2023 Football Season

[gundy1124]

3 hours ago, Siouxperman8 said:

The guy that I watched and waited to see get involved was Billy Riviere.  He was rated as #13 prospect in MN as a senior by one place. 

In 2 seasons at UND he never caught a pass.  I have no idea if we ever threw to him or not.

This fall at Washington State he had 12 catches for 117 yards and a TD.  It's hard to imagine that we didn't find a way to get him involved in the passing game at UND. 

He wasn't good enough to catch passes at UND........

Every kid dreams of making all the big blocks to win a game.  UND understands this about our TE position.

[SiouxFan100]

I don’t believe our coaches are dumb

[Class_of_98]

9 minutes ago, sioux24/7 said:

Shawn Kostich

Not surprised.  Lack of talent development and/or imagination to use said talent.  If he won’t use it, like it was said, let the defense give them a shot.

[gundy1124]

4 minutes ago, Class_of_98 said:

Not surprised.  Lack of talent development and/or imagination to use said talent.  If he won’t use it, like it was said, let the defense give them a shot.

Danny makes the game plans and determines opportunities on the field.

[UND1983]

4 hours ago, Siouxperman8 said:

The guy that I watched and waited to see get involved was Billy Riviere.  He was rated as #13 prospect in MN as a senior by one place. 

In 2 seasons at UND he never caught a pass.  I have no idea if we ever threw to him or not.

This fall at Washington State he had 12 catches for 117 yards and a TD.  It's hard to imagine that we didn't find a way to get him involved in the passing game at UND. 

Yah those 117 yards were the difference for us.  How many did Zavalney have?

[gundy1124]

22 minutes ago, UND1983 said:

Yah those 117 yards were the difference for us.  How many did Zavalney have?

Zavalney couldn't collapse the D line, he was essentially a zero blocking threat.  He was an easy tendency player.

[UND1983]

9 minutes ago, gundy1124 said:

Zavalney couldn't collapse the D line, he was essentially a zero blocking threat.  He was an easy tendency player.

Riviere was just crushing dudes in the run game and catching balls (12 in 13 games) for WSU.  

UND is the first program in history to purposely not use their talent. Our tight ends are so uber good but the offensive staff can't see it....amirite??

[Irish]

6 hours ago, iramurphy said:

Every program needs to reevaluate the performance and progress of every player on the team at the end of each season and in FB again at the end of spring ball. Coaches need a self assessment of what went well and what didn’t, strengths and weaknesses and whether or not they have the right personnel in position for the team to be successful and for the player to be successful.  

They also need to reevaluate whether or not they have the right personal to run the schemes they plan to run. Every team has players lingering behind others for whatever reason that can contribute better at a different position. Teams also need to evaluate whether or not they as a staff are developing these players to their full potential. 

We had Nordby, Zalvaney, Steckler, Gunderson, Klein, Ihry, and 3 younger guys at TE. How often do we ever run a double TE set?  How many times do we throw  to the TE? Can Ihry or Gunderson play LB or DE. That’s what spring ball is for.  Can Koshiol play LB. 3 very good athletes, that may provide depth at some key positions and get them more playing time. 

The Coaching staff needs to do self evaluations and answer the question: are we developing this player to their full potential? If not, why not?  If so is there any other position the player can play to better help the team.  That should also get the player more playing time. 
 

In my opinion those evaluations and decisions are as important as recruiting. 
I have no idea if our staff does this, if so, to what extent or are they doing a much better evaluation?  I used TE as an example but OL and DL is an example of guys who may better contribute from the other side of the line of scrimmage. 
 

Our staff wants conference, and national championships as much or more than anyone else. It’s harder than we think, but it’s not impossible. 

A very accurate summary of what should happen in a successful program.  Most of the upset regarding this program is about evaluation and change.  Since we are not privy to the inner workings all we can judge by is the results.  Many, including myself, see change here as glacial.  Imagine how Rudy's evaluations and goal setting went.  All we saw was the exact same Rudy year after year and the program hung on to him for how long with no change.  There are also questions as to schemes (3-4 for example), game philosophy, and player development - especially strength and conditioning - not saying they are all wrong, just wondering if there is any serious discussion about change.  There very well might be a lot of discussion being done but the product is by and large the same. On the positive side I was glad to see us try address some weaknesses in the recruiting and portal.  In addition, Bubba had a much better season as a game coach.  The question remains - are we really doing serious self assessment and are we open to change or are we committed to doing the same thing again this time trying harder.  It's been 9 years now.  

[Irish]

1 hour ago, SiouxFan100 said:

I don’t believe our coaches are dumb

Would you believe stubborn?

[SiouxFan100]

15 minutes ago, Irish said:

Would you believe stubborn?

I would believe stubborn - yes

[gundy1124]

1 hour ago, UND1983 said:

Riviere was just crushing dudes in the run game and catching balls (12 in 13 games) for WSU.  

UND is the first program in history to purposely not use their talent. Our tight ends are so uber good but the offensive staff can't see it....amirite??

It's funny how dismissive UND kool-aid drinkers can be of Riviere, his jump up and success. (and being a son to a UND football alum)

I'd respect UND more if they rostered half of the TEs they currently have and rostered a few more safeties, LBs, or O-line. (Take your pick) Why carry a position group of that size with what Danny perceives as not much offensive value.  It's not an efficient use of roster spots.  

It'd be like Cal Poly rostering 15 receivers when Smokin Joe Protheroe is going to get you 115 yards on 48 full back dives running the triple option.

[Parkers Pros]

Hard to be patient with coaches but with time they too get better. Stig at SDSU has been there forever.  When he was the coach during the D2 era UND owned them. They stuck with him. When they transitioned I was at a game, family are alums, I am very not, where they lost huge to a Div3 college out of Wisconsin. People were calling for his job. The School didn’t panic. They see he’s a good guy, good for the community, allowed him to learn the game and the recruiting it takes to win at this level in this division cause it’s quite a jump. And now they are challenging yearly for a championship. 
Bubba and staff are getting better. They have a relevant team in the most difficult division in FCS football.  And they are doing it with a room full of kids who are not three stars or even very many two stars for that matter. They have to develop everything. There is room to grow sure, but I think we are slowly seeing them learn. And we are getting closer and closer each year to being able to challenge  those last couple teams. As hard as it is in a want it now era, we can’t allow our pride to get in the way of progress.

[fightingsioux4life]

1 hour ago, Parkers Pros said:

Hard to be patient with coaches but with time they too get better. Stig at SDSU has been there forever.  When he was the coach during the D2 era UND owned them. They stuck with him. When they transitioned I was at a game, family are alums, I am very not, where they lost huge to a Div3 college out of Wisconsin. People were calling for his job. The School didn’t panic. They see he’s a good guy, good for the community, allowed him to learn the game and the recruiting it takes to win at this level in this division cause it’s quite a jump. And now they are challenging yearly for a championship. 
Bubba and staff are getting better. They have a relevant team in the most difficult division in FCS football.  And they are doing it with a room full of kids who are not three stars or even very many two stars for that matter. They have to develop everything. There is room to grow sure, but I think we are slowly seeing them learn. And we are getting closer and closer each year to being able to challenge  those last couple teams. As hard as it is in a want it now era, we can’t allow our pride to get in the way of progress.

It has been 9 years. Should we wait another nine?

[UND-FB-FAN]

On 12/23/2022 at 11:38 AM, Parkers Pros said:

Great podcast per usual and felt they were right on with their assessment, which is the same as most of us have felt for a long time. 

That being said I think they attacked the portal and this signing class pretty well so far.  Really like the fact that we hit the lines really hard. And I don't remember having this amount of bigs on both lines coming in. We get a 245lb middle backer that can run and and and a head-hunting strong safety and we will be in business on Defense. Offense did a great job building depth. Like the trajectory...

The defense needs to improve. Bringing in new players is apart of that. I think the UND secondary, other than CJ Siegel, is below average. I think the outside linebackers, which are incredibly important to pass defense given their role in creating pass rush, also need to improve by leaps and bounds. Not satisfied with the defense at this juncture, but I think the transfer DL additions were good. 

[UND-FB-FAN]

On 12/23/2022 at 4:16 PM, iramurphy said:

We can improve at every position and that includes QB. 

Agreed. The program absolutely has to have this mindset. No way in hell a 7-5 football team should be complacent or think that they are at the pinnacle of FCS football in anything (other than maybe grade point average).

[UND-FB-FAN]

On 12/24/2022 at 10:23 AM, shep said:

Gunderson too. Could he be a LB?

I like reutilizing players to different positions to help the student-athletes see the field, but let’s be honest: if the UND defense is going to rely on players that couldn’t make it at TE on offense, the ‘23 defense will be worse than the ‘22 defense … and that’s saying something. 
 

Need more athletes on defense. And since we can’t (and aren’t going to) get several transfers for each spot, UND will be forced to develop their players better. Coaching staff and strength/conditioning staff hasn’t made any changes to my knowledge, so I think ‘23 could be an improvement only due to a more favorable schedule. 7-5 to 8-3? It’s a possibility for sure. Not groundbreaking, but improvement.

[Parkers Pros]

37 minutes ago, fightingsioux4life said:

It has been 9 years. Should we wait another nine?

Stig’s been there 30, you tell me and they’ve been relevant only 5 yrs….

[The Sicatoka]

I'd really like this thread to trend back to "recruiting" and what UND is targeting for the February signing period. 

[UND-FB-FAN]

15 hours ago, iramurphy said:

That was a huge program error. We can’t afford to miss on guys we already have in our program. Hopefully there was an in house program review to see how that happened. His Dad played at UND. Maybe he just knew he could play up and wanted to.  I don’t believe TEs who just want to block. They want to catch the ball and score.  

One of several errors on the development front for UND. In this particular case, the player definitely had talent, but nothing was done to develop it and utilize it. Many examples of this over the years under Bubba’s program. 

[UND-FB-FAN]

12 hours ago, SiouxFan100 said:

I don’t believe our coaches are dumb

Well, not all of them …

[UND-FB-FAN]

12 hours ago, gundy1124 said:

Danny makes the game plans and determines opportunities on the field.

Danny has final say, but the position coaches need to advocate for their groups. I get what you’re saying, though; final say falls on Danny. He’s done well, but has had his blunders also. 

[The Sicatoka]

Not positive but pretty sure* I saw Noah on Christmas Eve visiting his grandmother (?) in a nursing facility.

Noah, if you read this: It's hard, it's uncomfortable, but it's where you needed to be and she does appreciate you visiting. 

 

*height, hair, face shape, UND FB jacket, 'geography'

[UND-FB-FAN]

10 hours ago, Irish said:

A very accurate summary of what should happen in a successful program.  Most of the upset regarding this program is about evaluation and change.  Since we are not privy to the inner workings all we can judge by is the results.  Many, including myself, see change here as glacial.  Imagine how Rudy's evaluations and goal setting went.  All we saw was the exact same Rudy year after year and the program hung on to him for how long with no change.  There are also questions as to schemes (3-4 for example), game philosophy, and player development - especially strength and conditioning - not saying they are all wrong, just wondering if there is any serious discussion about change.  There very well might be a lot of discussion being done but the product is by and large the same. On the positive side I was glad to see us try address some weaknesses in the recruiting and portal.  In addition, Bubba had a much better season as a game coach.  The question remains - are we really doing serious self assessment and are we open to change or are we committed to doing the same thing again this time trying harder.  It's been 9 years now.  

Agreed. Bottom line, UND football is adverse to change unless the building is on fire and everyone has evacuated. So, with a 7 win season, we move along, business as usual. UND football is a 7 win program right now, with occasional lapses that result in losing seasons. Nothing was changed this off-season, so things remain the same. As said above, favorable schedule in 2023 makes 8 wins possible. 

[UND-FB-FAN]

2 hours ago, Parkers Pros said:

Stig at SDSU has been there forever.

This is the exception to the rule. Please stop using this example to justify Bubba’s ignorance and UND’s complacency. With all that said, UND football is Bubba ball for the foreseeable future so get on board and support it … I guess. 

[The Sicatoka]

43 minutes ago, The Sicatoka said:

I'd really like this thread to trend back to "recruiting" and what UND is targeting for the February signing period. 

I think folks misinterpreted my first few words last time. 

This thread will be moving back to recruiting.

 

I'm done reading noise (Stig, coaching complaints) in the recruiting thread.
Take the "Monday morning QB" expertise to the 2022 season thread ... please (or else).