Ozzie82

Agreed, that's likely to be the case. It's not now, though. Because of limited scholarships you can't load up at one position because of what MIGHT happen. That said I hope UND gets the Rossmiller (sp) kid from Lakeville South.

I see a lot of folks disappointed that we have so few commitments from OLs. I'm not sure they are as big of a priority as others do because of the numbers we already have in the program. As it currently stands UND has the following players for next season: Senior: Miller, Cox, Bell, Stockwell Junior: Aplin, Stiner, Taylor Sophomore: Rooney, Blair Redshirt Freshmen: Tobin, Hunt, Nuon, Russo, Helgren, Mortel Freshmen: Prine, Kruse That's a total of 17 players. I randomly looked at some other top FCS programs. This is how many OLs they have on the roster: YSU: 15 NDSU: 20 Eastern Washington: 14 SDSU: 15 James Madison: 17 We certainly don't want to turn down someone who Coach Knopf really wants, but as it stands we have healthy OL numbers compared to the other programs I looked at.

I think 247 does the best job. On 247 all D1 athletes are at least a 2 star, so all UND scholarship football players on 247 at a 2 star - at least if they have been graded by a recruiting ranker. This year the only 3 stars we have this year is Ott, we have none for 2014-2016. NDSU has four total over the last three years. It is rare for FCS schools to sign 3 stars.

Glad to see that no one is underhandedly bashing recruiting rankings when you post them. We're making progress around here.

I heard on Gopher Sports Sunday this morning on KFAN that a writer from Gopher Sports Illustrated expects Fleck to go after Ezekiel Ott and a Bison verbal (didn't catch the name).

Isn't this thread about the 2017 Fighting Hawks season?

And I highly doubt he walks on at Minnesota. Let's hope we are both right and he's a Hawk.

I think we should be braced for a flip. I've got no inside info, but they wouldn't be bringing him in if they didn't have interest. And Ott wouldn't be going if he didn't have interest.

This is what I've been told, too.

I'm intrigued by Dijon Murray at ILB too. I hope he gets healthy so we can see what he brings. He's got wheels for sure.

I know talking about recruiting rankings is immediately shot down here, and they are obviously subjective, but the ranking levels of the individuals in UND's classes are rising each year. No question that the improvement on the field, the new facilities, and the continuance of the coaching staff is paying off.

PWO Gopher offer and is highly ranked on 247. Let's go get him.

Nor can I.

I hear he coached Richmond to victory this past Saturday while making the long catch that broke UND's back late in the game. Amazing!

Agreed that they are comparable. I saw them both play in high school, too. At the same points in their careers Keaton is the superior runner and Boltmann is the superior passer. Given that a QB's main job is passing I would put Boltmann ahead of Keaton following their senior seasons in high school.

I recommend that everyone let it go regarding Grady. We've moved on and so has he.

Sometimes the players are coached properly and they still make a mistake. Because they are young. And human.

Maybe this will help us all calm down about the attendance number on Saturday. We'd all like it to be sold out, but if it's not it's not. I don't want to be dragged down by people complaining about it constantly. I prefer to enjoy the first home playoff game of the D1 era no matter the preferred attendance.

Great find PATRIOT.

It may have started the second half of the BGSU game. They were a winning football team from that point on.

It had to do with the positions they played in relation to the severity of the injuries of the current players. Plus some of the freshmen are not physically or mentally ready to play, which isn't a slam seeing that they've been playing scout team all year, not repping with the UND offense. My opinion is that they would have burned a redshirt of any player in the NAU game if they had no other choice or if it would help them win a conference championship.

Agree that 2:30 is a great compromise

All of this talk about the OC and the QB. It all comes down to the OL. They are not playing well. Agreed that the OC has to adjust to the realities of the OL play but it really limits what he's able to call.

Listen, I understand why lots of people on this board are obsessed with the playoffs, what seed, who is in, and who is out. But I think the focus should be on winning the Big Sky conference. That's been Bubba's rally cry since he got here, hasn't it? It's the #1 program goal. Win the conference, get a banner, get a ring, and the playoffs will take care of themselves.

Brad came in when Keaton got hurt, that says to me that the coaching staff feels he's the #2 starter. At least going into the game. Heidelbaugh's throw was a duck, yes. He struggled on some calls, hence why they brought in Bartles. But to me the reason Brad struggled is a coaching problem. He hasn't gotten any playing time - at all - the whole year. Most of our games have been close but there have been a few series at the end of games where he could have been brought in just to get his feet wet. I think that was a mistake that bit the staff when it came time for Brad to come in. Thankfully his TD pass was caught because it was a huge huge play. We all knew that Keaton was going to get hurt at some point during the year and it's too bad that they didn't more properly prepare for it. All that said I'd be surprised if Keaton doesn't play this week. No more QB runs for him for a while, though. At least I hope!