UND92,96

http://www.fightingsioux.com/downloads2/37...DB_OEM_ID=13500

I see there's also a new depth chart. I don't take these too seriously since they're notoriously inaccurate, but...if Ryan Dressler gets the nod as punt returner over Mersereau, it's ridiculous.

Mussman has said that due to the relatively small numbers in the junior and senior classes, it's very possible that not all of the true freshmen will be red-shirted. And with the lack of proven returnees at receiver, that would appear to be one of the main areas of need. I have no inside info on this, and am just basing my opinion on the fact that McGill appears to be the most accomplished of the incoming receivers, and could potentially also contribute as a returner. As for others who could possibly play right away, possibly Carrasco and/or Butler? Tight end is also a need, but I have to think Grant needs a year to add some bulk.

QB--1. Landry; 2. Goska RB--1. Sutton; 1A. Murray FB--1. Solum; 2. ? SE--1. Hardin; 2. McGill WR--1. Townsend; 2. Anderson Lots of wildcards here--will Bamba make it back? Which true freshmen won't red-shirt? Will Murray be as good as he was in 2008 after a year off? What's the deal with Roach? I do think Solum needs to be moved to fullback, unless with a somewhat different offense the fullback won't be used much anymore, if at all.

Some of these are complete guesses, but I'll say: LT--1. Schroyer; 2. Kleason LG--1. Queoff; 2. Quesenberry C--1. McGurran; 2. Nelson RG--1. Lynch; 2. Doehling or Field RT--1. McKendry; 2. Gillson TE--1. Wisthoff; 2. Mochoruk

I just caught the end of a radio interview with Mussman today, and I believe he said Schroyer was projected as the starting left tackle.

I believe Jarrel Davis will get a look at receiver. Of course, that would be short-term answer since he's going to be a senior. With regard to RB, if another back is needed due to Binns' alleged departure, and the injury to Magstadt, I could see Breon Butler possibly playing right away.

The receiver situation will be very interesting to watch. If Bamba doesn't make it back, we could possibly see the top three receivers being a couple of red-shirt freshmen (Hardin and Townsend), and a true freshman (McGill). That's not to say that the upperclassmen should be written off, but they will need to improve significantly from last season in order to stay ahead of the young players IMO.

I wonder whether KFGO has cheap buyout clause?

Ethan Magstadt ruptured his achilles, and is likely out for this upcoming season: http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/arti...0/group/Sports/ With Binns allegedly leaving, the running back position isn't as deep as it appeared it would be. I suspect that could mean Breon Butler may not red-shirt.

I haven't heard anything about a transfer, but I know his brother plays there.

Herald article. Sharkova won't be back, and it sounds unlikely Kuehl will be able to play next year. But Privatsky has been cleared to start playing again.

I don't think there should be any expectation that FCS football will ever be a cash cow. But on the other hand, I don't think de-emphasizing football is a prerequisite to having a good mid-major basketball program, either. I would prefer to aspire to be more like UNI or SIU than Butler or Gonzaga or Creighton or St. Mary's because I don't want to sacrifice football, even if it's never going to turn a big profit.

Apparently you don't even need to draw all that well to be able to afford to pay a coach big bucks. SIU averaged 4780 per game for basketball this year, and 9297 for football. And yet they pay their basketball coach roughly eight times what we do, and they pay Lennon probably well over double what we pay Mussman. Their ticket sales are relatively modest, which would seem to point to some big donors footing the bill for these rather high salaries.

SIU must have some alums with very deep pockets to be able to operate their football program at a significant loss every year, AND to pay their basketball coach $700k!

article

UND has apparently offered a DE from Houston: http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/recr...college_choices

I agree--USD should be a bit down next year. Which is why we as fans should be upset if we aren't as good or better than them next season. It's kind of the opposite on the women's side--we should be down next year, whereas USD returns most of their team. If we're still better than them next year, it doesn't speak well for their coach.

Three of USD's four leading scorers were high school recruits (Cain, Krogman and Thomas), and the fourth was a dI transfer from a few years ago (Gentry). UND has been red-shirting pretty much everybody, whereas USD hasn't. Other than that, the approaches are basically the same.

I think everybody understands that recruiting is a challenge during the transition. But what bothers me is how far behind USD we are right now. We're better than them in football. We're better than them in women's basketball. So why are they so much better than us in men's basketball? That's not a transition issue. Is it a coaching issue? Perhaps. USD loses a ton from this year's team. If they're still clearly better than us next year, it will be very telling.

That's some very encouraging news. I think Mussman can add a lot to the offense, and I'm excited about getting back to more of a pure 3-4 defense, and to have somebody well-versed in it calling the shots.

I have to ask--what exactly is it about Jones that makes you think that the only thing(s) holding him back are the transition and/or the lack of an autobid conference? The transition excuse can only go so far when a coach has no real track record of success. Had Jones stepped in and clearly done better than Rich Glas in our last two seasons as a dII program, or had he been a head coach before at any level with a good deal of success, then maybe he could be cut more slack now. And I kind of hate to even bring this up now, but I don't think we can just ignore the fact that Jones was hired by Tom Buning. Remember him? Look at the respective volleyball coaching hires of Buning and Faison, and the results speak for themselves.

Ben is getting a nice raise at UNI: http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/273289/group/home/

Burck and Roehrich have been named as first team all-staters, and Buck was named to the second team: http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/arti...2/group/Sports/

I like Tubby Smith, but in a way it could be a good thing for Minnesota if he moves on to Auburn or Oregon or wherever, because he's probably not worth the $1.8 million per year he's being paid. Minnesota could hire Ben Jacobson for what, $700k to $900k per year? And Ben could potentially stick around for a long, long time, whereas Tubby is almost certainly not the long-term answer at his age.