Rogers to WSU - next man up

[jbjack]

Riggs intrigues me due to the regional connections he has. He also has considerable media connections, which I suppose could be seen as detrimental.

I'm surprised how much traction Roehl is getting. I understand the argument about Riggs' lack of recent 11-man coaching experience, but were the Roehl proponents that impressed with his playcalling when he was with Bison (or is the rationale that the issues on offense were due to Entz overruling Roehl)?

Fair question on Roehl. For me, it's less about X's and O's with him and more about the championship pedigree and knowing what it takes to recruit and win at the FCS level in the Dakotas.

[jbjack]

Folks might think his Academy involves specialized player, and sometimes parent, interactions, but he mentioned 'Yotes' Coach Nielson presenting to parents at Academy regarding recruiting during most recent Happy Hour episode, so I'd say he has a relatively comprehensive perspective on the process that even some current FBS coordinators could lack.

My concern would be that Riggs is so far out of touch with running a DI program, building a staff, etc. This would be a bit of a flyer IMHO.

[NCJack]

This is a tough blow.

I have many thoughts. The top of the list is my growing hatred of the handling of all of this by the NCAA. College football in general has completely lost the majority of its interest to me.

I do not blame Coach Rogers. It is a life changing amount of money for him and his family. I do think most/many would have expected a bit more from him. Yes, he was a huge part of the success when Coach Stig was still here but he was given the job early based on a threat to leave. I would think a 3-5 year type of commitment to the program would have been expected. He then took arguable the most loaded returning team in FCS history to the Natty. This year we probably underperformed a bit. I think I would feel a bit differently if we played for the championship this year and were in the mix over the next year or two and he moved on to what I would consider a better program. Why does this matter, a big 10 roster wouldn't have the openings and lack of talent that would lead to dozens (allegedly) of players joining him. I don't blame him for taking his coaching staff. He built this staff, I know it's part of the discussions when building a staff that joining them at the next level is discussed if that opportunity comes. It was a large part of why Jimmy didn't leave last year....it's because he wouldn't have the opportunity to bring his staff with him. I think he' a great coach but I do think he will have a difficult time winning at Washington State. The NCAA put 10xs more work on these coaches with the NIL stuff and I don't blame them for wanting to try to cash in when the opportunity comes.

I do not blame the players either. I'm disappointed that in this new day and age of college football we will likely never...or rarely get to witness Jackrabbit legends. The Jankes, Mccormicks, Gronowskis, Crafts and Goederts of the past were made by their commitment and dedication to the program. I would never put someone in that category that transfers to a bigger school. I wish there was a bit more pride in playing for the Jacks that to playing for the staff but I realize those lines get really blurred when the coaching staff is a huge part of buying into playing for the Jacks. I personally would never look at players leaving like I do the rest of my JFPA brothers. I am really disappointed if the rumors are true for someone like Wilde. As above, I understand the part of wanting to continue to play for the staff that you bought in to. I don't feel the same as transferring elsewhere. Do I blame him....no, I ultimately blame the NCAA for putting them in this situation. By all accounts, Griff is an extremely talented and humble player on the field. But part of the disappointment is knowing he had the chance to be a Jackrabbit legend and selfishly that I would get to benefit by watching him earn that.

All in all, this may be a death blow to the Jackrabbits as much as I like to admit. I think it's more a deathblow to the FCS than us as I expect one of these days NDSU, Montana and Montana State will face a similar fate. I think these blue bloods have been holding the FCS as being relevant up to this point.

I've donated plenty of money to the SDSU football program. I've been at every Championship game. I think we were very lucky to get in on a few years of the glory years of FCS football. If I'm honest, I know this will decrease my interest in Jacks football. I'm not interested in watching a bunch of one or two year, rental players and coaches just like I have lost the allure of the FBS football. There was something different about the building of programs, buying into a team and culture, development, etc. The lack of loyalty to me is just something I will never understand but I realize that times have changed since I wore the jersey.

People can give the next man up talk. Yes, there will be next men up but I don't think it will ever recover as much as that hurts to say. The team will potentially be gutted, we will lose multiple of the best players in each of our classes. They will be replaced by a bunch of portal players. Beating the Indiana States of the world is one thing but it won't be good enough to make a deep playoff run.

Life will go on, I'm still thankful for my time as a player with the Jacks and the last 10 years have been the greatest time in history to be a Jacks Football fan. I'm just sad that I honestly do believe those days are over.

Go Jacks

[bigticket1]

The JI pod brought up Eidsness' ability to adapt offense to personnel, which I appreciated when he was here, so I'd definitely support that if Sell wants to hire from "Stig's coaching tree."

Riggs is my first choice if Jacks want to "branch out"

I'd mentioned McKnight's leadership of collective also being mentioned on JI pod. I think that's key in that it personalizes the collective. The 605 website had generic email, PO Box, etc., so I can't blame folks for balking at donating to that.

The demotion of Eidsness from OC and play calling to QB coach at NIU a couple of years ago is concerning to me. He definitely wouldn't be in tier 1 of the Stig tree.

[jakejc795]

My concern would be that Riggs is so far out of touch with running a DI program, building a staff, etc. This would be a bit of a flyer IMHO.

I suppose I see those as areas assistants would help with. Maybe Zim and Gaskins overplayed the "Riggs-DeBoer" angle, but if they're to be believed, Riggs has been part of DeBoer's journey, so it's not like he's completely unfamiliar with DI programmatic concerns.

Given the importance of assistants, I'll concede that a risk I see would be Riggs utilizing family/Storm connections that might not be as conducive to FCS success, so I'd hope he'd be asked during interview about who he is considering for coordinators, etc.

[98Jackfarmer]

This is a tough blow.

I have many thoughts. The top of the list is my growing hatred of the handling of all of this by the NCAA. College football in general has completely lost the majority of its interest to me.

I do not blame Coach Rogers. It is a life changing amount of money for him and his family. I do think most/many would have expected a bit more from him. Yes, he was a huge part of the success when Coach Stig was still here but he was given the job early based on a threat to leave. I would think a 3-5 year type of commitment to the program would have been expected. He then took arguable the most loaded returning team in FCS history to the Natty. This year we probably underperformed a bit. I think I would feel a bit differently if we played for the championship this year and were in the mix over the next year or two and he moved on to what I would consider a better program. Why does this matter, a big 10 roster wouldn't have the openings and lack of talent that would lead to dozens (allegedly) of players joining him. I don't blame him for taking his coaching staff. He built this staff, I know it's part of the discussions when building a staff that joining them at the next level is discussed if that opportunity comes. It was a large part of why Jimmy didn't leave last year....it's because he wouldn't have the opportunity to bring his staff with him. I think he' a great coach but I do think he will have a difficult time winning at Washington State. The NCAA put 10xs more work on these coaches with the NIL stuff and I don't blame them for wanting to try to cash in when the opportunity comes.

I do not blame the players either. I'm disappointed that in this new day and age of college football we will likely never...or rarely get to witness Jackrabbit legends. The Jankes, Mccormicks, Gronowskis, Crafts and Goederts of the past were made by their commitment and dedication to the program. I would never put someone in that category that transfers to a bigger school. I wish there was a bit more pride in playing for the Jacks that to playing for the staff but I realize those lines get really blurred when the coaching staff is a huge part of buying into playing for the Jacks. I personally would never look at players leaving like I do the rest of my JFPA brothers. I am really disappointed if the rumors are true for someone like Wilde. As above, I understand the part of wanting to continue to play for the staff that you bought in to. I don't feel the same as transferring elsewhere. Do I blame him....no, I ultimately blame the NCAA for putting them in this situation. By all accounts, Griff is an extremely talented and humble player on the field. But part of the disappointment is knowing he had the chance to be a Jackrabbit legend and selfishly that I would get to benefit by watching him earn that.

All in all, this may be a death blow to the Jackrabbits as much as I like to admit. I think it's more a deathblow to the FCS than us as I expect one of these days NDSU, Montana and Montana State will face a similar fate. I think these blue bloods have been holding the FCS as being relevant up to this point.

I've donated plenty of money to the SDSU football program. I've been at every Championship game. I think we were very lucky to get in on a few years of the glory years of FCS football. If I'm honest, I know this will decrease my interest in Jacks football. I'm not interested in watching a bunch of one or two year, rental players and coaches just like I have lost the allure of the FBS football. There was something different about the building of programs, buying into a team and culture, development, etc. The lack of loyalty to me is just something I will never understand but I realize that times have changed since I wore the jersey.

People can give the next man up talk. Yes, there will be next men up but I don't think it will ever recover as much as that hurts to say. The team will potentially be gutted, we will lose multiple of the best players in each of our classes. They will be replaced by a bunch of portal players. Beating the Indiana States of the world is one thing but it won't be good enough to make a deep playoff run.

Life will go on, I'm still thankful for my time as a player with the Jacks and the last 10 years have been the greatest time in history to be a Jacks Football fan. I'm just sad that I honestly do believe those days are over.

Go Jacks

Well said, I will continue to donate and buy my season tickets, but the "innocence" and sense of "insulation" of Jackrabbit football is gone.

[jakejc795]

The demotion of Eidsness from OC and play calling to QB coach at NIU a couple of years ago is concerning to me. He definitely wouldn't be in tier 1 of the Stig tree.

That's definitely a consideration, but there could be multiple reasons, including non-football, for that "demotion." Eidsness is still listed as an Asst. Head Coach, so it could be that his successor at OC (Beschorner) is experiencing his own "Rogers moment" and being "promoted" with future opportunities in mind.

Beschorner and Eidsness are reportedly being paid the same amount

[Southeast]

None of this NIL/portal stuff seems sustainable long term for anyone outside the two super conferences. Fans are plugging their nose and tolerating it for now, but give it 5-10 more years of rental players constantly coming and going, or raising a bunch of money to try and keep a star only to have them take a bigger bag from a power program. Most stadiums are going to look like the worst of what you see for a Wednesday night MAC game (including ours).

The last couple years of transfers have wrecked my SDSU MBB interest. It won’t take long for football once we catch up to what the rest of the country is doing.

[jakejc795]

This is a tough blow.

I have many thoughts. The top of the list is my growing hatred of the handling of all of this by the NCAA. College football in general has completely lost the majority of its interest to me.

I do not blame Coach Rogers. It is a life changing amount of money for him and his family. I do think most/many would have expected a bit more from him. Yes, he was a huge part of the success when Coach Stig was still here but he was given the job early based on a threat to leave. I would think a 3-5 year type of commitment to the program would have been expected. He then took arguable the most loaded returning team in FCS history to the Natty. This year we probably underperformed a bit. I think I would feel a bit differently if we played for the championship this year and were in the mix over the next year or two and he moved on to what I would consider a better program. Why does this matter, a big 10 roster wouldn't have the openings and lack of talent that would lead to dozens (allegedly) of players joining him. I don't blame him for taking his coaching staff. He built this staff, I know it's part of the discussions when building a staff that joining them at the next level is discussed if that opportunity comes. It was a large part of why Jimmy didn't leave last year....it's because he wouldn't have the opportunity to bring his staff with him. I think he' a great coach but I do think he will have a difficult time winning at Washington State. The NCAA put 10xs more work on these coaches with the NIL stuff and I don't blame them for wanting to try to cash in when the opportunity comes.

I do not blame the players either. I'm disappointed that in this new day and age of college football we will likely never...or rarely get to witness Jackrabbit legends. The Jankes, Mccormicks, Gronowskis, Crafts and Goederts of the past were made by their commitment and dedication to the program. I would never put someone in that category that transfers to a bigger school. I wish there was a bit more pride in playing for the Jacks that to playing for the staff but I realize those lines get really blurred when the coaching staff is a huge part of buying into playing for the Jacks. I personally would never look at players leaving like I do the rest of my JFPA brothers. I am really disappointed if the rumors are true for someone like Wilde. As above, I understand the part of wanting to continue to play for the staff that you bought in to. I don't feel the same as transferring elsewhere. Do I blame him....no, I ultimately blame the NCAA for putting them in this situation. By all accounts, Griff is an extremely talented and humble player on the field. But part of the disappointment is knowing he had the chance to be a Jackrabbit legend and selfishly that I would get to benefit by watching him earn that.

All in all, this may be a death blow to the Jackrabbits as much as I like to admit. I think it's more a deathblow to the FCS than us as I expect one of these days NDSU, Montana and Montana State will face a similar fate. I think these blue bloods have been holding the FCS as being relevant up to this point.

I've donated plenty of money to the SDSU football program. I've been at every Championship game. I think we were very lucky to get in on a few years of the glory years of FCS football. If I'm honest, I know this will decrease my interest in Jacks football. I'm not interested in watching a bunch of one or two year, rental players and coaches just like I have lost the allure of the FBS football. There was something different about the building of programs, buying into a team and culture, development, etc. The lack of loyalty to me is just something I will never understand but I realize that times have changed since I wore the jersey.

People can give the next man up talk. Yes, there will be next men up but I don't think it will ever recover as much as that hurts to say. The team will potentially be gutted, we will lose multiple of the best players in each of our classes. They will be replaced by a bunch of portal players. Beating the Indiana States of the world is one thing but it won't be good enough to make a deep playoff run.

Life will go on, I'm still thankful for my time as a player with the Jacks and the last 10 years have been the greatest time in history to be a Jacks Football fan. I'm just sad that I honestly do believe those days are over.

Go Jacks

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts, and I definitely empathize with the disappointment, although yours is definitely greater given your experience as a player in the program.

I guess I'm a bit more optimistic that this year may represent an anomalous level of roster disruption that may not be eclipsed once players see just how tenuous "moving up" is as FBS rosters are trimmed.

[tjbison]

All in all, this may be a death blow to the Jackrabbits as much as I like to admit. I think it's more a deathblow to the FCS than us as I expect one of these days NDSU, Montana and Montana State will face a similar fate. I think these blue bloods have been holding the FCS as being relevant up to this point.

oh...we know...we know it sucks...

I agree with you that college football is a s#&show now with the transfer crap, and the way ESPN glorifies the crap Deion is doing is not helping.

I went to our game at Colorado, it was eye opening to watch kids that were as far from a "team" as you could get. Every play was a contest to see who could impress and celebrate.

[jakejc795]

None of this NIL/portal stuff seems sustainable long term for anyone outside the two super conferences. Fans are plugging their nose and tolerating it for now, but give it 5-10 more years of rental players constantly coming and going, or raising a bunch of money to try and keep a star only to have them take a bigger bag from a power program. Most stadiums are going to look like the worst of what you see for a Wednesday night MAC game (including ours).

The last couple years of transfers have wrecked my SDSU MBB interest. It won’t take long for football once we catch up to what the rest of the country is doing.

This is one perspective; another is that coaches (ideally SDSU's next coach will be one) will give current and future players an honest appraisal of just how many folks are in the portal.

For this reason, I would like to see Zenner brought on as a "portal"/recruiting consultant who can serve a role in "re-recruiting" current players and share position-specific data on who is in the portal, how those players rank versus anyone contemplating entering the portal, etc.

[NCJack]

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts, and I definitely empathize with the disappointment, although yours is definitely greater given your experience as a player in the program.

I guess I'm a bit more optimistic that this year may represent an anomalous level of roster disruption that may not be eclipsed once players see just how tenuous "moving up" is as FBS rosters are trimmed.

I sure hope I am wrong and I will be the first one to admit it if I am. There is still lots of unknown of who is leaving, who will be the new head coach, etc. That may mitigate some of my doom and gloom.

I do think the support, facilities and culture mean more at SDSU than a vast majority of FCS schools. I also know that the margin of error is razor thin between winning and losing against the NSDUs and Montana States of the country. I expect them to have similar things happen now and in the future but obviously SDSUs is up this time around and it just happens to be a really big blow. How many other FBS rosters just happens to be losing (I think I read 22 somewhere) that many scholarship players? At a time when most FBS schools are actually having to trim rosters. It's just really, really bad timing and a terrible situation for the Jacks.

[jakejc795]

Feel the need to add that I wasn't really considering Josh Davis an option based on the Fresno State gig, but if he and Jacks are amenable to reunion, I'm not opposed to that

[Jacked_Up]

Dan Jackson, a former Jackrabbit player and assistant coach, should top the list of possible replacements. He was the defensive coordinator for Eck at Idaho and recently went with Eck to join the New Mexico staff. Jackson, a Nebraska native, would be a great replacement. He was a really good and enthusiastic assistant and recruiter for Stig.

[Jacked_Up]

Brian Bergstrom, former Jacks' assistant and now the head coach at Winona, also has been mentioned as a possible contender. I'd go all-out for Jackson, though. I doubt Riggs would be interested. He's got a good gig in Sioux Falls and, if he made a move back into coaching, it seems likely that would join his buddy Kalen DeBoer's staff.