Who’s exceeded your expectations?

[TomCat88]

I’m not sure this really fits for this thread, but Sean Herrin.

He has this team faster, stronger, and better conditioned than anybody we’ve played, and by a good margin. The gains that the young players have made body wise, and then not just the physical, but the mental training they do all offseason.

I genuinely think he’s the most important coach on the staff, and that includes Vigen.

100% this!!!

Absolutely. The MSU players themselves identified the team's problem and Herrin knew how to get them where they wanted to be. The players deserve credit for being honest with themselves. I have never heard a team self-critique itself so accurately as they did, even though it was obvious. A lot teams/players are just too stubborn to do that. It's a player-run team, which coaches love.

[TomCat88]

Bobby Daly and Tyler Walker. Talk about a refreshing change from the play-calling of the two previous coordinators. Love what these guys have been able to do with our game plans every week. And considering that both sides of the ball have lost significant players during the course of the season and our coaches have been able to make great adjustments. Keep it up guys!

The dad of a player that transferred said that after last season said that just getting rid of the previous DC was going to make MSU's defense better. I'm not trying to take anything away from Daly, Howe, et al, just thought that statement probably explains MSU's downfall last year. It was just time for that guy to move along. He just wasn't a good fit for where MSU is right now.

The move to Daly is the second time that MSU has made a change (Miller taking the OC job midseason 2018? is the other) that it was more of a personality issue than a scheme issue. Miller's dad told me that Matt's explanation for his success was that the players liked him as a person/dude. Sounds overly simplistic but sometimes people over think things when the answer is right in front of them.

[justafan]

Booby Hauck......has exceeded all expectations...not only did he flop with a 2 qb system he flopped with his 3 man front....can't wait to see what is next....

[VimSince03]

Miles Jackson at nickel has been huge for our run defense. He's really smart, very physical, and has been crucial in prepping Tayden Gray as the season has gone along. Caden Dowler was a huge loss but those two have made the damage minimal.

Technically same goes for Neil Daily and Paul Brott.

[RockyBearCat]

Booby Hauck......has exceeded all expectations...not only did he flop with a 2 qb system he flopped with his 3 man front....can't wait to see what is next....

3 QB's and a 2 man front. Like 6 minute abs....

[luckyirishguy25]

Tommy. What absolute dimes he was throwing on Saturday, masterful performance. We are so lucky to have him.

[TomCat88]

Miles Jackson at nickel has been huge for our run defense. He's really smart, very physical, and has been crucial in prepping Tayden Gray as the season has gone along. Caden Dowler was a huge loss but those two have made the damage minimal.

Technically same goes for Neil Daily and Paul Brott.

Same goes for Sain replacing Perkins. Which, in turn, created Wehr for Sain and Fleischmann for Wehr.

A microcosm of that effect occurred on the first TD of this past game. Rohan Jones is out and Provience catches TD pass. That was uncanny. The TEs went for 6 catches, 121 yards and a TD. Kinda blows me away.

[mgkcats26]

I would echo the initial post on this thread on what was said about McCade. What a jump he's made from being the 3rd guy last year to the dude this year after Danny went down. He has held up the main LB standard in the Vigen era, from Troy to Callahan to Askelson/Danny and onto him. McCade is also a great listen on his interviews, which is probably why he is requested for the Monday hits so often. His development overall has been pretty noticeable for sure, which is a credit to Bobby Daly and Herrin, which I agree with all the posts above about them respectively.

Sansted, Miles Jackson, Sain and Fleishmann would all be the others that have stood out as pleasant surprises. Vigen as well should be mentioned for making the necessary coaching changes and overseeing the whole operation and letting the coaches coach. He's made changes, while some other coaches ( ) out there are not as willing.

[RootinfortheCats]

A microcosm of that effect occurred on the first TD of this past game. Rohan Jones is out and Provience catches TD pass. That was uncanny. The TEs went for 6 catches, 121 yards and a TD. Kinda blows me away.

Pass catching tight ends are such a potent weapon against a stacked box.

[Travelingcat]

Adam Jones has got to be near the top of the surprises-- from a True Freshman afterthought to a very likely 1000 yard back this year.

Brott has always flashed but this year was just overall more dominant. He'll make occasional plays that just make you say "wow"

Stanstead went from a guy who got cut from the team to a solid kicker this year, which was huge.

A lot of other players have been terrific this year, but that was kind of expected. Those three were surprises for me.

We also had a lot of young talent emerge at DL, which was great to see.

[PortlandCat90]

Agree with all of the above, and would like to add a "What" to the list - Culture. Every interview, player quote, etc. defers the credit to their teammates and the common goal of the team. I know it starts with Vigen (maybe Cruzado...???...) and he shows it by his very professional interview sessions. He even had a joke about Rohan on the sideline against UT-Martin. Can't say enough about Culture, especially when we will need it at its highest level in these upcoming 3 games.

[AFCAT]

The tight ends have been way more utilized as pass catchers under Vigen than they ever were under Choate. That was one thing about Choate offenses that drove me nuts. I wonder how many total TDs were caught by TEs from 2016-2019 vs. just this year alone.

[BelligerentBobcat]

The tight ends have been way more utilized as pass catchers under Vigen than they ever were under Choate. That was one thing about Choate offenses that drove me nuts. I wonder how many total TDs were caught by TEs from 2016-2019 vs. just this year alone.

That’s one of those things that happen when you don’t have a QB your entire tenure.

[technoCat]

The tight ends have been way more utilized as pass catchers under Vigen than they ever were under Choate. That was one thing about Choate offenses that drove me nuts. I wonder how many total TDs were caught by TEs from 2016-2019 vs. just this year alone.

That’s one of those things that happen when you don’t have a QB your entire tenure.

Yes, but TEs are a weaker throwing QB's best friend. They are often the easiest to get on a mismatch or scheme them wide open. Great way to give your struggling QBs some confidence.

[nanacat]

Agree with all of the above, and would like to add a "What" to the list - Culture. Every interview, player quote, etc. defers the credit to their teammates and the common goal of the team. I know it starts with Vigen (maybe Cruzado...???...) and he shows it by his very professional interview sessions. He even had a joke about Rohan on the sideline against UT-Martin. Can't say enough about Culture, especially when we will need it at its highest level in these upcoming 3 games.

Excellent point!

[BelligerentBobcat]

The tight ends have been way more utilized as pass catchers under Vigen than they ever were under Choate. That was one thing about Choate offenses that drove me nuts. I wonder how many total TDs were caught by TEs from 2016-2019 vs. just this year alone.

That’s one of those things that happen when you don’t have a QB your entire tenure.

Yes, but TEs are a weaker throwing QB's best friend. They are often the easiest to get on a mismatch or scheme them wide open. Great way to give your struggling QBs some confidence.

I think that’s a bit of a misnomer. TE’s certainly are a nice “safety blanket” because their routes typically aren’t deep down the field, and they’re big targets. However if you’re going to ask a young, inexperienced, or not very talented QB to throw a lot of passes to the middle of the field, you’re going to get a lot of turnovers.

[technoCat]

The tight ends have been way more utilized as pass catchers under Vigen than they ever were under Choate. That was one thing about Choate offenses that drove me nuts. I wonder how many total TDs were caught by TEs from 2016-2019 vs. just this year alone.

That’s one of those things that happen when you don’t have a QB your entire tenure.

Yes, but TEs are a weaker throwing QB's best friend. They are often the easiest to get on a mismatch or scheme them wide open. Great way to give your struggling QBs some confidence.

I think that’s a bit of a misnomer. TE’s certainly are a nice “safety blanket” because their routes typically aren’t deep down the field, and they’re big targets. However if you’re going to ask a young, inexperienced, or not very talented QB to throw a lot of passes to the middle of the field, you’re going to get a lot of turnovers.

As you said, they are big targets and can usually box out the best over the middle. They also seem to be the easiest position, outside of maybe rb, to "scheme" open so that they are very low risk to throw to. My point was only that if you are struggling to get a QB comfortable and performing, TEs are usually some of the best options to get them in rhythm and comfortable.

[PapaG]

Rylan Ortt

From PWO and no scholarship money to traveling and playing his RS-Freshman year. Knowing and playing sports in Billings with his parents (his mom was a cheerleader as his dad and I played sports at Billings West) and extended family makes his success at MSU even sweeter.

[GoCats18]

Taco Dowler, Adam Jones and Rohan Jones would be my top three.