siouxfan512

fair enough

I'm not saying you have to discuss the specifics of Otis. I would think you could discuss your general approach as a coach though. Its not as though coaches have never commented on players or punishments in the past. Isn't this precisely why you have legal and PR departments?

Makes sense to not open yourself up to legal issues, but without clearing you name or involvement the stink will follow Bubba around, even if he did nothing. I also don't know what legal issues would arise from that. I don't believe there is a legal obligation to bench a player during an investigation. Had he played him after the outcome of the investigation, that would be different. So to me, it really comes down to, what did he know and what was he ok. As @iramurphy said, "Its none of our business" ..... though in today's world of social media and immediate public reaction (and overreaction), it doesn't really matter if it is our business or not. People for opinions based on limited information and run with it, and like it or not those opinions have the internet as a platform and can cause damage. If it were me, I'd want my name clear rather than letting rumors linger. Would something like this be so bad? If they can't say that honestly, then maybe there was some sketchy decision making going on? Our decisions with Otis and his playing time were based on the limited information we received. With the information available to us at the time, we were comfortable with Otis participating in all team activities. As more information was made available, the AD and myself adjusted our approach and as everyone is aware, Otis is no longer a part of the UND Football program. Due to the sensitivity of the matter, I cannot provide additional details, but can assure you that under no circumstances would a player be allowed to participate with this program if it was determined they had taken part in the types of acts described in this case. My only question on some of this, is how does this get handled by the University and a Title IX investigation, but not by the authorities?

I don't disagree with Dan here. This isn't Bison/UND rivalry crap. I said in a different post, If he or the University did nothing wrong, then there is nothing to hide. And maybe they did nothing wrong here. He could have been allowed to play, based on limited information, or behind closed doors conversations where it was determined he could play until the outcome of the investigation was complete. Get the AD and the Coach together with the PR department and figure out how to handle the situation. To me, ignoring it or staying completely silent on it, just makes you look worse, but maybe that's just me. I would think there is a middle ground between not saying anything and having a full blown press conference open to questions.

He doesn't have to give details, but I don't see any issue with making a statement that he never played Otis while he was aware of any sort of investigation or allegations (if true). If the University is going to leave him in a position to have his own rep tarnished, then he shouldn't care too much about the vulnerability of the University. I think there is a way of handling this without going too in depth and providing too many details. Just my opinion.

Precisely why he should hold a press conference or make a public statement. Not to clear the air on the whole situation or the school, but to keep his own name clean. If he did nothing wrong, he has nothing to hide. I know I wouldn't want my name mixed up with any of this mess. My assumption is that Bubba is being told to not talk about it and let the University handle it. That being said, I'd give the University a big old middle finger and make clear that I had no involvement in letting a kid play despite knowing what the issues and allegations were. I also give Bubba the benefit of the doubt here, but it is easy to be collateral damage if you don't look out for yourself as well.

I just remember when this gal and her bf even questioned us, we were more mad than anything. At that age I think I was pretty clueless about the long standing ramifications of those kinds of issues. And like I said before, my experience with that situation was extremely minor. There weren’t hard accusations of anything and I’m not going to go into the details of it all, but it doesn’t take much for someone to throw accusations around which is the scary part.

The more that comes out, I think it is just a good thing that we no longer have to worry about Otis from a fan standpoint. Could have had a tremendous college career, but chose to throw it all away after multiple opportunities. Hopefully his brother doesn't bring the same character flaws, and chooses his own path. Ready for the season to get going!

Grady still has some eligibility left, right?!?!?! Get the rumor mill churning!

I'll put this as tactfully as I can, believing all women are telling the truth, would be as ignorant as believing that all men are telling the truth. There is a huge grey area in there, and each case is different as it involves different types of people. Personally, I would hope all women would report their assault and be honest about it. I am 100% behind holding people accountable for their actions. Unfortunately, there are those out there that aren't honest and have the nerve to make false accusations for a variety of reasons. False accusations can be just as traumatic and life altering for an innocent guy as an assaults could be for a girl. This is by no means intended to say accusations should not be made when an actual even occurs, just that an accusation made cannot be immediately accepted as the Gospel truth. I know when I was in college I had someone question me and a friend for simply helping another friend (who was black out drunk) out of a bad situation with a creepy guy, and getting her back to her dorm. We were then questioned by her BF as though we had done something wrong because she couldn't remember what had happened the next day. Ultimately we tried being the good guys, getting her out of a bad situation, back to her dorm where she was safe. Like I said, there is a lot of grey area and the point is to not jump to conclusions based on initial comments, accusations or questions. Thankfully, about a week after this all took place something clicked and this gal remembered the night a little clearer and that we had helped her out and taken care of her. Not all guys are good, but I can say from my own brief and minor experience, that even having 1 or 2 people question your intentions is awful. Can't imagine people who are falsely accused of something and have there lives, images, futures, etc. completely destroyed.

[Purple] Surely, you must mean aside from the Bison faithful? Right? [Purple] jk

True, but you know what I meant.

I really would like to know the story here. At first I thought maybe there were some academic issues pushing away the big schools, but his twitter say 3.8 GPA. What other offers did this kid have? Just surprised at this one, but glad to have him on board. Hopefully we aren't complaining about another good recruit that transfers out in a year.

#Grindaz

Not sure Ghadaksaz was much of a loss as a starter either. I was never overly impressed, but I'm also not an O-Line guru. As I am every year .... I'm really looking forward to some UND football, and I am optimistic. Seems to me there is a little more justification for it this year. If (and that's a big IF) UND can take a step forward from last season, they could be a very good football team. It can't be overstated just how close UND was to have a very different record, with so many one score games that came down to the last drive. Part of this will be better execution, part of this will be better coaching, and certainly we needed to add some talent in some key areas. I know the 360 guys graded RB as a downgrade, which is fine because Otis could be a dynamic player, but the rest of the room absolutely stepped in when he was out. I'm just not that concerned unless injuries build up. WR is a little more of a question mark to me. There is plenty of talent with the possession guys, but as we have needed for so long, will we have a speed, and even if we have a speed guy will Schuster be able to get him the ball? OR if Schuster can't get the deep ball going can QV improve his accuracy? It would be a cool wrinkle to have your short yardage QB turn into your deep threat QB too. I'd rather have one strong QB who can do it all, but I'll take what we have. I could go on at each and every position group, and I certainly don't want to wish summer away, but can't wait for some Fall football.

What if Sendo and Hain go win a banner?

Just curious who you would have wanted to leave out this year if we had brought Spicer in? I don't follow the recruiting close enough to know. All of the incoming guys sound like they will be impactful. For me, I do kind of question bringing back both Hain and Senden over a kid like Spicer. Both have experience with is huge. Hain is a nice player, and Senden fills his role well, but Hain also has had the injury issues. If he comes back and can't perform or gets injured again, it won't look like a good gamble for not losing out on Spicer. Thoughts?

Could we please have it all come together this year. I so desperately want to see this team have some serious success. Spring '21 was so much fun. Fall '21 had so many close moments and what ifs and what could have been moments. I guess I'm just ready for some football.

Say what you want about trolling, but who is going to disagree with this? The athletic department has needed to up their game for years. that being said the most significant thing Wentz has done in the NFL was getting drafted. Started well until that first injury. Now all the stuff that comes out about him is that he is an arrogant punk who thinks he know it all and is not coachable. Bit of a tarnished reputation at this point. He will always be huge for Fargo, but to any other nfl fan or city, he is just a guy.

I'd still like to know what the kid is doing? You'd think he would have at least picked up a D2 offer or something, but I haven't heard anything. Did I miss something, or has it been that quiet? Would think someone here would have some inside info.

So you're sayin there's a chance.

So Strand and Bump are going to Vermont? What is happening? And I maintain Bump should have won Mr. Hockey.

Didn’t realize that

Its easy to look at incoming players and think, "we are going to have some serious skill". It's kind of like signing day for college football or the NFL draft .... We're all excited for the shiny new toys that are going to bring home the hardware. Of course, there are never any guarantees .... Cichy, Hoff, Wilkie; but if you look at the whole of that list and think we have 4 guys that could potentially come in the same year, all putting up that kind of production (and there is some great company on that list) it is tough not to be excited. Especially given what UND is returning. No guarantees in college hockey, as has previously been discussed with SCSU's let down season, but I'll admit I am pretty hopeful and pretty positive on our chances next year. We had a rough stretch for a few year in missing the tourney and the Covid year where we had a team that had almost no NCAA tourney experience, which seems almost impossible with this program. Hopefully this team is rebuilding to being that contender that is not only in tourney every year, but a legitimate Frozen Four contender ever year (even as a lower seed). NCAA tourney experience definitely helps, and I think you could see that as a factor in the DU/Mankato game. Looking forward to seeing a final roster and hoping that some of these new kids can really hit the ground running at UND. Winning another title would be fun, but winning a couple would be great!

Absolutely! There were a lot of dumb penalties at dumb times. Those were just a few that stood out to me.