Looking Toward The Fall

[geaux_sioux]

First of all, this season went way better than I was expecting. In no way did I see the playoffs as a possibility. We overachieved with a mix of heart and good coaching. Also some guys are better earlier than expected. All things considered, this season was a massive success. There is a lot to build on for the fall. 

Offense:

The QB position is locked and loaded for the foreseeable future. With Feeney coming in, I think it's safe to say this is the best the QB room has ever been at UND. That's huge because only a couple of season ago this was a huge weakness of the program. It will be interesting to see how things play out with Vaughn and Schuster as they develop. Tough to beat out a guy who doesn't really lose. And then there's Feeney, he looks legit. Exciting stuff.

RB is an interesting position group. We have some proven, really good backs in Otis and Skokna, and some promising but very much unproven guys in Mitchell and Smith and Clemetson. We need a bigger back and hopefully the incoming FR Ziebarth can fill that roll. He's also got some wheels which is nice to match with power. If we have two of the unproven/ new guys step up and provide quality reps we'll have a really good looking RB room.

WR has some nice length and experience, but as we all know we lack any game breaking speed. Our offense will never be complete without this. If we bring in some guys who can pop the top off a defense at any moment, all of a sudden everything opens up. Now our big tall and slow white boys have better matchups and won't be asked to do things that don't match their skillset. Also our intermediate guys will have larger windows. This is why we need Damien Owens to come in and be that guy. If he does, look out. Also, it will be huge if Belquist and Boltmann are ready to go in the fall. 

TE has some nice body types and athletes. We're a but green here but there is great potential. Zavalney with 20 more lbs will be a good one. Gunderson looks like a prospect as well. Will we have a Foix or Riviere sighting next year? 

OL I think we finally have a unit that can compete at this level with depth. We've got some older guys with a ton experience but also some young guys who cut their teeth this year and thrived. They need to continue to beef up a bit but already you could see the night and day difference from before when we had them try and play light. This season we had probably our most consistent OL of the D1 era. We now need to get to the point where we can drop the plow on teams and grind out a game on the ground when they know it's coming.

DL.... this unit needs to take the biggest step going into the fall. We have a lot of guys that just aren't big and strong enough. Part of it is recruiting guys who just don't have the frame and part of it is young guys who just haven't had the time to put on the weight yet. Guys like Johnson, Morrison, Lennon, and Seguin need to put on at least another 10 lbs over the summer. Guys like Beach, Orlando, and Keech need to get healthy and see the field more next fall. Especially Orlando, we need him, probably more than anyone, to be a difference maker next fall. Our ability to make a deep playoff run hinges on the progression of this unit. 

LB will need to see some young guys step up on the outside in the fall. It's going to be really hard to replace Turner and Haas out there but, once again there are some good looking young LBs waiting in the wings. Gotta think a guy like Navratil will flourish with even more reps. It seems we always find a way to have a good LB corpse so I am not worried about this group.

CB is stacked. We've never been anywhere near this deep and good at this position. One thing I will say that needs to improve for the fall is our guys need to do a better job of battling with the WRs. Siegle in particular struggles with this. He's a phenomenal athlete and is often in great position to make a play. We saw tonight and against NDSU, though, that he lets guys push off on him too easily. He plays the ball as if there isn't an opponent to throw him off. Improving that will be the difference from being in position and making game changing plays. Im confident this group will take that step and be really really good next season. 

Safety worries me a great deal. We have done a terrible job of recruiting this position. We don't have great length or great size or great speed. The injury to Canaday hurt us and exposed our lack of quality at this spot. Is Koshiol ready? Or will he be the next safety to get slid down to OLB? Kauponnen and Galvin have been hit and miss. Will Coley be an answer? I just don't see it right now from this position. We need to recruit safety better.

All in all, we have a roster that is finally looking legit. A few spots need work but overall we have a young team that gained valuable experience this spring. Can't wait for the fall.

[Fry Bread]

Number one I think is athletic size on the defensive line. 
they are athletic and May be fine in a year or two but you need size for consistency. 
Defense starts at the line of scrimmage in my opinion 

[siouxfb]

I agree with the information posted above. We are close! That being said...I’ll be curious how many seniors decide to come back next fall. It’ll be an interesting few weeks. 

[JohnboyND7]

48 minutes ago, siouxfb said:

I agree with the information posted above. We are close! That being said...I’ll be curious how many seniors decide to come back next fall. It’ll be an interesting few weeks. 

Yeah seniors across America are in a weird spot rn.

[AJS]

7 hours ago, siouxfb said:

I agree with the information posted above. We are close! That being said...I’ll be curious how many seniors decide to come back next fall. It’ll be an interesting few weeks. 

Echoing this as I'm sure everyone is. With scholarship constraints, I hope they are really strategic with this. Looking at the roster, depth at certain positions, that players importance, in my perfect UND roster construction world you would hand pick 5 or 6 guys to come back. Who stays / goes is so important that I'm waiting to see before I really have expectations for this Fall. 

[Dustin]

Great assessment @geaux_sioux

[Mama Sue]

Ditto...UND proud. I do not know all the finer points of the game... but these sacks speak for themselves.

[geaux_sioux]

[The Sicatoka]

Heavier defensive front.

A back like James J would've been invaluable yesterday. 

[FlinFlan80]

24 minutes ago, The Sicatoka said:

Heavier defensive front.

A back like James J would've been invaluable yesterday. 

James had zero vision. Otis can do everything James could do and then some. No disrespect to JJ, but he might be the most overrated player we've had in the last 10 years.

[The Sicatoka]

Just now, FlinFlan80 said:

James had zero vision. Otis can do everything James could do and then some. No disrespect to JJ, but he might be the most overrated player we've had in the last 10 years.

A pure power dive back would've been useful yesterday. 

[The Sicatoka]

Besides getting bigger on the defensive front, UND needs a couple players like (using examples I saw yesterday) ...

• the third string JMU RB
• the number two WR from SIU 

Note I'm not looking for even the top guys from other programs, which tells me UND is close.

[Nodak78]

9 hours ago, geaux_sioux said:

First of all, this season went way better than I was expecting. In no way did I see the playoffs as a possibility. We overachieved with a mix of heart and good coaching. Also some guys are better earlier than expected. All things considered, this season was a massive success. There is a lot to build on for the fall. 

Offense:

The QB position is locked and loaded for the foreseeable future. With Feeney coming in, I think it's safe to say this is the best the QB room has ever been at UND. That's huge because only a couple of season ago this was a huge weakness of the program. It will be interesting to see how things play out with Vaughn and Schuster as they develop. Tough to beat out a guy who doesn't really lose. And then there's Feeney, he looks legit. Exciting stuff.

RB is an interesting position group. We have some proven, really good backs in Otis and Skokna, and some promising but very much unproven guys in Mitchell and Smith and Clemetson. We need a bigger back and hopefully the incoming FR Ziebarth can fill that roll. He's also got some wheels which is nice to match with power. If we have two of the unproven/ new guys step up and provide quality reps we'll have a really good looking RB room.

WR has some nice length and experience, but as we all know we lack any game breaking speed. Our offense will never be complete without this. If we bring in some guys who can pop the top off a defense at any moment, all of a sudden everything opens up. Now our big tall and slow white boys have better matchups and won't be asked to do things that don't match their skillset. Also our intermediate guys will have larger windows. This is why we need Damien Owens to come in and be that guy. If he does, look out. Also, it will be huge if Belquist and Boltmann are ready to go in the fall. 

TE has some nice body types and athletes. We're a but green here but there is great potential. Zavalney with 20 more lbs will be a good one. Gunderson looks like a prospect as well. Will we have a Foix or Riviere sighting next year? 

OL I think we finally have a unit that can compete at this level with depth. We've got some older guys with a ton experience but also some young guys who cut their teeth this year and thrived. They need to continue to beef up a bit but already you could see the night and day difference from before when we had them try and play light. This season we had probably our most consistent OL of the D1 era. We now need to get to the point where we can drop the plow on teams and grind out a game on the ground when they know it's coming.

DL.... this unit needs to take the biggest step going into the fall. We have a lot of guys that just aren't big and strong enough. Part of it is recruiting guys who just don't have the frame and part of it is young guys who just haven't had the time to put on the weight yet. Guys like Johnson, Morrison, Lennon, and Seguin need to put on at least another 10 lbs over the summer. Guys like Beach, Orlando, and Keech need to get healthy and see the field more next fall. Especially Orlando, we need him, probably more than anyone, to be a difference maker next fall. Our ability to make a deep playoff run hinges on the progression of this unit. 

LB will need to see some young guys step up on the outside in the fall. It's going to be really hard to replace Turner and Haas out there but, once again there are some good looking young LBs waiting in the wings. Gotta think a guy like Navratil will flourish with even more reps. It seems we always find a way to have a good LB corpse so I am not worried about this group.

CB is stacked. We've never been anywhere near this deep and good at this position. One thing I will say that needs to improve for the fall is our guys need to do a better job of battling with the WRs. Siegle in particular struggles with this. He's a phenomenal athlete and is often in great position to make a play. We saw tonight and against NDSU, though, that he lets guys push off on him too easily. He plays the ball as if there isn't an opponent to throw him off. Improving that will be the difference from being in position and making game changing plays. Im confident this group will take that step and be really really good next season. 

Safety worries me a great deal. We have done a terrible job of recruiting this position. We don't have great length or great size or great speed. The injury to Canaday hurt us and exposed our lack of quality at this spot. Is Koshiol ready? Or will he be the next safety to get slid down to OLB? Kauponnen and Galvin have been hit and miss. Will Coley be an answer? I just don't see it right now from this position. We need to recruit safety better.

All in all, we have a roster that is finally looking legit. A few spots need work but overall we have a young team that gained valuable experience this spring. Can't wait for the fall.

Nice analysis.  I hope Owens recovers from his surgery so he can take the top off.  Orlando needs to plug that middle to make the RB's go side to side.

[forksandspoons]

What's the scouting report on Isaiah Smith? 5' 11", 190lb freshman. Maybe he could be the power option with a few more lbs?

[AJS]

2 hours ago, AJS said:

Echoing this as I'm sure everyone is. With scholarship constraints, I hope they are really strategic with this. Looking at the roster, depth at certain positions, that players importance, in my perfect UND roster construction world you would hand pick 5 or 6 guys to come back. Who stays / goes is so important that I'm waiting to see before I really have expectations for this Fall. 

My wish list.

• Offensively:
  • Tobin
  • Nguon
• Defensively:
  • Canady
  • Turner
  • Haas
  • Holm
  • Galvin

 

The roster construction also works in their favor as the current Junior class isn't large, but more mid-size at 16. When you dig into that group you have 4 Specialists (2 being back up kickers). Couple other depth guys. My point being UND wouldn't find themselves necessarily in two years completely depleted. 

[geaux_sioux]

8 minutes ago, AJS said:

My wish list.

• Offensively:
  • Tobin
  • Nguon
• Defensively:
  • Canady
  • Turner
  • Haas
  • Holm
  • Galvin

 

The roster construction also works in their favor as the current Junior class isn't large, but more mid-size at 16. When you dig into that group you have 4 Specialists (2 being back up kickers). Couple other depth guys. My point being UND wouldn't find themselves necessarily in two years completely depleted. 

Nguon, Haas, and Turner would be the most important IMO. We have good youth to replace the others.

[homer]

46 minutes ago, AJS said:

My wish list.

• Offensively:
  • Tobin
  • Nguon
• Defensively:
  • Canady
  • Turner
  • Haas
  • Holm
  • Galvin

 

The roster construction also works in their favor as the current Junior class isn't large, but more mid-size at 16. When you dig into that group you have 4 Specialists (2 being back up kickers). Couple other depth guys. My point being UND wouldn't find themselves necessarily in two years completely depleted. 

Yesterday could change things but I think there is a higher chance to get the defensive guys back than the OL.  Getting the young guard reps in these two games could prove to be valuable for next year.  
 

IMO- Will be looking to replace a guard and center.  

[MoSiouxFan]

34 minutes ago, geaux_sioux said:

Nguon, Haas, and Turner would be the most important IMO. We have good youth to replace the others.

I'd add a healthy Canady to your list.  We're already fairly thin at that position.

[sioux24/7]

Right now, the biggest question is how the transfer portal will hit us. 

[siouxfan512]

2 hours ago, The Sicatoka said:

A pure power dive back would've been useful yesterday. 

With the right player, yes! JJ was never that player; he stood to straight when he ran, and despite his size, he just never really got any push, and he seemed slow. Give me an Oliveira over a JJ any day. I still remember watching Brady take on a DL straight up and send him flying.

[siouxfan512]

1 hour ago, AJS said:

My wish list.

• Offensively:
  • Tobin
  • Nguon
• Defensively:
  • Canady
  • Turner
  • Haas
  • Holm
  • Galvin

 

The roster construction also works in their favor as the current Junior class isn't large, but more mid-size at 16. When you dig into that group you have 4 Specialists (2 being back up kickers). Couple other depth guys. My point being UND wouldn't find themselves necessarily in two years completely depleted. 

I'd rather pick up a good transfer over Galvin. Other than his INT last week, he just hasn't impressed me. Maybe it is because I'm not an expert at safety, but he seems to get beat quite a bit. Had some horrible tackle attempts yesterday, though a lot of guy did.

[AJS]

17 minutes ago, siouxfan512 said:

I'd rather pick up a good transfer over Galvin. Other than his INT last week, he just hasn't impressed me. Maybe it is because I'm not an expert at safety, but he seems to get beat quite a bit. Had some horrible tackle attempts yesterday, though a lot of guy did.

Galvin is definitely the guy on my list that is unlike the others. He's more of a potential necessity add at his position (depending on Canady) than anything. 

[GoHawks]

Looking back this was a great season for the program! Many highs and lows but the highs outweigh the lows for sure. Excited for the fall and to be back to normal with full stadiums and TAILGATING!!!!! 

That said there are some thoughts on the game yesterday and the season as a whole the needs to be addressed this fall if UND wants to take the next step at beating the teams like JMU and NDSU. Geaux sioux pretty much said it all.

What we knew before the JMU game was that they were gonna run the ball and we needed to stop it. That did not happen and it didn't seem like UND was prepared for it. This 3-4 defense works wonders at times (SIU & SDSU) but against great running game it just doesn't (NDSU games and JMU game). When Holinka was taking over I was hoping they were gonna go away with it and go with a 4-3. I maybe wrong but if that defense worked so good everyone would be using it. Im just not a believer in the 3-4 defense and I think that was a big part of the loss against JMU was not being able control the line of scrimmage. 

 

[Nodak78]

3-4 is a great defense against the run.  our problem be didn't have the NG to plug the middle.  UND was noted for stopping the run after it changed to the 3-4.  We had a long list of NG's to eat up the blocks and free the LB to fill the open holes.

[gundy1124]

7 minutes ago, Nodak78 said:

3-4 is a great defense against the run.  our problem be didn't have the NG to plug the middle.  UND was noted for stopping the run after it changed to the 3-4.  We had a long list of NG's to eat up the blocks and free the LB to fill the open holes.

Need a Tank.  Literally, Tank Williams type.