UND Fan

This is a great comparison - I fully agree. Even after we caught up to them in talent in the mid-80s, it took 2-3 years before we beat them. Once we finally did, the wins against them came much easier.

I said I didn't want to debate so I will respectfully disagree! One question: Am I correct that you feel our talent level is equal to either of the SU's?

I intentionally did not mention our competition a few miles south of us - no need to. It will be very difficult for us to again gain supremacy over their program. It would be great if that happened soon but I am afraid it will be a while - primarily because of their culture, their $ and the fact that they land 10-12 kids with great talent every year!

My take on this year's FB recruiting effort: Next week, we will sign 4-5 REALLY talented kids similar to what we have gotten in few years. To really compete for a title, we need 8-10 kids with great talent every year. Many of the rest of the signees will be contributors but not at the difference-maker level we need. It was a hard hit when RB Gilman took a recruiting trip to Bozeman and decided UM would be a pretty good place to play his college ball. We were very sure he was going to commit to us. I have followed our recruiting efforts for many years. We are certainly making improvements in the quality of the kids we are recruiting. However, I know that many of the offerees that we all wanted and were talked about often on this thread, had let us know some time ago that we were no longer among their considerations. This is evidenced by offers we have made in the last few weeks to some kids who had not been highly recruited. I know you can come back with Santiago and a few others who weren't highly recruited didn't turn out too bad. I agree but, as a percentage, not many of them are difference-makers. Without getting into strengths and weaknesses by position, a major need we have is speed - at all positions. Unfortunately, I don't think next week's recruiting class will improve that area to any great degree. Our mediocre results this fall season certainly didn't help recruiting. I am sure there were recruits watching some of our games on ESPN3 or their local TV stations (probably with their dad or FB buddies) with some of our efforts and decision-making creating discussions that were not favorable for UND. For the last 50 years and continuing today, our location creates a huge challenge for our coaching staff to convince kids from S MN, IA, NE, KS, etc. to play their college ball much farther away from their homes (and families/girlfriends, etc.). There are so many schools closer to home than Grand Forks and most kids have to drive by at least three of them to get to GF. Weather is a factor for kids living in much milder climates. These challenges might hurt us further with the new transfer rules (a terrible thing for college sports, in my opinion) making it easier for truly talented kids to move up a level or find a school closer to home. Our facilities do not dazzle many recruits. Phase I was certainly an improvement but we really need Phase II soon. I think there will be an announcement soon but we will be playing catchup as many MVFC schools are (or have in recent years) made significant improvements to their facilities. Many people across the country think SDSU has the best facilities in all of FCS. In proofing the above, it may come across as quite negative. It was not meant to be - only to point out some of our challenges from my perspective. I truly think we can reach the level of being in the top 3-4 in the league each year and making the playoffs most years but a few things need to happen. For us to truly consistently compete at a higher level, most of what we need revolves around money - for facilities, the coaching staff, improving the athletes' college experience, the gameday experience, etc. UND needs to find more $ for athletics and the Champion's Club needs to step up their contributions. If we truly care, people like us need to aggressively (based upon what each of us can do) and actively others to do the same! Feel free to comment but I have no interest in a debate!

I have been updating WIKI and the appropriate thread with UND M & W BB recruiting information since 2011. I will discontinue doing so at the end of the year. I hope someone will take over this task. Feel free to PM me is you have any questions.

New offer: C Alyssa Worth, 6'5", Altoona (Altoona), WI Has offers from IUPUI & Youngstown St Probability of landing her are probably not too good. Lots of schools (including big-time programs) are looking at her!

New offer: G Amiyah Derguson, 5'9", St. Stephens (Timberland), SC Has offer from Hampton

Impressive!!

I fully agree!

For the last 12 years, I have done my best to keep WIKI updated with current football recruiting information. I will discontinue doing so after next week's signing date. I am hoping that someone will take over this task. It is very time-consuming as I include all prospects invited to UND Jr. Days, our home football games and/or summer camps. Also included are any talented kids who had expressed interest in UND on social media and from info on various recruiting websites. Any ND and NW MN prospects who, in my opinion, are potential DI players are included. This amounted to 275 kids on this year's list and there are already 60+ prospects listed for next year's recruiting efforts. You certainly would not need to do that much work. You could just include prospects who receive offers from UND. Of these, you would want to include a section for those who committed to UND along with a separate category noting where the other offerees committed. It is also interesting to include what offers the UND offerees had received from other schools. One other recommendation, it does not work well if more than one person does the input of information. Things get screwed up when two people are entering info at the same time, etc. If anyone has any questions, feel free to PM me.

Out of 30+ transfers, they likely got some good value out of the other 18-20 who aren't entering the portal.

I think many of these kids simply want to play closer to home. Some will be able to do so, some won't. If they are able to transfer to a similar school in IA or IL (closer to home), their parents, friends, girlfriends, etc. will be able to watch them play much easier than driving to GF. If they are good, kids would prefer to see their names in a newspaper near home than the Herald. That is just human nature for a lot of kids - they want their relatives and friends to know they are doing well. I am certainly not saying this is the case with most of the players who enter the portal but it is definitely a factor. This is the same challenge we have in recruiting in general - GF is a long way from many of the prospects.

And they have done so with many ND kids!!

Many think SDSU has the best facilities in all of FCS.

It is for sale with the majority proceeds going to the UND Foundation. Nice move by Bank Forward - need to think about moving your business there!

Can someone explain this math to me??? Per their athletic website, NDSU currently has 114 players on their roster. This includes 25 seniors of which at least 10 of them will be back to use their extra year of eligibility. They have currently commitments from at least 30 prospects. That number will likely continue to grow to some extent. 2021 roster size 114 Players leaving - 15 (maybe fewer) New recruits + 30 (likely higher) Total 129 Of course, there will be players on the current roster who elect to transfer out but that would likely be offset by players wanting to transfer in to SU. I realize that, due to COVID, the 10 players who will return next year will not apply to maximum of 85 players allowed to receive any scholarship $ and that the maximum roster size of 125 is waived. I realize that HS kids want to play at SU and that SU has no financial challenges having a bunch of extra players on scholarship but why would they want a roster that size. I took a look at the number of players on some other rosters: UND 103 SDSU 111 UNI 105 UMN 116 Alabama 127 I guess they think they are one of the "big boys" but they have the $ so I guess it makes sense to them! Please don't "nickel and dime" - I am sure my numbers are not 100% accurate.

My mistake - I thought it was for the state but it was the EDC!

PWO offeree, Brit Senftner of Bismarck St. Mary, will play for NDSU.

It is pretty cool to see that both the AA and the A Coach of the Year recipients were former UND players. AA - Jay Gibson (West Fargo) and A - Adam Roland (Fargo North).

As of a few months ago, they didn’t expect either to return. That may have changed but I doubt Sueker will be back.

Ford

While I am happy we landed Schweigert and think he will be a contributor for us, I doubt the Bison are overly upset. They have 27 commitments so far and I know they are still hoping to land at least 2-3 more studs who have offers. They are about at their limit already!

UND 31 USD 27

Gaber

Offeree Brady McCullough, TE from Ankeny, IA, will play for UNI.