Didn't he have a pick or fumble recovery in spring returned for a TD? I think I saw a video somewhere

He has the potential to be a monster on the inside. I heard his name mentioned more during the first few weeks of spring ball than anyone on defense, and they all sounded surprised. That might be a case of recruiting on potential and executing the strength & conditioning program at a very high level. Those bodies don't grow on trees in California

Spot on. I think Psyk is the biggest (literally and schematically) one that will be missed, but I believe Few is a similar cat with tremendous potential. I'd put Riddick/Batson/Stanley in the "solid" category. Stanley really had a nice year filling in both on the field and as a leader it seemed. I think the Idaho transfer will fit well in one of the secondary spots. Big kid which will also make him available vs. the run game and opposing TEs. Rutchena was an outstanding pass defender but it never felt like he was a real presence vs. the run, especially thinking back to the Illinois State game. Some of that might have been schematic.

I do too

They can go 8-4 IF they win all of the close games in the middle of their schedule: at Southern Utah, home vs. NAU at Cal Poly, at Weber State. This being the Big Sky, that may not happen. Maybe they block a punt to steal a win against MSU or the Griz? Still f*&ing pissed about that one :rofl:

Going deeper into The Bluebloods episode, they bring up a good point regarding the run defense and defensive line. Not sure who they've spoken with, or if they have access to spring film, but it sure felt like we were pretty confident in the Defensive Line after spring ball. I think Few is a big time player, and maybe the next great one at DE. Goligowski and Madruga are back, then all those 90-number guys like Mayo and Fernandez, make it feel like we should be good to go.

Linebacker depth may be an area of concern. When will Porter be back and ready? Probably during camp. Him and Sievers the two starters to start the season, then what? 44 is back, signed a Juco guy, then the rest are young. Hopefully they keep the two LBs in the box on a fulltime basis, that will help some things when it comes to stopping the run.

I agree 100% with The Bluebloods take on the Griz. Holes on Offense, entire OL will be new, that will be an issue. But they went after it in the portal on D and the D will have to carry them. Sounds like some DL depth issues, as well as the need for a high % of these transfers to live up to their billing.

They do love them some Idaho State...

Highly impacted, and understandably so. That place is freaking awesome! Very few admissions "exceptions" for high school recruitment, and transfers have to check some challenging academic boxes. Skipper is a good football coach and recruiter, if he can't do it in SLO, I don't know who can.

Man I love me some pre-season preview action. Doesn't matter if it's print or podcast, or if they are underinformed and inaccurate, it's just fun to read and listen to some football this time of year.

Kollock is going to be outstanding, but so is Cleeland. Nothing was really decided coming out of spring, but Cleeland will get the first reps, splitting some with Kollock, and Eason #3. "Kollock is going to run away with it" and "we can have the Jerry Rice ceremony by September 5th" cracked me up. No matter what happens, good to go at QB. The talking heads didn't watch a rep at practice this spring, and it is highly unlikely they spoke to either Plough or Shelton. They're looking at Kollock's high school recruitment and accolades. I actually agree with the "both have a higher ceiling than Pinnick" comment...

Did they find the original, larger Golden Horseshoe Trophy in the move from the old dump to John Madden? I hold to my conspiracy theory that it is buried somewhere in that old adobe.

UC Davis will be fine in Southern California recruiting. Cal Poly still has their admissions and football budget issues to overcome to even be a contender for a playoff spot. This is a very nice piece, but they have to straighten the other things out to be serious. Buildings don't win games...

Horse hockey!

Outstanding player from a strong SoCal league. Good get for the Ags!

Look into places like Naples and Wellington, Florida. Big money sport. The only "ag" component is handled by migrant stable boys so the rich girls can jump and the rich boys can play polo. Rodeo is ag, and if we want to start a rodeo team, I'm all about that. Not saying equestrian girls are not athletes or athletic, but their horses are the real draw! It is not a mainstream sport and does not warrant University investment, period. Crying sexism or the dread Title IX? Let's start a women's flag football program which would create MORE opportunities for women than this elitist exhibition event. This is a moot point.

Sonny Lubick Steakhouse in Fort Collins is a worthy stop...

Good get, welcome Malachi!

How about that beer garden on the one end of the stadium?! Since we've been talking on this thread about facilities, that has been my inspiration piece for Davis. I UCD did nothing but create that beer/wine garden pavilion area, beefed-up their press box and offered luxury suites, and placed a small upper deck on one side, it would look and feel like a sporting attraction. Has anyone been to Bakersfield JC? Imagine something similar with suites and only one deck and you have a home run that would hold 15k or so. Husky Stadium back in the day was originally a bowl; they added one deck to it, then finally the other. Very doable from an engineering standpoint and relatively less expensive.

One could absolutely design some pretty cool, San Diego State/Hawaii-esque historic uniforms/helmets with that dragon from the shield or those dragon heads on the Viking ships surrounded by the native symbols, etc. I don't expect much given the creative past at Portland State.

Western Washington had some cool Viking symbols back in the day. What about the longboat, that could be unique and they could borrow from PJ Fleck for the theme. I don't hate the PS shield; I thought the NY Jets look was the best of the ones that were shown. I did not know the shields represented different clans, thanks for the history lesson. When I think Viking armor/weapons, my first thought is always of the helmet, then the shield, then typically an axe. Just how it goes in my mind.

Why not just copy the Minnesota Viking horn helmet. Timeless!

Man, I don't think I like any of those :rofl:

I did go to this link: and looked at the helmet history. The 1987-1993 Viking head is probably my favorite, but I like classic logos. He has reincarnated from Valhalla as a throwback helmet several times. The space helmet Viking is really bad.

Green and black with Vikings as a mascot does not feel like it should be this difficult

If we had a dollar for the tampering that is occurring, we would be rolling in the dough. I am still not used to the Fighting "Hawks"...

The Mrs. and Sons Madden Center is definitely an upgrade for Cal Poly. They may have been using the worst facilities in all of Division 1 football for many years, and I am happy for them. I really like their HC and if anyone is going to get them back on track, it will be Skip.

I don't recall how I focused on ISU as a road team somewhere, but yeah, I don't think they belong on national TV but I don't make that call. Beauty of it is, I don't have to watch them if I don't want to.

Have a good weekend fellas!

What's the basis for Cal Poly? Just curious. Tons of transfers, new coach with a defensive pedigree, they could creep into that 4-4/5-3 range in Conference.

Idaho is intriguing to me. They have everything going for them but I don't think the "new" staff is a draw. If they don't improve, they should cut bait. That is too good a job to be languishing in the bottom third of the Big Sky.

I project Idaho State finishing at or below last year's 6-6 overall/5-3 in conference mark.

So, getting back to the "Who's the biggest improver in the Big Sky this year" question: I'll take Southern Utah. They weren't even in the conference last year so I guess that doesn't count. I'll take the low-hanging fruit: Portland State. I'll say they make a 2+ win improvement off of the 1-7 in '25, even with their nasty uniforms.