Ozzie82

Count on 2 hours and 30 minutes before game time to be safe. It was around 10:35 for the last home game.

I also went to the Edina game last night (sorry I missed you Siouxperman8!). I was excited to watch Boltmann. - There was a question on this board previously about his height. He's listed at 6'1" but it's hard to tell - the stands are pretty far from the field. I would not be surprised if he's under 6 feet. - I spent most of the game comparing him to Keaton since I watched him in high school, too. In short Boltmann is a superior passer vs. Keaton in high school. Better accuracy, better decision making. He plays like a coaches son (which of course he is). I rate them as equal in arm strength at the same points in their careers. Boltmann did throw a beautiful deep ball that should have been caught... a gorgeous rainbow that was put in a place where only the receiver could catch it. Overall Keaton is the superior athlete at the same points in their career. Keaton was a fantastic running quarterback in high school; lightning quick reflexes and excellent speed... better than most RBs he played with and against. Boltmann is a good but not great runner... he does enough to evade the rush but is not a consistent threat for huge yardage when he takes off running like Keaton used to. Overall I really like him and he'll fit well into the UND system. He has potential to be a multiple year starter. - I couldn't get a good read on Rickert. I certainly had my eye on him but because Boltmann spreads the ball around to much it was hard for Rickert to stand out.

Fire Rudolph!

Great call 77iceman! You suggestion looked great at the game. It wasn't chanting UND but it was hilarious!

These are hilarious! Great work!

I will be tomorrow.

In addition to the previous staff's poor OL recruiting it's important that the 2015 OL class receive blame too; of the 5 players that signed only 2 are left. Of the two that are left one, Bryce Blair, was considered by many on this board a long term project because of his lack of weight.

You're right. But if there are complaints about the offense, and folks want to (correctly) point out that the OL and QB play are to blame along with the play calling, it's Bubba who approves the guidelines and gameplan for Rudy. And to this point I have not seen any criticism directed at the head coach.

Bubba has veto power over the offensive game plan and play calling, so if you don't like the play calling it's not just Rudy who should be receiving criticism.

Outstanding post. Thank you!

Sorry to heal this Leif! Heal up and we'll see you this fall!

Ohio State's defensive coaches expected that BGSU would make quick passes in order to neutralize the Buckeye pass rush. For the most part they were right. This gives the impression that their OL played well - perhaps they did but frankly it's too small of a sample size to know for sure. Falcon QB Knapke played pretty well for the first half. He's a good looking player. He had one INT but it was a phenomenal one handed catch by the Ohio State safety. Perhaps the BGSU gameplan will change for the UND game and he'll have more 7 step drops and we can get some heat on him and force him to make mistakes.

Boy I hope so for his sake.

Bad news coming on Clive, though.

Cole is fine. Minor.

I went to a couple of practices this week. Some thoughts (many are similar to Teeder's, SFI and others, so I'm not exactly breaking much news here). - RBs look good. Much depth behind Santiago. If he gets hurt there is not as much reason to worry as there will be if Keaton or an OT goes down. Austin Gordon missing some time this week. - If you have never been to a practice and you're in the area, do yourself a favor. It moves crisply and efficiently in 5 minute segments. Energy is high. It's fun to be there. - Our new center Coe never loses a 1-1 matchup. Too many of his snaps end on the ground, though. Since he's new to the position that's to be expected but it's got to get cleaned up quickly. He is very wide in stature. - On the contrary the freshmen OLs lose every 1-1 drill. Or it sure seems that way. I'm guessing it's that way every year with the new guys... it's such a big jump in competition and technique. Plus there are no freshmen DLs to go against so they are going against older guys the whole time. Obviously this will pay off over time. But for now the difference in lineman that have experience and those who don't is obvious. - Keaton looks outstanding. Arm looks great, carries himself with confidence. - The new DB coach, Coach Stepps, is a quiet coach. Not a lot of yelling. But he's always teaching. - The lack of depth with the DBs and OL (especially OT) is concerning. Losing three OTs in last year's class and having Helgren not participating is not ideal. And being forced to rely on any true freshman in the defensive backfield in this conference is not ideal, either. - Some of the punting was concerning. The transfer punter looked better as the practice went on. Overall I am very excited about this season after what I saw. Everything is lining up for a good year this year... but an even better year in 2017. Bring on Stoney Brook!

Now that it's out in the open: Grady is not expected back.

I'm a fan of recruiting, watching HUDL film, etc. Of all of the recruiting sites out there 247 does the best job by far in my opinion. They have a composite of all other recruiting sites when they rank their players. They also have local employees who watch recruits at camps and break down film, unlike Rivals which is mostly regional (the South). I wanted to see how many UND players were ranked by 247 in the primary recruiting states of North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin over the last 4 recruiting cycles. Let's start with the caveat that recruiting and rankings are not close to perfect by any stretch, especially at the FCS level. John Santiago is not listed in the Top 50 in Minnesota in 2015 for instance, which in hindsight is absurd. Elijah Grady, Keaton Studsrud... there are a number of good players from this three state area that are not listed. But it's a helpful guide. Normally the team that signs the highest ranked recruits has the best talent. This list shows that recruiting is improving at UND... their two highest rated recruits (in state) over the last 4 years are in the 2017 class. This says that the staff has a better product to sell and are doing the job. 2014 MN Tyler Coyne #14 in the state Drew Greely #15 Grant Alpin #17 Connor Bolduc #21 WI No one ND No one 2015 MN Carl Engwall #21 Patric Rooney #24 Donnell Rogers #26 WI No one ND No one 2016 MN Bennett Helgren #37 Evan Holm #46 Jake Grier #47 Jaxson Turner #50 WI No one ND No one 2017 MN Leif Bungum #13 Brock Boltmann #40 WI Noah Larson #9 ND No one

If the long term goal is to win a Super Bowl, and the FO thinks this is the best way to get him to perform as a Super Bowl level QB is to have him sit for a year, then stick to the plan no matter what the fans say. I think it's a great move.

Even if grey were not a traditional color or never used before... if it's popular with the players and recruits it's a step in the right direction. Of course everyone has a different litmus test for what is going too far with designs and colors, but if winning is the goal then it's all about recruiting. And uniforms matter with young people.

College football is all about recruiting. If non-traditional unis help UND keep up with the joneses - or help surpass them - then I'm fine with it.

Summer attendance is all but mandatory, even for the incoming freshmen. The days of voluntary summer workouts are over. I'm worried that many people on our forum seem to be counting on Grady's return to be the immediate missing ingredient between a good and great season for UND. It's true that Grady has many of the tools necessary to be our best offensive lineman (and a potential next level player), but I think tempering the enthusiasm a bit on his return is a smart thing to do, especially in the short term. In many ways Elijah's debut last year was perfect timing... he began playing midseason with an experienced and talented unit around him. This year the OL is inexperienced and will take time to gel. For the OL working together as a unit trumps individual talent and it will take a while for this group to be hitting on all cylinders. I expect Grady to be a great player and make a big difference, but I worry that we are setting ourselves up for a fall in the first few games if we think Grady's return is the only missing ingredient.

Yea. As long as recruits like it that's all I care about.

Brock also forwarded a UND National Championship hockey tweet a few weeks ago.

Yes, head coaches son.