so many spots reserved for legacies, families of donors, and athletes that there are very few spots r left over for top academic performers.

And how many people apply for entry into those schools and how many of those applicants are accepted? I’m guessing the first number is pretty high and the second pretty low.

Edit. Just found it. Cal is a pretty competitive place to get into.

https://ivyleagueprep.com/university-of ... s-of-2024/

My uncle had a scholarship offer to MIT out of high school, but my grandfather, who had an 8th grade education, nixed that idea. He said he would pay for my uncle to go to MSU and if he did well there, he could go to MIT later. My grandfather figured my uncle would be too homesick moving across the country for school, this was the late 1960s. Grandpa was right, my uncle drove home every weekend his first year at MSU. He did graduate though and ended up at Stanford afterwards and got two Masters degrees there. He still lives in the South Bay Area.

[onceacat]

Super competitive for high achieving girls. Not super competitive for athletes or legacies or major donors. DIL just graduated from an Ivy, daughters fried at USC.

It’s a pretty dirty totally out in the open “secret”. 50%+ of the spots at these schools are allocated before the application process begins.

So you can safely cut those acceptance rates in half for most students.

If my kid could get into one of those schools on an athletic scholarship, I would make them do it in a heartbeat cause it’s almost impossible otherwise.

Dads: encourage your daughters to throw the shot put or pole vault if you want them to get into a top school.

[CelticCat]

My contention is that if Cal is going to be poaching many of our best players, they should try not being so pathetic.

I hope Polidore enjoys being another player who no one is aware of at an irrelevant program at a school that is far more passionate about communism than football.

That said, I’m fully prepared to forget about him and focus on the players who want to come to Bozeman.

I apologize. I will try to be more excited about the players whom MSU develops and then leave for money, as well as the institutions that hire them away in order to maintain their sterling mediocrity.

With my extended family and I having had many very positive interactions with Dru Polidore it is painful to see him leave at this time. All the same we feel very blessed to have had him here as a student and player who always gave his best. We will always wish the very best for him, and his decision will have no effect on how much respect we have for him.

I’m sure he’s a great guy and I’m sure if I knew him, I would be excited for him.

But I’m just tired of and reject this notion that Cat fans (or Griz fans or whoever) ought to feel so honored that some kid came to MSU to use it as a stepping stone to a payday.

I think that’s being content with taking on the mentality of a JUCO or farm system and MSU is better than that.

Agree. I can't blame a 20 year old for jumping at the chance for a 6-figure payday. But I certainly don't have to cheer about it when they bail, or be happy about the current free agency farm league we're in. I'm tired of watching it, and tired of the posters here who wag their finger at me for not embracing it when our best players get picked off by richer FBS schools.

I find grown men being so upset about the athletic/academic decisions of college students to be a bit sad. I generally try not to partake in leisure time activities that impact me in a negative manner, be they physical or mental. This NIL/portal stuff isn’t going away, so I adjusted and go with it as the new reality. Wishing players a bad experience, or claiming they are making dumb decisions, is a way for some to cope I suppose, but it seems an unhealthy waste of energy. That’s just me, though, and we are all here to exchange our ideas and beliefs.

People mad at Dru Polidore going to Cal to play for more money, as an example, and get a Cal degree seem overly invested in a football team as a place in their life, but that’s just my opinion. Maybe it’s because I went to MSU during dark years for football, but I’d rather the players be wanted by bigger programs than struggling to beat Montana Tech, which happened in the mid-1990s when I was in Bozeman after graduating. Yet, I still had fun at all those games, win or lose. A few buddies and I even had our own section at times on the west side of the stadium.

Great post. We all love MSU, MSU football, and Montana here on this board. There is a new reality in college football right now and all the message board bitching and complaining won't change it. If you find yourself now more upset than you are happy being connected to MSU athletics because of NIL and the portal, then you may need to re-evaluate whether you want to continue to be a fan.

It's blunt but life is too short to do things that make you mad, upset, angry. And this isn't going away anytime soon. I've made my peace with it - I wish no ill-will on guys leaving and frankly don't care why they left, it's complex and they all have various reasons and no good will come of wondering why. On the flip side I don't wish them luck in most cases, once they decide they no longer want to be a Bobcat I move them out of mind and like others have said, I focus my attention on guys who want to be here.

Long story short, I agree with the philosophy of just focusing on the guys who want to be here and you'll be a much happier fan for it.

[ilovethecats]

Think it's somewhere in between. You don't need to be jacked that we lost good players and some coaches. But anyone paying attention knew that was going to be the case before the season even started. And next season too. And the season after that.

If I remember correctly, I don't recall being super busy during this time period last season either.

Bottom line is that if you truly believe in Vigen and this staff, they really haven't given any of us reason to think they don't know what they're doing. We'll add players, adjust our staff, and look forward to another promising season next year.

Correct. And if you don't have faith in Vigen knowing wtf he's about at this point, I dunno what's going to convince you. Modern college athletics is a big adjustment for fans at best and sucks at worst but we're in good hands.

I have no problem with Vigen. We're in the best hands we've been in during my entire lifetime. I'm (mostly) just joking about how some people have hinted or outright said that we're close on signees/coaches and then nothing happens but we're just supposed to ignore that and go along with the newest idea that it's all by design and everything will get wrapped up after spring ball. And if you question any of that you're being impatient and irrational.

Just a friendly reminder that just because you can't read it on BN, does NOT mean that stuff isn't happening.....

Then why is it happening everywhere else?

Why is what happening everywhere else? Message board chatter? That is exactly my point. Just because you all don't have all the answers when you want on BobcatNation doesn't mean:

Staff isn't recruiting players and likely has a great idea of who they are targeting and feel good getting

Vigen isn't solidifying his staff

They aren't active in the portal

NIL isn't doing what it should

Donations and exciting stuff isn't happening

Sure some message boards are very active with portal players. Doesn't mean anything. May work out, may not. But not every team in the country needs the same amount of players or the same position players. So it means nothing for us. Aside from one other team, no one else was still playing less than two weeks ago. Many teams didn't sign a high school class as big as ours. There are a plethora of reasons why some of you aren't getting the information you so desperately want.

So my point stands. Just because you're not getting all the info you want on this message board, does NOT mean that there isn't a lot happening within the program right now.

I really appreciate this take. I've said it off rip.... we will be just fine.... the coaches are doing their work. We were one of the last teams playing and yes we took some big hits. Everyone hates it but this sense of entitlement to knowledge about what's going on is crazy. Those who know, know... those that don't will find out. Have some faith in a staff that has shown the ability to evaluate, recruit and develop players at a high clip.

We signed 26 during early period... that's crazy good. We lost 14, 5 important pieces. They aren't going to make rash decisions on players coming in. They have to fit msu football mentally and physically. That takes time to evaluate. There are players they thought would be available that chose other places, they aren't going to divulge that because other players they were looking at don't want to be 2nd choices. It's called strategy folks and you don't let anyone know what you know or what you're doing. They tip off what theyre doing and other teams WILL try to swoop in and steal kids. I know for a fact that schools will just sit and wait to see who another schools follows or they hear they are recruiting only to start recruiting them too. Especially a school like msu that rarely misses on talent. Other coaches are watching us and using us to evaluate the talent then try to take those guys because we want them... so they must be good. When u speak on these schools in taking big time fbs schools, schools that we can't compete with their player packages. Just relax everyone we will be just fine.

Sense of entitlement would be going to quarterbacks club or directly to athletic department and demanding answers and info. Posting randomly on message boards of fans wondering why there is no news and hoping to get some is not entitlement.

The way some people are acting yes it is a sense of entitlement. Whether it's going to qb club or here. To sit here and go on and on because there's no news to your liking is entitlement. Just relax we're good.....

That I what fan boards are for. If everyone wanted to sit back and wait with mo discussion they would read a newspaper or online sports news. I just don't understand posters being so upset about others wanting info, or venting frustration. It shows fans care.

I don't think anyone is upset that fans are wanting information on a message board. What I find annoying is fans assuming it's all doom and gloom and that our coaches aren't doing anything just because they're not getting information on a message board. If they had proof of anything they're suggesting in this thread that's one thing. But to just assume our coaches aren't recruiting, or that we're not targeting portal players, or that we're not hiring staff, etc. just because it's not posted on this message board is a bit wild to me.

We're in a great spot. Great things are happening. We're going to have really good players and a great staff. We'll be a top team next season. Fans are going to be happy.

[allcat]

I hate the new dynamics of this. I also hate the bitching about it. While I hate the bitching, it gets people thinking, this will cause someone to come up with some sort of solution. The solution will probably be just as screwed up as it is now, but eventually they will work it out.

[TomCat88]

I don't think anyone is upset that fans are wanting information on a message board. What I find annoying is fans assuming it's all doom and gloom and that our coaches aren't doing anything just because they're not getting information on a message board. If they had proof of anything they're suggesting in this thread that's one thing. But to just assume our coaches aren't recruiting, or that we're not targeting portal players, or that we're not hiring staff, etc. just because it's not posted on this message board is a bit wild to me.

We're in a great spot. Great things are happening. We're going to have really good players and a great staff. We'll be a top team next season. Fans are going to be happy.

The reaction is laughable, but somewhat understandable. I don’t think people are as knowledgeable as they think they are. Dunning-Krueger Effect maybe?
My basic bottom line for MSU that I share with a lot of people who are more knowledgeable than I am is that MSU has the inner workings/foundation that ensures that it’s going to put a top notch product on the field every year.

MSU has:
An excellent head coach and the staff is very good. Perhaps the best in the FCS.
An excellent training team for strength and nutrition. Perhaps the best in the FCS.
A staff that understands thoroughly how to evaluate and develop talent. (This is huge and few programs approach the Bobcats in this area).
A group of the best athletes in the FCS. I would guess top 5 at least, who, coupled with training and development, are as good as any FCS team.
The best or equally the best facilities in the FCS.
The best or equally the best funding base in the FCS.

[TomCat88]