BOZEMAN — A week most Montana State football fans would prefer to forget contained some silver linings.
MSU’s 2023 season ended in an overtime heartbreaker to North Dakota State in the second round of the FCS playoffs on Dec. 2. Two days later, MSU standout offensive linemen Omar Aigbedion and Rush Reimer announced their entrances into the transfer portal. Two days after that, All-Big Sky Conference defensive tackle Sebastian Valdez entered the portal. Backups Kendric Bailey, Jace Fitzgerald and Jacob Kettels made the same decisions that week as well.
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Losing that many players, especially major ones, in such a short amount of time caused unrest among Bobcat fans, some of whom reached out to boosters and MSU’s name, image and likeness organization.
“People are like, ‘Well, what do we do about this?’” Brandon Vancleeve, the president of the Bobcat Collective, said Dec. 8.
There’s only so much MSU can do. The program doesn’t have NIL coffers deep enough to compete with the FBS Power 4, which is where Aigbedion, Reimer and Valdez ended up.
“If these guys are truly getting six-figure opportunities, that's not something we're going to be about,” Vancleeve said.
He also preached patience. Losing three key players didn’t mean other starters would leave. Five months later, the number of Bobcats who’ve entered the portal since the end of last season is eight: the six who left during the week of Dec. 4 plus reserves Garrett Coon and Kade Cutler.
Despite all the headaches and heartache, this era of heavy player movement might have more pros than cons for MSU.
“The portal and the NIL favor the haves and really hurt the have-nots,” Vancleeve said. “I think we are a have. We will thrive in this world.”
Portal giveth
Three years after the transfer portal debuted in 2018, the NCAA ratified a rule that allowed college athletes who were transferring for the first time to be immediately able to play. Previously, a transfer was required to sit out for an entire season (other than graduate students).
The one-time transfer exception went into effect a few months after MSU hired Brent Vigen as its head football coach. He and his staff took advantage.
The 2021 Bobcats were a senior-led team mainly composed of recruits who committed to Vigen’s predecessor, Jeff Choate, but both of their starting safeties — Jeffrey Manning Jr. and Tre Webb — were transfers.
In 2022, MSU’s second- and third-leading receivers were Ravi Alston Jr. and Clevan Thomas Jr., both of whom played elsewhere in 2021. Sacramento State transfer Marqui Johnson was an All-Big Sky kick returner and a valuable running back. Junior college transfer JT Reed earned an all-conference selection at left guard.
MSU’s most notable transfer addition that season was Sean Chambers. The quarterback, who played at Wyoming when Vigen was the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator, formed a lethal two-QB system with Tommy Mellott, and they led the Cats to the FCS semifinals. After suffering three season-ending injuries at Wyoming, Chambers seemed grateful simply to be on the field. He and Mellott became friends and were named team captains in 2023.
“That’s what transferring should be about,” Vigen said after Chambers’ player-of-the-week performance against UC Davis in 2022. “It’s about getting an opportunity to go someplace and continue to write your story.”
Chambers completed his college career last year with a second straight All-Big Sky season. MSU’s leading rusher in 2023 was former Wisconsin running back Julius Davis, and its leading receiver was Colorado State transfer Ty McCullouch. A pair of transfers, Jon Johnson and Dru Polidore, shined in MSU’s secondary.
The Cats expect Davis, McCullouch, Johnson, Polidore and Reed to play big roles in 2024. New defensive lineman Alec Eckert (a Washington State transfer) and tight end Rohan Jones (Maine) will likely receive heavy playing time this coming season as well.
“You don't want to look at your roster and say, ‘We're going to need a transfer guy here, we're going to need a transfer guy here, here and here,’” Vigen said. “You want a roster that has old guys, young guys — older guys that are going to carry you through the next couple of years but young guys that you see developing. If you don't have that at any given position, that's where the transfer portal can service those needs.”
A heavy reliance on transfers plus the extra season of eligibility granted to NCAA athletes because of the COVID-interrupted 2020-21 season has limited the number of FBS roster spots available to high school recruits. That’s allowed MSU to sign potentially FBS-caliber players like RB Jared White.
“There’s less high school kids signing at the FBS level, but there’s every bit as many kids that are capable of playing Division I football,” Vigen said. “To go in and be the option for guys that are slipping through the Power 4 cracks, I think we can be right there.”
Portal taketh away
In June 2021, MSU starting left tackle Connor Wood transferred to Missouri. Previous starting QB Matthew McKay entered the portal right before MSU’s run to the 2021 FCS title game. The Cats lost starting right tackle TJ Session to Cal and starting wideout Jaden Smith to Tarleton State after that season.
Following the 2022 season, record-setting RB Isaiah Ifanse ended up at Cal, and starting kicker Blake Glessner transferred to UCLA.
Aigbedion, Reimer and Valdez were arguably the three most important players MSU has lost to the portal during Vigen’s tenure.
“You can't be blind to the fact that when your season ends, you might lose some guys,” Vigen said. “So you're trying to work ahead, you're trying to retain those guys and do everything you can to make our experience impactful, that it's not one that guys are willing to leave.
“But when you start talking about the money getting thrown around, that's a world that we can't necessarily compete in.”
A couple months after the one-time transfer rule passed in 2021, the NCAA adopted a policy that allowed college athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness. Soon, multi-million dollar NIL collectives formed and secured deals for many Division I athletes, regardless of their fame.
There’s no question that NIL has contributed to transfer decisions, but its full impact is hard to measure. Only some dollar amounts get leaked to media members. Unlike coach contracts, NIL deals aren’t public record, so it’s tough to discern what’s reality and what’s rumor. The elephant in the room is hiding.
Aigbedion and Reimer told 406mtsports.com that NIL money didn’t affect their decisions to leave MSU. They were more driven by education, the ability to play at a higher level and/or being closer to home, they said. Session cited mental health as a primary reason why he left Bozeman for the Bay Area.
“These guys are people still. They're not just football players,” Mellott said March 30. “They’re going to school and living their own life 365 days out of the year as well.”
Even if those players did leave solely because of money, it’s an understandable motivation.
“In the business world, that's called your career,” said Rick Vancleeve, Brandon’s father and the chairman of the Bobcat Quarterback Club. “When we do it in football, there's so many heartstrings attached to it. ‘Why would you leave your team? Why would you do this?’ A lot of times, it's a business decision.”
Glass 97% full
Brandon and Rick Vancleeve sat down with 406 MT Sports on Dec. 8 in the Bobcat Athletic Complex. Right behind them stood a wall with helmets from each high school football team in Montana.
Mellott is from Butte. MSU All-American defensive end Brody Grebe is from Melstone. All-American O-lineman Marcus Wehr is from Billings. About 10 other Montana natives on MSU’s current roster started or played key backup roles for the Cats last season.
“Our foundation has been and will be starting with Montana high school players,” Vigen said.
Mellott, Grebe and Wehr have the skill and athleticism to play at the FBS level. So did Dillon native Troy Andersen, who chose to finish his college career in Bozeman. The Atlanta Falcons selected him in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
“I don't think that there would be anywhere else that I want to see myself, and I have no regrets staying here,” Mellott said. “This is the place I want to be. This is the place I love.”
Since the one-time transfer rule went into effect, four MSU players from Montana have transferred: Cutler, Jace Fitzgerald, Dylan Snyder and Trey Yates. Fitzgerald, Snyder and Yates all ended up at in-state NAIA programs. Cutler transferred to Montana, which is closer to his hometown Philipsburg than Bozeman. All four were reserves at MSU.
In other words, zero Montana natives who’ve played significant roles for the Cats have tested the FBS waters. The opposite move happened a couple months ago, when Missoula native Dylan Rollins transferred to MSU from BYU.
“I have everything I need here. Got fan support, got my family here,” Grebe said March 30. “I'm fortunate to come from a background where money isn't the biggest problem for me. If I don't make an extra couple $100,000 or whatever with the transfer portal, that's not going to change my life. I think the relationships that I have here are more important than the money.
“That's not putting down anybody that's transferred or anything like that. That's just saying that my values and what I believe is most important for me here are what I went by when I made my decision to stay.”
MSU has lost 10 starters/significant backups to the portal since 2021: Aigbedion, Ifanse, Glessner, Kettels, Reimer, Session, Smith, Valdez, Wood and fullback/running back Jaharie Martin. None are from Montana.
That doesn’t mean MSU should only recruit Montanans. The team needs out-of-state players to contend for national titles, and many of them don’t transfer. About 30 total Bobcats have entered the portal since the one-time transfer and NIL rules went into effect. MSU has more than 100 players on its roster each season.
“If you'd like to focus on the 2% or 3% that do leave every single year, you can,” Mellott said. “But you can also look at the 97% that do stay and they love this place.”
Many other FCS programs, including MSU's conference rivals Idaho and Montana, have lost key players to the portal since 2021. One of the best FBS programs, Ohio State, has seen almost 40 players enter the portal since the 2023 season ended. Transfers made up 20.5% of FBS rosters last season, up from 6.4% in 2019, according to ESPN.
“We get this ‘poor me’ thing, like, ‘It's going to destroy FCS football,’” Rick Vancleeve said. “Well, then it's going to destroy FBS football because they're pilfering each other.”
As relatively successful as the Cats have been at retention, MSU’s coaches and boosters are still working hard to improve in that area. Placekicking struggles might’ve been the difference between a deep playoff run and a second-round exit last year. Who knows how far the Cats would’ve gone if Ifanse, Wood and Session stayed? It remains to be seen how MSU will fare without Aigbedion, Reimer and Valdez.
“With the transfer portal and NIL, you’ve got to stay nimble,” Vigen said. “We understand that's going to be part of how it goes, and we need to be able to continue to build our team from the ground up and primarily do that with high school players.”
The Bobcat Collective will never be able to get players the money they can earn at the Power 4 level, but the biggest MSU stars can make around $50,000 per year through the collective and separate endorsement deals, according to Brandon Vancleeve, and the majority of MSU football players get some NIL money. Any amount can enhance MSU’s other attractions, like team culture and winning. MSU has one of the best gameday atmospheres in the FCS and strong athletic facilities, with an indoor practice facility on the way.
Playing time at the FBS level, much less stardom, is hardly guaranteed for FCS transfers, and many players get professional football opportunities without competing in the top Division I subdivision — Andersen is one of six former Bobcats currently with NFL teams.
“I believe that I can achieve whatever I want to achieve here,” Grebe said.
The Cats have yet to win an FCS title under Vigen, but they’ve gotten close, and they have the resources to keep contending. If they break through, transfers and NIL will likely be contributing factors.
“I want to be the No. 1 NIL collective in the FCS,” Brandon Vancleeve said. “Let's do NIL at a level that helps us win a national championship. I think we're at that level, and I think we’ve got to feel good about that.”
Email Victor Flores at victor.flores@406mtsports.com and follow him on Twitter/X at @VictorFlores406