geaux_sioux

The defense is still a work in progress.

http://youtu.be/zo-YVqV0v4Q

Exactly, the offense resembled the walking dead mid season.

It's how the rankings worked out. If all the best teams had won the games they should have then the bracket would more accurately represent quality in each seed. UNI is the ultimate example.

We have some very nice looking OL recruits already, it's being addressed.

NDSU lost to UNI is what went on

Kentucky may end up as the deapest and beat team ever. 10 deep with McDonald's All Americans.......

Then Blais is a pussy because it should have had at least 15,000 seats.

Bottom line, spring ball will be very entertaining this year. Lots of story lines this year.

I saw all I needed to from Joe against Montana and PSU, he's my starter if healthy. That is unless Keaton really develops this winter and in spring ball. Bartels needs to get in the best shape of his life and refine his mechanics to have a shot at starting, he's capable though.

What sucks for Joe is he needed to improve his mobility the most. That will be tough to do with his injury. We all saw the difference that Studsrud's speed and quickness made.

Johnson Parks

First off, most of us need to eat a lot of crow on behalf of Jer. Perhaps an appology even. I know he deserves one from me. I lost faith in him years ago. Too small, my fast enough, not strong enough, just not a D1 back. Apparently we were all full of shi t and didn't realize that he was just struggling behind a line that just couldn't block and coaches that just wouldn't commit to the run. Even his first year, technically his best previous season, he wasn't used nearly enough to justify pulling his shirt. What a shame. The young man busted his ass. Gained 30 lbs. Got a little faster. And waited. He wasn't a locker room distraction like others have/would have been. He is the epitome of what we should look for in character from not only our student athletes but young people in general. Look at what happened when he got his shot behind a line that finally got it together. He ran for damn near 800 yards in the last 5 games. He was the backbone of a very one dimensional offense. They knew he was getting the ball and he still gashed them. He shredded a ranked team. We should all feel guilty that we underestimated him, but proud that he stuck with it and showed everyone what he could do given the opportunity. Let's hope he can make something happen and land on a CFL team. He's got a ton of tred on his tires. Spencer Cummings ended his career with a monster game. Perhaps he should have always been at nose? He wrecked UNCs OL. Sure they had a weak OL, but he had his way with them all day. He had by far his best year and I think we can attribute it to coaching, he always had ability. Garrett Reineke was a revelation this season. Formerly a grey shirt walk on safety. He transformed his body, much like Jer, and was a playmaker this year. It's too bad he only had one year of opportunity, but boy did he make the most of it. Just a small town ND kid doing big things. We need more kids like this in the program. Ben Hensen is another player that sucked it up for the good of the team. He was an ok DL, just not athletic enough, but smart and solid. He was a major factor in turning around the OL from the number one weakness of the team to a strength late in the year. Even when they struggled early it was usually not his guy busting through. Devin Barton came on strong late last year and continued to be one of our best this year. He struggled at times like about everyone on our OL early in the year but he ended the year twice the player he was at the beginning. Yet another ND kid, Baylee Carr had by far his best season this year. Like everyone on the defense his tackling improved by leaps and bounds. He made good on all of the hard work he put in over his career, where he already had two very solid seasons, and was one of our best players on a defense that was the bright spot and strength of the team. Dwayne Pecosky changed positions three times over his career. He transformed his body to play FB and made major contributions to the team this year. We made key blocks all year and even had some receptions. He's another kid that could have bitched and quite but instead he kept working and found a role that suited his skills. He's an unsung leader on this team, not very vocal, and will be missed. We will no doubt have more talented players after him but we will be hard pressed to find players that are as tough and humble. Ben Peters was a two year starter coming into this season. He played the entire year as a backup. He never quit, he made some key plays when he was in. When he was in he did his job, you never saw him moping around the sidelines even though it must have been killing him to be watching unlike the previous two years. Another kid in this class who had the right attitude and didn't give up. Adam Shaugabay had a tough break this year. He was set to have a featured role in this offense until he suffered a high ankle sprain. He was always one of the toughest and hardest working players on the team. I feel bad that he and Jer never got the carries they earned with their hard work. We need to find players that will compete like Shaugs. RJ McGill.... Man do I feel bad for this guy. He could have played last year but felt he could help the team more this year so he redshirted. He was having a very nice season. He was our go to guy and, like always, was always open for first downs. He's one of the better wr we've had in recent history but will inevitably be underrated due to injury and playing on offenses that lacked great qb play when he was healthy. From day one he was workman like and professional. I really wish he could have gone out like he deserved with a full year healthy. Tyhre Ivery had few catches in his career but they all seemed to be game changing plays. With our backs against the wall his FR year against Sioux Falls he made the play of the game to keep us alive. Big TD the next year against San Diego St. Switched to D and, well, nobody played well on d that year. Switched back to o and yet again makes a game changing play against NAU to set up the win. It's unfortunate that he never made good on his talent. He could have been great. Lack of trust with Mussmans staff and maturity issues held him back. Like Marcus Hendrickson, he turned those things around for his senior year. He didn't have a great year but made catches when thrown to and finally trusted his coaches. In the future guys like him will make good on their talent thanks to this coaching staff. Last but not least, Alex Tillman. Too bad he's a one hit wonder.... He made such an impact for us this year. He got burned a few times but generally had tight coverage all year. His punt return skills should earn him some post season honors. And don't forget his pick 6 against the best team in the nation. All FBS transfers will forever be held to his standard. Team captain, playmaker, good student, leader, humble, and best of all a team first guy. Thanks to all the seniors this year. They entered the program at a dark time and stuck with it through thick and thin and a coaching change. They all deserve all the credit in the world and should go down as one of the most important classes in program history.

I'm still curious as to which players Knapf thinks are D1 caliber. Francis I assume is one.

Or Al's

I assume Francis will start for the next 4 years at center. Stockwell looked really good against NAU. Miller has looked good very strong when he's gotten in. Haven't seen Bell play, he was highly touted. Meehan has improved a lot. Anderson is rock solid. We shall see how Cox develops, he has a nice frame though. The recruits that are committed now all look beyond solid. I want them all to redshirt but if anyone is ready, they should play. We could have a line that looks like this: Stockwell Anderson Francis Miller Meehan

I'm interested to see Studsrud after winter weights and conditioning heading into spring ball.

Correction. 3 stars: gfhockey, gfhockey, and gfhockey

An under 6' blazing fast wr. A 6'4" basketball player looking wr. And a tall tweener wr. No matter who plays qb they need guys who can separate in some way. Either out jump muscle or run.

All hail the thread created by gfhockey. May he bless us as he sees fit with wins, and may he bless us with a matty.

I think Knaupf has done the best job of any coach on staff, that is saying a lot. His group has evolved, also snap issues were resolved. I absolutely can't wait to see what our OL looks like not only next year but in two to three years. I want a lot for football christmas but I think, right now, what I want more is playmakers. Short tall fast big. We need it all.

I honestly think it's addition by subtraction. I still dont understand the free throw shooting though. I expect this team to be better than last years. Better ball movement for sure. More size is nice too.

What do you want to see going forward. This covers: recruiting, coaching, player development, admin, est.

We need to keep these coaches here as long as possible. Pay the men.

That is true. I'm interested to see how many guys get recognized. We should have quite a few on d.