Little Brother Ain't So LIttle...

[Catsrgrood]

Agree to disagree on his one. I think it’s the exact opposite. What is the risk? And the reward could be huge. Maybe this guy doesn’t ever see the field for the Cats, but he has the possibility to be an absolute force at this level, especially paired with the potential Cal transfer and some of the other RB’s already on the roster.

You don’t get Big Ten all freshmen team as a true freshmen if you can’t play the game.

To automatically bash this one the second you hear about it and say he’ll more than likely fizzle out sounds like there is some nervousness there on your end. This guy fits exactly what Choate is trying to do in Bozeman.

Nope. Review cat stats on drop-downs recently. Not good? That's what I thought. High risk.

So... looks like some griz fans pointed out some recent successes for you.
And regardless if he’s a success or not, it’s not high risk. There is no risk. If he plays and does well, great. If he can’t cut it, then he won’t play, just like any other player. No risk.

There's always a risk. And I'm not talking about character. The risk with dropdowns is, they are almost ALWAYS full-ride guys. If he is a non-factor and just "on the team" for the next three years, it's a schollie they can't give to someone else. Not saying that will be the case with Natee. But, that is the inherit risk at the FCS level. Dropdowns soak up schollie money that could be broken up into many partials, or used to bump producing walkons up to deserved scholarship money. From FBS to FCS that is THE RISK.

I would say the other risk with the Cats' recruiting class right now is too many quarterbacks. I don't see Murray losing his job, no matter how amazing the juco kid looks, and he does look amazing. Then they have Rovig has already been annointed, and Baumann who has also been annointed by Cat fans. I don't see it working out for at least two of those four, and, where the Cats stand today, I don't think Chris Murray is the one that it won't work out for. And, MSU fans are very, very naive if they think Murray is going to voluntarily switch positions to make things "comfortable" for everybody else.

Those are fair points, maybe my statement of no risk is a bit exaggerated, but so is calling it high risk. Somewhere in the middle, leaning towards fairly low risk I guess.
If he's on full scholly and really can't cut it, I don't see him sticking around for his second year. But this is getting pretty speculative.

As for the QB situation, it is getting interesting with all of them now for sure, but I can only see that as a good thing, look where the Cats were at last year when it was Bruggman and a 17 year old Murray. Bruggman couldn't cut it and Murray was not ready and struggled mightily at times. They need competition and options.

If Murray beats out the new transfer Jonsen, great, that means Murray has continued to progress and will be more than competent as a passer and Jonsen should be a great option to call upon if needed. If Jonsen wins the competition, there is no way Murray just sits the bench as a backup, I think they work out some packages similar to the way they used Troy Andersen this year, throw in some wildcat formations and play him in the slot. Will he be happy not being the starting qb? Probably not, but I'm not in on those meetings and can only speculate. He seems to be the kind that wants to help the team above all else. Maybe that's wishful thinking, we'll see.

With Rovig and Bauman, another great problem to have, two guys that are 6'5", 3* QB's coming out of high school battling and pushing each other to be the next guy. Rovig will be a RS freshman and Bauman will presumably RS next year. This gives them 2 and 3 years left to play when both Murray and Jonsen graduate. Let the best man win the job.

So you're right, 1 maybe 2 of these 4 guys will be the odd man out over the next few years, and maybe even transfer out of the program at some point, who knows, but I'll take a log jam like this at such an important position all day long.

 

[Catsrgrood]

I guess Vim and I were typing at the same time, saying basically the same thing, I'm just way more long winded.

 

[Griz Time]

I haven't had the chance to really look in depth at their guys but just seeing positions, size, location, etc, seems like the sisters of Mary, east of the divide did well. Congrats! I do mean that sincerely, with a little jest in there.

 

[George Ferguson]

Nope. Review cat stats on drop-downs recently. Not good? That's what I thought. High risk.

So... looks like some griz fans pointed out some recent successes for you.
And regardless if he’s a success or not, it’s not high risk. There is no risk. If he plays and does well, great. If he can’t cut it, then he won’t play, just like any other player. No risk.

There's always a risk. And I'm not talking about character. The risk with dropdowns is, they are almost ALWAYS full-ride guys. If he is a non-factor and just "on the team" for the next three years, it's a schollie they can't give to someone else. Not saying that will be the case with Natee. But, that is the inherit risk at the FCS level. Dropdowns soak up schollie money that could be broken up into many partials, or used to bump producing walkons up to deserved scholarship money. From FBS to FCS that is THE RISK.

I would say the other risk with the Cats' recruiting class right now is too many quarterbacks. I don't see Murray losing his job, no matter how amazing the juco kid looks, and he does look amazing. Then they have Rovig has already been annointed, and Baumann who has also been annointed by Cat fans. I don't see it working out for at least two of those four, and, where the Cats stand today, I don't think Chris Murray is the one that it won't work out for. And, MSU fans are very, very naive if they think Murray is going to voluntarily switch positions to make things "comfortable" for everybody else.

Those are fair points, maybe my statement of no risk is a bit exaggerated, but so is calling it high risk. Somewhere in the middle, leaning towards fairly low risk I guess.
If he's on full scholly and really can't cut it, I don't see him sticking around for his second year. But this is getting pretty speculative.

As for the QB situation, it is getting interesting with all of them now for sure, but I can only see that as a good thing, look where the Cats were at last year when it was Bruggman and a 17 year old Murray. Bruggman couldn't cut it and Murray was not ready and struggled mightily at times. They need competition and options.

If Murray beats out the new transfer Jonsen, great, that means Murray has continued to progress and will be more than competent as a passer and Jonsen should be a great option to call upon if needed. If Jonsen wins the competition, there is no way Murray just sits the bench as a backup, I think they work out some packages similar to the way they used Troy Andersen this year, throw in some wildcat formations and play him in the slot. Will he be happy not being the starting qb? Probably not, but I'm not in on those meetings and can only speculate. He seems to be the kind that wants to help the team above all else. Maybe that's wishful thinking, we'll see.

With Rovig and Bauman, another great problem to have, two guys that are 6'5", 3* QB's coming out of high school battling and pushing each other to be the next guy. Rovig will be a RS freshman and Bauman will presumably RS next year. This gives them 2 and 3 years left to play when both Murray and Jonsen graduate. Let the best man win the job.

So you're right, 1 maybe 2 of these 4 guys will be the odd man out over the next few years, and maybe even transfer out of the program at some point, who knows, but I'll take a log jam like this at such an important position all day long.

Don't disagree with anything you said. Like you stated, lots of speculation. The only thing I would caution MSU fans against is just assuming that Murray would be A OK with changing positions or being the backup should Choate and Armstrong go another way. I don't think that's a very safe assumption. Chris Murray is no different than any other good QB, he believes he's the guy, and he believes he's proven that via not only starting for 1.5 years, but being the BIGGEST reason the Cats are 2-for-their-last-2 against the Griz. Assuming Murray would just step aside, and NOT transfer is a naive assumption in my opinion. But I don't think you have to worry. I do not see Murray being benched. Platooned a little maybe, but no way they take the starting nod away from him no matter how good the competition is.

 

[CatzWillRise]

Personally I think if Murray loses the job he is likely gone. Murray isn't a cocky kid by any means but he has been "the man" for a long time. He essentially won the starting job in high school as a freshman but he wasn't old enough to play varsity yet. So he has been a starting QB for 5 straight years and he is only 19.

But Murray is more of a team player than I think people, myself included, give him credit for. Coming out of high school he had this to say - “I just want to help the program in any way possible,” Murray said. “If I can hold the ball, throw the ball, pass the ball, anything, even holding clip boards, that’s fine with me.”

We shall see. If Murray doesn't get the job, and ends up in an Anderson type roll where he gets 5-10 carries a game, I'm not sure that is enough.

At the same time, chances are he'd be the #1 backup and if Jonsen wins the job, he is a dual threat running QB, and they always have a higher chance of getting hurt.

 

[Ringneck]

I think MSU has a good start on a really nice recruiting class, and I think that's a good thing for the state of Montana and the Big Sky Conference. I know some of you guys can't stand to see or hear anything positive about MSU, ever, and you're "FTC" all day, every day, but I'm one who believes it would be fun to see both UM and MSU return to the top of the FCS. As a Montanan, I think college football is more fun when both the Cats and the Griz are relevant.

 

[THE BETCH]

My house is devided so gotta go with Ring. Both teams reflect the state, however, The Griz reflect better. Absolutely pumped for the next few years.

 

[THE BETCH]

My house is divided so gotta go with Ring. Both teams reflect the state, however, The Griz reflect better. Absolutely pumped for the next few years.

 

[THE BETCH]

Spelling mistake. Can you find it?

 

[Catsrgrood]

My house is divided so gotta go with Ring. Both teams reflect the state, however, The Griz reflect better. Absolutely pumped for the next few years.

I’ve gotta say this is my general outlook as well. I’m not going to lie, I don’t mind see a few down years for the Griz because they spent quite a few years being so damn good. But as a whole, I think it’s great for the state and for the Big Sky conference for both the Cats and Griz are at the top each year and both making a run in the playoffs, with the Cats going further of course...

In my experience, it seems more Montanans feel this way than not. Most people want both teams to succeed, just with their team succeeding more. We just see the extremes on both of our forums and fan boards with the hardcore fans being the vocal minority with the FTG and FTC stuff.

 

[IdaGriz01]

My house is divided so gotta go with Ring. Both teams reflect the state, however, The Griz reflect better. Absolutely pumped for the next few years.

I’ve gotta say this is my general outlook as well. I’m not going to lie, I don’t mind see a few down years for the Griz because they spent quite a few years being so damn good. But as a whole, I think it’s great for the state and for the Big Sky conference for both the Cats and Griz are at the top each year and both making a run in the playoffs, with the Cats going further of course...

In my experience, it seems more Montanans feel this way than not. Most people want both teams to succeed, just with their team succeeding more. We just see the extremes on both of our forums and fan boards with the hardcore fans being the vocal minority with the FTG and FTC stuff.

Not a Montanan, but I have to agree. A consistent high-quality product accumulates followers outside the immediate fan bases ... admittedly not a huge amount at the FCS level, but it is a factor. And that translates to a broader, stronger recruiting base and more "look-in" viewers when the teams do show up on TV. Also, as I discussed on another thread, that recognition accrues, in measurable ways, to the benefit of the schools overall. And, let's face it, with the overall state budget being in sad shape, all of that helps ... the whole system.

Sad part -- in terms of the Big Sky, and discussed many times on various threads -- is that, even with the Griz down, they still dominate home attendance ... and MSU is consistently #2 in the conference. I knew the numbers were crazy, but I just did a quick check on the 2016 numbers. Together, UM and MSU combined had about the same (I did some rounding) attendance as the next five Big Sky teams combined.

 

[grizrgood]

FTC!

 

[Walkon79]

6-0, 260. Player or coaching staff?

I don't believe he saw the field in 17? (Injury) Played along side QB at times in a formation known as "bacon and legs." You can't make this shit up.

Looks like a good get if he stays healthy. Have no idea what their plans for him are.

Probably give him the ball 25 times. Just a guess

 

[Mavman]

Bobcats will make playoffs next year! Griz will fall just short next year!
Bank it book it!. #trendingowningthestateridingforbrandpreseaonchampsbestclassever

 

[CDAGRIZ]

6-0, 260. Player or coaching staff?

I don't believe he saw the field in 17? (Injury) Played along side QB at times in a formation known as "bacon and legs." You can't make this shit up.

Looks like a good get if he stays healthy. Have no idea what their plans for him are.

Probably give him the ball 25 times. Just a guess

I think you're right. I don't think he will get more than 20-25 touches next season. Maybe...

 

[Walkon79]

6-0, 260. Player or coaching staff?

I don't believe he saw the field in 17? (Injury) Played along side QB at times in a formation known as "bacon and legs." You can't make this shit up.

Looks like a good get if he stays healthy. Have no idea what their plans for him are.

Probably give him the ball 25 times. Just a guess

I think you're right. I don't think he will get more than 20-25 touches next season. Maybe...

A game D-ckhead! JK

 

[CDAGRIZ]

I don't believe he saw the field in 17? (Injury) Played along side QB at times in a formation known as "bacon and legs." You can't make this shit up.

Looks like a good get if he stays healthy. Have no idea what their plans for him are.

Probably give him the ball 25 times. Just a guess

I think you're right. I don't think he will get more than 20-25 touches next season. Maybe...

A game D-ckhead! JK

:lol:
Whoops!! Looking at him, I didn't think that was even a possibility. Drop down conditioning isn't exactly a Choate-led Bobcat strong suit!

 

[Walkon79]

Probably give him the ball 25 times. Just a guess

I think you're right. I don't think he will get more than 20-25 touches next season. Maybe...

A game D-ckhead! JK

:lol:
Whoops!! Looking at him, I didn't think that was even a possibility. Drop down conditioning isn't exactly a Choate-led Bobcat strong suit!

Yeah I'm also skeptical that someone 270 pounds can be a feature back. Will have to wait and see. On a positive note we'll have him all spring so we'll see what kind of shape he can be in.

 

[Catsrgrood]

I think you're right. I don't think he will get more than 20-25 touches next season. Maybe...

A game D-ckhead! JK

:lol:
Whoops!! Looking at him, I didn't think that was even a possibility. Drop down conditioning isn't exactly a Choate-led Bobcat strong suit!

Yeah I'm also skeptical that someone 270 pounds can be a feature back. Will have to wait and see. On a positive note we'll have him all spring so we'll see what kind of shape he can be in.

The thing that I think is clear with the way that Choate is putting his offense together is that no one will tote the ball 20-25 times per game. So this guy doesn’t need to be an absolute workhorse like that. Maybe more like 10-15 per game for him, 10-15 for Murray or Jonsen, and 5-10 for probably 2 maybe even 3 other guys. The idea is to be more by committee and be able to throw guys with different styles and abilities out there throughout the game.

So in a perfect world you’re probably not going to see a 1000+ yard rusher for the Cats over the next couple of years. It’ll be more like 3 or 4 guys in the 500-800 yd range.

Your point about wondering if this guy will be up for the bulk of the carries is valid though, I wonder the same thing. A lot will be answered in spring ball when this guy is on campus and starting to play a little.