siouxfan512

I'm as excited as anyone about the improvement Bubba has made, and the serious potential that this team has. In attempt to keep expectations realistic, I'm not ready to say our O-Line could be the best in the FCS yet. I certainly hope that this years O-Line will be last years RB position, in terms of it being a question mark going into the season and turning into a huge strength. On paper we definitely looks pretty good, especially with the addition of Coe, and having Grady on the roster. Huge hope for the O-Line to dominate; it would obviously open up some big holes for Santiago and Company, but it would be great to see Studs have more time to find his man and make us a dual threat offense. Definitely want to see a regular connection between Studs and Clive, and hopefully a health mix of Mercer in there. If receivers can step up early, it would be nice to not have to pull the shirt off Toivenen.

We are going to be pretty solid at safety this season. We will be absolutely stacked next year. Watch out Utah !

Noticeable that Alex Reed isn't listed on here, given how much praise he has received lately. On these boards, he has even been listed above Georges in some scenarios.

Isn't Greely coming off of an injury? that could be why, for now. Or Johnson has just been putting in the work. Either way, it sounds like we have a legit 1-2, regardless of order.

I get where you are going with this, and I'm not going to imply you are completely wrong, with the paper trying to show some bias towards a local program. But in trying to be "the voice of reason" you must realize that it is a little rich coming from a Bison fan. I'm not saying there aren't times that the Forum can't be critical of the Bison, but in looking at the big picture, The Forum can be just as bias in favor of the Bison, and the Herald can be just as critical. We've certainly seen articles in the past 10 years questioning certain players and coaches beyond just football, in Grand Forks. Like I said, your overall point makes sense, just make sure when you are making it, that you acknowledge you are on the oppositions website, and that type of criticism will be flipped back to you and your team. Which is more than just given how Fargo can operate so similar to Grand Forks. In this case, I tend to believe kids are dismissed from the UND's program because they knew what the coaching staff's expectation were and chose not to follow them (In Meindel's case, I believe it was more than once). With incoming transfers, who have been let go from other teams due to being let go, I tend to think the coaches are giving them a second chance because of the value they can bring to the team; while setting a knew set of expectations for that kid. Meaning if Mercer screws up, there may not be another chance. I think we all know each situation has a different set of circumstances, and they all need to be addressed in an appropriate manner. Whether it is Football, Basketball, Hockey, Bison, Sioux, Bubba, Berry, Klieman, etc.

I believe that was the second time he had to leave because of a violation. Kids was really good on the field, obviously not the brightest bulb off the field though.

Palmborg certainly wasn't perfect, but I though he stepped in nicely for a young guy. Definitely some upside to this kid over the next few years. Was a walk on, correct?

I'll give you that, and yes in terms of exposure you are correct. Same would be said for Notre Dame. Personally, I would love to see the Sioux in Mankato though, because it would be a nice quick drive to go watch them play. Though I just don't get much entertainment out of some of the other teams I mentioned. Notre Dame in particular. Still don't think we can tell another program they need to anchor a conference that we left because we wanted something better. While they have done well in the WCHA recently and under Mike Hastings, I have to imagine they would be a middle of the pack team in the NCHC, then again they would also get better exposure.

The logo doesn't NEED to have a head dress or anything Native American related. I just liked that particular logo. I though it looked well and could certainly have a few tweaks. It was kind of cool to try to incorporate the general concept of a logo that so many people liked, while still making it a Hawk logo.

Freudian slip. It was the Hawk logo that the student put out, but it had a resemblance to the Sioux logo. It was still completely Hawk, and I think it would help embrace the new name, but it was just a cool logo.

Not sure we can tell another school they need to stay and anchor the WCHA when we didn't. If they want to join, more power to them. I'd rather play Mankato than ASU, W Mich, probably even over Miami or Notre Dame. I just don't get much appeal from those games.

agreed, put out a better logo and I will be more likely to buy some merchandise. I like the sioux logo that the UND student put out. Buy that, make a few tweaks and you have a good logo that could be used in addition to the current one.

Yeah, there were some upset bison fans on twitter. They were not happy with the coaching staff for not not going after this kid; sounds like his family had some ties to NDSU. Hope he can turn into a stud for UND. I'm still not a fan of Jones (yet), but last season was a nice step in the right direction. If he can carry that momentum into this season, I'll give him a little more leeway. Crandall needs to step up big this season.Played well last year, but needs to become dominant the way that Hooker did.

Western Michigan doesn't do much for me either. Just not a ton of history there, and it never seems like the most exciting sereis (certainly not like a DU). I'm like having St Cloud in the conference. They have put a good product on the ice and the proximity makes for a fun rivalry. Tough to say anything bad about Motzko with the job he has done.

I'd be fine with MSUM in the NCHC, as that was always a fun rivalry in the WCHA. UND almost always took care of business, but I remember some pretty heated games against them in the mid 2000s. That and my brother went to grad school (after UND), would be fun to be able to drive there from the cities to watch some games. Still not a huge fan of bringing in a team like ASU, but maybe it will work out well.

Would never happen. No way BC would ever leave HE, but that would certainly be a fun team to start an annual rivalry with. I have no desire to ever play in the same conference as Notre Dame, not a fan of their program. You ever get into a conference with them and they will want to call all the shots. No thanks!

Why not? If you're a football fan, then who cares? Obviously and honestly, NDSU has put a very good and entertaining product on the field the past few years. Certainly entertaining to watch, even though I'm not a Bison fan. I went to the NDSU/USD game last fall and it was a great experience. Same thing with hockey, I went to a mankato/gopher game last year. Still fun to watch a game in a good barn. Not the experience I remember from mariucci when I was a kid, but still. Point is, you can be a fan of the sport and the game without loving that particular team.

Completely agree with this. I've been tailgating a few times over the past several years, and it is more impressive every time. I was also at the game last fall against USD (Yes, the one were the Yotes won ) and it was a really good experience. Crowd is into it and the team introduction is pretty cool. Most fans around me had some friendly banter over my Sioux shirt as well, but it was a good time.

Its a blast, and having Bubba at the helm has improved the product. I was a big fan in college and was at all the games because I was in the band. As left college I didn't follow the team as closely. There weren't a lot of options to watch the game at the time and the product on the field was getting pretty poor. Once Bubba took over and the hype on this fan forum picked up, I started following much closer. This past season was a total blast to watch, and I watched as much as I could. The team and compete level is so much better. I actually watched a night game over a hockey game one time, which I usually wouldn't do. It was just that entertaining.

Based on his post, I don't think he was saying UND has too many, more that teams need to be cautious about how many FBS transfers they bring in. These players can really be boom or bust, as we have seen. Tillman was a great asset for UND, as was Hanson. Whereas Arrington certainly didn't pan out (obviously there were some injuries. FBS transfers should really only be brought in for two reasons, if they are a significant improvement over the players you currently have, or if you are think at the position. We could certainly use some additional depth at corner this season and maybe next season. After that we should be better positioned based on the recent recruits. I think it is okay to start a true freshman at CB, but to possibly start a few at the same time is a little scary. Which team was it that had brought in a ton of transfers? Jacksonville St this past year, or Illinois St the year before? I feel like I remember one of those two teams were a bit of a surprise because they had brought in so many new players.

I hope Holm is ready to go this fall. I was hoping to see some of these kids RS, but it is sounds like we may need pull some shirts for depth. Looking better at the position, but still thin.

I hope that is not true. I agree, he started playing better, and wasn't he only going to be a junior? Still a ton of room to grow with him.

Meaning what? An injury? A departure?

Any names floating around out there for FBS transfers?

As expected, Willis to the Bison.