UND-FB-FAN

I won’t hold my breath. Not a good track record (pun intended) under Baukol. I agree it is a “huge” off-season, though, for o-line and d-line.

At minimum, coaches always receive a fair amount of criticism (rightfully so due to importance of coaching in college football), but there is such thing as excessive, unwarranted criticism too. With that said, my previous posts certainly suggest my stance on coaching, specifically UND’s coaching. The two major variables are always expectations (number of wins) and sample size (how many years to do it). Where does UND stand on these? Bubba has averaged 6 wins/season as coach for 6 seasons. That doesn’t make assessment any easier because it is nearly exactly average. Where should we stand on average? I do think the program is trending in the right direction, though, with Danny Freund at offensive coorindator. 2020 will be a big year for the direction of the program; it will revolve around a young QB, but as we are seeing out of NDSU this season, having a young QB certainly doesn’t exclude you from success. UND will have to play good defense and special teams and find an effective running game to do good things in 2020. I agree improved play at the line of scrimmage needs to be the focus area for UND next season, especially going into the MVFC. As for Bubba and state of the program, 2017 was the lone unacceptable season. Since then program has been trending up. 2020 needs to continue to demonstrate that trend.

There will be no coaching changes this offseason, so why talk about it? On to 2020.

If not willing to compete, should not play for UND. That goes for all players at all positions. There should always be competition, even in your own class. IF not, then Bubba is failing at recruiting. May not always be two scholarship players, but should always be at least 1 scholarship player and 1 non-scholarship player at every position in every class. Happy UND got 2 scholarship players at most important position in football: QB.

This guy is going to be an absolute stud for UND football under Freund’s direction. Great get.

Yes.

Right. Okay.

Congrats, NDSU. The refs won you the game vs Illinois State. What a bunch of crap. Will be a lot of sidewalk pissing in Fargo tonight.

Illinois State RB Robinson very impressive to watch. Good he’s a senior for UND’s sake. I wish UND had a back with that type of talent. No one on UND roster like that ... yet ...

ODU can’t tell Vaughn what to do. Vaughn has not signed a letter of intent. I agree that ODU should be nervous. Hopefully UND gets his commitment. I’m most nervous about Creighton Mitchell going to Iowa. Hopefully he enjoys his official visit at UND and his tour of the beautiful new Medical School and decides to stick with UND.

Division I five-year clock: If you play at a Division I school, you have five-calendar years in which to play four seasons of competition. Your five-year clock starts when you enroll as a full-time student at any college. Thereafter, your clock continues, even if you spend an academic year in residence as a result of transferring; decide to red shirt, if you do not attend school or even if you go part-time during your college career. Division II 10-semester/15-quarter clock: If you play at a Division II or III school, you have the first 10 semesters or 15 quarters in which you are enrolled as a full-time student to complete your four seasons of competition. You use a semester or quarter any time you attend class as a fulltime student or are enrolled part-time and compete for the school. You do not use a term if you only attend part-time with no competition or are not enrolled for a term.

UND does not have the talent or coaching to ignore certain positions in recruiting. UND is a 7-5 football team. They need to recruit and improve at ALL positions. Sure, we can argue which position is most important, for which I agree offensive line, but UND has work to do everywhere. As for comparing to NDSU, they have had very good players over the years but their system is most impressive. They develop 9-man ND high school players - particularly offensive linemen - into NFL prospects. That is where all the championships have been won. But NDSU’s skill position players have been good too. I don’t think we can ignorantly assume UND’s skill position players are equal with NDSU’s. Again, though, under Bubba, UND has been most deficient at developing offensive linemen. You can’t just recruit these players; need to develop. Maag and Boltmann are both good players. UND needs far more than 2 good skill position players, though, if they want to be a national contender. Hopefully Cochran steps up or one of the true freshmen surprises. Not currently sold on the running backs either (just not to my level of expectations for DI FCS football).

Very good reference. Thanks for your efforts.

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This is a principal concern with the coaching staff, particularly Bubba. Regardless of your style, you need to be an effective leader of men to be a good football coach. There are doubts. Alternatively, is UND recruiting the right guys? Shouldn't have a team that is "down" for a playoff game. I believe it's the former; that is, the coaching staff's inability to lead them, however.

My take on UND receivers, since that is apparently a hot topic: Noah Wanzek and Travis Toivonen were both very good receivers for UND over their career. Consistent and dependable, and as a result, put up big career numbers. It says something to always be available for the team. Yes, there were some negatives, mainly in terms of downfield speed. Wanzek and Toivonen likely won't be professional players, like Weston Dressler. In terms of pure ability, Weston Dressler was the better player. Unfortunately, in these dark times, players like Weston Dressler in North Dakota undoubtedly go to NDSU rather than UND now. Chrysten Cochran will have to be the guy next year to take the big step up, along with Garrett Maag. Brock Boltmann needs to continue to grow in the slot position role and become more specialized in that position. Those are the 3 receivers that I see big play potential from in 2020. The rest of the group (Mikey Griebel, Jacob Odom, Adam Zavalney) will have to continue to develop as they will have situational roles on the team. Again, as is the case for the entire roster, UND needs to look to increase the talent level at receiver. That happens in recruiting, of course. For this recruiting cycle, Bo Belquist, Marcus Preston, and Jack Wright all look to be capable players for UND. Have to wait until they are on campus before a clear idea of their ceiling develops.

Now that UND is out of the Big Sky, it will be interesting to see how much they save on travel. With those savings, hopefully it can be re-allocated back towards the program for things like equipment. Big goal, of course, is getting High Performance Center Phase II started. That is the big shiny object in the room but no clue how close or far we are from obtaining that. It needs to done right, though, when it is constructed. Can't cut any corners.

Can’t rely on FBS dropdowns, but can’t disregard it either. If a very good player at a position of need wants to move on to an FCS school, UND needs to consider. Plenty of variables to consider. UND needs to recruit better players to take the next step, especially at offensive line and running back, in my opinion. Quarterback as well.

I like to keep it simple: coaching and the players. UND has the coaching it is going to have in 2020. That leads me to the players. UND needs QB recruits due to the importance of the position and the 2020 roster/depth chart (see my previous post). As for the running game, a lot has been said about the linemen's weights. I think this is overstated. The players need to be better, regardless of their weight. They need to have the mindset of a successful lineman and together as a successful unit. I think Coach Pawlak can get UND to this point, but it remains to be seen. This may not be the most popular opinion, but I think UND needs new, better players at OL and running back. The new recruits coming in at OL look good. At OL, UND loses 1 starter, keeps 4, and has Matt Waletzko returning. That in itself is encouraging. But I do think a JuCo or FBS dropdown OL should be looked at. A difference maker with NFL potential would go a huge way for UND's running game, as it would for any team who acquires such talent. https://undfootball360.com/news/a-360-look-ahead-to-2020-season/ As for RB, I understand Luke Skokna looked good and there are the incoming recruits of Creighton Mitchell (if UND can hang on to him with Iowa State and Iowa sniffing around) and Isaiah Smith, but I think UND needs a big-time back. Looking the FBS drop down or JuCO routes would be okay here too, in my opinion. In the end, I think it really comes down to the players (surprise, surprise). I think the young players will continue to get better, but for UND to take the next step, they need top notch QB play and a good to great running game (average running game won't cut it). For this to happen, I am hoping for FBS drop down or home run recruiting in QB, RB, and OL. I know there are a lot of different opinions regarding the FBS drop down route of player acquisition, but if the player can play and be a difference maker, UND has to pull the trigger.

I would like to see the athletic department re-do the videos for each UND football coach. Would be nice to have up to date biographical videos for recruits. It all helps. The details matter.

Good

QB position is very important. Thus far, UND has Tommy Schuster and 1 high school recruit committed for 2020 roster. It is crucial Danny Freund brings in at least 1 FBS drop down, a JuCo standout, and maybe another high school recruit. I have faith Danny can coach ‘em up, but need the talent to start with. I say let’s get some FBS caliber guys.

UND's current system has flaws and it needs to be adjusted. Hopefully Bubba can put his thinking cap on and figure it out, or someone else will have to in a couple years. UND needs to better emphasize the offensive and defensive lines. UND could not run the ball nor stop the run in 2019. Fitting it led to their demise in the FCS playoffs. That is #1 area of concern for me. I certainly understand that this is not the goal of Bubba and UND, (i.e., they want to be physical) but they have to find better linemen and better refine their system to improve them. It is not good right now. The strength and conditioning program is #2 for me. I honestly think the system run by Baukol is not good enough and a change should be looked at. I don't have faith that he can do better. He is set in his ways. UND doesn't develop their players enough from their freshmen year to their senior year. They are consistently on the smaller side and unable to physically dominate in one on one battles like other MVFC programs' players are able. The physique of NDSU, SDSU, UNI and even Illinois State players is at a different level compared to the UND players.

Again, the program needs to be adjusted. It’s not good enough as is.

Bubba’s program needs a major adjustment. It has holes everywhere. Getting better players is a start. Recruiting is the lifeblood of college football. UND’s recruiting has not been good enough.