Idaho State on the rise

[Ursus A. Horribilis]

AND he is the BIG HUMAN. Don't forget that.

Why is he called that?

Sit in a bar and have a drink with him once and the question will answer itself.

He's a stout ol' farm boy of good size.

[grizzaholic]

Have you seen him? It explains the nickname.

No I haven't, but I take it he is a rather large man.

Here is a pic. I am sure a Bobcat fan has a better one.

[Wedgebuster]

He's a fuckin' wimp neck compared to this man-

[cats2506]

No I haven't, but I take it he is a rather large man.

Here is a pic. I am sure a Bobcat fan has a better one.

I always thought this one was a classic

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=262450038" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[SDHornet]

He is a big dude, but isn't Charlie Weis big. (Thank God.)

[T-Dog]

Another advantage is getting rid of that career-ending carpet.

[grizzaholic]

Another advantage is getting rid of that career-ending carpet.

Already done, I believe.

[89Hen]

Is this thread serious?

It is, but I understand your point. One only has to see what the programs at EWU and Montana State were before Kramer got there and the job he did at both. If a conference is only as strong as its weakest link, well the Big Sky "weakest link" got the best possible conference coach out there. Because of what happened at MSU, he may change the type of student athlete he recruits, but I doubt he will change his intensity. Kramer knows how to win in the conference and that is what ISU needs now.

Could be, but who knows what he can do at ISU. I don't think EWU nor MSU were in as bad shape when he took them over. EWU had just made the playoffs two years before he took over and MSU was a team that was just under .500 and he made them a team just over .500. You do realize he was 77-75 at the two schools. It's not like he killed it there. Time will tell.

[grizzaholic]

It is, but I understand your point. One only has to see what the programs at EWU and Montana State were before Kramer got there and the job he did at both. If a conference is only as strong as its weakest link, well the Big Sky "weakest link" got the best possible conference coach out there. Because of what happened at MSU, he may change the type of student athlete he recruits, but I doubt he will change his intensity. Kramer knows how to win in the conference and that is what ISU needs now.

Could be, but who knows what he can do at ISU. I don't think EWU nor MSU were in as bad shape when he took them over. EWU had just made the playoffs two years before he took over and MSU was a team that was just under .500 and he made them a team just over .500. You do realize he was 77-75 at the two schools. It's not like he killed it there. Time will tell.

You do realise, well you don't, but the year MSU was 0-11 and 2-9 or something like the first two years he was there. He blew up the program, and I assume a Bobcat fan can correct me, to get it on the right path. He will be fine.

[89Hen]

You do realise, well you don't, but the year MSU was 0-11 and 2-9 or something like the first two years he was there. He blew up the program, and I assume a Bobcat fan can correct me, to get it on the right path. He will be fine.

IIRC MSU was pretty miserable in the 80's but by the late 90's, right before he took over, they were a .500 team +/-. I'm not saying he won't succeed at ISU, but it's CERTAINLY not a given. Could be he takes a 1-10 team and makes them a 6-5 team. That would be an improvement, but not really anything that's going to get any attention.

[BigSkyBears]

I think Kramer will be good for ISU, but didn't they hire mostly grad-students and inexperienced coaches? I know their OC and DC are veteran coaches, but what about everyone else?

[grizzaholic]

I think Kramer will be good for ISU, but didn't they hire mostly grad-students and inexperienced coaches? I know their OC and DC are veteran coaches, but what about everyone else?

I think Kramer will whip the all into line and will give a lot of BSC teams fits.

[EWURanger]

EWu had won the conference in '92 a couple years before he took over the reigns. He did do some good things at EWU, though, like take us to the semi's and beat Montana couple times.

[cats2506]

Kramer is really good at building excitement for a program among boosters and ect. He will get better recruits, and win more games. I don't know if he can make a conference contender in poky but he will make them a dangerous team to play.

[Ursus A. Horribilis]

You do realise, well you don't, but the year MSU was 0-11 and 2-9 or something like the first two years he was there. He blew up the program, and I assume a Bobcat fan can correct me, to get it on the right path. He will be fine.

IIRC MSU was pretty miserable in the 80's but by the late 90's, right before he took over, they were a .500 team +/-. I'm not saying he won't succeed at ISU, but it's CERTAINLY not a given. Could be he takes a 1-10 team and makes them a 6-5 team. That would be an improvement, but not really anything that's going to get any attention.

Grizza has it right in that he came in to MSU and basically cleaned house. He was willing to go 0-11 and then 2-9 to build the program again. He gave them an attitude that still lives on there today of being a tough group that deserves your full attention. If you just look at his overall record considering what he had to do then you aren't getting the full story and that's fine cuz I've seen what the guy has done and I don't care if you think otherwise or don't believe it but he builds a program. More than anything that is what ISU needs. They may not win a NC in the next 5 yrs. but they will be a team to watch.

[biobengal]

Article below from the Sportsnetwork on Kramer and ISU. Kramer maintains ISU is not without talent, several All-American candidates return. Can Kramer take ISU to a Big Sky championship? Who knows, Lewis did it back in 2002 and he didn't have the track record Kramer has. So, we'll see this fall, Kramer is already talking big.

Kramer has a bit of a bullish side himself. Having previously led Eastern Washington and Montana State to Big Sky championships, the four-time conference Coach of the Year already is saying Idaho State can be a title contender this fall.

Still, there's talk of considerable improvement this season because the returning talent in the program didn't necessarily match last year's 1-10 record. Senior linebacker A.J. Storms led the FCS in tackles per game (13.3) and was voted to The Sports Network/Fathead.com FCS All-America second team. The special teams featured senior punter David Harrington, also a second-team All- America whose 44.4-yard average led the FCS, and senior punt returner Tavoy Moore, who was second nationally with an 18.3-yard average, was fifth with 184.9 all-purpose yards per game and made the All-America third team. Senior linebacker Basim Hudeen joined Storms in the 100-tackle club. In addition, 6-foot-7 Brad Shedd is a mountainous left tackle and junior Jon van Vliet is an emerging center.

Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/04/14/28 ... z1JW9pgMXs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[BigSkyBears]

I think Kramer will be good for ISU, but didn't they hire mostly grad-students and inexperienced coaches? I know their OC and DC are veteran coaches, but what about everyone else?

I think Kramer will whip the all into line and will give a lot of BSC teams fits.

English please!

[grizzaholic]

I think Kramer will whip them all into line and will give a lot of BSC teams fits.

English please!

Hey sorry.

[Sapper]

I think that with new turf in the dome and Coach Kramers ability to recruit ISU will improve. Kramer is serious that ISU will be a BSC title contender this year.

Read this artical from the Sports Network
http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnf ... /index.htm

[bpcats]

While I believe that Kramer will get that program turned around, I think that it will be awhile before ISU can contend for a conference title. Kramer will be down 5-6 scholarships and some practice time with all the APR issues. He does know how work around that but it is still a handicap.

Biggest obstacle will be getting the team to learn how to win on a consistent basis. Kramer is a master motivator can get the team ready for the "big" game but showing up every week with a consistent effort wasn't one of his strong suits.

I still have nightmares of when MSU got up for Colorado and pull off the big win and then the next week get blasted by Chadron State and Danny Woodhead. MSU would play great for 2 or 3 weeks in a row and then just lay an egg the next game. I don't know how consistent his teams were at EWU. At MSU it was a matter of which team showed up to play that day.

The one thing I really did admire Kramer is they owned the month of November and he does a great job in the playoffs getting the guys fired up and ready to perform.

If you look at the Griz during that same time, the reason they were so successful was that they would bring the same effort each and every week. Under Coach Ash, I have noticed that the Cats have worked on developing that same trait which led to a conference title.

Kramer's team will be dangerous though and he will get them fired up to play Griz, EWU and MSU.

[putter]

Kramer can sell ice to eskimos. He will be able to get people excited about ISU football rather quickly but it will take him time to have it translate to the field. If alumni and doners buy into it they will give him time and support.

[SUUTbird]

I think that with new turf in the dome and Coach Kramers ability to recruit ISU will improve. Kramer is serious that ISU will be a BSC title contender this year.

Agreed the field looks good (thankfully it isnt orange) along with that judging from the article on the spring game thats on the website it looks like the Bengals are going to air it out this year and run an offense much like Montana's. On another note to their new uniforms look much better then their black ones, definitely a fan of the orange look it appears they are going for :

[EWURanger]

Any links for these new orange uni's?

[SUUTbird]

No link but you can see them here along with Idaho States Spring Game Highlights, looks like they will be throwing it alot this season.

http://www.kpvi.com/story.php?id=41546&n=15210

[EWURanger]

Nice to see ISU getting some positive publicity for a change.

Not sure about the shenanigans after every play, though.