Player Rep. I did play football. Anyway, you present some good points but I think your being overly optimistic. There is nothing wrong with that. I know I am overly optimistic too. It's a natural part of being a fan, Delaney is a nice guy and I am sure the kids like him. He is only on a two year contract though and he did already retire one time. Ash is also a very good recruiter and has had great results since being at MSU in that area. He and his wife like Bozeman and he will probably finish his career here. He has never been the type of coach to jump around. I do feel that recruits look for a head coach that is going to be there. The kids know that coach wanted them. You get a new coach and a lot of times they look for different things in player and you no longer fit. The kids do become more attached to their position coaches but when a new head coach comes in a lot of times they will bring in new assistants. So there is an impact. Yes there are many other reasons why recruits choose programs like the tradition,atmospere,success, facilities and sometimes it's the academic side. When MSU lost schollies it did hurt our depth and it took a while before Ash could build it up again. I would say it's just been the last couple of years where we have had adequate quality depth. You like to redshirt as many freshman as you can but he didn't have that luxury. Yes we survived but it has been a long road. Where it really hurts I think is having the partials avaialbe for the Montana kids.
Anyway, I am not saying you're wrong. Your points are well taken. Certainly having a good season will help!