UND-FB-FAN

Obviously whatever was being done by Mussman was not working - that includes the players he recruited. Many of the players Mussman recruited were not held to high standards, and as a result, the team suffered. Overall, in my opinion, the general expectations of the program dropped with Mussman at the helm. To him, it was expected and ultimately okay to go .500 every season. As a mentor of mine once said, "If you think you're wrong, or you think you're right, you're probably right." In other words, have confidence! Mussman's teams did not EXPECT to win conference championships, and subsequently, did not put in the work. Attitude and confidence are definitely at the top of the list when it comes to things Bubba can improve upon. Of course, there are talent discrepancies that need to be addressed from the last few years too.

Again, next season will see both capable roster additions and further current player development. Losing one's mind over only a spring game is absolutely idiotic.

We went 3-8 last year! So going 4-8 or 5-7 this season is an improvement that people should not get down on! If we go 6-6, then everyone should get really excited for the years to come because Bubba knows what he's doing! The JUCO transfers are an interesting topic. We could easily get 6 starters from them. 2 OL, 1 RB, 2 CB, and 1 S. That could possibly improve this team to a 5 or 6 win ball club.

We KNOW how they performed when they had Braden Hanson, an FBS transfer QB from North Carolina, throwing the ball to them in 2012 versus Mollberg/Bartels in 2013. Plus, Golladay transferred UP to NIU, so it certainly looks like they saw big time talent. WRs are only as good production-wise as the QB and O-line, and if you think differently, you really don't know what you're talking about. Bottom line: Your assertion that UND's 2013 receiving corps was built-up purely on hype is absurd. Greg Hardin will likely be on an NFL roster this fall; Jameer Jackson was a candidate for freshman of the year for 2012, and Kenny Golladay transferred UP and made big-time plays throughout his freshman and sophomore campaigns. The WR corps for the 2013 squad was big-time; but like I said earlier, the other positions couldn't handle their end of the bargain. End result is a bad football team. Poor coaching didn't help either.

We'll slowly but surely improve each season under Bubba (at least that's the plan!). He will focus on making this team more hard-nose and physical. That starts with big, strong bodies upfront on the o-line and d-line, but it also is a mindset thing. With a harder hitting, more aggressive defense, along with a physical-mindset and running game on offense, this team will improve. The top bar for next season is at 0.500, which would be a +3 in wins. Anywhere from 4 to 6 wins will likely happen which is an improvement from last season.

Eastern Washington was better coached, had a better defense, and had/has an exceptional quarterback. All those things lead to the WR corps looking real good. Not to mention they were winning and their morale was high. The WR corps last year for UND was outstanding. With that said, not much else was even average, which lead to the losses and poor morale of Hardin, Golladay, and Jackson. Eastern Washington does not have a WR that could transfer to an FBS program; Golladay did that. That's impressive in itself. Wish Golladay was still on the roster, but RJ McGill and Casey Young will likely fill in nicely for this upcoming season.

Not if there are big wins and surprises (San Jose State, Montana, Montana State) ... I'm gonna go out on a limb real early here and say we get at least one win in those above mentioned match-ups

Not good? Let's wait and see on that. I'm not saying this will be a playoff season, because I don't think it will be, but 0.500 is possible. That would not make the team bad, especially considering the previous season. I think this team has potential. We'll know more after the first 3 games or so, obviously.

In all honesty, the absence of a spring game promotion is a bit concerning. I wouldn't expect a big turnout for this year's game. Only exception would be if people are interested in seeing Bubba's early product out on the field, but I don't think that will take effect until fall.

This team will already be improved next season, so in that way, there won't be any growing pains. However, by improved, I don't mean a winning season or playoffs. Last years 3-8 season was an embarrassment; that won't happen this year and we'll get 4 to 6 wins. It may take a couple years for playoffs though.

Stetson Carr, senior safety Baylee Carr's brother, is also competing at QB. Realistically however, it likely comes down to Mollberg and Bartels again.

Coach Knuaf is a former Wisconsin Badger - he'll get the offensive line where it needs to be. Would help to have a bigger RB too. All in all, the OL is short on talent. Thankfully, there will be additions come this fall (both JUCOs and freshmen). As far as the defense goes, don't sleep on Coach Schmidt and the new philosophy of this team. The defense could make a turnaround quicker than you think. Personally, I believe having a solid defense is better than having a solid offense, if you can only have one or the other. Defense wins championships.

I'm hoping, as I'm sure the coaching staff is, that with a balanced running game, the QB's responsibilities will be less difficult in 2014. Can't beat having a solid running game and solid play-action passing game if you're a quarterback.

Although the new locker rooms, coaches offices, and meeting rooms will be huge (take a look at NDSU's meeting and coaching facilities), having the indoor practice field will be equally as huge for next winter and spring. I'm looking forward to the phase I completion this summer/fall.

I like to see athletic LBs and WRs are being looked at. Nebraska is a good Midwest state to get involved with in terms of recruiting. Also, it sure appears Rudolph favors dual-threat quarterbacks in his offense. I would expect plenty of QB runs to complement the primary ground game in 2014. Mollberg?

No use living in the past, but it sure would've been nice to have Jackson and Golladay on this year's team. Nevertheless, they weren't team players and team chemistry is the main point Bubba is trying to get across during spring ball. Also, with the running game emphasis, the WR position isn't going to be as utilized. Of course, we need some WRs to step up in order to block and make clutch receptions when needed. Personally, I think Casey Young, RJ McGill, Tyrhe Ivery, and Aeron Carr can all gel together and produce a productive group for 2014.

The flaw with this statement is that the last two seasons, with experienced teams, Jones has failed to produce better than .500 seasons. That is attributable to the inability of his teams to win out-of-conference road games. That is similar in environment to winning a Big Sky championship tournament game - something I don't ever see Jones accomplishing. Therefore, I'd rather see a new coach, who is capable of taking UND to an NCAA tournament game, hired sooner rather than later. With lesser experience this upcoming season, the maximum output this team could have would be another 0.500 season with a loss in the Big Sky tournament. I'm not satisfied with that ceiling. And, of course, the possible low-end of this upcoming season could be very bad. I hate hoping for loses, because, well, I support UND athletics. But, I'm just not convinced Jones has what it takes.

Keeping Jones around only further digs UND's basketball program into the ground. Assistants are not only leaving for money - they see the writing on the wall. Jones is a wounded duck. After a poor season or two, he'll likely be gone. That is unless Faison is content with being #2 or #3 in the conference. I can see next year's team finishing third, maybe even second, but they won't win the tournament. In order for that to happen, we need better coaching and players. It all starts with coaching, though. Just get us a new coach. I personally would like to see an NCAA tournament appearance someday.

Incorrect. UNDsports.com has covered each practice quite extensively. Last year's disappointing season (thanks Mussman) has killed the media interest, not Bubba. When people see the results over the next few seasons, everything will change.

Mikey Daniel would be a star FCS running back. Hope we get him. Have a feeling he'll either go FBS or NDSU, though.

The traditional response doesn't work. Schools that strive for greatness in a particular sport don't tolerate .500 records. Eventually, they cut ties and hire someone who is capable of taking the particular athletic team at hand to the next level. Jones doesn't deserve a raise, I am not making that point. The point I am making, however, is that UND deserves a men's basketball coach that is on the same level, both coaching- and salary-wise, as NDSU, USD, and SDSU. Nothing more, nothing less. Although Jones has twice finished in the top three of the Big Sky, he has yet to considerably exceed a 0.500 season record and win a post-season tournament game. Not to mention his out-of-conference record is atrocious. All the last couple years have demonstrated to me is that the Big Sky Conference is a weak basketball conference, with the top of the conference (Weber State and Montana) being the exception. Lastly, the fans should support 0.500 basketball? That tells me the expectations of the university and/or supporters for men's basketball are below where I want them to be. A 0.500 basketball team will always have difficulty making the NCAA tournament. We can maybe finish in the top 3 in the Big Sky Conference, but trying to win the conference tournament will always be a different story. I also would like to put on record as to saying, as history showed last December when Faison hired Bubba, that I believe Faison would increase the salary if Jones is fired and a new coach is hired. I just hope the hire is comparable to the coaches of NDSU, SDSU, and USD. 100K is not comparable to 200K...c'mon man!

Of course, the traditional "D2 - he hasn't earned it yet" response. There's no reason we should have to go through a couple losing seasons before we actually get on par with NDSU, USD, and SDSU coach-wise. Currently, our head basketball coach makes less than half of what the other regional coaches make. That isn't an issue?

Recently reported that Dave Richman, the newly named men's basketball head coach at NDSU, will make 190k per year at NDSU. USD's recent hire will get 185k and SDSU's Nagy makes 200k. Brian Jones is making well below 100k a year. This is concerning to me because it demonstrates our lack of commitment to basketball. We did what we needed to in football, by raising the salary a bit and making a quality hire. Now, we need to make a hire for men's basketball that is also worth an $150,000 deal or so. It's only a matter of time before a new hire is made - I'd give Jones a year or two at the most. Of course, when Faison decides to hire someone new, it depends not only on the performance of Jones, but also the athletic department's available funds for making a new hire. If we're gonna be dually a top football/basketball school in the Big Sky Conference, we need to show it financially.

Definitely a 3. Has too much shoot or drive in him to be a 4. He's 6'5" so be best fits the SG or SF spot

If anything, I think the general change in philosophy will be the one thing that allows UND football to be successful again. Having a Wisconsin alum coach up the O-line and an offensive coordinator who wants to run the football and use play-action off of that is key. It will both help our defense with improved time of possession and keep our turnovers down. Not to mention it will best utilize our recruiting pipelines and allow us to "out-physical" the more finesse teams of the Big Sky. Add in the desire to pressure and "get after it" on defense, and the defense should hopefully improve and get more takeaways. All in all, the philosophy that Bubba Schweigert is implementing will lead UND to more success. Why Mussman ever thought a pass-happy offense and conservative 3-4 defense would be successful, I'll never know.