NDSIOUXFAN1

My guess is that Jones will redshirt because they alread have to solid RB's, play 2 years and bolt for the NFL.

Great, another Ag troll.

They were also very close to beating Wisconsin.

WOW, you don't watch much football do you? Nebraska and Northwestern were both ranked when the Gophers beat them. I know in your fantasy land that since Moo U beat K-State that somehow they would have also beaten FSU and Bama, so I will just be done with this conversation.

You can't spell delusional without NDSU.

High hopes? If my memory serves me correctly, Nelson as a true freshman that played half of last year and before the hamstring injury was playing pretty well. Do people seriously think a kid can come straight out of high school and dominate? Most kids get the opportunity to redshirt, learn the offense and build chemistry with the offense, Nelson got thrown in the fire as a freshmen and led them to a Bowl game.

Then you obviously didn't watch much Gopher football this year. I don't follow Moo U, so I couldn't tell you if Brock made mistakes or not, but the K-State team they beat was average at best and got better as the season went on.

Sorry to disagree with you, but Nelson is a better overall QB than anyone the Gophers have on the roster. Lieder may have a strong arm but couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat. The Gopher fans better get ready for a 4-5 win season after losing Nelson and a few studs from their defense.

Bringing in both and let them battle for the job. Brilliant idea!

I watched all 3 as well and feel pretty much the same way, accept I am not as big of a fan of Studsrud's throwing motion. The ball drops from shoulder height down to the middle of his numbers, then rises back up to complete the throw. Wilkie does have the Phillip Rivers like motion but the ball starts at shoulder height and moves upward to complete the motion. Perra's motion seems decent but didn't see too many highlights were he had to throw into a tight window, mostly jump balls for fade routes.

I guess the question is, do you want a QB or do you want a RB that throws. Studsrud would be more impressive if he had statistically dominated against top competition, but didn't play any top ranked opponents. In the 2013 regular season he threw for 1270 yards and rushed for 540 against 4A competition. Perra and Wilkie both played 6A competition and each threw for 2100 yards, while playing multiple top ranked 6A opponents.

Keaton is a good QB and I have nothing against him coming to UND, I am just more of a fan of tall pro style QB's. 6'0 180lbs could have difficulty seeing receivers past a big OL.

Agreed!!!

I wish him all the best at SMSU and am sure he will have a great career, but still would like to see him in green. From what I have read so far, there seems to be many that do not think he has the talent to play at the FCS level, but I respectfully disagree. Since I live in the Twin Cities, I attend many high school football games each fall (16 games this past season) and follow many kids closely. I am sure people would argue with my assessments, but there are many kids each year that I think we should offer that have not received anything from us, including a PWO and others that we have offered that didn't impress me.

Then you better bring in 2-3 QB's and be prepare for injuries.

Couldn't agree more. If our staff isn't smart enough to evaluate talent on their own without looking at which other schools have offered, we are in serious trouble. Kovash and Wahl were excellent QB's that didn't get heavily recruitted but had great careers at UND. We need to be able to find kids that buy in and have passion for the program and fit the scheme. I am not trying to make a case for anyone, just thought a kid that has all of the measureables would be a good fit. By the way Otto, Wahl and Kovash were not great runners, but they did hand the ball off to guys that were and were able throw the ball to guys who could make plays. If we are concerned that a QB we bring in won't be able to move to another position, then we aren't looking at a true QB.

Maybe I am wrong about Wilkie, but a 6'5 QB that led the state of MN in passing as a Jr and Sr, a coaches kid and the son of a alumni......what's not to like?

I have to agree with you on this one, especially since he seems to fit what Rudolph likes to do on offense. I watched him play a few times over the last couple of seasons and not only are we missing out on this one, but coach Sauter will set records in D-II with Wilkie. IMO, there are a couple of other MN kids that we haven't offered that should be on the roster next season.

Oh really?! Of course, but we can't afford to miss out on kids in the backyard. Go look at the NDSU roster and tell me that you can't win with ND,SD and MN kids. Muss and his staff spent more time in AZ and Ill than they did in MN. All I am trying to say is that I hope that Bubba is willing to battle for the regional kids.

So you don't believe that there are enough athletes between the 3 states to produce wins? The 3 states combine for over 7 million people and the state of Minnesota alone currently has 35 kids with offers to D-I schools and that number will probably climb. I am just guessing, but ND & SD should have at least 10 kids, so that leaves roughly 50 D-I recruits. I don't see any reason why we can't pull at least 10 each year which would give us 50 on the roster. If you would like, I can list off the recruits in Minnesota that we have not offered but have been offered by the 3 schools to our south.

You are seriously going to count Ill., Neb, IA and MT as our backyard? I consider a 250 mile radius as our backyard, not a 8 hour drive.

From what I see in that map, our neighbors to the south are winning championships with players in our own backyard. In the meantime, we are running all over the country to find players in order to win a few games. Is there a reason that 70% of our roster shouldn't be players from MN,ND,SD?

We are in great hands with Bubba and his staff. If they are able to get everyone bought in, we aren't as far away as some might think.

Even though we have lost a few players, I believe that our current roster has talent and a few additions would help us be competitive over the next 2 years. I do think the playoffs are within reach by year 3 and conference title could come as soon as 4th or 5th year. Bubba might have a 4 year contract, but he will show enough improvement for a extension and hopefully a nice raise to keep him here.

I don't think that this recruiting class will be as weak as some might think. Bubba probably has a relationship with some recruits and is working on a few other quality players. It may not be a huge recruiting class, but I think he will be able to work his magic and pull in some solid players. Ok, now you can go ahead and start ripping me for drinking the kool aid.