The FCS Daily Dose is a blog-style article series featuring an assortment of news, rumblings, quick hitters, and commentary on various topics.
A new Daily Dose will be published multiple times a week to keep the FCS discussion going throughout the long offseason.
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Montana State’s OL Should Remain Top Tier Despite Transfer Losses
For most FCS teams, losing three standout offensive linemen to the transfer portal would be a big-time worry.
For Montana State, it shouldn’t be.
The Bobcats lost three linemen to the FBS this offseason: Omar Aigbedion to Baylor, Rush Reimer to Cal, and Jacob Kettels to Kennesaw State.
Aigbedion was a rotational player with a few starts in 2022 before starting all 12 games in 2023 and earning All-Big Sky Second Team and FCS Football Central All-American honors. Reimer was a two-year starter and a two-time All-Conference and All-American selection. Kettels started in the last seven games in 2022 and in the 2023 playoffs.
Despite these departures, MSU still has five offensive linemen returning with significant starting experience.
Justus Perkins is a three-year starter at center and a two-time All-Big Sky selection. JT Reed was an All-Conference guard in 2022 before missing a majority of last season due to injury. Cole Sain was another starting guard in 2022 who missed 2023 with an injury. Conner Moore took over the starting left tackle spot last year as a freshman and was the only offensive lineman named to the Jerry Rice Award Watch List. Marcus Wehr started seven games at tackle in 2022 before an injury, and then he put together an All-American season in 2023 as PFF’s highest-graded offensive tackle in the FCS and FBS.
Losing the three players to the portal isn’t ideal. Yet they’re all replaceable.
Moore took over Reimer’s left tackle spot last year, sliding him over to guard. Aigbedion took the reins as a full-time starting guard in 2023 partially due to injury. Reed and Sain will likely resume their starting roles at the guard positions, as they did in 2022. Kettels saw starting experience in 2022 due to Wehr’s injury before being a valuable backup for most of 2023.
Having eight players with starting experience on the o-line would have been a great problem to have for MSU. Having depth is key. But the loss of those players shouldn’t change anyone’s mind in how they perceive the Bobcats in the preseason. The O-line won’t be a question mark.
In fact, the 2024 starting OL will look pretty similar to the 2022 unit that rushed for 311.9 yards per game en route to the semifinals. That No. 2 FCS rushing offense for a good chunk of the season saw the starting lineup of Reimer at left tackle, Reed at left guard, Perkins at center, Sain at right guard, and Wehr at right tackle. It could be the same this fall except subtracting Reimer and adding last year’s starting LT Moore.
The Bobcats should be a preseason Top 5 team, if not Top 4, with legit national title aspirations. The offseason perceptions about MSU and North Dakota State, who arguably has even odds with South Dakota State to win the 2024 FCS championship, would be flipped if a play or sequence goes differently for the Bobcats on a few different occasions in the second round of the playoffs.
Expect MSU to make a serious run at a natty behind a top rushing attack in the subdivision. The Bobcats finished No. 2 in FCS rushing offense last fall (291.0 YPG) and in 2022 (311.9 YPG), trailing only the option offense of Davidson.
The running back room is loaded with a long list of players capable of being All-Conference-level if they took on a feature role. Jared White, Elijah Elliott, Scottre Humphrey, and Julius Davis all return to run behind an experienced o-line.
Tommy Mellott is also back at quarterback. He is the top running threat for MSU. With the deep stable of backs and no Sean Chambers at QB1B, it’ll be interesting to see how much Mellott runs. He’s exited the playoffs the last three years with an injury.
FCS Players Named In NFL.com’s 5-Round Mock Draft
Nine FCS players were listed in a recent NFL.com 5-round mock draft.
2nd Round:
SDSU OG Mason McCormick
3rd Round:
Yale OT Kiran Amegadjie
UNI DT Khristian Boyd
4th Round:
HCU EDGE Jalyx Hunt
5th Round:
SDSU OT Garret Greenfield
Grambling EDGE Sundiata Anderson
South Dakota DB Myles Harden
SEMO WR Ryan Flournoy
UNH RB Dylan Laube
Other Daily Doses
Future Of FCS vs. FBS Games, FCS Teams Playing 2 FBS Opponents In 2024, FCS Teams Playing 0 FBS Opponents In 2024 … READ MORE
Clifton McDowell Back In The Transfer Portal, Could A Montana Return Happen? … READ MORE
Returning FCS All-Conference QBs, Lack Of FCS-to-FBS Transfer QB Success … READ MORE
