How Big is this for recruiting?

[Mr. Burgundy]

I don't believe we can pay to have recruits at a playoff game, I guess they could come on their own, but I can guarantee you that every kid we want will be well informed that we will be hosting playoff games, in front of a packed crowd, on ESPN (some form of ESPN), and no other regional school can say that. It is a HUGE advantage and I know our coaches will be well aware of that.

I was once told by a guy who played in a few National Title games (not at NDSU), that his school recruits kids to play 15 games a year, not 11. NDSU is in a great situation to get amazing exposure to kids that are trying to find a home in the next couple months. Get your tickets and fill the dome. Make the atmosphere like the UNI game. Most kids are now complete with their high school schedule, alot of other coaches will be out there recruiting, but we have a stage to sell to them. Love how there were photos of the players in the champions room. Kids love that stuff. Will we wear yellow in the dome in two weeks?

[Strommer10]

Will we wear yellow in the dome in two weeks?
I was wondering the same thing. I say yes! For at least the first round game. Build up this game!!! I can't wait for December 3rd!

Also I don't see how this cannot help recruiting. As a kid in high school, how can you not want a chance to be on a championship contender and have the possibilty to play PLAYOFF games in front of your home crowd on ESPN.

Fill the Dome!

[CaBisonFan]

The championship game would be huge...obviously. The main thing is to keep a regular appearance in the playoffs and to be one of the 2 or 3 elite programs in the conference. Continuity is the trick.

Yes...this is big already...and, to beat a very dead horse...we have the tradition.

[bisoningrandforks]

getting new turf next year just puts the icing on the cake too what you said cal..... hope we get healthy and hungry.....2 weeks cant come soon enough!

[Mr. Burgundy]

New turf is huge for next year. I REALLY HOPE the FargoDome allows it to have a Bison flavor to it and not a generic rug. We all know we are inside the Dome when we are in there. We don't need a dome logo. We have an opportunity to have a fantastic field. (back to recruiting, not the field). Sorry.

[HerdBot]

I don't believe we can pay to have recruits at a playoff game, I guess they could come on their own, but I can guarantee you that every kid we want will be well informed that we will be hosting playoff games, in front of a packed crowd, on ESPN (some form of ESPN), and no other regional school can say that. It is a HUGE advantage and I know our coaches will be well aware of that.

I was once told by a guy who played in a few National Title games (not at NDSU), that his school recruits kids to play 15 games a year, not 11. NDSU is in a great situation to get amazing exposure to kids that are trying to find a home in the next couple months. Get your tickets and fill the dome. Make the atmosphere like the UNI game. Most kids are now complete with their high school schedule, alot of other coaches will be out there recruiting, but we have a stage to sell to them. Love how there were photos of the players in the champions room. Kids love that stuff. Will we wear yellow in the dome in two weeks?

Honestly I don't think it's as big as we like to think. Not being able to recruit can during prime recruiting can actually hurt the recruiting. Now if we can win the whole thing it may help. I think the only way it makes a serious impact is if we can get some of these recruits to playoff games. That will get them excited.

[coloradobison]

Hopefully the week off will help in allowing the coaches a chance to get out on the road and have some time to do some recruiting before what is hopefully a long playoff push.

[JMB]

Honestly I don't think it's as big as we like to think. Not being able to recruit can during prime recruiting can actually hurt the recruiting. Now if we can win the whole thing it may help. I think the only way it makes a serious impact is if we can get some of these recruits to playoff games. That will get them excited.

I think I remember reading someplace where Bohl basically said the same thing about last year, that he didn't feel the playoff run didn't sway a lot of kids. I don't remember where I saw it, maybe Kolpack can revisit it again.

[Mr. Burgundy]

Honestly I don't think it's as big as we like to think. Not being able to recruit can during prime recruiting can actually hurt the recruiting. Now if we can win the whole thing it may help. I think the only way it makes a serious impact is if we can get some of these recruits to playoff games. That will get them excited.

It depends how a coach can spin it..."I wish I could be there in person, but we didn't finish 5-6. We are busy preparing for a National Quarterfinal game on ESPN. We hope your family can watch."

[HerdBot]

I think the biggest impact could be for transfers. You have some big time BCS transfers that want to go to the best FCS schools. Being an actual National Champion puts us in the elite category. A game on ESPN with some HD production looks big time

[BisonNeil]

I think it takes a few years to know if championships do anything for recruiting, but I am not sure it does much.

Delaware was a runner up in 2007 and in 2010, didn't even make the field this year.

Richmond, 2008 NC, three years later they aren't in the playoffs. You would think if it helped them they would have some super sophs or even juniors if they didn't redshirt them.

Villanova won it in 2009, made the playoffs last year, but not in it this year. Again, you would think that a championship would have given them a shot at some super recruits like NDSU got in 2010 that put us where we are today if winning the NC was an asset.

Appy State won it three years in a row from 2005-2007. The obviously made the playoffs but are 8-3. They are probably the best at leveraging the playoffs into getting top recruits.

Does it have an impact? I'd like to think so but I don't know, but my guess is it could backfire as much as help. If I am Stiegy I am probably telling recruits that you can go to NDSU and sit on the bench for 3 years because of all of their talent or you can come and play for us right away. May be others doing the same.

[Mr. Burgundy]

Does it have an impact? I'd like to think so but I don't know, but my guess is it could backfire as much as help. If I am Stiegy I am probably telling recruits that you can go to NDSU and sit on the bench for 3 years because of all of their talent or you can come and play for us right away. May be others doing the same.

I think that is what coaches are calling the "Mussman approach." Something like, we suck so bad, you can play here.

We can spin it both ways. But, if you are winning and the place is PACKED, kids like that. They love energy/atmosphere. If we can continually put ourselves in this position, kids that are in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska and don't get their Big Ten offer, we will be that next best option.

I wonder how many scholarships we have to offer this year. I am hearing it is a smaller class.

[BisonNeil]

I wonder how many scholarships we have to offer this year. I am hearing it is a smaller class.

Good question.

There were 18 seniors that came out the for the last game. Two for sure never earned a scholarship (Yaggie, Hansen), probably another who was on a partial or also a walk-on (Britt). My guess is just looking at the roster that the rest were on full rides, so that leaves 15-16 range. They may not be at the full 63 since there was at least one that did not clear (WR from Fargo S) and another that was lost due to academics. I don't know if those guys are coming back or not. Also, they may hold one for Crockett on the off chance he gets eligible?

Next year could really be a small class with only 9 Jr on the roster. The 2008 class was a complete bust (should be Jr now) and only two on the roster, Lund (Jr) and Evans (Sr). The rest are from the 2009 class who had their redshirts pulled. Could be a lean two years to take advantage of the playoffs with recruiting.

[Tatanka]

Another thing to consider is the extra practice / game reps our team is getting by being in the playoffs. Can be bad for fatigue/injuries, but is invaluable for young player development, even the ones on the scout team. More opportunities for focused practice = better long-term results.

[Mr. Burgundy]

Good question.

There were 18 seniors that came out the for the last game. Two for sure never earned a scholarship (Yaggie, Hansen), probably another who was on a partial or also a walk-on (Britt). My guess is just looking at the roster that the rest were on full rides, so that leaves 15-16 range. They may not be at the full 63 since there was at least one that did not clear (WR from Fargo S) and another that was lost due to academics. I don't know if those guys are coming back or not. Also, they may hold one for Crockett on the off chance he gets eligible?

Next year could really be a small class with only 9 Jr on the roster. The 2008 class was a complete bust (should be Jr now) and only two on the roster, Lund (Jr) and Evans (Sr). The rest are from the 2009 class who had their redshirts pulled. Could be a lean two years to take advantage of the playoffs with recruiting.


Crockett, Sigers and Wes Hudson. Not sure how that is handled, but I can guarantee you they are holding a full ride for Crockett (3 years remaining if he can be eligible next year) and Sigers was on a full ride and is in school....my guess is Wes is done. Going to be a small couple classes, but we can split scholarships...

[SmellsLikeSamHumann]

wes went to a juco out west i heard. this is huge for recruiting, minnesota high school ends next friday at metrodome so no reason why 15-20 of them cant be given free tickets for our 1st game

[Hammersmith]

wes went to a juco out west i heard. this is huge for recruiting, minnesota high school ends next friday at metrodome so no reason why 15-20 of them cant be given free tickets for our 1st game

Yep, definitely lakes. No caps at the beginning of sentences, veiled reference to knowing a player, a Minnesota HS comment, and suggesting an NCAA recruiting violation. All in one short post. Some things never change.


(Okay, okay. It might not be lakes. But the evidence is starting to mount.)

[jarhead]

How about Howard, Powell-Calhoun and Duchshere - scholarship or not?

[SmellsLikeSamHumann]

im from bemidji area, sue me.

[HerdBot]

Another thing to consider is the extra practice / game reps our team is getting by being in the playoffs. Can be bad for fatigue/injuries, but is invaluable for young player development, even the ones on the scout team. More opportunities for focused practice = better long-term results.

It's huge. 2-3 extra games also means 2-3 extra weeks of practice. 2-3 games is even bigger. Nothing beats game day experience but playoff experience and intensity is invaluable. Especially for young players. Look at guys like Grant Olson. As a true freshman, he had more reps by the end of last year than most redshirt freshmans. The NCAA puts caps on offseason practice for a reason. Of course sometimes the extra game mean extra injuries too.

[mango]

Another thing to consider is the extra practice / game reps our team is getting by being in the playoffs. Can be bad for fatigue/injuries, but is invaluable for young player development, even the ones on the scout team. More opportunities for focused practice = better long-term results.

This.

10 char

[HerdBot]

Crockett, Sigers and Wes Hudson. Not sure how that is handled, but I can guarantee you they are holding a full ride for Crockett (3 years remaining if he can be eligible next year) and Sigers was on a full ride and is in school....my guess is Wes is done. Going to be a small couple classes, but we can split scholarships...

Plus Jose and the sr receiver who quit the team. The receiver from California was a full ride too.

[HerdBot]

Crockett, Sigers and Wes Hudson. Not sure how that is handled, but I can guarantee you they are holding a full ride for Crockett (3 years remaining if he can be eligible next year) and Sigers was on a full ride and is in school....my guess is Wes is done. Going to be a small couple classes, but we can split scholarships...

From what I hear... crockett and sigers could be back next year too. Talk about some good weapons to go along with Ojuri

[56BISON73]

Another thing to consider is the extra practice / game reps our team is getting by being in the playoffs. Can be bad for fatigue/injuries, but is invaluable for young player development, even the ones on the scout team. More opportunities for focused practice = better long-term results.

Coaches LOVE extra practice for all the reasons you mentioned. The extra days will also help recruiting.

[HerdBot]

I think it takes a few years to know if championships do anything for recruiting, but I am not sure it does much.

Delaware was a runner up in 2007 and in 2010, didn't even make the field this year.

Richmond, 2008 NC, three years later they aren't in the playoffs. You would think if it helped them they would have some super sophs or even juniors if they didn't redshirt them.

Villanova won it in 2009, made the playoffs last year, but not in it this year. Again, you would think that a championship would have given them a shot at some super recruits like NDSU got in 2010 that put us where we are today if winning the NC was an asset.

Appy State won it three years in a row from 2005-2007. The obviously made the playoffs but are 8-3. They are probably the best at leveraging the playoffs into getting top recruits.

Does it have an impact? I'd like to think so but I don't know, but my guess is it could backfire as much as help. If I am Stiegy I am probably telling recruits that you can go to NDSU and sit on the bench for 3 years because of all of their talent or you can come and play for us right away. May be others doing the same.

If Deleware was runner up in 2007, they obviously got some good recruits if they made the championship game in 2010 since that's 3 years apart. Looking at ESPN, Deleware had some highly ranked recrits in 2009-2010 but the 2007-2008 class didn't have many ranked players

Richmond obviously didn't recruit well

Villanova - I read on a few websites that their 2010-2011 class was amazing but considering the level of FCS recriting coverage stinks, let's take it for what i's worth. But lets assume the recruits from the 2009-2010 class haven't started playing yet. Next year will tell.

Appalachian State has as good of players as they have ever had.

So overall it's inconclusive. I say we can get better players if we use our time off during the bye week to get in touch with potential recruits instead of like last year when we had to work around the clock on the games while the other teams pouched the good players. Getting these guys to the dome or watching a game on ESPN could be impactful. We got our best recruiting class coming off of a 3-8 season.

[Bison 4 Life]

One might say that it helps us in our own backyard. In the tri-state area we are competing against UND, Minnesota, SDSU, and USD. Not only making the playoffs but going deep and being on TV really helps against those schools.

[SmellsLikeSamHumann]

One might say that it helps us in our own backyard. In the tri-state area we are competing against UND, Minnesota, SDSU, and USD. Not only making the playoffs but going deep and being on TV really helps against those schools.

Actually NDSU ONLY competes for recruits with Minnesota & UNI & MONTANA school's. The other's we just dictate who we want, and offer half rides compared to their full's.

[tony]

The bye week is nice because it gives the coaches a tiny window for recruiting (unless this is a dead period.)

-------
Side note: Title or Bust, at this point, it doesn't matter if you are lakesbison or not. I'm treating you like him since you post exactly the same crap and in the same volume.

That last post was classic lakesbison because it's inane and untrue - Mollberg going to UND is just one example. NDSU recruits against Wyoming, USD, UND, and SDSU and has lost the odd recruiting battle to each of them in the last four years.

That means, among other things, the next post in which you do any of the following things that lakesbison was warned about 1000 times not to do will be your last. BTW, so far, you've done pretty much every one of them (examples: Stay on topic. Don't post in a thread just to tell people not to post on a thread. Never post anything even alluding to UND. Et freaking cetera.)

I was beginning to forget how annoying lakesbison was before you started spamming the board. Did not want or need the reminder.

[HerdBot]

One might say that it helps us in our own backyard. In the tri-state area we are competing against UND, Minnesota, SDSU, and USD. Not only making the playoffs but going deep and being on TV really helps against those schools.

Add UNI to that list. The only time we compete with the Gophers is sometimes they offer walk on or grey shirts against our scholarship players. We seem to go head to head with MAC schools but dont win enough battles. I think we win most battles with the other Dakota schools. Every once in a while we lose out to other conference teams like Horvaths teammates that went to SIU. UNI wins too many battles too. Not sure why. Their city is like a smaller crapier version of Fargo Moorhead.

We still have many issues that exposure in the playoffs wont fix. Weather is one. (the other Dakota schools have the same issues) That's why we need to dominate in the Midwest where cold isn't an issue. Seems like for every DJ and Holloway who become stars from Texas we get too many who leave. North Dakota culture is just too different. Chicago is the best place to recruit skilled players. Guys like Ojuri are great players and its not such a shock going from Chicago where its already cold and windy. Lisenby will be great too.I still think we need to recruit warm weather areas but no more than 1-2 per year people don't realize just how big the are is, how great the summes are, and how much there is to do here. Summer time up here is amazing with all the Lakes. Tons of women. Great bar scene downtown. Lots of concerts. Great shopping. I would try to get more recruits here in the summer.

[BisonNeil]

Plus Jose and the sr receiver who quit the team. The receiver from California was a full ride too.

What Sr receiver quit? If you are thinking of Duchscher, he was in the 2008 class, so a Jr, and a walk-on. I don't think he earned a scholarship but I could be wrong. Powell-Calhoun also quit as someone else pointed out, but he was moved from WR to DE before that.

The only Seniors who could be a receiver would be those from the 2007 class (2008 class has only two left, Evans and Lund). Seth Krueger left after one season so he is long gone. Holloway is still here. So I don't know who you are referring to.

[DjKyRo]

What Sr receiver quit? If you are thinking of Duchscher, he was in the 2008 class, so a Jr, and a walk-on. I don't think he earned a scholarship but I could be wrong. Powell-Calhoun also quit as someone else pointed out, but he was moved from WR to DE before that.

The only Seniors who could be a receiver would be those from the 2007 class (2008 class has only two left, Evans and Lund). Seth Krueger left after one season so he is long gone. Holloway is still here. So I don't know who you are referring to.

Duchscher was on scholarship his last season.

[tolnabison]

Don't we also gain WR Tevin Pittman's scholly? He was on the roster during spring ball, but must of left the program before this season started.

And don't forget, Danell Miles from last years class, his scholly is available too. Since he didn't show up.

[BisonNeil]

Don't we also gain WR Tevin Pittman's scholly? He was on the roster during spring ball, but must of left the program before this season started.

And don't forget, Danell Miles from last years class, his scholly is available too. Since he didn't show up.

Pittman is not on any of the scholarship lists over the past 5 years, and also not on any of the preferred walk on lists. My guess he was a walk on which are not announced, ergo, no scholarship gained for this year.

You are right about Miles, like Okland, he didn't clear. I think Okland may be in school, however.

[RadBison]

Add UNI to that list. The only time we compete with the Gophers is sometimes they offer walk on or grey shirts against our scholarship players. We seem to go head to head with MAC schools but dont win enough battles. I think we win most battles with the other Dakota schools. Every once in a while we lose out to other conference teams like Horvaths teammates that went to SIU. UNI wins too many battles too. Not sure why. Their city is like a smaller crapier version of Fargo Moorhead.

My opinion? Its warmer and closer to a lot of other cities. Fargo is a little over 3 hours from the Twin Cities, everything else is 4-5 or more hours further than that. UNI is 5 hours from Chicago. St. Louis and Kansas City are less than 6 hours. Fargo to Chicago, St. Loius or Kansas City, 10 hours. A kid coming from one of those cities looks at UNI vs NDSU and if they think about how often they'll get to go home or how easy it'll be for their parents to come watch every weekend they're going to give a hard look at UNI being closer than NDSU. That doesn't fully explain why a Twin Cities kid would pick UNI vs NDSU but something we're probably not considering, UNI is a lot closer to the center of the conference than NDSU meaning shorter road trips. As much as I don't like to admit that, it makes a difference and long bus trips probably don't sound appealing every weekend. Flying as much as possible helps but a bus in much, much cheaper.

Keep winning and it'll make the decision to take UNI over NDSU that much harder but I don't think it'll ever be easy.

[Bison"FANatic"]

My opinion? Its warmer and closer to a lot of other cities. Fargo is a little over 3 hours from the Twin Cities, everything else is 4-5 or more hours further than that. UNI is 5 hours from Chicago. St. Louis and Kansas City are less than 6 hours. Fargo to Chicago, St. Loius or Kansas City, 10 hours. A kid coming from one of those cities looks at UNI vs NDSU and if they think about how often they'll get to go home or how easy it'll be for their parents to come watch every weekend they're going to give a hard look at UNI being closer than NDSU. That doesn't fully explain why a Twin Cities kid would pick UNI vs NDSU but something we're probably not considering, UNI is a lot closer to the center of the conference than NDSU meaning shorter road trips. As much as I don't like to admit that, it makes a difference and long bus trips probably don't sound appealing every weekend. Flying as much as possible helps but a bus in much, much cheaper.



Keep winning and it'll make the decision to take UNI over NDSU that much harder but I don't think it'll ever be easy.

If you think about it, the landscape for UNI for recruiting has changed dramatically in the last few years. They used to be the only FCS in the upper midwest area. If someone wasn't going FBS UNI was there to pick them up without much for competition from other schools. Now they get to deal with NDSU, SDSU, UND, USD all trying to pull from the area. It has to mean more time in recruiting for them to get kids and made it a harder on the staff. Then to add insult to injury we take their CO-D Coord, give him a assistant job and more money to boot. No wonder Farley has a burr in his saddle for NDSU. I love it. Heck maybe UNI will let us piss in their Cheerios to, you know just for kicks.

[BlueBisonRock]

If you think about it, the landscape for UNI for recruiting has changed dramatically in the last few years. They used to be the only FCS in the upper midwest area. If someone wasn't going FBS UNI was there to pick them up without much for competition from other schools. Now they get to deal with NDSU, SDSU, UND, USD all trying to pull from the area. It has to mean more time in recruiting for them to get kids and made it a harder on the staff. Then to add insult to injury we take their CO-D Coord, give him a assistant job and more money to boot. No wonder Farley has a burr in his saddle for NDSU. I love it. Heck maybe UNI will let us piss in their Cheerios to, you know just for kicks.

Pissing in someone's Cheerios is a liberty that one takes, not one that is given. Like you I believe we should commit to taking that liberty on a much more frequent basis. Like you say: "for Kix!"

[Tatanka]

The bye week is nice because it gives the coaches a tiny window for recruiting (unless this is a dead period.)

-------
.

well, it's certainly a dead period of sorts for the other Dakota schools... Should liven things up a bit being able to watch the bison on an espn network of some sort in front a sold out amped up fargodome. :nod:

[HerdBot]

My opinion? Its warmer and closer to a lot of other cities. Fargo is a little over 3 hours from the Twin Cities, everything else is 4-5 or more hours further than that. UNI is 5 hours from Chicago. St. Louis and Kansas City are less than 6 hours. Fargo to Chicago, St. Loius or Kansas City, 10 hours. A kid coming from one of those cities looks at UNI vs NDSU and if they think about how often they'll get to go home or how easy it'll be for their parents to come watch every weekend they're going to give a hard look at UNI being closer than NDSU. That doesn't fully explain why a Twin Cities kid would pick UNI vs NDSU but something we're probably not considering, UNI is a lot closer to the center of the conference than NDSU meaning shorter road trips. As much as I don't like to admit that, it makes a difference and long bus trips probably don't sound appealing every weekend. Flying as much as possible helps but a bus in much, much cheaper.

Keep winning and it'll make the decision to take UNI over NDSU that much harder but I don't think it'll ever be easy.

Good point. Travel. Waterloo airport has 1 airline and its Delta. It has 3 daily flights to Minneapolis. That's it.

Fargo has 8 airlines with direct flights to Minneapolis, Chicago, Denver, Phoenix, Vegas, LA, and Orlando.

That probably explains we we recruit Phoenix.

Cedar Falls is about the same size as Moorhead. It has no shopping, entertainment, or anything cool. Its a college kids nightmare. Ranks slightly ahead if Bookings. I hear they just got a Tacos Bell!

[Ginsbach]

Good point. Travel. Waterloo airport has 1 airline and its Delta. It has 3 daily flights to Minneapolis. That's it.

Fargo has 8 airlines with direct flights to Minneapolis, Chicago, Denver, Phoenix, Vegas, LA, and Orlando.

That probably explains we we recruit Phoenix.

Cedar Falls is about the same size as Moorhead. It has no shopping, entertainment, or anything cool. Its a college kids nightmare. Ranks slightly ahead if Bookings. I hear they just got a Tacos Bell!

Fargo also has direct flights to Salt Lake City.

[BisonNeil]

Good point. Travel. Waterloo airport has 1 airline and its Delta. It has 3 daily flights to Minneapolis. That's it.

Fargo has 8 airlines with direct flights to Minneapolis, Chicago, Denver, Phoenix, Vegas, LA, and Orlando.

That probably explains we we recruit Phoenix.

Cedar Falls is about the same size as Moorhead. It has no shopping, entertainment, or anything cool. Its a college kids nightmare. Ranks slightly ahead if Bookings. I hear they just got a Tacos Bell!

Fargo has 8 airlines? Who besides Delta, United, American and Allegiant?

[Tatanka]

Fargo has 8 airlines? Who besides Delta, United, American and Allegiant?

Yep, that's all eight of 'em.

Must be using an alternate counting method where things counted are randomly doubled. Seems to work elsewhere...

[HerdBot]

Fargo has 8 airlines? Who besides Delta, United, American and Allegiant?

This touch screen sucks. the point was waterloo sucks for travel and has 1 destination

[X-Factor]

Good question.

There were 18 seniors that came out the for the last game. Two for sure never earned a scholarship (Yaggie, Hansen), probably another who was on a partial or also a walk-on (Britt). My guess is just looking at the roster that the rest were on full rides, so that leaves 15-16 range. They may not be at the full 63 since there was at least one that did not clear (WR from Fargo S) and another that was lost due to academics. I don't know if those guys are coming back or not. Also, they may hold one for Crockett on the off chance he gets eligible?

Next year could really be a small class with only 9 Jr on the roster. The 2008 class was a complete bust (should be Jr now) and only two on the roster, Lund (Jr) and Evans (Sr). The rest are from the 2009 class who had their redshirts pulled. Could be a lean two years to take advantage of the playoffs with recruiting.

wow are you right about that Junior class. It should be interesting to see how the coaches handle that small of a class in terms of recruiting strategy. In my opinion, it gives the coaches the opportunity to be very selective. But I do tend to agree that being in the playoffs doesn't necessarily mean better recruiting. On top of that, Bohl's worst classes have been after some of our best seasons.

What do you think about the O-line next year? Richard and Cornick will be tough to replace. From looking at the roster, if Bohl can solve the offensive line, this team should have no problem winning at least one title in the next few seasons. The rest of the positions are easily replaced IMO. Maybe he can go after a couple of starter caliber OG/OT transfers, easier said than done.

[BisonNeil]

What do you think about the O-line next year? Richard and Cornick will be tough to replace. From looking at the roster, if Bohl can solve the offensive line, this team should have no problem winning at least one title in the next few seasons. The rest of the positions are easily replaced IMO. Maybe he can go after a couple of starter caliber OG/OT transfers, easier said than done.

You raise a really good point.

Before the season began, and while having a few beers this summer, a friend and I were talking about Bison football. We figured the Bison would be good enough to get into the playoffs again in 2011, but we really felt that the 2012 and 2013 seasons would be the years in which the Bison would be virtually impossible to beat, largely because players like Jensen, Smith, Vraa, Gebhart, Turner, Williams, Olson, Littlejohn, Beck, Drevlow, Perry, Heagle, Jirik, Emmanuel, etc., etc., would be juniors and seniors. With the kind of experience they had gained their Fr and So years, we figured they would be virtually unstoppable. Now I am not so sure, because I think line play is what it is all about in football.

We never expected a 10-1 season. It just goes to show you want talent can do and solid OL and DL play (for the most part). This might be their season, the next two years might not be, which is why I think Vraa made the right decision to live in the moment, the Bison might not have this kind of opportunity to be a #2 seed and have home field advantage. You just never know, life is uncertain.

I say all this only because as I have been looking at the 2011 team the one area that has not exceeded my expectations has been the OL. They have played superbly at times, i.e., Minnesota and UNI. They have played very poorly at times, i.e., Illinois State and YSU. There have been other games that they have been spectacular at times and other times woeful, even on the same series. Indiana State and WIU come to mind (8 plays with lost yardage against Indiana State alone). The most consistent of the offensive linemen have been Cornick and Richard. They have not only been the most consistent, they have been equally good on pass blocking and run blocking. They will be missed I am afraid.

So, what do I think about the OL next year? Inexperienced. Lund will be the only senior. Gimmestad needs to get bigger and much stronger for run blocking. Turner has shown tremendous growth this season from a disastrous Illinois State game, but he also needs to get stronger but has a chance to have a break out season. After that it gets pretty fuzzy. NDSU badly needs Jerve back healthy. They could have really used him this year. Maybe he will get a 6th year, I hope so.They also need Hinz to get bigger and stronger and healthy. NDSU really needs Pomerenke and Schueller to develop.

I have concerns about the OL next year. But, that is next year.

I will say that I am pleased that with two years of rather low scholarship numbers that Bohl has gone out and gotten two the the regions best OL, and big ones at that.

[IndyBison]

Good point. Travel. Waterloo airport has 1 airline and its Delta. It has 3 daily flights to Minneapolis. That's it.

Fargo has 8 airlines with direct flights to Minneapolis, Chicago, Denver, Phoenix, Vegas, LA, and Orlando.

That probably explains we we recruit Phoenix.

Cedar Falls is about the same size as Moorhead. It has no shopping, entertainment, or anything cool. Its a college kids nightmare. Ranks slightly ahead if Bookings. I hear they just got a Tacos Bell!
Fargo's location is definitely a barrier but it's not impossible to overcome. As for city sizes, the MSA for Fargo is 192k while Waterloo/Cedar Falls is 164k. That's not a significant difference. Cedar Rapids is only an hour away and it's MSA is 258k. It also has an airport with several airlines and directs to Dallas, Chicago, Minneapolis, Houston, Detroit, Denver, Atlanta, and others. Iowa City (MSA 132k) is another 30 minutes beyond Cedar Rapids. Cedar Falls has a great bar scene for the college crowd and probably has most of the same features as Fargo.

As for weather, you don't realize how cold Fargo is until you don't live there any longer. I think even MSP is warmer than Fargo. Until I moved to Indy I assume Chicago (only 3 hours north) was similar to Fargo but it is relatively mild. They get their share of cold and snow but they don't get the long stretches of sub-freezing weather like Fargo does.

Fargo is still a great place to live and NDSU is a great place to go to school and play football. But if a recruit is given a choice between UNI and NDSU and they live in Minneapolis or south, the weather and location could become a factor. I get the sense we have great coaches and great recruiters than can overcome those obstacles though.

Here is something most people don't believe. From Indy, we are closer to my sister-in-law's house in Orlando (980 miles) than we are to my parents in Minot (1095 miles).

[RadBison]

As for weather, you don't realize how cold Fargo is until you don't live there any longer. I think even MSP is warmer than Fargo. Until I moved to Indy I assume Chicago (only 3 hours north) was similar to Fargo but it is relatively mild. They get their share of cold and snow but they don't get the long stretches of sub-freezing weather like Fargo does.

Amen. I live in Minneapolis and the difference in temp here often amazes me when compared to Fargo. The wind doesn't seem as noticable here either. Those of us from cold climates maybe don't think about it as much but that could be a difference maker. Of course, a kid from Texas isn't going to care about the difference in temp between UNI or NDSU, both are going to be far colder than what he's used to. Getting kids from Chicago to ignore the temp difference between UNI and NDSU is of more concern.

[NorthernBison]

Amen. I live in Minneapolis and the difference in temp here often amazes me when compared to Fargo. The wind doesn't seem as noticable here either. Those of us from cold climates maybe don't think about it as much but that could be a difference maker. Of course, a kid from Texas isn't going to care about the difference in temp between UNI or NDSU, both are going to be far colder than what he's used to. Getting kids from Chicago to ignore the temp difference between UNI and NDSU is of more concern.

Fargo is TROPICAL compared to Langdon. Good thing NDSU isn't located up here.

[tony]

Fargo is TROPICAL compared to Langdon. Good thing NDSU isn't located up here.

True that.

Cold is relative (at least until you get down to absolute zero.) Dress warmly and you can go out in any weather and be comfortable. Dress poorly and you can be miserable when it's 40 out. Some of the most fun I've had outside has been when it was really cold.

[bisoningrandforks]

I remember those days on the farm near Langdon we couldnt even get to a main road for 3 days...

[Twentysix]

True that.

Cold is relative (at least until you get down to absolute zero.) Dress warmly and you can go out in any weather and be comfortable. Dress poorly and you can be miserable when it's 40 out. Some of the most fun I've had outside has been when it was really cold.

Ive seen a movie that completely disagrees with you.

[IndyBison]

Mike and Mike were talking about the likely hiring of Urban Meyer at Ohio State and discussing how hard it will be for him to recruit the Florida guys to Columbus because it's a cold-weather city. Relatively speaking yes but balmy compared to the hearty NoDaks!

[jarhead]

I just noticed Hank Jacobs isn't on the roster. Did he have to give up football permanently because of his back?

[HerdBot]

I read a while back Jacobs may hang it up due to injuries. Obviously he's done. Extra scholarship available