Nick Mertens

[KTF]

Just lurking on the suesuck board. They sure are worried that NDSU is going to "take" Nick from them. I hope SU is the top choice for Nick.

[NDSUstudent]

He is definatly a special player, and was Minnesota Ap football player of the year I believe. And also heard that Wisconsin wanted him to walk on since they had already given all their allotted Qb scholarships away. He will definatly be the perfect replacement for Walker and would start his junior year which would be NDSU first playoff eligable year. Hopefully he becomes the first NDSU Qb to lead the Bison into the playoffs. And I also hope NDSU takes Chappel away from them too.

[JBB]

Possibly this DI stuff is a football recruiting ploy? *

DI-AA coaching hopeful Dale "Sac-State" Lennon is in his third year of a promise that the states only remaining DII insititution will be playing DI-AA ball in two years. *This kind of talk would lend itself to extending "The Promise".

*
:)

[tony]

I really doubt UND would do anything like that just to get one player.

It'll be interesting recruiting for them... they can't really harp on NDSU not being eligible for the playoffs for three more years when they wouldn't be eligible until 2010.

[JBB]

Theres no question its recruiting advantage NDSU no matter what happens. *Nick Mertens would fit in nicely. *I would like to see him come, but if not the scholi will be out there for someone else. *

We should be scheduling big games during Walkers career. *He wont see the playoffs but a competitive team to play some DI-As and a couple of home games against the best in DI-AA would be great. *Dominating the Dacotah Marker would be nice too. *These types of games will motivate the team and help get the young players ready for the first year of eligibility.*

Having a guy like Martens in the wings would really make the BISON playoff ready in his first year as starter.

Ps. *"The Promise" would help with all recruits

[Bisonguy]

Mertens would be a great recruit for NDSU. Who knows, maybe he would end up playing something other than QB?

[JBB]

There have been several conversions like that. I remember Rob Hyland came back from injury and switched to WR. If Mertens did switch positions there would have to be a couple of better prospects in the wings.

[Bisonfan01234]

perfect replacement for Walker and would start his junior year

Ryan Parsons.

[KTF]

Think Parsons will rotate every other series (qtr) like Steffes and Chapman do this coming year? It would be nice to have 2 guys with experience.

[Bisonguy]

Think Parsons will rotate every other series (qtr) like Steffes and Chapman do this coming year? It would be nice to have 2 guys with experience.

Doubt it- QB's need to stay in more of a groove.

[BISON_PRIDE]

Wouldn't you get a kick out of seeing coach Bohl in Grand Forks on signing day with both Mertens and Chappell. :D

[Bisonfan01234]

As nice as it would be to get those two guys, I think he'll have bigger fish to fry from bigger states.

[BISON_PRIDE]

You might be right. * Bohl said himself on the last coaches show of the year, that they were going to look at recruiting QB's this offseason. *You have to believe that Mertens would be top on their list at this point. *He may want to be courted by bigger schools but SU would be a great fit. * As far as Chappell I didn't see him play this year, so I can't judge his talent. *What I do know is that UND fans want him, very much, to be like Philip Moore and play for the Sioux. *Signing day should be big this year, what with the number of seniors leaving and the increase in scholarships to 60.

[Bisonfan01234]

I think their might be better prospects elsewhere (pehaps in higher profile states like WI or IL).

But, like Bohl said, we have to recruit all top athletes in our area.

[Bison_Dan]

Take "their" player - shows the arrogance of sue fans. Looks like Mertens has already ruled out the sue. He wants to go with the highest DI he can go to. Should be a great fit for the Bison. About time gf produces some football players.

[Bisongold]

Just like Pultolney and Irman are "their" players!

[D]

Mertens is going to college to play QB. He is not fast enough to play any other position. He was consistently running 4.9 40s last summer.

[tony]

Mertens would definitely be a QB. NDSU wants QBs. NDSU needs QBs.

Besides, there are a lot of excellent prospects at safety out there already - and I think NDSU has a decent shot at them.

[BISON_PRIDE]

Maybe NDSU will dangle the 2 sport option in front of him. *He's already an excellant student with a chance at a full ride in football. *He is supposed to be an outstanding basketball player and I'm sure Miles would be interested in a walk-on of his caliber. He may not start in football for 3 years, but Basketball needs depth now.

[Bisonfan01234]

Yes, now as in this year.

Next year those 5 guys he redshirted will be available.

[BISON_PRIDE]

Yep, but those 5, minus our 4 seniors from this year, still leaves plenty of room on the bench. Mertens would play without redshirting, and he does have basketball talent. If theres room for Alex Belquist there should be room for him. BUT he may not be interested in BB anyway.

[JBB]

The recruiting article in todays forum says its between NDSU and the Gophers.

[NDSU_grad]

I just checked the Gophers' website and they have 6 QB's on their roster, none of whom are seniors, and I think at least 3 were redshirting this year. I'd be surprised if they offerred him a scholarship.

[NDSUstudent]

And after looking at rivals.com it looks like the gophers have gotten a verbal commitment from Simley (Minn.) quarterback Marcel Jones. I guess he's the top Qb in the state and is ranked #26 in the nation among Qb recruits. So with all of last years Qb's and this one this year I doubt they'd need another Qb.

[Bisonguy]

Nick already was wearing green, but now he has to add the gold!(technically yellow, but whatever).

[Bisongold]

Mertens would not be a basketball recruit in my opinion. He is a 6'3 forward-center. Not fast, but real hard-nosed. Runs the court well, but not a ball handler. Got it done in high school with tons of hustle. He does score well but mainly inside. Belquist held him to 15 pts. last year, and New Rockford beat them by 18 pts. Belquist is only 6' but can jump through the roof.( a 6'4" highjumper) Belquist played out of position his senior year and played forward as NR had an abundance of guards. Belquist is a natural point guard, but as a junior was moved to forward due to an abundance of guards on his team. As a junior, Belquist began the season as a forward and was moved to point guard( only after an injury to their smaller pt. guard) and he proceeded to get 14 pts. per game and led the state in assists with 196) This was 8 games into the season. He shot over 50 % from the field. He is the most talented player I have seen in central ND but was the most unselfish. If he weren't on such a balanced team ( they were 27-1 his senior year and 98- 12 for the four years he started) he would have been a 20-25 pt. per game scorer and been a D-1 recruit. If the Bison use him as a pt. guard, he may surprise you... will push the ball, and score from anywhere...but the best team player I have ever seen. Oh yea, he was also a 44' triple jumper, and a 22' long jumper at the same time as he played baseball and earned the Regional player of the year. Don't sell him short. I coached against him for 6 years!!

[DIBISON]

Mertens commits to the Bison!

Not only is he a top notch athlete, but he comes from UND's backyard!

[Bisongold]

Awesome!!!

[BISON_PRIDE]

This is very good news. There should be LOTS of talent for Perles and Vigen to work with in the coming years.

[JBB]

I dont know about this und stuff - Why would he even want to go DII? - but its good to see a deserving athlete choose NDSU.

[IowaBison]

I like the guys attitude best, his comments on WDAY regarding the fight for play time made him sound like a true competitor. (No wonder he didn't pick und)

Though I think we are doing well at the QB position, I would love to see a kid from the valley lead the Bison.

[Bison_Dan]

According to the sue board und wasn't even on his short list. It's alway good to get quality local athletes that are smart. (4.0) ;D ;D

[JBB]

He listed several DIIs as possibilities. *SCSU stayed alive until the end. *I dont think he was ever really interested in the DII clubs other than keeping his options open. *He didnt know if NDSU was going to offer anything and his first choice, Minnesota, didnt offer.

Mertens is a prime example of the kind of player that used to have to leave the region or play under their ability.

[tony]

All the UND and "DII is bad" stuff aside, I'm very glad NDSU is getting Mertens.

However, since it was brought up... First, I don't think it's fair to equate today's version of DII to the 70's and '80s version. That's like saying a '66 Mustang is the same as a '76 Mustang II. Second, if we make UND NDSU's benchmark for recruiting success, then we might as well wave bye-bye to any hope of a DI national championship. Third, I think a lot of kids want to get out of town to go to college so I don't see why UND fans would expect to get Mertens - I mean, isn't he planning on getting an engineering degree?

Heck, if we're going to compare recruiting classes, you'd think we'd want to be looking at UNI and SDSU (don't know how much we go head-to-head with those schools though).

Edit: the DII comment was because I don't think that the players NDSU had in the '70s and '80s were "playing under their ability" because DII was a whole different division back then.

[Bison_Dan]

All the UND and "DII is bad" stuff aside, I'm very glad NDSU is getting Mertens.

However, since it was brought up... First, I don't think it's fair to equate today's version of DII to the 70's and '80s version. That's like saying a '66 Mustang is the same as a '76 Mustang II. Second, if we make UND NDSU's benchmark for recruiting success, then we might as well wave bye-bye to any hope of a DI national championship. Third, I think a lot of kids want to get out of town to go to college so I don't see why UND fans would expect to get Mertens - I mean, isn't he planning on getting an engineering degree?

Heck, if we're going to compare recruiting classes, you'd think we'd want to be looking at UNI and SDSU (don't know how much we go head-to-head with those schools though).


I don't think anyone would compare NDSU's recruiting classes with und. Last year out of und's class we had 3 in for visits and made an offer to only one. It's hard to compare our class to anyone but UNI. I would be disappointed if we didn't out recruit SDSU. (just like in DII) I'm glad that MN & Wis. are full at qb.

[Bisonguy]

All the UND and "DII is bad" stuff aside, I'm very glad NDSU is getting Mertens.

However, since it was brought up... First, I don't think it's fair to equate today's version of DII to the 70's and '80s version. That's like saying a '66 Mustang is the same as a '76 Mustang II. Second, if we make UND NDSU's benchmark for recruiting success, then we might as well wave bye-bye to any hope of a DI national championship. Third, I think a lot of kids want to get out of town to go to college so I don't see why UND fans would expect to get Mertens - I mean, isn't he planning on getting an engineering degree?

Heck, if we're going to compare recruiting classes, you'd think we'd want to be looking at UNI and SDSU (don't know how much we go head-to-head with those schools though).

Edit: the DII comment was because I don't think that the players NDSU had in the '70s and '80s were "playing under their ability" because DII was a whole different division back then.

Exactly. UNI, Montana, Montana State, SDSU, etc. should be the recruiting benchmarks that NDSU should strive to equal or surpass.

[JBB]

Who the heck is comparing DII to DI anyway? *Who mentioned NDSU recruits from the distant past? *Who brought up und? **

My point was this: *an athlete is naturally going to want to go to a university where they can develop their skills to the highest level. *That isnt always DII. *

In the past, if they wanted to stay in the area they had to accept less than that possibility because there was no DI alternative. *Its fair to say that almost all the athletes with DI talent will go DI. *Now they can do it close to home. *Back in the dynasty days NDSU got the best talent willing to sign on to a DII club. *Whether or not they could have played outside of the small college division is anybodys guess. *

I dont think any DII school was getting Mertens. *If NDSU passed he would have expanded his search. *Just my opinion. *

[Bisonguy]

Nice write-up in the GF Herald about Mertens' verbal- COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Mertens to NDSU (http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/sports/10511009.htm)

Looks like the level of competition and the WCO at NDSU were major factors in his decision.

[JBB]

"It's the best fit for me and I like where the program is going," Mertens said of his decision. "I like the (NDSU) competition. I wanted to play at the highest level of competition I could."

Thats what I meant when I said playing under their ability, *Having to compromise coaching and competition. *Nice article.

Jeff Kolpack makes a nice pt about the Gophers overlooking Mertens in his latest blog on Bison Zone. Its clear he didnt expect Mertens to go DII either, but felt the Gophers are nearsighted to metro players only or out of state.

[roadwarrior]

I like the last sentence in the Herald article: "And in a few years, Mertens may again have the chance to lead his team to another football championship."