receivers

[HerdBot]

There has been a lot of talk about Vraa and Gebheart. Reviews are mixed on Smith in the slot. What's the scoop on Cooper Wahlo?

[Mr. Burgundy]

I saw one practice, Gebhart, Vraa and Wahlo were making a bunch of plays. They just look like different level athletes. They will step up and join Warren in a great group. Not sure on the mixed reviews on Smith, he is electric and they want the ball in his hands. He has to have it in space and when they recruited him, they made sure they liked his hands. I am thrilled with how this will turn out. These are big kids with wheels and throw in our own little Wes Welker in the slot and make a LB catch him.

[jarhead]

I forgot Sigers is not practicing this spring, but are he and Wes Hudson legit candidates to share time with Smith in the slot?

[DjKyRo]

I saw one practice, Gebhart, Vraa and Wahlo were making a bunch of plays. They just look like different level athletes. They will step up and join Warren in a great group. Not sure on the mixed reviews on Smith, he is electric and they want the ball in his hands. He has to have it in space and when they recruited him, they made sure they liked his hands. I am thrilled with how this will turn out. These are big kids with wheels and throw in our own little Wes Welker in the slot and make a LB catch him.

I had some criticism on Ryan just based off what I've seen in two practices. Like I've said, don't read into it based just on that. No doubt he's a great athlete and can be a dynamic player in open space.

[Mr. Burgundy]

Oh I won't.....I know you aren't bucking for the next Kiper job at ESPN. His hands are rock solid and getting him in space is what everyone wants. I hope between he and Siger they both touch the ball more often.

[BadlandsBison]

I forgot Sigers is not practicing this spring, but are he and Wes Hudson legit candidates to share time with Smith in the slot?

Smith has taken the majority of snaps at slot so far. He has good hands too. I don't recall seeing Hudson at slot thus far, but Voitlander has been taking snaps at slot.

[jarhead]

Yeah, Voit's too good not to get some reps somewhere (punting aside).

[DjKyRo]

Dante Perez also had at least one snap at slot so the coaches are at least thinking about the possibility of moving him.

[ndsubison1]

I am claiming the sign Where's Wahlo? for next year

[HerdBot]

I saw one practice, Gebhart, Vraa and Wahlo were making a bunch of plays. They just look like different level athletes. They will step up and join Warren in a great group. Not sure on the mixed reviews on Smith, he is electric and they want the ball in his hands. He has to have it in space and when they recruited him, they made sure they liked his hands. I am thrilled with how this will turn out. These are big kids with wheels and throw in our own little Wes Welker in the slot and make a LB catch him.

BI said he dropped a few unless I read it wrong. It was the 3rd practice review

[Kermit]

BI said he dropped a few unless I read it wrong. It was the 3rd practice review

There has only been 2 practices so far. I've watched about half of each. Vraa, Gebhart, and Smith have all looked very good in my book.

[OrygunBison]

Yeah, Voit's too good not to get some reps somewhere (punting aside).

I have never understood BV's complete man-crush on Voit. He has never struck me as super awesome fantastic like many of you claim. To me, he's a good role player that should get a few touches a game but will never be a feature skill player, other than punter, I guess. Do we need guys like Voit on the team? Most certainly. Will an offense ever be built around him? Not a chance.

[344Johnson]

If Voit was around during the Steffes Administration that would have been a good battle. Steffes was good, Voigt is good, DJ is just better.

[Bison Dan]

If Voit was around during the Steffes Administration that would have been a good battle. Steffes was good, Voigt is good, DJ is just better.

DJ had a break out year in 2010. I look for him to be one of the top 3 running backs in FCS for 2011. He's a weapon that's for sure. Now add a good passing attack and you have the makings of a playoff team.

[NDSU_grad]

If Voit was around during the Steffes Administration that would have been a good battle. Steffes was good, Voigt is good, DJ is just better.

Ummm, no. Steffes was completely different than Voigt. Quicker feet, more explosive, incredible balance, great vision. Steffes was at an NFL training camp. Unless Voigt is punting he won't get an invite.

[HandoEX]

Ummm, no. Steffes was completely different than Voigt. Quicker feet, more explosive, incredible balance, great vision. Steffes was at an NFL training camp. Unless Voigt is punting he won't get an invite.

Agreed 100%.

[NorthernBison]

If Voit was around during the Steffes Administration that would have been a good battle. Steffes was good, Voigt is good, DJ is just better.

Steffes was "good"? Understatement of the year.

Steffes kept Roehl from seeing the field and Roehl kept PP on the sidelines. That's how fricken "good" Kyle was.

[bisonmike2]

DJ had a break out year in 2010. I look for him to be one of the top 3 running backs in FCS for 2011. He's a weapon that's for sure. Now add a good passing attack and you have the makings of a playoff team.

Same here. I'm looking for DJ to go into beast mode this year. He's gotten better every year, I can't see why it would be any different this fall.

[Gully]

I have never understood BV's complete man-crush on Voit. He has never struck me as super awesome fantastic like many of you claim. To me, he's a good role player that should get a few touches a game but will never be a feature skill player, other than punter, I guess. Do we need guys like Voit on the team? Most certainly. Will an offense ever be built around him? Not a chance.

It seems like when he does get the ball there is a very good chance he'll make something good happen. Isn't that the point of giving someone the ball? It almost seems like they've decided he's too slow or whatever and even though the results are there, they've already made up their mind he's not good enough.

I don't know why it's hard to understand appreciating someone who produces results.

[344Johnson]

Ummm, no. Steffes was completely different than Voigt. Quicker feet, more explosive, incredible balance, great vision. Steffes was at an NFL training camp. Unless Voigt is punting he won't get an invite.

I was referring 100% to skin tone ;) I mean Voigt has a great average(I know its in garbage time a lot), both consistent.

[Twentysix]

Steffes was "good"? Understatement of the year.

Steffes kept Roehl from seeing the field and Roehl kept PP on the sidelines. That's how fricken "good" Kyle was.

no way, steffes didnt make an NFL team. Roehl was better. Roehl also got his sticker on the ESPN college gameday helmet. Not to mention roehl played almost his entire sr season with an ankle injury, as a running back...and still made an actual NFL team.

I'm pretty sure Roehl was a FB when steffes played.....

Its hard to say roehl kept pp off the field his sr season, its more like pat developed alot over that summer..

Is voigt as good as steffes? Probably not but to say Steffes>Roehl>Paschall is just idiocy in my opinion :S

I hope DJ becomes as strong as PP this off season. Thats the one thing pp had over DJ at this point imo.

[56BISON73]

no way, steffes didnt make an NFL team. Roehl was better. Roehl also got his sticker on the ESPN college gameday helmet. Not to mention roehl played almost his entire sr season with an ankle injury, as a running back...and still made an actual NFL team.

I'm pretty sure Roehl was a FB when steffes played.....

Its hard to say roehl kept pp off the field his sr season, its more like pat developed alot over that summer..

Is voigt as good as steffes? Probably not but to say Steffes>Roehl>Paschall is just idiocy in my opinion :S

I hope DJ becomes as strong as PP this off season. Thats the one thing pp had over DJ at this point imo.

Did Roehl really make an NFL team? Or was it the fact that he was injured during training camp and was put on IR?

[HerdBot]

Did Roehl really make an NFL team? Or was it the fact that he was injured during training camp and was put on IR?

Roehl made the seahawks roster. Then he got hurt and released.

[mgbison]

Roehl made the roster becaue he got hurt, he would've gotten cut sooner, but something about teams can't cut a guy in a certain situation and Roehl fell into that special circumstance. Thats how i understood the sitaution anyway.

[EndZoneQB]

Roehl made the roster becaue he got hurt, he would've gotten cut sooner, but something about teams can't cut a guy in a certain situation and Roehl fell into that special circumstance. Thats how i understood the sitaution anyway.

We don't really know if he would have been cut. At the time they had no FB's on the roster, but they brought in Owen Schmidt later.

[lakesbison]

Roehl made the roster, got a contract and was paid for that year.

they even brought him in after he rehabbed. they loved him.

[CaBisonFan]

Pat Paschall was a big part of our success during his sophomore and junior seasons also. The videos of him running in the Minnesota games show that he was already something special. Might be that he got stronger...but in 2007 (junior year) he stuck it to Minnesota on several runs.

I've said it many times before...but if he had had PP in Brookings in '07, we likely would have won the game and gone undefeated. We missed his downhill, no-nonsense, style of hard-nosed running. It was a changeup from Roehl's style. We became one-dimensional without him. The wabbits were able to key on Tyler...and when he got hurt...game over. Pat already had a nose for the first-down marker. I loved his style of running.

Same with Kyle Steffes. His 2006 performance at Minnesota and the 2003 Montana game showed just how special he was. We had some great backs in the past decade.

It continues.

[344Johnson]

Pat Paschall was a big part of our success during his sophomore and junior seasons also. The videos of him running in the Minnesota games show that he was already something special. Might be that he got stronger...but in 2007 (junior year) he stuck it to Minnesota on several runs.

I've said it many times before...but if he had had PP in Brookings in '07, we likely would have won the game and gone undefeated. We missed his downhill, no-nonsense, style of hard-nosed running. It was a changeup from Roehl's style. We became one-dimensional without him. The wabbits were able to key on Tyler...and when he got hurt...game over. Pat already had a nose for the first-down marker. I loved his style of running.

Same with Kyle Steffes. His 2006 performance at Minnesota and the 2003 Montana game showed just how special he was. We had some great backs in the past decade.

It continues.

I think its very safe to say that we have one of the top FCS running back programs. We get great talent and they are all their own player. Some are similar but when you think if Steffes-his vision, Roehl-Sheer power, Pat-(Thats another BISON....FIRST DOWN), and DJ-Pretty boy swag makin dudes miss

[Herd]

At ndsu there is a complete commitment to the running game, and it goes beyond having great backs. It's the OL play, TEs, FBs. . . Its a full comitment.

[56BISON73]

Roehl made the roster, got a contract and was paid for that year.

they even brought him in after he rehabbed. they loved him.

He got hurt in training camp. Rules say you cant be cut and you have to be paid. This was discussed at the time it happened.

"""Players placed on IR cannot return, because being placed on injured reserve means the player is done for the season. Those on injured reserve receive full pay for the season, but are forbidden to dress again that season regardless of whether they recover.""""
Edit/Delete Message

[CAS4127]

He got hurt in training camp. Rules say you cant be cut and you have to be paid. This was discussed at the time it happened.

Exactly, PL. Hey, you may want to change your "location", unless you are commuting from Arkansas.

[56BISON73]

Exactly, PL. Hey, you may want to change your "location", unless you are commuting from Arkansas.

Its only a 10 1/2 hour commute. Then 10 hours of work. 3 hours and 15 minutes to sleep and 15 minutes to terrorize the wife. :D

Seriously. Just got back from fishing in TX. We will be talking to a realtor to put our house up for sale this next week.
I will then be back in MN the last week of April for the grand opening. Will probably be in MN for another 2-3 months over seeing the bar and walleye fishing, looking for houses etc.

[roadwarrior]

A short video on the receivers is now on gobison.

[A1pigskin]

This will be an interesting position to follow to see how the players develop.

[BisonNeil]

A short video on the receivers is now on gobison.

Did Coach Burns actually say "when Warren didn't come to play we didn't have anyone last year we could turn to"?

[stevdock]

Did Coach Burns actually say "when Warren didn't come to play we didn't have anyone last year we could turn to"?

Which is in my opinion the huge problem with the passing game. Nobody could get open and that's on the WR's not the QB. My opinion even Holloway was only good at the go route. Any other routes, I thought they were very inconsistent. Now if we can get a couple more receivers that can get open and also catch the ball, then our passing game will be just fine. (especially since I think Vigen's playcalling was dependent on the lack of playmakers at the WR position)

[DjKyRo]

I've said it a few times; WR is going to be the single most improved position on the roster this spring/fall. The fact that Holloway and Howard are out and Duchscher is playing in a reduced role (though he looked pretty good today) with a broken thumb tells you two things:

1) The passing game should improve by a few steps, if not significantly;

2) The lack of quality depth behind Holloway puts Jensen and co. in a better light for having not been able to make magic last season.

Vraa and Gebhart are ballers, Cooper is showing some good stuff, Smith is going to help, and Duchscher is looking better than he did last season - got open twice consecutively today for big catches.

[onbison09]

I've said it a few times; WR is going to be the single most improved position on the roster this spring/fall. The fact that Holloway and Howard are out and Duchscher is playing in a reduced role (though he looked pretty good today) with a broken thumb tells you two things:

1) The passing game should improve by a few steps, if not significantly;

2) The lack of quality depth behind Holloway puts Jensen and co. in a better light for having not been able to make magic last season.

Vraa and Gebhart are ballers, Cooper is showing some good stuff, Smith is going to help, and Duchscher is looking better than he did last season - got open twice consecutively today for big catches.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (homer alert)

[RunDMc34]

I've said it a few times; WR is going to be the single most improved position on the roster this spring/fall. The fact that Holloway and Howard are out and Duchscher is playing in a reduced role (though he looked pretty good today) with a broken thumb tells you two things:
1) The passing game should improve by a few steps, if not significantly;

2) The lack of quality depth behind Holloway puts Jensen and co. in a better light for having not been able to make magic last season.

Vraa and Gebhart are ballers, Cooper is showing some good stuff, Smith is going to help, and Duchscher is looking better than he did last season - got open twice consecutively today for big catches.

He is also the best blocking receiver we have right now... (I have not seen Vraa, Gebhart, or Wahlo) but that tells me on running downs like 1st we will still see a lot of Reed.

[tony]

I don't like the inside curl routes that our TEs run.

I like how App State uses their TE (they hit him in stride about five-ten yards downfield.)

Disclaimer: I have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about.

[Kermit]

I don't like the inside curl routes that our TEs run.

I like how App State uses their TE (they hit him in stride about five-ten yards downfield.)

Disclaimer: I have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about.

I get your point. It is always nice to hit a receiver in stride moving up the field.

On the other hand, it is easier to complete a pass to a stationary receiver. I've often thought that we have too many routes where the receivers are moving ACROSS the field making for long, difficult throws.

[tony]

I get your point. It is always nice to hit a receiver in stride moving up the field.

On the other hand, it is easier to complete a pass to a stationary receiver. I've often thought that we have too many routes where the receivers are moving ACROSS the field making for long, difficult throws.

Yeah, the problem I have with that route is that it's easy to cover (sometimes last year, the LB literally could cover the whole route standing in one place) and it's an easy route for a defender to jump on once they're familiar with how NDSU uses the TE.

App State had their TE delay at the LOS and then he'd go down the field instead of running towards the sideline.