Big Sky Players in the 2024 Draft

[MinnesotaBobcat]

I’m surprised Gubner hasn’t gotten at least a mini-camp invite. I
know Snell has some injury issues, but I thought he might have gotten a look too based on his stellar career, Overall it just seemed to be a bad year for FCS players getting a shot, especially from the Big Sky.

The part that I don't see anyone talking about is that this is indicative of the regression in talent in the FCS. We've been saying it ever since the pandemic. Does no one else see it?

I know it's depressing to think about as we all share college football in Montana being a big part of our lives....

For sure there is less talent in the FCS with the portal. I also didn’t expect the Cats/Griz to get many looks. SDSU had a once in a generation team, so of course had a good year in terms of guys getting a shot in the NFL. However, NDSU still got theirs, and in the grand scheme of things I’d say the Cats/Griz/Bison were pretty equal in terms of talent.

It just surprises me that Gubner in particular has yet to receive an invite. Snell’s injury could have scared teams off as well. Braxton Hill was the only other player that comes to mind out of the Montana schools that might have gotten a look. Obviously there are guys who are more qualified than I am to judge talent for the NFL, but those three players really stood out this year over the past couple of years.

Yeah....no. We still can't hold NDSU's jockstraps, whomever thinks we're on the same level as the Dakotas should probably lay off the wacky.

You must have missed the playoff game in Bozeman last year. Cats finally held their own in the trenches and basically gave the game away. I guess you could make a good argument that the Bison had a better kicking game last year...but that's about it. Cats were also a toe-tap an inch out of bounds from beating SDSU in Brookings (though they were clearly a level above everyone else come playoff time). Anywho, I'm perfectly comfortable saying the Cats are at the level of the Dakotas this year (and last year given how those games played out head to head last season), and I haven't touched the whacky weed in 30 years......

[PapaG]

I’m surprised Gubner hasn’t gotten at least a mini-camp invite. I
know Snell has some injury issues, but I thought he might have gotten a look too based on his stellar career, Overall it just seemed to be a bad year for FCS players getting a shot, especially from the Big Sky.

The part that I don't see anyone talking about is that this is indicative of the regression in talent in the FCS. We've been saying it ever since the pandemic. Does no one else see it?

I know it's depressing to think about as we all share college football in Montana being a big part of our lives....

For sure there is less talent in the FCS with the portal. I also didn’t expect the Cats/Griz to get many looks. SDSU had a once in a generation team, so of course had a good year in terms of guys getting a shot in the NFL. However, NDSU still got theirs, and in the grand scheme of things I’d say the Cats/Griz/Bison were pretty equal in terms of talent.

It just surprises me that Gubner in particular has yet to receive an invite. Snell’s injury could have scared teams off as well. Braxton Hill was the only other player that comes to mind out of the Montana schools that might have gotten a look. Obviously there are guys who are more qualified than I am to judge talent for the NFL, but those three players really stood out this year over the past couple of years.

Yeah....no. We still can't hold NDSU's jockstraps, whomever thinks we're on the same level as the Dakotas should probably lay off the wacky.

Simply based on the Round of 16 game in Bozeman, the teams were evenly matched and NDSU couldn’t stop the MSU offense in either the run or pass game.

SDSU, yeah, nobody is there but NDSU isn’t who they were even three years ago.

[Common Cat]

My son pulled a signed Jadon Janke card out of a pack on Saturday. Looks like the Janke twins are staying together.

[Colter_Nuanez]

I’m surprised Gubner hasn’t gotten at least a mini-camp invite. I
know Snell has some injury issues, but I thought he might have gotten a look too based on his stellar career, Overall it just seemed to be a bad year for FCS players getting a shot, especially from the Big Sky.

The part that I don't see anyone talking about is that this is indicative of the regression in talent in the FCS. We've been saying it ever since the pandemic. Does no one else see it?

I know it's depressing to think about as we all share college football in Montana being a big part of our lives....

This is the fact. The ease of transferring combined with the NIL money results in top talent from FCS and G5 getting poached by the P5. It's that simple.

I'll happily defer to Colter on his judgment of the overall talent level of the FCS division since he spends far more time paying attention to it than I do, but I don't think it's as easy as blaming it all on the Transfer Portal. In the last three drafts since the "free transfer" Portal era began, there have been a total of 47 FCS players drafted but only 6 players drafted who were FCS to FBS transfers. The 2022 Draft tied for the most FCS draft picks (24) since the year 2000 when there were 28 FCS players drafted, so at least in terms of draft picks we haven't seen some kind of huge dropoff yet. The relatively low UDFA numbers are interesting this year though, not sure if that's because the teams are signing fewer UDFA players in general or if they're signing more FBS players over FCS ones.

One other aspect that hasn't been brought up is the movement of entire teams from FCS to FBS. The talent in the FCS has dropped because teams have left, not players. The top 10-15 teams in the FCS might be better now than the top 10-15 pre-2020 but the next 10-15 are worse. Teams haven't lost top end talent or depth, the league has.

We debated every factor we could think of today. It ended up taking up more than an hour of the show so thanks for the great content idea!

[Travelingcat]

I am a bit surprised that Askelson hasn't even gotten a tryout opportunity, given strong production and a pretty solid pro day.

[luckyirishguy25]

I’m surprised Gubner hasn’t gotten at least a mini-camp invite. I
know Snell has some injury issues, but I thought he might have gotten a look too based on his stellar career, Overall it just seemed to be a bad year for FCS players getting a shot, especially from the Big Sky.

The part that I don't see anyone talking about is that this is indicative of the regression in talent in the FCS. We've been saying it ever since the pandemic. Does no one else see it?

I know it's depressing to think about as we all share college football in Montana being a big part of our lives....

For sure there is less talent in the FCS with the portal. I also didn’t expect the Cats/Griz to get many looks. SDSU had a once in a generation team, so of course had a good year in terms of guys getting a shot in the NFL. However, NDSU still got theirs, and in the grand scheme of things I’d say the Cats/Griz/Bison were pretty equal in terms of talent.

It just surprises me that Gubner in particular has yet to receive an invite. Snell’s injury could have scared teams off as well. Braxton Hill was the only other player that comes to mind out of the Montana schools that might have gotten a look. Obviously there are guys who are more qualified than I am to judge talent for the NFL, but those three players really stood out this year over the past couple of years.

Yeah....no. We still can't hold NDSU's jockstraps, whomever thinks we're on the same level as the Dakotas should probably lay off the wacky.

Simply based on the Round of 16 game in Bozeman, the teams were evenly matched and NDSU couldn’t stop the MSU offense in either the run or pass game.

SDSU, yeah, nobody is there but NDSU isn’t who they were even three years ago.

Here's the thing, Start of the season I think we were better than NDSU, we lost a lot of depth right off the bat but we also lost our swagger through out the season and muddled through a Big Sky Conference that was particularly bad this past year, I think Idaho and Montana were probably the closest talent wise, but I felt we had more playmakers and a better overall roster, but both those teams beat us. We got a lucky draw on an NDSU team that I do agree is way down on talent, and we still couldn't get it done.

There's more than just having NFL talent on your roster, you've got to have those kids focused and prepared and IMO the coaches have done a poor job at this. NDSU will get theirs into the NFL and Win games they aren't supposed to because of being focused, prepared, having swagger and having trust in their teammates. All that translates to being able to show off what you got and elevating their game. Maybe someday we'll figure it out, but I felt we were closer under Choate. Hopefully some new blood infuses positive changes for the team.

[AFCAT]

Clevan to Cleveland

[TomCat88]

Clevan to Cleveland

Great to see. Really fun guy in the interview room. Made one of the greatest catches in MSU history.

[Common Cat]

Clevan to Cleveland

Great to see. Really fun guy in the interview room. Made one of the greatest catches in MSU history.

The one that should’ve won the game?!

[TomCat88]

Clevan to Cleveland

Great to see. Really fun guy in the interview room. Made one of the greatest catches in MSU history.

The one that should’ve won the game?!

You need to ask?

[tetoncat]

I’m surprised Gubner hasn’t gotten at least a mini-camp invite. I
know Snell has some injury issues, but I thought he might have gotten a look too based on his stellar career, Overall it just seemed to be a bad year for FCS players getting a shot, especially from the Big Sky.

The part that I don't see anyone talking about is that this is indicative of the regression in talent in the FCS. We've been saying it ever since the pandemic. Does no one else see it?

I know it's depressing to think about as we all share college football in Montana being a big part of our lives....

More than teams leaving the FCS, it would seem that the best FCS players with NFL potential enter the portal. But it does not appear to be panning out for those portal guys. You have to wonder if Ifanse stayed at MSU and has an All American season, does he at least get UDFA opportunity?

This is my thought. FCS star goes to FBS and is solid but doesn't stand out probably don't get drafted. Had they stayed and been best player on a team and all American maybe they get a shot.

[Colter_Nuanez]

I’m surprised Gubner hasn’t gotten at least a mini-camp invite. I
know Snell has some injury issues, but I thought he might have gotten a look too based on his stellar career, Overall it just seemed to be a bad year for FCS players getting a shot, especially from the Big Sky.

The part that I don't see anyone talking about is that this is indicative of the regression in talent in the FCS. We've been saying it ever since the pandemic. Does no one else see it?

I know it's depressing to think about as we all share college football in Montana being a big part of our lives....

More than teams leaving the FCS, it would seem that the best FCS players with NFL potential enter the portal. But it does not appear to be panning out for those portal guys. You have to wonder if Ifanse stayed at MSU and has an All American season, does he at least get UDFA opportunity?

This is my thought. FCS star goes to FBS and is solid but doesn't stand out probably don't get drafted. Had they stayed and been best player on a team and all American maybe they get a shot.

As I said on the ESPN show earlier this week, Samori Toure did not get drafted because he went to Nebraska. He got drafted because he ran a 4.48. If he is coming off a 1,600-yard season at Montana and runs 4.48, you could argue he'd actually get drafted higher.

Eddie Heckard formerly of Weber State did not sign an undrafted free agent contract because he transferred to BYU. It's because he ran a 4.4 on his pro day.

The one argument you could make is for Daron Bland, Sac State CB who transferred to Fresno State. But it wasn't his Fresno tape that made him a 4th round draft pick. It was his Senior Bowl tape that got him drafted.

[PapaG]

I’m surprised Gubner hasn’t gotten at least a mini-camp invite. I
know Snell has some injury issues, but I thought he might have gotten a look too based on his stellar career, Overall it just seemed to be a bad year for FCS players getting a shot, especially from the Big Sky.

The part that I don't see anyone talking about is that this is indicative of the regression in talent in the FCS. We've been saying it ever since the pandemic. Does no one else see it?

I know it's depressing to think about as we all share college football in Montana being a big part of our lives....

More than teams leaving the FCS, it would seem that the best FCS players with NFL potential enter the portal. But it does not appear to be panning out for those portal guys. You have to wonder if Ifanse stayed at MSU and has an All American season, does he at least get UDFA opportunity?

This is my thought. FCS star goes to FBS and is solid but doesn't stand out probably don't get drafted. Had they stayed and been best player on a team and all American maybe they get a shot.

As I said on the ESPN show earlier this week, Samori Toure did not get drafted because he went to Nebraska. He got drafted because he ran a 4.48. If he is coming off a 1,600-yard season at Montana and runs 4.48, you could argue he'd actually get drafted higher.

Eddie Heckard formerly of Weber State did not sign an undrafted free agent contract because he transferred to BYU. It's because he ran a 4.4 on his pro day.

The one argument you could make is for Daron Bland, Sac State CB who transferred to Fresno State. But it wasn't his Fresno tape that made him a 4th round draft pick. It was his Senior Bowl tape that got him drafted.

He may not have received a Senior Bowl invitation without moving to FBS. It’s rare for a Big Sky player to get into that game.

[AFCAT]

[coloradocat]

Live look in at Bryce Young...

[Montanabob]

fixed it for you..

Live look in at Bryce Young's replacement...

[94VegasCat]

The crying about gubner is classic.

[TomCat88]

The crying about gubner is classic.

What did I miss?

[94VegasCat]

The crying about gubner is classic.

What did I miss?

He wasn’t drafted. He didn’t have an immediate free agent deal. Has he finally received a mini camp invite? Oh the horror that a gris hasn’t been drafted omg

[BelligerentBobcat]

I’m surprised Gubner hasn’t gotten at least a mini-camp invite. I
know Snell has some injury issues, but I thought he might have gotten a look too based on his stellar career, Overall it just seemed to be a bad year for FCS players getting a shot, especially from the Big Sky.

The part that I don't see anyone talking about is that this is indicative of the regression in talent in the FCS. We've been saying it ever since the pandemic. Does no one else see it?

I know it's depressing to think about as we all share college football in Montana being a big part of our lives....

For sure there is less talent in the FCS with the portal. I also didn’t expect the Cats/Griz to get many looks. SDSU had a once in a generation team, so of course had a good year in terms of guys getting a shot in the NFL. However, NDSU still got theirs, and in the grand scheme of things I’d say the Cats/Griz/Bison were pretty equal in terms of talent.

It just surprises me that Gubner in particular has yet to receive an invite. Snell’s injury could have scared teams off as well. Braxton Hill was the only other player that comes to mind out of the Montana schools that might have gotten a look. Obviously there are guys who are more qualified than I am to judge talent for the NFL, but those three players really stood out this year over the past couple of years.

Yeah....no. We still can't hold NDSU's jockstraps, whomever thinks we're on the same level as the Dakotas should probably lay off the wacky.

Odd thing to say when we outplayed them here in Bozeman.