Top FCS Recruiting per Hero Sports

[Catgotmytung]

I don't know if this has been commented on before but check out this page - particularly the FCS transfer tabs. They are showing Idaho losing 17 players to FBS teams and 1 player to a FCS team. Seven of these to New Mexico where the former coach moved. South Dakota State loses 21 players to FBS teams (Including starting QB) and 2 to FCS teams. 16 of these to Washington State where the former coach moved. These football programs appear decimated to me and it could happen to any program. Somehow it doesn't seem right that you recruit these players, train and coach them up and your reward is you get to watch them help other programs succeed. I'm sure the fan bases of these programs watching their former coach steal all their best players leaves a sour taste in their mouth. I'm not sure this is progress.

https://herosports.com/2025-top-fcs-rec ... sses-bzbz/

[allcat]

I don't know if this has been commented on before but check out this page - particularly the FCS transfer tabs. They are showing Idaho losing 17 players to FBS teams and 1 player to a FCS team. Seven of these to New Mexico where the former coach moved. South Dakota State loses 21 players to FBS teams (Including starting QB) and 2 to FCS teams. 16 of these to Washington State where the former coach moved. These football programs appear decimated to me and it could happen to any program. Somehow it doesn't seem right that you recruit these players, train and coach them up and your reward is you get to watch them help other programs succeed. I'm sure the fan bases of these programs watching their former coach steal all their best players leaves a sour taste in their mouth. I'm not sure this is progress.

https://herosports.com/2025-top-fcs-rec ... sses-bzbz/

Progress, when you make it a cesspool it's really not progress.

[MSU01]

I have little doubt that SDSU and Idaho will both be good next year and likely playoff teams, as the transfer portal works both ways and SDSU especially surely has talented up and coming players ready to replace many of those who left. Successful coaches will always move on and in the Transfer Portal era they'll also generally take the best players along with them. Doesn't mean your program is decimated if you make a good hire who has his own opportunity to quickly restock the bare shelves.

It's an adjustment, but college sports is now a "one year at a time" commitment for both players and coaches. That's just how it is now, we can either accept it or rage against it but the system isn't going back to what it was when coaches had way more freedom to switch jobs than players did to switch teams.

[AFCAT]

Choate tried to poach a few MSU players when he went to Reno. I've said this before; Coaches care about where they are at and where they are going, not where they have left.

[ICRobots]

I don't know if this has been commented on before but check out this page - particularly the FCS transfer tabs. They are showing Idaho losing 17 players to FBS teams and 1 player to a FCS team. Seven of these to New Mexico where the former coach moved. South Dakota State loses 21 players to FBS teams (Including starting QB) and 2 to FCS teams. 16 of these to Washington State where the former coach moved. These football programs appear decimated to me and it could happen to any program. Somehow it doesn't seem right that you recruit these players, train and coach them up and your reward is you get to watch them help other programs succeed. I'm sure the fan bases of these programs watching their former coach steal all their best players leaves a sour taste in their mouth. I'm not sure this is progress.

https://herosports.com/2025-top-fcs-rec ... sses-bzbz/

On the other side of the equation, player are told either directly or indirectly that their coaches job is to recruit someone better than them.

[PapaG]

Choate tried to poach a few MSU players when he went to Reno. I've said this before; Coaches care about where they are at and where they are going, not where they have left.

I think that’s false. Choate of course wants his best possible team in Reno since that’s who is paying him, but he did attend this year’s national championship game and had a son on the team. To say he or any other former coaches don’t care about MSU seems harsh.