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Starting with QBs, in a June 1 blog, Greg Rachac of the Billings Gazette began a series of ranking BSC returning players by position. Here are his rankings, so far:

TOP 10 QUARTERBACKS
1 - Michael Herrick, Sr., Northern Arizona
Comment: Big, accurate and primed for a huge year.
2 - Cameron Higgins, Sr., Weber State
Comment: Threw 83 TDs in the last three seasons.
3 - Andrew Selle, Sr., Montana
Comment: Ready to prove last year was no fluke.
4 - Bo Levi Mitchell, Jr., Eastern Washington
Comment: All eyes are on the talented SMU transfer.
5 - Drew Hubel, Sr., Portland State
Comment: Back from injury; dangerous when healthy.
6 - Cody Kempt, Sr., Montana State
Comment: Has one more chance to prove his worth.
7 - McLeod Bethel-Thompson, Sacramento State
Comment: Solid as the starter at the end of last season.
8 - Justin Roper, Sr., Montana
Comment: The best backup in the league, maybe the FCS.
9 - Dylan Orms, Jr., Northern Colorado
Comment: Has shown flashes. Can he be a good starter?
10 - Russel Hill, Sr., Idaho State
Comment: Pocket passer needs tons of help in Pocatello.

TOP 10 RUNNING BACKS

1 - Chase Reynolds, Sr., Montana

Comment: His 3,085 yards and 47 TDs since 2008 tell the tale.

2 - Taiwan Jones, Jr., Eastern Washington

Comment: Averaged a whopping 7.5 yards per rush last year.

3 - C.J. Palmer, Jr., Montana State

Comment: Big guy loves short-yard situations and is tough to bring down.

4 - Bryan Hilliard, Jr., Sacramento State

Comment: Missed last year with an injury; gained 1,000 yards in '08.

5 - Andre Harris, Sr., Northern Colorado

Comment: JC transfer surprised with 646 yards and 7 TDs a year ago.

6 - Peter Nguyen, Soph., Montana

Comment: Speedster is a great change-of-pace back for Griz.

7 - Blayde Becksted, Sr., Montana State

Comment: Figures to get more carries; averaged 5.0 a pop in '09.

8 - Giovannie Dixon, Soph., Northern Arizona

Comment: Will get a shot to replace ultra-productive Alex Henderson.

9 - Sam McCowan, Soph., Sacramento State

Comment: Got some quality carries last year; was productive in the spring

10 - Stew Tracy, Jr., Idaho State

Comment: Hopes to carry impressive spring into 2010 season.

TOP 10 WIDE RECEIVERS
1 - Ray Fry, Sr., Portland State
Comment: Small, speedy and set to shine again in new offense.
2 - Brandyn Reed, Sr., Sacramento State
Comment: Averaged 15.9 yards per catch, snagged 7 TDs in 2009.
3 - Mike Phillips, Sr., Weber State
Comment: Should be Cameron Higgins No. 1 target this year.
4 - Everett Gilbert, Soph., Montana State
Comment: Explosive playmaker presses defenses in so many ways.
5- Jabin Sambrano, Jr., Montana
Comment: Team's best deep threat came of age at the end of '09.
6 - Patrick Walker, Jr., Northern Colorado
Comment: Broke out as a sophomore; hopes to visit end zone more.
7 - Khalil Paden, Jr., Northern Arizona
Comment: NAU hoping this San Jose State dropdown can be a star.
8 - Kelvin Krosch, Jr., Idaho State
Comment: Made all-conference; his 6 TD grabs led the team.
9 - Elvis Akpla, Jr., Montana State
Comment: Has the ability to make plays; needs better QB performance.
10 - Dylan Lane, Sr., Sacramento State
Comment: Won't stretch the field but is a good possession guy.

TOP 10 TIGHT ENDS
1 - Kyle Begger, Sr., Montana State
Comment: New starter should be big key to MSU passing game.
2 - Kyle McMillin, Jr., Portland State
Comment: Figures to step in as Vikings' top tight end option.
3 - Matt Martin, Sr., Eastern Washington
Comment: Has some big shoes to fill in Cheney.
4- Tyrell Francisco, Sr., Weber State
Comment: Two-year understudy could benefit from the return of QB Higgins.
5 - Rob Overton, Sr., Montana
Comment: Is counted on to pick up key production in Griz offense.
6 - Jon Krebs, Jr., Sacramento State
Comment: Has wide-receiver size but is quality in tight end spot.
7 - Doug Steele, Soph., Northern Colorado
Comment: Productive JC player looking to make impact in move up.
8 - Josh Hill, Soph., Idaho State
Comment: Needs to step up to help ISU's offense.
9 - Greg Hardy, Soph., Montana
Comment: Unproven but likely to get quality playing time for UM.
10 - Taylor Meyrick, Fr., Portland State
Comment: Might not make an impact in 2010 but potential is enormous.

TOP 10 OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
1 - Mike Person, Sr., Montana State
Comment: Bookend tackle is one of the top linemen in the FCS.
2 - J.C. Oram, Jr., Weber State
Comment: Entering his third season as a starter in Ogden.
3 - Alex Verlanic, Sr., Montana
Comment: Helped solidify a young line with stellar play at center in '09.
4 - Kris Poindexter, Sr., Northern Arizona
Comment: A behemoth at guard; is versatile along the interior part of the line.
5 - Jon Opperud, Jr., Montana
Comment: Came of age last year opening holes for Chase Reynolds.
6 - Chris Powers, Jr., Eastern Washington
Comment: Made all-league in first full season as the starter at center.
7 - Jeff Hines, Sr., Northern Arizona
Comment: All-league center has made starts  since his freshman year.
8 - Jaren Harrell, Sr. Sacramento State
Comment: Hofstra transfer could be one of top OL newcomers in the league.
9 - Alex Shapiro, Jr., Northern Colorado
Comment: Became an anchor up front during productive sophomore season.
10 - Mitch Rudder, Sr., Idaho State
Comment: Former Boise State OL has made 22 starts at guard for ISU.

TOP 10 DEFENSIVE LINEMEN
1 - Christian Clark, Sr., Sacramento State
Comment: His 10 sacks were tops in the Big Sky Conference last year.
2 - Dan Ogden, Sr., Montana State
Comment: A major key for Cats, who led in yards allowed in '08 and '09.
3 - Renard Williams, Jr., Eastern Washington
Comment: Big interior lineman had a high volume of TFLs (14.5) in '09.
4 - Isaac Bond, Jr., Northern Arizona
Comment: Speedy D-end made short work of quarterbacks last year.
5 - Tyler Hobbs, Sr., Montana
Comment: Tough to handle in the middle; good at forcing turnovers.
6 - John Laidet, Jr., Montana State
Comment: Former Oregon transfer has chance to step in for Dane Fletcher.
7 - Brandon Vance, Sr., Northern Arizona
Comment: Had 6 sacks last year; is a good compliment to Bond.
8 - Nick Hernon, Jr., Northern Colorado
Comment: Led all UNC linemen in sacks and TFLs last season.
9 - Severin Campbell, Sr., Montana
Comment: Became a top-end pass rusher during last year's playoffs.
10 - Marcus Felker, Jr., Northern Colorado
Comment: Wyoming dropdown is huge; could make big splash in Greeley.

TOP 10 LINEBACKERS
1 - J.C. Sherritt, Sr., Eastern Washington
Comment: One of the very best of his kind in the entire FCS.
2 - A.J. Storms, Jr., Idaho State
Comment: A bright spot on a pourous Idaho State defense.
3 - Clay Bignell, Jr., Montana State
Comment: Will have a monster year if 100 percent healthy.
4 - Taylor Sedillo, Sr., Weber State
Comment: Led Wildcats in tackles; Also had five pass break-ups.
5 - Phillip Arias, Sr., Idaho State
Comment: Averaged 10.3 tackles per game and forced two fumbles.
6 - Jody Owens, Soph., Montana State
Comment: Was one of MSU's best defensive players as a freshman.
7 - Alex Shaw, Jr., Montana
Comment: The ringleader of what should be a young Griz LB corps.
8 - Matt King, Sr., Northern Colorado
Comment: More than doubled his tackles total from the year prior in '09.
9 - Ryan Rau, Jr., Portland State
Comment: Led all Vikings linebackers in stops behind the line of scrimmage.
10 - John Eddy, Sr., Northern Colorado
Comment: Had more than 80 tackles in only 8 games last year.

TOP 10 DEFENSIVE BACKS
1 - Trumaine Johnson, Jr., Montana
Comment: QBs shy away from the league's best shutdown corner.
2 - Matt Estrada, Sr., Northern Arizona
Comment: First-team all-league pick led NAU in tackles last year.
3 - Zach Schrader, Sr., Sacramento State
Comment: Was the newcomer of the year in the Big Sky in '09.
4 - Korey Askew, Jr., Northern Colorado
Comment: If he makes an INT he's off to the races.
5 - Matt Johnson, Jr., Eastern Washington
Comment: Supports the run as well as any safety in the league.
6 - Michael Rider, Sr., Montana State
Comment: Ranked second in the Big Sky in INTs among safeties.
7 - Max Hewitt, Sr., Northern Colorado
Comment: The ringleader of an improving Bears defense.
8 - DeShawn Shead, Jr., Portland State
Comment: Three INTs last year; had six picks a freshman in '08.
9 - Erik Stoll, Sr., Montana
Comment: Big hitter is looking to be the Grizzlies' next great safety.
10 - Chris Holmesly, Sr., Idaho State
Comment: His 82 tackles ranked third on Bengals' defense a year ago.

I think the only position remaining is kickers. However, based on the above, I've analyzed Rachac's rankings to produce a list, by points, of the teams with top returning players at their respective positions. I awarded 10 points for #1, on down to 1 point for #10. This is what I came up with:

UM 70, MSU 68, EWU 53, SacSt 49, NAU 48, WSU 40, UNC 39, PSU 33, ISU 25

Could this forecast the final BSC standings? Lots of uncertainty re: unlisted players who could well step up. Surprising is SacSt's position at #4. There's a lot of talent in the BSC & I think Rachac's rankings point this out. Of course, the kickers will add a lot & I look forward to Rachac's ranking of them.

Cool analysis Madman! I think it does reflect a very loose projection of where BSC teams are likely at, but of course there are a million intangibles that take place throughout a season with injuries, sickness, refs, mother nature, and as you mentioned, no-namers stepping up and becoming known.

Interesting that both Montana schools are 1 and 2. Perhaps there might be a little bias in the rankings of a guy writing for a Montana paper...

Screamin_Eagle174 wrote:Cool analysis Madman! I think it does reflect a very loose projection of where BSC teams are likely at, but of course there are a million intangibles that take place throughout a season with injuries, sickness, refs, mother nature, and as you mentioned, no-namers stepping up and becoming known.

Interesting that both Montana schools are 1 and 2. Perhaps there might be a little bias in the rankings of a guy writing for a Montana paper...

Well, maybe some bias, but I don't think a sportswriter doing this kind of thing would consciously do so. I suppose a ranking here & there of a UM and MSU player might make a difference. I've found some comments criticizing Rachac for NOT ranking some UM & MSU players higher. It's too bad some other BSC sportswriters have not made their own rankings to give some balance. I don't think Rachac had any idea, like the rest of us, that this would be the result of his rankings. Still, Rachac shows that there's a lot of talent in the BSC out there, and any BSC coach would be a fool not to know it. Your points are well taken.

GrizMadman wrote:

Screamin_Eagle174 wrote:Cool analysis Madman! I think it does reflect a very loose projection of where BSC teams are likely at, but of course there are a million intangibles that take place throughout a season with injuries, sickness, refs, mother nature, and as you mentioned, no-namers stepping up and becoming known.

Interesting that both Montana schools are 1 and 2. Perhaps there might be a little bias in the rankings of a guy writing for a Montana paper...

Well, maybe some bias, but I don't think a sportswriter doing this kind of thing would consciously do so. I suppose a ranking here & there of a UM and MSU player might make a difference. I've found some comments criticizing Rachac for NOT ranking some UM & MSU players higher. It's too bad some other BSC sportswriters have not made their own rankings to give some balance. I don't think Rachac had any idea, like the rest of us, that this would be the result of his rankings. Still, Rachac shows that there's a lot of talent in the BSC out there, and any BSC coach would be a fool not to know it. Your points are well taken.

Yeah, Montana rarely finishes near the top of the BSC....

kemajic wrote:Yeah, Montana rarely finishes near the top of the BSC....

I'm not surprised that UM tops the list, but I wonder about MSU. If there's any bias in the rankings, I think it relates to MSU. Only two points behind UM? And 15 ahead of EWU? That's a stretch, I think. Who would have thought that SacSt has that much returning talent? At least in Rachac's eyes. Mixing metaphors, the Hornets could be a dark horse.

Screamin_Eagle174 wrote:Cool analysis Madman! I think it does reflect a very loose projection of where BSC teams are likely at, but of course there are a million intangibles that take place throughout a season with injuries, sickness, refs, mother nature, and as you mentioned, no-namers stepping up and becoming known.

Interesting that both Montana schools are 1 and 2. Perhaps there might be a little bias in the rankings of a guy writing for a Montana paper...

Interesting as well that a sportswriter with no DI teams can "accurately" rank the returning players. I don't know anything about Rachac and what experience he has in the Big Sky to begin with. Obviously being located in Montana, he would know more about UM and MSU than the other teams. Maybe writing about Rocky Mountain College and the Frontier Conference wasn't selling enough papers. Oh, well, at least it is not Joey Kusek.

Apretty accurate guess, for this time of year. I will put in one caveat, however. It's hard to rank PSU anywhere once you get below the top three. There are good athletes aplenty, but they're coming off three years under a miserable coach. This year with a new coach (we recruited TEs and RBs for the first time in 3 years!) and a 180 degree change in the offense, there's really no telling until a few games have been played.

GrizMadman wrote:

kemajic wrote:Yeah, Montana rarely finishes near the top of the BSC....

I'm not surprised that UM tops the list, but I wonder about MSU. If there's any bias in the rankings, I think it relates to MSU. Only two points behind UM? And 15 ahead of EWU? That's a stretch, I think. Who would have thought that SacSt has that much returning talent? At least in Rachac's eyes. Mixing metaphors, the Hornets could be a dark horse.

Agreed. I think if there's any bias in this, it's probably a little on the MSU side.

EWURanger wrote:

GrizMadman wrote:
I'm not surprised that UM tops the list, but I wonder about MSU. If there's any bias in the rankings, I think it relates to MSU. Only two points behind UM? And 15 ahead of EWU? That's a stretch, I think. Who would have thought that SacSt has that much returning talent? At least in Rachac's eyes. Mixing metaphors, the Hornets could be a dark horse.

Agreed. I think if there's any bias in this, it's probably a little on the MSU side.

You are right. MSU sucks and there is no way we have any players as good as EWU or UM. I don't know why we even play games. And how bout this ass-hole writer trying to do an article about the big-sky. I read a great breakdown in the Oregonian...or was it in the spokesman...or the sacramento bee. OH thats right none of those papers do this. And before you all start bashing me, I am well aware MSU has not beat EW in about 8 years. You should all be calling your local papers and demanding some sort of coverage of your teams. If you don't care, why the hell should they.

The only position I might question is the RB ranking but then again MSU finished second in rushing offense last year with a bunch of no names.

Taking all the pre-season polls into consideration and averaging them out, puts MSU 2nd and EWU 3rd. So it now becomes a bias on a national scale as opposed to just one reporter in Billings.

SACCAT wrote:

EWURanger wrote:
Agreed. I think if there's any bias in this, it's probably a little on the MSU side.

Cheer up little buddy.

Catattack wrote:The only position I might question is the RB ranking but then again MSU finished second in rushing offense last year with a bunch of no names.

Taking all the pre-season polls into consideration and averaging them out, puts MSU 2nd and EWU 3rd. So it now becomes a bias on a national scale as opposed to just one reporter in Billings.

Two polls I follow the most for the Big Sky are the coaches poll and the media poll, both of which had the Cats and Griz pretty high (higher than Portland State) so I guess it is all relevant. I'm amazed he had all this time to make an "accurate" assessment of all the returning talent in the conference, but then again, there is not much to do between the end of high school track and the Pioneer League when you are a sportswriter in Billings (especially when a tornado ends your indoor football league season).

JALMOND wrote:

Catattack wrote:The only position I might question is the RB ranking but then again MSU finished second in rushing offense last year with a bunch of no names.

Taking all the pre-season polls into consideration and averaging them out, puts MSU 2nd and EWU 3rd. So it now becomes a bias on a national scale as opposed to just one reporter in Billings.

Two polls I follow the most for the Big Sky are the coaches poll and the media poll, both of which had the Cats and Griz pretty high (higher than Portland State) so I guess it is all relevant. I'm amazed he had all this time to make an "accurate" assessment of all the returning talent in the conference, but then again, there is not much to do between the end of high school track and the Pioneer League when you are a sportswriter in Billings (especially when a tornado ends your indoor football league season).

I definately agree with not much to cover and I think Will Holden from the chronicle is going crazy. One thing about Rachac that is funny is that Griz fans think he is pro MSU and Cat fans think he's Griz biased.

Catattack wrote:

JALMOND wrote:
Two polls I follow the most for the Big Sky are the coaches poll and the media poll, both of which had the Cats and Griz pretty high (higher than Portland State) so I guess it is all relevant. I'm amazed he had all this time to make an "accurate" assessment of all the returning talent in the conference, but then again, there is not much to do between the end of high school track and the Pioneer League when you are a sportswriter in Billings (especially when a tornado ends your indoor football league season).

I definately agree with not much to cover and I think Will Holden from the chronicle is going crazy. One thing about Rachac that is funny is that Griz fans think he is pro MSU and Cat fans think he's Griz biased.

Yeah, maybe with all that free time on his hands, Mr. Holden can finish posting his recruiting class evaluations for the rest of the Sky, like he posted he would on various boards.

SACCAT wrote:

EWURanger wrote:
Agreed. I think if there's any bias in this, it's probably a little on the MSU side.

You are right. MSU sucks and there is no way we have any players as good as EWU or UM. I don't know why we even play games. And how bout this ass-hole writer trying to do an article about the big-sky. I read a great breakdown in the Oregonian...or was it in the spokesman...or the sacramento bee. OH thats right none of those papers do this. And before you all start bashing me, I am well aware MSU has not beat EW in about 8 years. You should all be calling your local papers and demanding some sort of coverage of your teams. If you don't care, why the hell should they.

Dude. Get a grip. I never said MSU or it's players suck, nor did anyone say that you don't have players as good as UM or EWU. I actually really like the articles the Billings Gazette does, I just think they're slightly biased towards the Montana schools in general, and MSU in particular. Easy to understand since it's a Montana paper. I appreciate your sensitivity on the subject, but until MSU gets over the hump and starts getting back into the play-offs on a consitant basis you can appreciate where some people might be a bit skeptical and not completely buying into the hype.

For what it's worth, I actually think MSU will be really good this year and most likely in the top three in the conference.

That is all.

Screamin_Eagle174 wrote:

Catattack wrote:

I definately agree with not much to cover and I think Will Holden from the chronicle is going crazy. One thing about Rachac that is funny is that Griz fans think he is pro MSU and Cat fans think he's Griz biased.

Yeah, maybe with all that free time on his hands, Mr. Holden can finish posting his recruiting class evaluations for the rest of the Sky, like he posted he would on various boards.

+1

Still waiting on those. He sort of just did a couple random ones like ISU and MSU and then stopped....

EWURanger wrote:

Screamin_Eagle174 wrote:
Yeah, maybe with all that free time on his hands, Mr. Holden can finish posting his recruiting class evaluations for the rest of the Sky, like he posted he would on various boards.

+1

Still waiting on those. He sort of just did a couple random ones like ISU and MSU and then stopped....

He started up again
http://bozeman-www2.bozemandailychronic ... g/?cat=335" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Ranger, how could MSU be considered random? You realize who Will covers don't you?

Catattack wrote:

EWURanger wrote:
+1

Still waiting on those. He sort of just did a couple random ones like ISU and MSU and then stopped....

He started up again
http://bozeman-www2.bozemandailychronic ... g/?cat=335" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Ranger, how could MSU be considered random? You realize who Will covers don't you?

Yeah, sorry. What I meant was he randomly did a couple of them and then stopped. I didn't mean the fact that he covered MSU first was random.

What are you guys talking about? The Chronicle is ranking RECRUITS, not returning VETERANS! At least that's what I gather from the link. The Gazette's rankings tell us a lot re: strength/success of teams this coming season. It's the veterans who are going to inspire, through leadership, the younger guys to play better. The BG rankings are pretty damned good. Well, except MSU is ranked higher than it should be. I still say, watch out for SacSt.

Screamin_Eagle174 wrote:

Catattack wrote:

I definately agree with not much to cover and I think Will Holden from the chronicle is going crazy. One thing about Rachac that is funny is that Griz fans think he is pro MSU and Cat fans think he's Griz biased.

Yeah, maybe with all that free time on his hands, Mr. Holden can finish posting his recruiting class evaluations for the rest of the Sky, like he posted he would on various boards.

First time I read Holden's evaluations. He rated PSU recruits 9 out of 10 (wow). I wonder if we still would have been rated 9 out of 10 if he knew that Rodgers went to Cal Poly. I'm still not sure what happened there, we thought he was coming and then he went to Poly.

I had heard about the recruiting battles between Burton and Pflugrad here in Oregon. Maybe the conference new blood is trying to establish a firm grip on Oregon. Although it is nothing new as both teams had recruited Oregon well in the past, going back clear to the Don Read days of both. October 16 may be pretty interesting, I'll give you coffee on that.

GrizMadman wrote:What are you guys talking about? The Chronicle is ranking RECRUITS, not returning VETERANS! At least that's what I gather from the link. The Gazette's rankings tell us a lot re: strength/success of teams this coming season. It's the veterans who are going to inspire, through leadership, the younger guys to play better. The BG rankings are pretty damned good. Well, except MSU is ranked higher than it should be. I still say, watch out for SacSt.

Based solely on returning players, like you suggest, then MSU is ranked right where it should be and probably have more returning starters than the Griz.

Catattack wrote:

EWURanger wrote:
+1

Still waiting on those. He sort of just did a couple random ones like ISU and MSU and then stopped....

He started up again
http://bozeman-www2.bozemandailychronic ... g/?cat=335" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Ranger, how could MSU be considered random? You realize who Will covers don't you?

Maybe he read my post.

As for the point system being based on returing players I don't see Weber finishing 6th place even with as many unknowns.

Catattack wrote:

JALMOND wrote:
Two polls I follow the most for the Big Sky are the coaches poll and the media poll, both of which had the Cats and Griz pretty high (higher than Portland State) so I guess it is all relevant. I'm amazed he had all this time to make an "accurate" assessment of all the returning talent in the conference, but then again, there is not much to do between the end of high school track and the Pioneer League when you are a sportswriter in Billings (especially when a tornado ends your indoor football league season).

I definately agree with not much to cover and I think Will Holden from the chronicle is going crazy. One thing about Rachac that is funny is that Griz fans think he is pro MSU and Cat fans think he's Griz biased.

If you can get Cat fans and Griz fans to think you are on the other side of the fence from them, that is a good starting point. I see he came to Billings from Denver, maybe he is a closeted Northern Colorado fan

weberwildcat wrote:As for the point system being based on returing players I don't see Weber finishing 6th place even with as many unknowns.

In most categories, the WSU player was 2nd through 4th. Not a single 1st and nobody listed 5 to 10. It seamed to me that with the exception of a few highly rated players, WSU players were unknown to the Billings Gazette.