siouxfan512

We will know in a few years, but on paper .... I don't think it is even close. The competing offers alone show that we are targeting higher caliber players than in the past and landing them. There is no guarantee that will translate to the field for all of them, but I do think there is way more potential in the pool of players than what Bubba was pulling in.

bummer

This season can't get here fast enough! I have not been this pumped for UND football for a very long time! And while I can't get ahead of myself, I'm even more excited for the next 3-4 years to watch the program take shape under Schmidt. Similar to what we are seeing with hockey, everything to this point it is building up potential. You can't really make judgement until we see how that potential takes form on the field and the results they produce, and even that can't be fully determined after just one season (... unless progress takes place faster than expected), but for both Football and Hockey, these coaching staffs are doing everything (and more) that you could expect out of them. Very exciting times for both of those programs and I really am excited to see some of these recruits get on the field and make a splash.

Meh, its ok to still like the guy on a higher level. I loved watching Gwoz out there too and he was a rival. Between the dasher dance and walking across the ice at the Ralph, he took and already solid rivalry and somehow made it even more fun and entertaining.

I'll be contemplating a lot of things if my kid is outearning my with that kind of income at 16. Obviously I'm thrilled he is coming to UND, but all of this paying of players has gotten so out of control in the past few years. I still think it is just wrecking college sports.

Ok Bryn .... let's see the bat signal!

bump ... I still think these are 🔥

Could he not put the weight on, or was this lack of priority from the staff?

I'm not ready to throw us in the Frozen Four yet, haha. I simply can't based on the last several years. Obviously I hope the FF is the case, and you would have to think there would be a ton of green in that crowd! Jackson and Chyz seem to be doing all of the right things in the offseason. I just hope they can get it going once the season starts. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems like there have been more rumors about locker room issues and player disputes over the past several years than there used to be. Whether that is a lack of coaches building team chemistry, or the wrong mix of guys, or something else, hopefully we don't see any more of that crap. Hopefully the coaches can really build a team, on and off the ice.

Definitely makes you think there is more than meets the eye. Do we see another bat signal on Friday?

Winning a game in the regionals would be a sign of progression. Heck, making the tournament would be a sign of progression ... given what we have seen ... but I totally get your point. I would love to see UND get out of the regionals, but what I would really like to see is a team that passes the eye test. UND just hasn't has much flow the past few seasons. Players don't seem to connect. Passes are off. I know it's an exceptional example with an exceptional group of players, but remember the tic-tac-toe-tic-tac-toe goal back in '16? I know the CBS line was elite, but when that team played, everyone knew where everyone else was going to be all the time. To me the team chemistry was there. I just don't feel like we have seen any teams or lines play to that level of cohesiveness in a long time; it often feels very disjointed. Again, I would love to see them splash and make it out of the regional, but I won't be crushed if they don't, so long as there are other indicators of progression in the first year.

Would love to see Zellers come in and just keep playing as hot as he has everywhere else. All we have heard for years is how dominant this kid is. Would also love to see Swanson take a big step this year!

I think he was just on the higher end of what was in the portal at the time. I don't think he was coming in to be a superstar but would have added nice experience and some points to the roster. I'm sure Brynn will find a solid replacement; it sounds like there are still plenty of high end CHL guys out there, so maybe it ends out working out for the best. Not saying we need to go into the MN HS ranks and pluck a Connor Gaarder out of nowhere, but it would be fun to be at the end of the year and have a guy making big contributions, who only ended up at UND because of this kind of fluky situation. Always makes for a great story. Gordon aside, this is the most excited I have been for UND hockey in quite a few years. I didn't even realize how apathetic I had become about UND hockey until the coaching and recruiting shakeups this year. My 11 year old son absolutely loves UND hockey, and all he has really gotten to see is mediocrity and either missing or losing in the tourney (he was like 2 when we won the Natty) so he does even understand how it used to be a forgone conclusion that UND was going to make the tourney, and disappointment was not getting into the Frozen Four, or losing in the Frozen Four in some epic fashion. That used to be the standard! Hope Jackson can get us back to some of that.

Definitely a bummer about Gordon, but can we land someone better to replace him? The perk with Gordon was already having some NCAA experience, but if you can get the right guy/age/skill level, it won't make this sting as much. Hopefully we hear something soon.