How does NDSU improve from 2011 to 2012?

[tony]

NDSU has to improve in order to repeat but lost a lot of big time performers from the senior class.

Given that, how can NDSU get better?

[MNLonghorn10]

i am most concerned about the field goal kicking. jastram was money from 30 yards and out.


i am also least concerned about extra points. jastram was horrible from 3 yards and in.

[tjbison]

Passing game and o-line

Im confident the D will be just fine

[344Johnson]

i am most concerned about the field goal kicking. jastram was money from 30 yards and out.


i am also least concerned about extra points. jastram was horrible from 3 yards and in.

I am most concerned about every position outside of CB and Safety because teh UND footballs is better than us at every other position I hear.

In all seriousness. Offensive consistency maybe? Passing game could use a bit of work as well I suppose.

[HerdBot]

That is a great question. IMO, it comes down to the players getting better. Take last years sophomore class of good players. Obviously guys like Turner, Williams, Brock, Smith, Heagle, Drevlow, Juckem, Jirik, and Perry were pretty darn good. But they were only sophomores. If they can continue to improve we will be unstoppable. If they don't improve it's going to be very hard to repeat.

The strength will be the dline. How many guys are returning? Jirik, Drevlow, Juckem, Perry, Hagen, and Emanuel. That's 6 regulars. And we haven't even seen what Hardie and Schaetz can do yet. Plus we have the JUCO and Amaechi

[ndbj52]

Offensive consistency. We had drives, quarters, halves, and even whole games (SIU) where we could not do anything on offense. We also had games where the offense was very good. We need to have some consistency in our offensive production. I think the defense will be fine and the the special teams should be good.

[Hammerhead]

The players need to keep working out to get stronger and faster. I'm guessing the coaching staff and team leaders are going to make sure nobody rests on their laurels.

[344Johnson]

The players need to keep working out to get stronger and faster. I'm guessing the coaching staff and team leaders are going to make sure nobody rests on their laurels.

I hope this is how it goes. I'm also sure thats what every championship team says every year.

[HerdBot]

The players need to keep working out to get stronger and faster. I'm guessing the coaching staff and team leaders are going to make sure nobody rests on their laurels.

And smarter of course... knowing the playbooks like the back of their hand. This obviously comes with experience

[81to86Bisonfan]

I believe the players from next year will improve (still hungry for another national title) and it will be exciting to see what the younger players can do that have not played. Like from last year, Travis Beck appeared on the scene in a huge way. That's what makes college so great year after year.

[Bison03]

I don't know why people are saying that the offense needs to improve. The offense was great last year. Yeah, the S. Illinois game was the worst they played all year but they still won. You could say the same thing about the NC game as well, but they did enough to win. The offence averaged just over 31 points a game last year, 29th in the country. The o-line will be the biggest factor as far as stepping up. If they can make lanes for Ojuri and give time for Brock and get him completing over 70% of his passes again, watch out. Our D will be dominating again. Being the #1 scoring defense last year at just under 13 points per game and returning a lot of those guys makes me confident that they will great again. We don't need to score 40 points a game to win if our defense is only giving up fewer than 2 touchdowns a game. If out special teams can produce some guys that can kick, and our offense can build on what they did last year, and the D plays shutdown football like we know they can; it is going to be another fun year.

[BisonTeacher]

O line is my only concern. Oh yeah ...and fake punts :-)

[KSBisonFan]

I'm just hoping we can avoid a drop-off at a couple positions:
1. Kicker/punter......Hope the new guys can step in and not miss a beat because we took these spots for granted last year (except extra pts) :hide::biggrin:
2. TE.....Veldman made some big grabs last year. I think our incoming crop will be good!
3. O-line....very interested to see how we replace a couple studs here. SHSU really challenged our O-line & we'll be challenged by conference teams.
4. WR....need someone to step up AND stay healthy.
5. Offensive play-calling.....RUN THE BALL! Loved the GSU game where I think we ran on every play in the 4th qtr and absolutely beat them down.
6. LB.....Evans and Willson were monsters. Again, just consistency without a drop-off would be a win.

We are going to be good again so it's a luxury for us to knit-pick this team while other schools are trying to figure out who can play OL (CSU), QB (Mont, MO St, etc).... Can't wait!!!

[tony]

I was wondering about LBs so I got the list from the roster:

Returning Players:
Travis Beck, LB, 6-0, 210, So, Munich, ND (Langdon-Munich HS) 76 tackles
DeShawn Dinwiddie, LB, 6-2, 218, So, Hutchinson, KS (Hutchinson HS) 8 tackles
Tyler Gefroh, LB, 6-0, 219, So, Grand Forks, ND (Red River HS) 5 tackles
Logan Hushka, LB, 6-0, 221, Jr, Fargo, ND (Shanley HS)
Brandon Jemison, LB, 6-1, 218, Sr, Fargo, ND (South HS) 43 tackles
Carlton Littlejohn, LB, 6-1, 219, So, Minneapolis, MN (North Community HS) 53 tackles
Grant Olson, LB, 6-0, 226, Jr, Plymouth, MN (Wayzata HS) 44 tackles

Just off their redshirt year:
Alex LaVoy, LB, 6-0, 218, RFr, Naytahwaush, MN (Mahnomen HS)
Codee Lee, LB, 6-1, 217, RFr, Velva, ND (Velva HS)
Nick Scoliere, LB, 6-2, 219, RFr, St. Charles, IL (Marmion Academy)
Joey Sonnenfeld, LB, 6-3, 201, RFr, Maple Grove, MN (Osseo HS)

True Freshmen:
Jacob Davis, LB, 6-2, 230, Fr, Wichita, KS (Northwest HS)
Zach Riopelle, LB, 6-2, 205, Fr, Warren, MN (Warren-Alvarado-Oslo HS)
MJ Stumpf, LB, 6-2, 200, Fr, Harvey, ND (Harvey HS)


Some really good players there! Kind of weird having no Wisconsin LBs.

[KilldeerBison]

I would like to see our receiving core and passing game make improvement, R Smith is proven no problem there. Need other players at all receiving positions (WR, TE, FB, RB) to turn up the heat, threaten opposing defenses. Brock's proven at QB, it would be nice to see our receivers put opposing defenses on their heels more.

[KSBisonFan]

I was wondering about LBs so I got the list from the roster:

Returning Players:
Travis Beck, LB, 6-0, 210, So, Munich, ND (Langdon-Munich HS) 76 tackles
DeShawn Dinwiddie, LB, 6-2, 218, So, Hutchinson, KS (Hutchinson HS) 8 tackles
Tyler Gefroh, LB, 6-0, 219, So, Grand Forks, ND (Red River HS) 5 tackles
Logan Hushka, LB, 6-0, 221, Jr, Fargo, ND (Shanley HS)
Brandon Jemison, LB, 6-1, 218, Sr, Fargo, ND (South HS) 43 tackles
Carlton Littlejohn, LB, 6-1, 219, So, Minneapolis, MN (North Community HS) 53 tackles
Grant Olson, LB, 6-0, 226, Jr, Plymouth, MN (Wayzata HS) 44 tackles

Just off their redshirt year:
Alex LaVoy, LB, 6-0, 218, RFr, Naytahwaush, MN (Mahnomen HS)
Codee Lee, LB, 6-1, 217, RFr, Velva, ND (Velva HS)
Nick Scoliere, LB, 6-2, 219, RFr, St. Charles, IL (Marmion Academy)
Joey Sonnenfeld, LB, 6-3, 201, RFr, Maple Grove, MN (Osseo HS)

True Freshmen:
Jacob Davis, LB, 6-2, 230, Fr, Wichita, KS (Northwest HS)
Zach Riopelle, LB, 6-2, 205, Fr, Warren, MN (Warren-Alvarado-Oslo HS)
MJ Stumpf, LB, 6-2, 200, Fr, Harvey, ND (Harvey HS)


Some really good players there! Kind of weird having no Wisconsin LBs.

Davis' size as a true freshman really stands out on that list. We'll definitely be young

[moosbah]

I just think we need to be faster. Because other teams will have a problem handling our speed. :rofl:

[reformedUNDfan]

o-line and TE would be my only concerns. oline should be fine, i doubt there is anyone as good as veldman waiting in the wings though

[Ross]

I think Derek Lee will step in nicely at the TE spot. I think the health of Vraa and Gebhart is the big question for the offense this season.

[344Johnson]

I think Derek Lee will step in nicely at the TE spot. I think the health of Vraa and Gebhart is the big question for the offense this season.

Vraa and Gebhart could be very important to the offense if they can stay healthy.

[bisonaudit]

NDSU was +18 on turnovers and had 9 int/fumble/kick/punt returns for touchdowns last year. Neither of those are likely to prove sustainable even if the defense and specials are as good as they were last year.

The offense didn't average 31.3 points a game they averaged 27.1, still a good number but not 30+.

I'm not as worried about PATs or FGs as some. If I were going to worry about an element of the kicking game it would be the kickoff. Last year NDSU's opponents fielded the kickoff at the 6 yd line on average while we fielded it at the 14 on average. This difference accounted for all of our advantage in the net kickoff number as well.

[EndZoneQB]

I think the defense needs to step up this year.

[MNLonghorn10]

I think the defense needs to step up this year.

great point. especially the secondary

[BisonNation11]

I really hope our D-Line and LB's are as good as UND's... On paper they look amazing!