UND92,96

Herald [url="http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=38599

I have to think that quite a lot will be expected from Derek Benter next year. He was listed as 6'8", 225 this past year as a red-shirt, so hopefully he'll be up to 235 or more by October. He was a good tight end/wide receiver in high school, so I assume he has above-average athletic ability for a big kid. He also apparently has some shooting range, so hopefully he can create a matchup problem for many teams. I'm still concerned about how the Sioux will be able to defend bigger teams like USD, but I also foresee the Sioux being very difficult to guard.

I believe only one thrower in North Dakota history (Howard Hausauer) has thrown farther than Quesenberry's best of 62'3". Jim Kleinsasser's class B record is 62'2".

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Lots of information in this Herald [url="http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=38198

I don't foresee him playing football again, but congrats to him for winning the NCC title in the discus this past weekend!

Yes, it's the same guy. My guess is that Ms. Stone's assets were primarily in a trust, with the UND Foundation acting as trustee.

He wasn't in uniform for the spring game, but I believe he's expected to be ready to go this fall.

That playoff game attendance vs. Winona State is a non-issue. Early round playoff games rarely draw well, particularly when you factor in that it was against a team that you had beaten badly earlier in the season. The playoffs sometimes are a different animal when it comes to attendance, due to short times in which to sell tickets, holidays, unattractive matchups, weather (for travel), etc. Look at Grand Valley State as an example. They averaged 11,800 during the regular season, but only 4500 for three playoff games. I don't necessarily think the Alerus needs to expand its seating, but it has nothing to do with past playoff attendance.

Apparently Johnston isn't leaving after all. link. I still think he's a good coach, but I really hate it when coaches do this, i.e. announce they're taking a job only to reconsider after a day or two.

I have to give Johnston a lot of credit for what he accomplished at SDSU. He really brought that program to another level from where it was under Nancy Neiber (sp?).

I think Freund will be fine. Over the years, it seems like quarterbacks who had to wait several years to get their shot (e.g. Wahl, Greenwaldt, Stein and Manke) generally did well, and I didn't see anything in the spring game to suggest Freund won't be successful, as well. I have no idea what kind of cover skills Weigelt has, but he seems to be a very sure tackler. Holinka and Malner both played quite a bit last year, so I'm not worried about either of them. At this point, my biggest concern may be backup quarterback. It's been awhile since we've gone through an entire season with the same quarterback starting all the games, and whether anybody besides Freund is really game-ready is a question.

The following is the 2-deep spring depth chart listed on the program yesterday: QB 1. Freund 2. Konrath RB 1. Chappell 2. Brady FB 1. Sorbo 2. Tibesar WR 1. Trenbeath 2. Rambeck WR 1. Dressler 2. Nicholas TE 1. Grover 2. Ott LT 1. Bauer 2. Mueske LG 1. Troen 2. Hiltner C 1. Braegelmann 2. Koelln RG 1. Moe 2. Keller RT 1. Hoffelt 2. Bondy LE 1. Richter 2. DeMontigny NG 1. Nolte 2. Bakke RE 1. Cadwell 2. White OLB 1. Dombrovski 2. Tescher ILB 1. Meek 2. Miller ILB 1. Holinka 2. German OLB 1. Stroup 2. Bodoh LCB 1. Weigelt 2. Otto RCB 1. Alexander 2. Jordan SS 1. Malner 2. Leith FS 1. Manke 2. Heiser The only big surprise to me was Nate Wayne's omission. He's still listed on the roster, but he's not listed on the 2-deep despite being the number 2 last year behind Wolff. The two apparent early defections I noticed were Dylan Glaser and Adam Ward, both of whom red-shirted last year.

They cheated. He wasn't listed on the roster last year.

I thought Freund did pretty well. I don't foresee any quarterback controversy, as Freund seems to be the clear number one. It was a little disappointing that there was pretty much no attempt to throw the ball down the field, at least by the first-teamers, but Freund did well with the short passes, particularly to Chappell. Konrath definitely struggled. Part of it was apparently the footing, as the turf seemed to be pretty slick. Weston Dressler didn't play, besides fielding punts. Interestingly, his brother Ryan is also on the team, which I wasn't aware of before today.

UND played Winona State in the first round last year on November 18, so I assume November 17 would be the first round this year.

6'7" forward Pat Mitchell from Des Moines signed in the fall. I believe UND will sign a couple of junior college players this spring, although none have signed LOI's yet as far as I know. With just one senior on last season's team, there's not a lot of scholarship money available barring departures by players with eligibility remaining.

To any NDSU fan who wants to complain about UND's privately-funded litigation against the NCAA, I have two words--George Ellis. Who's paying for that litigation again?

If NDSU didn't recruit Privatsky, it was a big mistake on their part. North Dakota isn't going to produce an abundance of dI-caliber players, but there are some. In recent years, there have been the Kielpinski's and Kari Hanson from Mandan and Rebecca Feikert who went to Kansas last year. Both Jossy Bergan and Whitney Ledger had mid-major dI offers. Jahner could have played at the mid-major dI level. Now that scholarships are being bumped up to 15, I think it allows you to take a chance on a few kids who may not seem like dI players now, but who could develop--"projects", if you will. Ultimately, I believe the majority of UND women's basketball players will continue to be from Minnesota, but aside from probably expanding recruiting into Wisconsin and a bit more into Iowa, I don't think we'll see a dramatic change in recruiting area.

There are some people who feel Privatsky could definitely go to a tournament-eligible dI program, but really wants to play close to home, similar to what allowed UND to land Kierah Kimbrough a couple of years ago. I have no idea whether Privatsky actually received any other dI offers, but nevertheless I think this is a coup for UND, particularly since the impending period of post season ineligibility presumably makes recruiting more difficult than it has been.

I'm honored by the recommendation, but I think I'm going to make a late new year's resolution and be less opinionated, particularly when it comes to UND women's basketball.

Great news! I think she's the heavy favorite for North Dakota Ms. Basketball next year.

I'm surprised this hasn't generated any discussion.