2024 Roster & Season - Prognosis Negative ?

[fourthandshort]

Thought this would be a good thread starter .. I don't do many .. please chime in !! But it's for everyone's thoughts about 2024 fall season. Several of us have said it looks promising right now, including me. So I pulled the roster and dropped it into a Pivot table.

So with Dec signing day behind us, here is current roster breakdown by Year. Based on zero research, I feel like this is the best spread by Year we've ever had.. I just don't recall ever having 25 SRs. Then still 30 JRs, 19 SOs, and 37 FR. No idea of how many starters, stats, etc by Year. But we already noted we will have big SR class, but now also noting a bigger JR class ... so 55 combined out of 111 ... exactly half. Can't recall that kind of split before. This will be a very experienced team returning, with just a handful of key losses.

Would love to hear others thoughts. I'll do some returning stats at some point .. but that's a little more work.



And here is same by Position cut across Class



Yet another Meme for you Seinfeld fans

 

[isuquinndog]

Is this as important (not the work you did, I mean class balance) since the portal?

 

[fourthandshort]

Is this as important (not the work you did, I mean class balance) since the portal?

It is certainly a great alternative to plugging holes more easily ... though everyone has same potential, and we're all competing for same people.

So in that sense, it is not as important as it used to be. But that door swings both ways, and creates a lot more disruption.

That said, sitting here right now .. knowing we have 55 current JRs and SRs on our roster at this point in time, combined with knowing we only lost a few key starters, is very promising. That is a lot of experienced returnees from Spack's strongest 6-5 season - certainly stronger and more consistent than the 2016 Kolbe led team that should have beaten 9-2 UCA team on road .. and despite that 2016 defense being much stronger.

 

[fourthandshort]

Is this as important (not the work you did, I mean class balance) since the portal?

Quinn .. thought some more about your question. The Portal impact, if you are good at it, probably takes some pressure of your HS recruiting. But only to the extent you can on average break even or better in the Portal, and plug depth holes effectively. But the Portal advantage over HS is you can get guys with some amount of college experience, even if just practice time at an FBS school. So you still know their HS resume, but now they have been in a college system ... Zack Annexstad is great example. His HS resume was very impressive, but his college experience didn't pan out at Minnesota - injuries and depth charts will do that to an otherwise good player at next level, who just wants to play. MVFC is next best thing to FBS.

But again .. every program is competing for same guys. So you need to be good at it to come out even or ahead, and offer something like a chance to play in the MVFC where the NFL pays the most attention. But it's still about identifying the right prospects and have contacts that can give you scoops on kids that may have been sitting 3rd on depth chart for a couple years.

Not to jinx us with Feb signing date still coming. But as of now, I haven't seen us lose many to portal yet .. which means, we'll probably have them for spring ball. If they choose to leave after spring term starts in next 2 weeks, they will have missed spring ball at future school. And jave to wait until summer OTAs. I assume thats how that works with Fen signing date .. since they still need to finish spring academic term and pass classes.

Bottom line, I have to believe the Coaches are pretty high on 2024 and are telling the players same. So if youre going to get starts/reps, youre less likely to leave. Prognosis Positive .. so far !!

 

[MadBird]

Isn't this, in a "perfect world", how it's supposed to play out? Guys play together, have a pretty solid year, promising year, and coach/coaches persuade them that rather than taking a flyer on the portal, stick together and good things will happen next year? Who knows why it doesn't work with some guys, but this year, so far, fingers crossed, a lot of guys have been convinced they might have a shot at the playoffs and a crown next year. Stay here, work together, let's get it done.

In my optimistic, pie-in-the-sky world, the Covid eligibility year thing passes, the portal/NIL "shock" gets smoothed out, maybe changed, and there's a little more stability brought into the process. You're always gonna lose a guy or two or five, you always have, before the portal and NIL. But hopefully things settle down some over the next couple years.

 

[TIMMY]

Portal Schmortal. Look at what the best do. SDSU. They're O-line. 3 SR's and 2 RS JR's. All recruited out of H.S. QB. Stud SR recruited out of H.S. RB Senior recruited out of H.S. X SR. recruited out of H.S. Y SR. recruited out of H.S. H SR. recruited out of H.S. That's as far as I went but criminy that's pretty damn awesome.
The portal's fine for filling in holes. Maybe upgrade your Q.B. But if you want to be great you better recruit great, develop great and retain great.

 

[fourthandshort]

Portal Schmortal. Look at what the best do. SDSU. They're O-line. 3 SR's and 2 RS JR's. All recruited out of H.S. QB. Stud SR recruited out of H.S. RB Senior recruited out of H.S. X SR. recruited out of H.S. Y SR. recruited out of H.S. H SR. recruited out of H.S. That's as far as I went but criminy that's pretty damn awesome.
The portal's fine for filling in holes. Maybe upgrade your Q.B. But if you want to be great you better recruit great, develop great and retain great.

Timmy ... 100% agreed, most should come from HS recruitment. Oh to be in SDSU or NDSU's position . makes recruitment and keeping guys much easier when you are that good.

But I'm talking about how to compete AGAINST the Portal to ensure we get more than we get got .. because we'll lose some of the good ones and they have to be replaced.

 

[Virginia Redbird]

Timmy ... 100% agreed, most should come from HS recruitment. Oh to be in SDSU or NDSU's position . makes recruitment and keeping guys much easier when you are that good.

But I'm talking about how to compete AGAINST the Portal to ensure we get more than we get got .. because we'll lose some of the good ones and they have to be replaced.

I think Timmy said answered just that question. If you want to manage your recruiting, portal, etc. look at how the best do it. NDSU & SDSU win and of course that makes it easier to recruit. But but they have a system and much more important they have a culture that permeates their program. They are so good because of a foundation they established that breeds Bison and Jackrabbit players. Coaches have come and gone at NDSU and the championships keep coming. They have a culture there that the players buy into totally and collectively. It is more than just heart it is a collective belief. Yes, recruiting is probably easier for them but they have worked hard, built the programs and earned it. ISU has not developed it yet. That is not a criticism since few teams do build a culture to those levels. If you want to get your program to that level you need to look internally first at every single thing you do. If you just look to the portal, keeping players or getting players you will have some good seasons and some down seasons but no consistency in your program. Look inside, why would players want to come to ISU, why would they want to stay, will they bleed not just for current teammates but for the program and its history. I would bet that every Bison player feels weight of the program and all those players that came before. They don't want to let them down. NDSU did not start there though. There was no magic wand. They built it.

Timmy if I misinterpreted your comments my apologies but that was what I took away from your post.

 

[topiarydan]

NDST and SDST are the only game in town - they are football towns and football schools. Even in years their hoops teams get in their annual attendance is worse than ours. We have always been a hoops first football second school - our tradition in football has improved but for years our program was an after thought. The portal is also taking key players from NDST and SDST

 

[TIMMY]

SDSU may be the only game in town but they win with out-of-state talent. 79 out-of-state kids on that roster. 11 from Illinois. To me, that's looney tunes. I live in Wisconsin and there's no way I'd spend a winter up there.
Spack was on his way toward building that kind of culture. Frisco was on the brink of getting there. What happened? Beats me. I'll tell you this though. SDSU isn't great because of their wide-open "modern" offense that's passed Spack by. They are a run-first team by a wide margin.

 

[topiarydan]

SDSU may be the only game in town but they win with out-of-state talent. 79 out-of-state kids on that roster. 11 from Illinois. To me, that's looney tunes. I live in Wisconsin and there's no way I'd spend a winter up there.
Spack was on his way toward building that kind of culture. Frisco was on the brink of getting there. What happened? Beats me. I'll tell you this though. SDSU isn't great because of their wide-open "modern" offense that's passed Spack by. They are a run-first team by a wide margin.

Timmy - what's the entire high school boys age population in SD? Its insanely small - they have to get talent out of state - especially skilled players. I remember when SDST was a middle of the road program. Their football program is the IT thing for that school while hockey is still the IT thing at UND and football is it at NDST. Also you have 2 teams to root for in SD - while in Illinois you have 2 Big 10 teams, NIU, SIU, EIU, WIU as well along with ILS. Regardless I am high on this team going into the new year. We stay healthy and Rittenhouse/KSU kid come through then we will be playoff bound

 

[TBS_20]

Brock Spack (BS) is still the head coach so it's a guaranteed 6-5 season.

 

[normalbird]

One of the strongest features of both NDSU and SDSU recruiting is the University of Minnesota.

 

[Total Red]

One of the strongest features of both NDSU and SDSU recruiting is the University of Minnesota.

How so?

 

[Virginia Redbird]

I am optimistic about 2024. There will be a new QB1. Rittenhouse, I thought, played well in the last two games. Murray Stat not that much of a test but I thought he played well against a decent ND team. I don't know anything about the new QB transfer but competition is a good thing and for the first time in a while there will be some good depth. The defense was a question mark heading into the season last year. Lots of youth and now some good experience. If I had to pick just one thing that really concerns me it would be the kicking game.

Having said all that, I never feel comfortable this time of year. Who else may be departing, who may be arriving and who will contribute. High School players and even portal transfers are unknow until they are on the field. We are at long last moving out of the Covid era with 6 year players and all the chaos of those seasons. I am expecting to settle back into a more normal situation, well as normal as we can get in these days of the portal NIL and regular movement in conferences and Divisions.

 

[MadBird]

Virginia mentioned, and I think it has been raised earlier in the thread - disappointing that the kicking situation doesn't seem to have been addressed, either from HS or portal. In fact, our backup Jasek went into the portal, so in some ways we have been weakened. Still a couple backups on the roster. There's still a portal window to come. Maybe there is reason for Spack and company to believe Wagner will be healthier/better/stronger next year? Not that decent kickers grow on trees but it was a sore spot last season.

 

[crazzymark]

The kicker had the pin removed from his leg after the season is over so I have a feeling he's going to be ready to go and rock and roll next season

 

[BJJ guy]

From watching things during the season the kicking issues may have as much to do with the snaps as the kicks.

 

[TBS_20]

I am optimistic about 2024. There will be a new QB1. Rittenhouse, I thought, played well in the last two games. Murray Stat not that much of a test but I thought he played well against a decent ND team. I don't know anything about the new QB transfer but competition is a good thing and for the first time in a while there will be some good depth. The defense was a question mark heading into the season last year. Lots of youth and now some good experience. If I had to pick just one thing that really concerns me it would be the kicking game.

Having said all that, I never feel comfortable this time of year. Who else may be departing, who may be arriving and who will contribute. High School players and even portal transfers are unknow until they are on the field. We are at long last moving out of the Covid era with 6 year players and all the chaos of those seasons. I am expecting to settle back into a more normal situation, well as normal as we can get in these days of the portal NIL and regular movement in conferences and Divisions.

Kyle rittenhouse is a known gunslinger

 

[Chi-bird]

I expect another strong step forward next season that includes a playoff birth, providing momentum for what will be a return to Frisco in 2025.