Likeable guy, most O-Line coach types are. Will probably be a solid motivator. Did a really nice job at Central, dude can coach and hire good coaches. Very strong coaching cliché game, I may have to go through and re-watch to count how many were used.

I use elders with all due respect

'06 was a crazy season. Ags hammered Montana State 45-0, lost at Cal Poly, lost to South Dakota St. by 1 and NDSU by 4. Probably a few plays away from a totally different story than 6-5. Elders, tell me more

According to Google, that was around the same date in 2006, so great recall, exactly 20 years. Horned Frogs by 30+. Assuming it was a hot day game?

Just saw the SMU kickoff time is 3PM Central. Hottest part of the day. Thanks *$@holes :rofl:

Herder has Idaho State as a Top 20 team? Sure, they're in the alphabetical 16-20 group, but I don't see that either. I still can't believe UC Davis lost to that team. Yes I can... you lose something like 90% of the time when you have a punt blocked. Terrible loss. Still pissed. That Saturday in Davis was the one time in the "if we played them 10 times, we win 9 of them" scenario/excuse.

I just can't drink the Montana Kool-Aid. They strike me as soft on defense and they have a lot of holes to fill on that side of the ball. They also don't strike me as a formidable road team.

Going back to a few weeks ago, my Top 5, with one change, is:

1. Montana State: The champs are the champs until someone takes it from them.
2. South Dakota State: Lots of returning talent. Pedigree of winning. Road to Nashville runs through Bozeman and Brookings.
3. Ags: Early Montana game tells the story as to whether or not they deserve the hype. Doesn't make or break the season for either team, but it might be the difference between a national 2 seed and home field throughout, or having to go to Bozeman or Brookings eventually. Win the games you're supposed to win, which are 11 out of 12 of them
4. Rhode Island: I like this team...
5. Illinois State
5. To me, this is between Montana and Tarleton State. ISU just loses too much to garner the Top 5 ranking I gave them in my original Top 5. Tarleton looses too much talent, so I will go with the hated Griz here to round out my Top 5.

Everybody is a 4.4 until they run it for real... 10.9 does not equate to 4.43. He plays fast, which is what really matters

Dang, that kid is big and can run! Big time high school program in San Diego, way to go Ags!

I don't see how anything isn't legal these days :rofl: Knowing the NCAA, probably illegal though and counts as "impermissible extra benefits". I don't think there is any way of tracking it though. Food is probably as big an issue. I know when I played back in the 80s in juco, we had little cards we could use at 7-10 restaurants in town every week. You just showed the card, signed on a clipboard, and that was your meal for the week at that joint. We were threatened by our coaches to order reasonably!

Good start

I looked at some bio info on Tom Williams, "retired" after two seasons ('70 & '71). No idea why, and he appeared in 27 games over the two seasons according to what I saw, "anchoring the Defensive Line".

Plenty of guys have lived in training rooms and locker rooms, especially during the summer. You have everything you need right there and most coaches or staff tend to turn a blind eye. Players also camp out in cars sometimes in extreme cases. I have heard Plough speak continually about the need for funding summer living expenses, as well as program nutrition. The struggle is real for these kids who are expected to stick around all year, but only get covered for 10/12 months. Funding summer living would be a huge step in the right direction for the program.

As much help as the Connors Bros. will bring, the schematic tweaks are probably more important. I noticed, especially late in the season/playoffs, that teams were able to manipulate the box and displace one of the two inside backers, forcing a safety into the box fit which is less than ideal. Especially vs. playoff caliber competition.

Agreed on Bell and Faulkner, both capable.

Forty times are definitely overrated. Biletnikoff is an interesting comp; very similar to Kupp I would say on the field from what I remember. Hell of a route runner, physical, caught everything. Kupp is probably faster than Fred was though, but that's just a guess. And it really doesn't matter. How fast can you play and does the QB trust you?

40 times and straight line speed is sexy for coaches and scouts. Route running, hands, willingness and ability to block, elusiveness, those sort of things probably matter more. The dirty work of the receiver position. A lot of times at this level, the Kupps of the world are brought in as walk ons and become the feel good stories down the road in their career.

It is my opinion that the Aggies may have the best starting Corners in the country. Who are #3 and #4 is the question.

I was poking around on the Hero Sports site and read the Montana preview. They spent some money in the portal, that's for certain. Defense needed it as they lost a lot of talent. I really like the fact that they play the Beavs in Corvallis the week before seeing the Aggies in Davis.

I think is spot-on regarding John and Richardson. This deal is a statistical beauty pageant, which those guys don't have. We know we're stacked on the back end.

Cal Poly Linebackers, two in the top 11, get recognized because their team sucks and they're on the field a long time so they get monster stats :rofl: With all due respect, D'Amato is a ball hawk, kid makes plays on top of plays. The other guy, Olson, is just a rock solid run stuffer type. They have an outstanding duo there. I think Seivers will make the list next year but he's a year away. I remember looking at Niekamp going into the ISU game, he's a man. Davy from URI as well, good football player.

Go watch Grayson's basketball clips on his X account from December 28. Kid has really nice feet and is an interior OL at our level, probably Guard, maybe a Right Tackle depending on his length. Might have the feet to play RT.

McKenna can play Center and Guard. A little stiff, not quite the feet like Grayson, but holy cow does that kid FINISH! If you have a son or grandkid playing O-line, show him McKenna's highlights and tell him to end plays like he does. I love the nastiness! Looks to have really good upper body strength. Future bouncer downtown.

Both are welcome additions, looking forward to tracking their careers. Go Ags!

Good pod. Recruiting Hawaii takes contacts, hard work, and local knowledge. Seems like the Ags are scratching the surface on being a top destination for high academic kids from the Islands. Being able to pipeline some of those guys, especially on the offensive and defensive lines, will be important moving forward.

Both the OL commits come from top HS programs, fired up to welcome those cats

Two nice gets from big time high school programs. Go Ags!

Truedat