gundy1124

From his 250 lb. roster weight last year.......I'd think so. The spring game roster might give a good update.

The starting O-Line is very far from being settled. As someone did elude to Francis did, or needs to have a little procedure on his knee. The freshman from Manitoba might be given a shot given how he played in the All Star US vs. Canada game. (The US team was pretty confident they loaded up the roster with more talent than Canada could handle, they were wrong). With any of my comments, I try to add what I can without breaking the 'bro code' with the guys I talk to. If you know someone on the O-Line, believe me the starting spots are unsettled, so keep up the hard work fellas. Other than Cox, numerous other guys were mentioned as well for working their tails off, but Cox and 1 other guy(totally forgot who) were said to be having 'breakout' years, putting themselves in contention for the starting line-up.

A breakout year for an individual, really stepping up his game, ready to play with the big boys.......from the horses mouth. Maybe the goal and excitement is about getting guys to compete at the level your son is already at? A little context.

For every bad report or story their exists countless good ones- I will share some tidbits, not all inclusive. We have a 258 lb. LB running in the 'fastest' training group, top 5. How teams plan on blocking Ratelle next year will be interesting. Flowers has been looking good and could contend for some playing time at corner, he will be a Sophomore only. Alex Reed and the safety Johnson are impressing coaches. Look for both to start. Both are running in the top group, along with Reyes. Cox is crushing it in the weight room for the O line. 3 deep at nose with Woodsmall, Gopher kid who's name I can't spell, and Tank. Should be a good rotation. I will butcher these names but Bakker and Disterhaupt are not only solid backup options at LB, but could be pushing for starting jobs. Film study film study for the QBs, mum is the word on who's going to be the man come fall. Stay tuned. Arrington said UND workouts and way harder than what they did at UAB. Nate is going to update on twitter the results of testing this spring. He knows we enjoy the numbers and updates...... That was long, I've got the munchies.

Medical vs. recreational use. I am sure the 6 year old mentioned above was rolling joints, smoking it up. I am not against medical uses. That sums it up.

Right- Let's giggle our way into the playoffs. Sounds good.

Pot is way worse than alcohol. Pot is a cancer for a team, it's illegal, and you must know a drug dealer or associate with people that deal drugs to get it. All you need for some booze is a crappy fake ID or know a 21 year old buyer...... I hope it's dealt with cause I don't want to be hearing a pot story associated with UND football every few months.

My point is the story is becoming a little less local.......more damaging to the program. Serious question. Does the Herald report stories like this on NDSU football players as the Forum did in this case?....does a Herald/Forum relationship exist?

The news just posted on Inforum 2 hours ago. I predict a football career just went up in smoke. Way to make the most of your second chance Clive.

We will know more as the season goes......Montana hosts NDSU, then we play NDSU, then we have a road test at Montana later in the year. Point being.......the Griz are probably tired of traveling to UND 3 straight years. I'm sure they will be ready to give us a taste of their home field. We need to beat one of the following: Wyoming, NDSU, Montana, or Montana St. to earn some respect. I think those 4 games are the measuring stick games, and 3 of them are on the road.

All jabs aside, we were a really young football team last year and with that is inconsistency. We had Montana on the ropes......and get slaughtered at Eastern Washington. I know injuries and style of play and match ups count, but we looked like two different teams in those games and they were weeks apart. So 2015...... we will be a little more mature, more established with last year's brand new coaching staff, we added 2 to 4 starters at semester break, and the 26 freshman or whatever the number is that played last year will be noticeably better.

Thanks for your injection into the conversation. Correct on the philosophy. I think we are in process of addressing size and athleticism in our secondary, which will improve the pass coverage. I would like to see our DBs position up as to man press on a blitz, but maybe 25% of the time bail and play man on the upfield shoulder. Then the automatic offense check to a fade route would be an easy break-up or interception. So, I love the pressure and the blitzing........but I don't like being predictable in the coverage techniques.

Just on the eye test he lost a little.......that didn't mean he wasn't still an elite back, just slightly less elite.

So what stats should be used in comparing, then?

Yes, sweet revenge for the Hershel Walker trade!!! Adrian lost a step with his knee injury, I could see it anyway. Let's brag him up and 'ship' him out. (Adrian thinks he is a slave to the NFL)

The offense could not have been much worse - QB play - all 3 have more experience with the play book and scheme, another year of college. If Molberg is ready to go we'll have a healthy competition. Overall I think QB play will be better this year. Plus, see improvements below that will help our QBs out. RB play - last year was a cluster F, until some decent production by Garmen. I have heard the UAB kid is legit and is providing solid leadership. Oliveira is physically ready and could be an impact upon picking up the scheme. We have some slashers or end-arounders with Clives and maybe more so with Santiago. This position could be a big improvement. OL - Luke guaranteed they'd be consistently better from day 1 this year, and should be with a year under their belt. I heard a freshman is crushing it in the weight room and I'm assuming that is Francis. WR - With the injury to McGill, Dev 'keeping it real' half way through the season, and all the drops last year........how could it be worse?? We have more talent, but the competition is wide open. TE - Ruhe is back and Alder will float from TE to FB Overall, things will be better, how much better though......If last year was a 2 out of 10. I'm expecting a 5 out of 10 this year from the offense, could be a 6.

With confidence......and if healthy, Reyes and Johnson start at the safeties. Harris starts at one corner, the other corner is open. We have good options for nickel. Not sure where Awarri Smith will fall into the mix, that will be interesting.

Cheatom was given a few chances. He doesn't fit with the direction we are going. Or, like I would normally just say, he's a punk.

Bubba said on Tuesday they could add 3 more players, not certain if Steiger is one or not because he said they would only bring guys in that would make an immediate impact this fall. So maybe 2 more guys, maybe 3, but a safe bet is between 0 and 3 additions before fall.

You totally nailed it. We are far better off right now heading into 2015 than last year at this time. Overall team talent is up- Not to poopoo on the seniors last year but with their departures what position group could you argue 2014 was at a level we can't surpass this year? The closest argument could be corners with Tillman gone. But, I will tell you we have a serious competition brewing at corner, including some height and talent coming in this fall. And when you consider Reyes with another year under his belt, Johnson impressing at the other safety spot I think you'll see a solid secondary this fall. Advantage 2015. We need a QB to step up big time if we're going to make any type of run this fall.

With 2 QBs dropping in one game......it would be nice to have them all competing in the fall. Bartels has good leadership, a good arm, knows the Xs and Os the best, but really lacks mobility. Joe has the intangibles and feels the game more than Bartels, and throws a sweet ball. But, he made some bad decisions. Studsrud was thrown into a storm last year and all things considered, survived. He made one hellava play vrs. NAU. He is most athletic. The answer to all this is...........is people are going to vary on their opinions. Should be a good spring game??

If the RB situation is stable, this has been talked about. If we have an injury or 2, Norberg could tally some carries. I would like to see him at FB, getting the surprise carry once or twice a game for 10 yards a pop.

Studsrud was on the scout team the week before he started.......what did you expect as a true freshman? Our 1-2-3 punch, Arrignton, Oleviera, Santiago will be better than what we had last year, guaranteed. O-line will be better and to be frank, the WR production and drops couldn't be any worse than last year. I am a little more optimistic than you I guess.

A brave start, listing all positions. These are my edits QB - 1. Studsrud 2. Molberg (Bartels transfers) WR - Don't Sleep on Reed and Georges SS - 1. Johnson 2. (Arnell,Smith, Sweed,Blackmon fight for #2 and nickel back) FS - 1. Reyes (see above) CB 1. Harris 2.Brown CB 1. Carter 2. (battle between Webb, Hilton, Flowers)

I think Troy Hansen will be in the 2-deep. He's already 20 years old, done with school, and is in the Canadian backwoods working out Rocky style. At 6'4", reportedly all of 220lbs he could easily walk into camp at 225lbs. He'd be great to play all special teams and start rotating in at inside backer. Part of being LBU (Line Backer U) is getting the next man up prepared for the following year when we lose Ratelle and Idowu to graduation.