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Eli Kasberg commits

WaGriz4life said:
What position will Eli play?
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Don’t have knowledge of those discussions, but I imagine he will end up on the defensive side of the ball. He probably has the most potential as a linebacker if he wants serious pt in the future. It'll be interesting to see if big sky keeps him at QB. I can't imagine they wouldn't after having their best season in years. I definitely don't see him projecting as college qb. He reminds me a bit of the rostad boys.
 
I heard Vigen and his staff not only go to recruits’ other sporting events and piano recitals, etc., they also “pop-in” for Sunday family cookouts, wakes, and weddings. I’m thinking our staff should go a bit higher tech and install strategically placed Ring cameras around recruits’ neighborhoods so they can send friendly reminders like, “You should go to bed now, Sport. You need rest for the game tomorrow.” and, “Good boy.” when the lights turn off. Maybe a, “I wouldn’t eat that lasagna. Your mom didn’t wash her hands.” It would go a long way to show that the staff is thinking about them. It’s the little things.
 
BWahlberg said:
All the articles and stories and comparisons showing the contribution of Montana kids that Bozeman has/had vs what Montana has/had would disagree - that's probably the point I was poorly trying to make. MSU has recruited far more in-state kids that have lead them to the mountaintop - while the last 3 years Montana has relied heavily on portal kids from all over - which suggests to me the guys they're signing and developing either; aren't being developed properly, aren't ready, or aren't as good as their counterparts 200 miles down the road.
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Some validity to your argument but also some real problems:

1. Our top three offensive playmakers: Keali'i, Eli and Brooks--all high school kids recruited by Justin Green, Brent Pease and Bobby Hauck to Missoula.

2. MSU's three top offensive playmakers, Lamson, Davis and Dowler--two of the three are portal transfers. Chris Long, their # 3 receiver, all from the transfer portal.

As far as Jones is concerned, he is studying civil engineering at MSU, obviously not offered at UM. While I am sure Jones is a great kid, has talent, was the Big Sky preseason Offensive MVP, and was Big Sky Honorable Mention, I am glad we have the actual Big Sky Offensive MVP, First-Team All Big Sky, and All-American Eli Gilman instead. Although it's a tough choice between the two, I will take Eli over Jones. As for the naysayers that will still say we could have had both, not if Jones wanted to become a civil engineer. If he had desired to become a pharmacist instead, then we probably have a different story and outcome.
 
billingsgriz said:
Some validity to your argument but also some real problems:

1. Our top three offensive playmakers: Keali'i, Eli and Brooks--all high school kids recruited by Justin Green, Brent Pease and Bobby Hauck to Missoula.

2. MSU's three top offensive playmakers, Lamson, Davis and Dowler--two of the three are portal transfers. Chris Long, their # 3 receiver, all from the transfer portal.

As far as Jones is concerned, he is studying civil engineering at MSU, obviously not offered at UM. While I am sure Jones is a great kid, has talent, was the Big Sky preseason Offensive MVP, and was Big Sky Honorable Mention, I am glad we have the actual Big Sky Offensive MVP, First-Team All Big Sky, and All-American Eli Gilman instead. Although it's a tough choice between the two, I will take Eli over Jones. As for the naysayers that will still say we could have had both, not if Jones wanted to become a civil engineer. If he had desired to become a pharmacist instead, then we probably have a different story and outcome.
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Fair points, I was mostly focusing on in-state and especially in-town kids.

Justin / Keaton and all of the Montana staff have been stellar in recruiting overall - of late the focus moved to more portal kids than local to help the Griz win games. It's worked really well for the most part, 2024 the exception, they won a lot of games with this strategy, got to the natty, won the conference once, and got to the semi finals last year. For them it had to be a little exhausting to have to deal with such tremendous roster change over every single year and then massive portal focus. Meanwhile Bozeman did fill gaps with transfers - yes - but they've built their depth out with in state kids and Missoula kids / some Griz legacies even.

I think this Skyline breakdown was pretty telling: https://skylinesportsmt.com/guest-column-how-home-grown-talent-impacts-cfb-in-montana/

Montana State:​

  • Total: 110
  • Stars: 20 (18%)
  • Starters: 11 (10%)
  • Combined (Stars + Starters): 32 (29%)
  • Contributors: 13 (11%)
  • Incomplete: 22 (20%)
  • Miss Rate: 40%
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Montana​

  • Total: 97
  • Stars: 12 (12.4%)
  • Starters: 10 (10.5%)
  • Combined (Stars + Starters): 22 (23%)
  • Contributors: 10 (10.3%)
  • Incomplete: 13 (14%)
  • Miss Rate: 54%
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2019-2025: This time span begins after the famous “Miracle in Missoula” (or “Mishap in Missoula,” for our maroon friends). While it technically precedes the Brent Vigen era in Bozeman, all of the players recruited in this sample were developed by Vigen and his staff. The Cats are 5-2 in the rivalry over the course of this sample.

Montana State:​

  • Total: 73
  • Stars: 11 (15%)
  • Starters: 8 (11%)
  • Combined (Stars + Starters): 19 (26%)
  • Contributors: 10 (14%)
  • Incomplete: 22 (30%)
  • Miss Rate: 30%

Montana:​

  • Total: 66
  • Stars: 3 (5%)
  • Starters: 7 (11%)
  • Combined (Stars + Starters): 10 (15%)
  • Contributors: 10 (15%)
  • Incomplete: 13 (20%)
  • Miss Rate: 50%
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mthoopsfan said:
I don’t think UM wanted Jones that much and didn’t view him as a top prospect. I was told that Jones transformed his body after high school and became a much better and stronger athlete. Good for him. He’s good, but was overrated last year. Gillman is away better back. I wonder if Jones would have even gotten into the mix at UM. He has more time to show his stuff. I assume Mellott’s explosiveness gave Jones more openings and less attention 2 years ago. UM knew a lot about Jones. Jones proved UM wrong. I would have thought Green’s “attitude” would have been more important to Jones than Hauck’s. I don’t know Jones’ family or anything about them, but I take the views of most parents with a grain of salt even when I gave first hand knowledge.
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Eli Gillman or Adam Jones? I'd take Eli Gillman every single time, without thought. In fact I would have taken every RB UM signed over Jones. Based on their performance. Fonoti is now at Missouri, whether he plays or not doesn't really matter, he was good enough to get attention from an SEC school, Hashim is going to be a beast. Stevie Rocker contributed greatly.
 
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GlacierGrizX said:
You are probably right. I saw Zac Crews in the Litterbox blow up the play. lol!
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Woulda coulda... What would have happened if Hauck hadn't passed on Crews? I still think it was BS, but it happened and Crews went to MSU. Fate plays out like it's supposed to though.

Crews was passed on, he went to MSU. He has a chip on his shoulder and is going to do everything in his power to disrupt UM until he is done playing. Frankly I don't blame him. All he ever wanted was to play for the Griz and he got done wrong. I believe that then and I believe it now.

What happened in the meantime? We got other players, every bit as good as Crews. So did we lose out? Nope. Besides, we don't know how Crews might have developed if he had stayed at UM and in Missoula.
 
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mthoopsfan said:
Yes. But like you, I don’t know the facts. Recruits often make decisions for reasons other than how hard or well they were recruited. Had you played college ball or had kids who did, you would probably know that
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There's so much that goes into recruiting. Honestly when my son was being recruited, there wasn't a lot of attention from either Montana school. Not because they didn't want him, he had teammates that went on to play at MSU.

The fact is, I was involved heavily with his recruitment. I told him it doesn't matter if recruiters are military or college football. They are going to tell you what you want to hear. They are going to show you all the love in the world, shower you with swag, then once you sign, move on to the next guy in line. They will tell the whole truth, half truths, lie, do whatever it takes. That's their job.

We concentrated on academic programs, and scholarship offers. He had no lofty notions of being a star and playing in the NFL. He wanted to go to Dental school and that's that. MSU, UM, WSU, CSU, BC, VA Tech, none of them had dental schools and that was his focus. Playing football was just a means to an end. Life is life, he was injured, never played a down in the regular season, came home to rehab, and joined the Army.
 
SinCityGriz2005 said:
Woulda coulda... What would have happened if Hauck hadn't passed on Crews? I still think it was BS, but it happened and Crews went to MSU. Fate plays out like it's supposed to though.

Crews was passed on, he went to MSU. He has a chip on his shoulder and is going to do everything in his power to disrupt UM until he is done playing. Frankly I don't blame him. All he ever wanted was to play for the Griz and he got done wrong. I believe that then and I believe it now.

What happened in the meantime? We got other players, every bit as good as Crews. So did we lose out? Nope. Besides, we don't know how Crews might have developed if he had stayed at UM and in Missoula.
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Hauck didn't pass on Crews. The decision was at the woke Bodnar level. Have to laugh when he claims to be an independent.
 
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