2024 SMSU Mustangs: Year 3 of Underwood

[Stanger86]

Looks like we've added a kid to the RB room. He was at Crown last year, had signed at Minot but left after spring ball. Shakopee native.

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[MrMustang]

Looks like we've added a kid to the RB room. He was at Crown last year, had signed at Minot but left after spring ball. Shakopee native.

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Hard to get any grasp on how he will do given he played in the UMAC

[Stanger86]

Hard to get any grasp on how he will do given he played in the UMAC

Very true.

[SW_Mustang]

Wyatt Oak shared a video of himself on the field yesterday - wearing an SMSU shirt no less.

Not a ton to go off of, but it seems like he has a solid arm.

[Stanger86]

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[MrMustang]

Things seem to be going well on recruiting. Harder than ever to tell how we will be in the transfer portal era. wait and see.

Scott and the staff can coach. They have a plan.

[SW_Mustang]

We offered UW-LaCrosse transfer QB Riley Warzynski according to Twitter. Looks like Jamestown did also.

Riley Warzynski - Football - University of Wisconsin La Crosse Athletics (uwlathletics.com)

[Stanger86]

Random stat....
Of the 10 seniors on the 2024 roster, only two of them did not transfer into the program: Thomas Mergen and Nathan Stearns

[BulldogFan]

Random stat....
Of the 10 seniors on the 2024 roster, only two of them did not transfer into the program: Thomas Mergen and Nathan Stearns

Wow, that's a tough stat. Hard to consistently be a winner if you don't have guys that stick around and are leaders.

[Stanger86]

Wow, that's a tough stat. Hard to consistently be a winner if you don't have guys that stick around and are leaders.

I think the post-COVID immediacy and the coaching change have been reeeeeally hard on the program. Underwood is entering his third season. So we haven't gotten through the full transition.

[SW_Mustang]

I just hope it doesn't become the norm. I know we're a tiny school without much historical success - but dedicating oneself to the program will get them remembered. I think that says a lot about the fanbase.

[Stanger86]

I just hope it doesn't become the norm. I know we're a tiny school without much historical success - but dedicating oneself to the program will get them remembered. I think that says a lot about the fanbase.

COVID + Coaching change was a nightmare combination for retention of those kids. If you count the extra year of eligibility (which both Mergen and Stearns did, this senior class is the group that redshirted in fall 2019, meaning their freshman year ended with the pandemic. One additional kid from that class played as a true freshman in 2019, meaning last season was his final year of eligibility (Bradley Gould).

[SW_Mustang]

COVID + Coaching change was a nightmare combination for retention of those kids. If you count the extra year of eligibility (which both Mergen and Stearns did, this senior class is the group that redshirted in fall 2019, meaning their freshman year ended with the pandemic. One additional kid from that class played as a true freshman in 2019, meaning last season was his final year of eligibility (Bradley Gould).

I do agree, however - the landscape is drastically different post-COVID. I think it could be a struggle to retain top performers. Soon as a guy believes he's FCS caliber, he can leave almost at will with no penalty.

That being said, I do think the dust will settle a bit and we'll find some kind of new normal where we aren't turning the roster over every year.

[BulldogFan]

The problem is kids no longer want to build a winner they want to win right now. Kids in the conference even look to transfer to another in conference team if they believe they will have a better shot at winning. It seems they will go to the team they believe will win immediately and that they will have meaningful minutes in doing so. It would be nice if the portal was a bit more restrictive.

[Stanger86]

I don't know for certain, but I think the transfer portal's exaggerated numbers this past season have quite a bit to do with guys who had an extra COVID year and had already graduated. Why not challenge yourself at a different place?