The Bobcat Nation

Partenthesis are backups:

Offense:

Line:
Jensen JR
Hirst SR
Beniger SO
Birkeland SR
Smith/Verlanic/Decock SO SO JR
(Fjare) SO
(Brockway) SO
(Hanson) SO
(Boyce) SO
(Sonsini) SO
(Rogers) SR

Rating - B

QB:
Carpenter (or a IA dropdown, but I hope it is Carpenter) JR
Coppack JR
Desin (if its true) FR

Rating - Unknown (I'll give it a B based on the few times I've seen him im scrimmages/practices/games)

RB:
Groves SO
(Taito) SO
(Kelley) SO

Rating - B+

FB:
Elliot SR

Rating - B

WR:
Transfer JR/SR
Transfer JR/SR
Brown SO
(Lulay) SO
(Roosevelt) SR
(Rundle) SO
(Green) SO
(Nolan) SO
(Crane) SO
(Van Gordon) SO
(Lourdeaux) SO

Rating - C (depending on how good those JCs will be)

TE:
McDonald JR
Barnhart JR
(Schreibis) SO
(Parker) SO
(Bostick) SO

Rating - B-

Overall - B-

Defense

Line:
Papich JR
Saucedo SO
Kolone SO
Matakis SR
(Kolone) SO
(Hoffenbaker) FR (anyone hear how his grades are?)
(Macciola) SR
(Rothenberger) SR
(Neill) SO
(Cerise) SO
(Peebles) SO
(Johnson) SR
(Kinkelaar) SO

Rating - A-

LB:
King JR
Daly SO
Lowe SR
Mauia SO
(Curley) SR
(Anderson) SO
(Speights) SO
(Burch) SO
(Fletcher) SO
(Adolfae) SO
(Price) SO
(Drewiskie) JR

Rating - B

CB:
Fuller JR
Austin JR
Davis, C SR
(Smith) JR
(Davis, D) SR
(Walden) SO
(Wright) SO
(Thelan) SO
(Irigoin) SO

Rating - B

S:
Force SR
Leblanc SR?
(Gazzero) SO
(Holden) SO
(Kendall) SO
(Briggs) SO
(Williams) SO

Rating - B+

Overall - B



Now I'm sure a lot of these guys have redshirted and I may not have the correct class, but I think this looks about what our lineup may look like.

A lot of young guys with tons of potential. I think we will be in good shape next year.

Also, I know a lot of players changed position, dropped out, or whatever.

Anyone more in the know should correct my list.

Ashley at LB

Don't forget Clive Lowe at LB or DE.

Which begs the question....Will we run a 3-4, or is it back to the 4-3?

HelenaCat95 wrote:Don't forget Clive Lowe at LB or DE.

Which begs the question....Will we run a 3-4, or is it back to the 4-3?

Is Lowe back? www.msubobcats.com has him listed a senior, so I wasn't sure.

Yes, this was his 3rd year.

You left out Siataga, who will be a SR.

I'm guessing they'll move him back to OL if our depth at DL is as good as it should be.

HelenaCat95 wrote:Don't forget Clive Lowe at LB or DE.

Which begs the question....Will we run a 3-4, or is it back to the 4-3?

The Cats WILL run a 4-3 next year.

mquast53000 wrote:

HelenaCat95 wrote:Don't forget Clive Lowe at LB or DE.

Which begs the question....Will we run a 3-4, or is it back to the 4-3?

The Cats WILL run a 4-3 next year.

God I hope so. After this year, I realized how much I hate the 3-4. I am now entirely a proponent of the 4-3.

Hey... mix it up a little..... 4-3 as the primary D but throw in the 3-4 when necessary....

Add Lowe back into the D. Give the LBs (King, Daly, Ashley, Mauia) an A and the entire D an A. Agree with the offense.

iaafan wrote:Add Lowe back into the D. Give the LBs (King, Daly, Ashley, Mauia) an A and the entire D an A. Agree with the offense.

I'm lost here, you lose Mac, Nick, Hunter (by far the best CB) and Grenfield, all who played very well on the weakest part of the team during the year (the Defense). The four games lost (keeping us out of the playoffs was due to D and the WRs not showing up at EWU). Listing the D as "A" going into next year? I don't think so.

That is a little to much rose colored glasses.

I look at the team as to what needs immediate help with D-I drop downs and/or JC transfers as to what needs the most help (Groups that grade as D or C.) A group cannot be an A unless there are obvious all-conference players with Solid others.

On the Defense,
The DL is a C now at best. I think we will see at least 2 or 3 transfers on the DL coming in this year. (The DL plays 5 to 7 guys constantly substituting in pass or run downs and needs that number of quality players.) Kolone, Papich and Santaga are solid, Kolone has a chance of being all-conference if he gets a fire. I know, I left Big Lou off this first list. He filled a hole, but did not dominate play. The other backups just will not make it to cover constant subs and injuries. Macciola and Rothenberger were just not impressive to me at all and did not step up when Kalone was out. If we get 2 or 3 transfers on the DL (with quality kids) then maybe you have an overall B and improving. Matakis is a wild card. He could help a lot, but he is a question mark that can only be answered next fall after he has played several games and is still non-injuried. Matakis and Santaga would make two good tackles in a 4-3. Lowe and Kolone would be good DEs. But to many question marks at this time here and no depth in a position that needs depth.

CB, Hunter is a huge lose. It really depends now on whether Davis and Smith will be healthy. Austin and Fuller needs help for that group to be rated high. Look for at least one transfer here.

LBs have enough bodies and people. King has stepped up, Lowe (whether DE or LB) is very good. Daly really showed something when given the chance and there are a couple of players ready to step in. (I actually liked Daly at DE when Pass rush was needed). I don't see any transfers here unless someone is to big of a gift to say no to.

Safety- Force plays great and should be a captain next year. LaBlanc or Fuller (If Davis and Smith stay healthy) might step in the other spot.
As for Offense,
the OL will be fine (no transfers needed), tough to replace Bolton and Fig, but Jensen and Hirst are top quality and since they are both tackles a very good starting point with a solid group of existing players for the other spots. I like Verlanic (if he gains weight) and Hanson was on red alert (which is typically a good sign). DeCock going in as a TE for blocking was a nice addition in the UM game. The kid from Glendive would be a perfect addition to this group.

TEs will be fine (just hope they catch the ball a little better, but they did show they could block in the UM game). They should get stronger in the off-season and not be a negative position. We need to pick up a good freshman for Red-shirting.

RBs will be very good (Groves will be all-conference and Taito is very close). Solid for the next three years. We need to identify one solid blocker in the backfield, as a blocking FB for Groves/Tatio and/or for the QB.

WRs are a question (Lulay and Roosevelt will be playing, Brown needs to hold onto the ball with all that talent) however I would look for 2 or 3 transfers. to fill out the starting 4.

QB is a question mark, very possibly a transfer (Leaf?) to make some competition is needed. If it's a very good transfer, the team can explode and become an "A". This is the type of Div-I AA team that a good QB would want to transfer to. One that has a lot of quality players, likes to pass, is a conference winner for several years, and has an opening. If I was a Div-I drop-down looking for a great opportunity, this would be one of the top schools on my list.

Special Teams
Returners - Force will catch the ball inside the 20 to avoid mistakes and defend incase of a fake punt, Austin looked great in the last couple of games and Roosevelt was good last year before being hurt.
Punter - Lulay is gone, but we might have seen his replacement with another rugby kicker (Force) this past saturday. Otherwise, a new transfer here.
Kicker - Hastings was solid.

So to sum it up from what I see, JC transfers on the DL, CB, WR, and QB - where we need immediate help or insurance. Transfers will help determine if the team is an A or B next year. Either way it will be in the top 3 in the conference. (EWU dropping out of the top three and possibly Weber or PSU stepping up, yes I did say Weber, I like their coach). MSU and UM will remain 2 of the top 3. (Teams in the top 3 are mostly there because of quality coaches who recruit well and know how to coach).

The rest of the new players coming in this year will be freshman. Some in the nation will say we could be starting some of these freshman (but we won't, unless it's the kid from Glendive). How many 4 year starters have there been at MSU? On the current team Lulay and Bolton started part way in their freshman years (on a losing team), Hirst, Jensen and Kolone started right away as Red Shirt Freshmen (on winning teams). When you have a solid team, you just don't start freshmen very often (especially if the coach is Kramer)

BobcatLionFan wrote:
Macciola and Rothenberger were just not impressive to me at all and did not step up when Kalone was out.

TEs will be fine (just hope they catch the ball a little better, but they did show they could block in the UM game). They should get stronger in the off-season and not be a negative position. We need to pick up a good freshman for Red-shirting.

Special Teams
Punter - Lulay is gone, but we might have seen his replacement with another rugby kicker (Force) this past saturday. Otherwise, a new transfer here.

How many 4 year starters have there been at MSU? On the current team Lulay and Bolton started part way in their freshman years (on a losing team),

Ok Bobcat Lion, I'm having a hard time biting my tongue. Do you even watch Bobcat football, or do Texas St. players have the same names as MSU players.

First off Macciola didn't play, red shirt I believe, Secondly I can't remember Barnhart NOT catching a pass thrown to him. Thirdly, If you watched any of the scrimmages you'd have seen that Bolton can boom it as a punter. And lastly Lulay and Boltan did start as freshman and were on a winning team that went to the playoffs after beating the Griz.

Don't let facts get in the way of you pessimism.

I guarantee you that Macciola played. He didn't play much, but he played.

Barnhardt played very well, and pretty much caught every...but he did drop a couple.

Bolton can boom punts, but Kramer may have fallen in love with the roll out rugby punt....we definitely don't need a transfer here though.

As for Lulay and Bolton, they started on a losing team and turned it in to a winning team.....so you're both right.

I have some thoughts for special teams.

Kicking-Hastings will kick FGs and XPs. Bolton and Fisher will share kickoffs.
Punting-Fisher (I bet he'd be good at punting, too)
Holder-Coppack
Longsnapper-Bostick (he was really good this year)

Returners-Austin and Force will split punt returns and maybe kick returns. They may be too tired to return kicks after playing DB. Look for some WR to come in for kick returns.

BobcatLionFan wrote:

iaafan wrote:Add Lowe back into the D. Give the LBs (King, Daly, Ashley, Mauia) an A and the entire D an A. Agree with the offense.

I'm lost here, you lose Mac, Nick, Hunter (by far the best CB) and Grenfield, all who played very well on the weakest part of the team during the year (the Defense). The four games lost (keeping us out of the playoffs was due to D and the WRs not showing up at EWU). Listing the D as "A" going into next year? I don't think so.

Yes, you are lost. This defense struggled this year, but it switched from a 4-3 to 3-4, lost it's best lineman (Matakis) and lost Lowe and Mac at the same time for three games, not to mention never getting the services of Chris Davis and Eddie Smith. Despite all that it finished second in total defense. It returns seven starters along with Daly, Matakis and Chris Davis. So really it gets 10 starters back and one of the three replacements will be the best D-lineman on the team. So that's an A in my book. I'll send you a signed copy. It's a good read.

Correction.... MSU finished first in total D according to latest BSC stats.

I still go with my overall B for talent.

Heart and coaching can take us to an A. We definately have the potential.

longhorn_22 wrote:

mquast53000 wrote:

HelenaCat95 wrote:Don't forget Clive Lowe at LB or DE.

Which begs the question....Will we run a 3-4, or is it back to the 4-3?

The Cats WILL run a 4-3 next year.

God I hope so. After this year, I realized how much I hate the 3-4. I am now entirely a proponent of the 4-3.

The 3-4 was never run correctly this year. The 3-4 is a blitzing defense and we never blitzed.

I would predict that we move Big Lou back to the O LIne, we have plenty of depth at D Line, and he could help us best on the offensive side.

CelticCat wrote:I still go with my overall B for talent.

Heart and coaching can take us to an A. We definately have the potential.

I have to agree with CelticCat in saying that a B is a good starting grade. It's good not to set the curve too high at this point.