NDSU TO FBS. HAVEN'T WE WON ENOUGH?
LJ is probably as fast as Beck and was a qb in high school. Very athletic. He used to play outside and moved to the middle on passing downs to replace Grant Olson. Outside backer is his natural position. I dont anticipate much drop off if any
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17X National Champions: 65, 68, 69, 83, 85, 86, 88, 90, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21
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I actually like him on the outside better anyway, but he just doesn't have the speed of Beck. But, like you said, he's probably moving back to his natural position. He's a little undersized for MLB.
You guys agree with Wolford's comments that this is the best defense, overall, that we've had in the past 5 years? Not sure that the stats prove it, but he might actually be right from top to bottom. Some of the guys are the same, but they've matured into better players.
Chad Willson was another one of my favorites. Loved watching him play.
"The desire to win is useless without the desire to prepare."
"I've coached in a lot of great venues during my career, but there is no place louder than the Fargodome. There is no verbal communication whatsoever when you are down on that field. It's unbelievable. It's the best atmosphere in college football - at any level." - Jeff Monken
I think that is a bit simplistic. There were many times in obvious passing situations, when CJ was healthy, that Tre came in as the "true DB" nickel back and Beck was still in there. Littlejohn is a very good drop back into coverage as a MLB, but I have no idea if he can be as good as Beck was at OLB.
That really is the central theme for this defense. With both Heagle and Perry out for the 2012 playoffs, the defense was stellar. Last year Olson was gone. Beck was fantastic, but I don't think one person defines this defense and they have compensated for personnel losses in the past two championship playoff drives.
Like previous playoff games, making teams one dimensional likely means NDSU will win. That and controlling the ball on offense, it's the simple formula for success. That's why I want to play the bobkittens
Row the Boat! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjFvcVZOCV0
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17X National Champions: 65, 68, 69, 83, 85, 86, 88, 90, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21
Join the Green and the Gold Collective to take Bison football to the next level. Starts at $10 a month
The Green and The Gold Collective is excited to announce our #DriveToFive membership campaign. The goal of this campaign is to get to 500 monthly members. Reaching this goal will help us provide financial support to NDSU student athletes, including every returning member of the football team that saw action on the field last year!
https://thegreenandthegold.com
Beck's speed, and the defense as a whole, is what can neutralize a runner like Zenner. Fill the gaps and seal the edge on his outside runs. We may end up having to shut down Zenner one more time, but we'll see what happens when they're on the road this weekend.
What kind of offense does Jacksonville State run or what does anyone know about this team? I haven't looked at much about their team. Glad Tony filled us in on the 1989 season...nice to have a little motivation for that potential game!
"The desire to win is useless without the desire to prepare."
"I've coached in a lot of great venues during my career, but there is no place louder than the Fargodome. There is no verbal communication whatsoever when you are down on that field. It's unbelievable. It's the best atmosphere in college football - at any level." - Jeff Monken