2020-21 Football Season

[VMeister]

45 minutes ago, SIOUXFAN97 said:

kickers went 0-4 in practice today from around 40 yards....but kostitch is such a great motivator...come on!

St. Cloud kid looks good.

[Sioux94]

What did Miller have to say in his article today about the first practice?  I don't have an online subscription to the Herald so it won't let me read it.   

[Riverhawk]

On 1/22/2021 at 4:49 PM, Sioux94 said:

What did Miller have to say in his article today about the first practice?  I don't have an online subscription to the Herald so it won't let me read it.   

 

Football

UND football camp Day 1: Strange season begins

 

Day 1 notes

• Wide receiver-kick returner-quarterback Brock Boltmann worked with the quarterbacks on Day 1 and took the second round of snaps after Tommy Schuster in the 11-on-11 portion of practice.
• Rookie wide receiver Jack Wright, the high school football national record-holder for career touchdowns, practiced for the first time as he returns from a leg injury. He wore a brace during practice.
• Quarterback Quincy Vaughn was the third quarterback to take reps during the team portion of practice. His last throw was a deep ball that rookie wide receiver Bo Belquist couldn't quite haul in amid tight coverage.

[Sioux94]

Thanks for posting that Riverhawk!  Will be interesting to see if they continue to give Boltmann the 2nd string reps. 

[Riverhawk]

UND football camp Day 2: Richter, Burian make highlight grabs

 

• For the second day in a row, UND worked in utility man Brock Boltmann at quarterback -- sometimes with another quarterback split out wide.
• Freshman Reid Neal was the fourth quarterback to take snaps. He hit tight end/wide receiver Adam Zavalney, of Park River, N.D., on a rollout pass for about 7 yards to finish practice.

[SiouxFan100]

Do we have the screen pass in our playbook? Doesn’t seem like we do many - or am I missing them?

[TheFlop]

19 hours ago, SiouxFan100 said:

Do we have the screen pass in our playbook? Doesn’t seem like we do many - or am I missing them?

No, haven't had one for 5-6 years now. 

[UND1983]

37 minutes ago, TheFlop said:

No, haven't had one for 5-6 years now. 

If they had McKinney would've been a superstar.

[TheFlop]

1 hour ago, UND1983 said:

If they had McKinney would've been a superstar.

Nothing to do with McKinney, everyone knows that Rudolph didn't know what a screen pass was.  

[Riverhawk]

UND football camp Day 3: Hawks continue to develop Boltmann's versatility

Play of the day: For the second time during fall camp, UND freshman quarterback Tommy Schuster had a wide receiver make a diving catch on the sideline on a ball that initially appeared uncatchable. Earlier in camp, the catch was from Minnesota State Moorhead transfer Jake Richter. On Sunday, it was Mikey Griebel making the grab.

[Midwestern Hawk]

46 minutes ago, Riverhawk said:

UND football camp Day 3: Hawks continue to develop Boltmann's versatility

On Sunday morning, UND athlete Brock Boltmann's versatility was on display again in a variety of ways during Day 3 of camp at the High Performance Center.

Written By: Tom Miller | Jan 24th 2021 - 1pm.

 

UND's Brock Boltmann hauls in a touchdown in the second quarter Saturday, Oct. 5, against UC Davis. Eric Hylden / Forum News Service

 

The UND football team's most dynamic offensive weapon has lined up just about everywhere in his Fighting Hawks career.

On Sunday morning, UND athlete Brock Boltmann's versatility was on display again in a variety of ways during Day 3 of camp at the High Performance Center.

Boltmann, a redshirt junior who also returns kicks for UND, saw practice reps at quarterback and wide receiver. Sometimes, he runs the option. Sometimes, he throws it deep. Sometimes he's on the field at the same time as another quarterback.

The Hawks, who recruited Boltmann as a quarterback out of Edina High School, have said they'd like to expand Boltmann's throwing options as a change-of-pace quarterback behind the 1-2 depth chart of Tommy Schuster and Quincy Vaughn.

A year ago, Boltmann erupted on the scene after a 56-yard touchdown run against Sam Houston State.

He finished the year with 31 carries for 199 yards -- an average of 6.4 yards per carry. Boltmann's effectiveness in the run game, however, lessened as the year went on and teams recognized his strengths.

In UND's last five games of the year, Boltmann ran for 14 yards.

Boltmann will be asked to be a top target in the passing game, too. He ended last season fourth on the team in receiving yards. He had 31 grabs for 243 yards.

Oddly enough for a running quarterback with questions throwing the ball, Boltmann didn't have an incompletion last season. He was 6-for-6 for 39 yards. With a long of 36 yards, though, clearly the Hawks didn't ask Boltmann to throw downfield much.

At practice Sunday, UND's first completion in team drills was a play-action drop-off from Boltmann to fullback Brett Finke, who was wide open in the flat.

 

Boltmann also had an explosive run when he kept the football while running the option with freshman wide receiver Bo Belquist.

Later in the practice, Boltmann completed a strike on a slant to Mikey Griebel before having a deep ball intended for Tyler Burian broken up by rookie cornerback Richard Agyekum, a freshman from the Netherlands.

Here are the details from Day 3:

The scene: UND practiced in helmets and shoulder pads from 7:30 a.m. to about 9 a.m. at the High Performance Center.

Participation note: Defensive lineman Jalen Morrison and cornerbacks Haley Bucholz and Sam Robertson joined safety Jordan Canady and wide receiver Elijah Klein on the sideline for today's practice. Klein's injury appears to be the most serious of those sitting out.

 

Play of the day: For the second time during fall camp, UND freshman quarterback Tommy Schuster had a wide receiver make a diving catch on the sideline on a ball that initially appeared uncatchable. Earlier in camp, the catch was from Minnesota State Moorhead transfer Jake Richter. On Sunday, it was Mikey Griebel making the grab.

Looking good: UND sophomore cornerback Caleb Nelson has made strong plays in back-to-back practices now. Nelson came flying in late to break up a deep ball from Reid Neal to Luke Skokna.

Needs work: Sloppy offensive basics. UND struggled Sunday with poor exchanges -- both snaps and handoffs -- and false starts.

Day 3 notes

• UND conducted two portions of team drills Sunday, rather than just one during Friday and Saturday.
• The first portion of team drills was almost exclusively running plays. Luke Skokna started things with a pair of big runs.
• The defense forced one turnover during the running portion of team drills. Isiah Smith appeared to fumble and the ball was recovered by sophomore linebacker Ken Bohnenkamp, who returned it for a "score".
• The defense continued to shine after the Bohnenkamp turnover. Freshman defensive end Luke Lennon and junior defensive lineman Quintin Seguin broke through the line to disrupt handoffs.
• Seguin made pretty strong contact with UND freshman running back Creighton Mitchell on one play, then Mitchell busted off a long run up the middle on the next down.
• UND tackle Matt Waletzko, who started the first six games in 2019 before suffering a season-ending injury, appears to be healthy and effective again at left tackle.
• UND's defense made one interception during passing drills. Ted Mullin tipped a Reid Neal pass into the hands of safety Peyton Fisher.
• UND's four kickers took turns from about 35-40 yards. Junior transfer Sean Fenelon was the only kicker to go without a miss during the drill, while the two kickers expected to compete for the starting job -- Brady Leach and Adam Stage -- each went 2-for-4.

Thank you for the update!

[SWSiouxMN]

I don't like hearing about the kicking issues..... again

[Sioux94]

Yes, thanks for posting the article.  VERY good to see that Waletzko appears healthy. 

[FSSD]

Kicking has been a problem for a couple of years now.  I hope it changes soon.

 

[UNDBIZ]

Please refrain from copying and pasting entire articles. It is copyrighted material and therefore illegal to copy. Please feel free to post the link along with a highlight or 2 or a summary.

Thank you. 

- Moderators

[SIOUXFAN97]

21 hours ago, FSSD said:

Kicking has been a problem for a couple of years now.  I hope it changes soon.

 

it starts and ends with kostitch...how much longer are we gonna to have jv special teams and be ok with it?

 

[gundy1124]

38 minutes ago, SIOUXFAN97 said:

it starts and ends with kostitch...how much longer are we gonna to have jv special teams and be ok with it?

 

I see it as very little room for error with a kicker, and/or the special teams coach.  On one hand, you can't have 3 scholarship kickers to create the competition, waste of $$.  On the other hand if you only bring in one guy and he doesn't progress as projected then you're in a bit of trouble as UND has been.  We have a nice smorgasbord of kickers this year, not sure of the money situation, but hopefully we get kick-offs in the end zone plus a good FG kicker all in one, and don't spend more than 1 scholarship in the process.

[SIOUXFAN97]

2 minutes ago, gundy1124 said:

I see it as very little room for error with a kicker, and/or the special teams coach.  On one hand, you can't have 3 scholarship kickers to create the competition, waste of $$.  On the other hand if you only bring in one guy and he doesn't progress as projected then you're in a bit of trouble as UND has been.  We have a nice smorgasbord of kickers this year, not sure of the money situation, but hopefully we get kick-offs in the end zone plus a good FG kicker all in one, and don't spend more than 1 scholarship in the process.

we were really really spoiled for years with specials teams..fromg rog to the moustache to muss....seemed like we had a legit kicker every year for 20 years...under kotelnicki it seemed like every opposing fg was going to be blocked.

can't wait for next month to see some football every week!!!!

[Devils]

5 hours ago, SIOUXFAN97 said:

we were really really spoiled for years with specials teams..fromg rog to the moustache to muss....seemed like we had a legit kicker every year for 20 years...under kotelnicki it seemed like every opposing fg was going to be blocked.

can't wait for next month to see some football every week!!!!

Juan Gomez Tagle was a beast!

[nodak651]

8 hours ago, gundy1124 said:

I see it as very little room for error with a kicker, and/or the special teams coach.  On one hand, you can't have 3 scholarship kickers to create the competition, waste of $$.  On the other hand if you only bring in one guy and he doesn't progress as projected then you're in a bit of trouble as UND has been.  We have a nice smorgasbord of kickers this year, not sure of the money situation, but hopefully we get kick-offs in the end zone plus a good FG kicker all in one, and don't spend more than 1 scholarship in the process.

Kinda disagree with the scholarships part.  A good kicker is just as valuable, if not more so, than almost any scholarship position player.  They directly affect the outcome of games, and if it takes 3 schollarships to get a quality kicker, so be it.  Kickers always seem to be undervalued.  Ask the Vikings if a high round draft pick would be worth it for a pro bowl kicker.

[TheFlop]

21 hours ago, SIOUXFAN97 said:

it starts and ends with kostitch...how much longer are we gonna to have jv special teams and be ok with it?

 

It's not really a great sign when an up and coming younger coach stagnates for 7 years as a special teams coach at a program not known for paying a boatload of money to coaches.  The good ones are typically plucked away by other programs after that amount of time.  

Whether it's a lack of special teams talent or a lack of coaching ability, it falls on the head coach to fix it.  Finally dumping Rudolph and giving Freund a shot was better late than never.  Maybe it's getting close to time for another change.

[Sioux94]

When it comes to kicking FG's, I think a kid either has it or he doesn't.  Sure the coach can try and help with technique and what not, but either he is  accurate or he isn't. Seems like a lot of our kickers from 1990 on that I remember, kicked as freshman and for the most part were pretty good right out of the gate.  They didn't need to be coached up for two years first. We did have a pretty good run of about 25 years of always having a solid kicker and we probably took it for granted.  Hope one of them this year can become pretty reliable.  In previous years with kickers like Glass etc if we needed a 47 yard FG to win the game, I felt there was about a 75% chance they would nail it in the clutch.  In that scenario now I'd feel like 15% chance. Right now if we had a 29 yard FG for the win I'd be thinking it's 50/50. 

[SIOUXFAN97]

18 hours ago, Devils said:

Juan Gomez Tagle was a beast!

haha...was gonna reference him...he amost kicked an extra point into lake bemidji!!!!!!!!!! iirc

[CMSioux]

4 hours ago, TheFlop said:

It's not really a great sign when an up and coming younger coach stagnates for 7 years as a special teams coach at a program not known for paying a boatload of money to coaches.  The good ones are typically plucked away by other programs after that amount of time.  

Whether it's a lack of special teams talent or a lack of coaching ability, it falls on the head coach to fix it.  Finally dumping Rudolph and giving Freund a shot was better late than never.  Maybe it's getting close to time for another change.

Hasn't the other aspects of special teams been pretty good as far a blocking kicks and covering kicks - yes it's a total picture but certainly has improved over the last few years.  

[UNDBIZ]

7 minutes ago, CMSioux said:

Hasn't the other aspects of special teams been pretty good as far a blocking kicks and covering kicks - yes it's a total picture but certainly has improved over the last few years.  

We get a few of our punts blocked per year.