Spring Game: Top five position battles

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The top five position battles to watch in the annual Green vs. Gold Spring Game on Saturday:

  • 1. Running back. Sam Ojuri and his 1,105 yards from last year is the undisputed No. 1 back. But NDSU has always tried to rely on at least two guys and this spring, freshman Matt Jones has shown some promise to be the top backup. And the top backup, in the case of Ojuri last year, can sometimes be the season rushing leader. Jones has shown some good change in direction and has shown an ability to run between the tackles. Junior Derrick Lang is dependable and that is never a bad thing in the backfield. Also, in the fall, NDSU is expecting 2010 recruit John Crockett and junior college transfer Deveon Dinwiddie.
  • 2. Tight end. A valuable receiving position in the West Coast offense. Landon Smith had a fine senior season in 2010 and Matt Veldman saved his best for last in 2011. There’s no absence of candidates for next fall starting with senior Garrett Bruhn who averaged 13.2 yards on 11 receptions last year. Junior Taylor Nelson has been in the program long enough to start contributing and the coaches say junior Kevin Vaadeland is beginning to make big strides now that he’s healthy. Freshman Luke Albers caught a touchdown pass in the last scrimmage and freshman Derek Lee was a big recruit a year ago.
  • 3. Quarterback. Junior Brock Jensen will wear a red shirt and not be able to get hit, but he and the No. 1 offense could use a good performance after last Saturday’s so-so day. Sophomore Esley Thorton will have control of the other team now that freshman Carson Wentz most likely won’t play because of an ankle sprain. Head coach Craig Bohl said today there’s a 99.9 percent he won’t go. This could be a chance for Thorton to solidify his top backup status.
  • 4. Wide receiver. The only proven performer is junior Ryan Smith. Somebody needs to be the breakout guy opposite Smith and the top candidates are Cooper Wahlo or Trevor Gebhart. It will be the first spring games for Andrew Oakland and Nate Moody, a chance for them to shine. If nobody surges forward, and this may happen anyway, then one of the incoming freshmen — DeSean Warren, Dee Gray and Carey Woods — will probably play right away.
  • 5.  Free safety. There are not many question marks on defense, but free safety will have a new starter — even if the players are not new to being on the field. Sophomore Christian Dudzik and junior Bryan Shepherd are locked in a tight battle to replace Danny Eaves and/or John Pike. Dudzik was solid at cornerback last year and Shepherd came on to provide valuable minutes.

DOM’S NOTES: (Couple players/positions to watch on Saturday)

  • Specialists: Ben LeCompte and Adam Keller each will have the spotlight on them for the first time on Saturday. These are two guys that were recruited for their specific positions, Keller as placekicker and LeCompte at punter. Keller  has battled hamstring/leg injuries since he arrived in Fargo, we finally got to see him kick last Saturday at the 2nd scrimmage. He has some big shoes to follow, Ryan Jastram was sensational last year, his 53 yard FG against James Madison I believe won the game against the Dukes in the playoffs. As for LeCompte, he inherits a positon that NDSU has shone at over the last few years, Mike Dragosavich got NFL looks, John Prelvitz was an All-American and Matt Voigtlander did a nice job. Really curious to see  how they step  up.
  • DeShawn Dinwiddie: The 6’2 sophomore linebacker from Kansas saw some brief playing time on special teams last year and is being counted on for a big year. When asked who in the linebacker core could be special, former captain Preston Evans told me, “Dinwiddie”. Last spring we saw the emergence of Carlton Littlejohn and Travis Beck, NDSU is counting on seeing the same type of progression out of number 51.
  • Brian Schaetz:  If you follow the blog regularly, this is a walk-on from small Denmark, Wisconsin; who  has really impressed the coaching staff with his toughness and his play making ability. He traveled in a backup role last year to Western Illinois. He manhandled Esley Thorton in the first scrimmage. In a already loaded position, Schaetz may emerge to get some PT depending on the game Saturday and fall camp.
  • Mike Hardie:  The Sioux Falls product has exploded this spring, in terms of size (now 6’5, 244) and in terms of production. His high school coach told me when he verballed he was the best prospect in South Dakota, and call me crazy but he can be the next Coulter Boyer. Hardie has the speed and size to be a QB’s worst nightmare and has shown flashes of it this spring. Look for him on Saturday to make an impact.
  • Jason Pomerenke/Anthony Lavoy: The concerns on the offensive line have been addressed several times, NDSU brings back three solid starters up front in Turner, Lund and Gimmestad. Replacing two guys that seven years of starting experience will be tough, but NDSU is super high on Lavoy and Pomerenke. Scott Fuchs has been a busy man this spring trying to get this unit ready for the Green and Gold game, I’m curious to see how these guys, along with Jesse Hinz (who started in the playoff stretch of 2010 after Lund broke his leg) will perform on Saturday.

It’s going to be a fun day Saturday, the presentation of the championship rings, we’ll have full coverage on the blog and our Spring Game Video PostGame Show that day as well, looking forward to it!

24 thoughts on “Spring Game: Top five position battles”

  1. Thanks for the detailed information. For those of us 400 miles away, this media blog is our main source of information.

    • The blog is something I check out a few times a day just to try and keep up to date with the team. Thanks Jeff and Dom

      Dewey

  2. What about the OL battle? We need a starter at one of the guard positions and RT.

    • Unless you’re a great O Line mind like Old Guy, kind of hard to evaluate an offensive line battle from the stands, sans video evidence.

      • Ha! Good one Kolpack!

        Seriously, I would have put the position battles at OL at the top of the list, but unfortunately, probably the top guy NDSU needs to get healthy is Jerve.

        One key question is with Lund. Has he gotten bigger and stronger? He could not handle big, physical nosepegs last year and Richard had to move to C to bail him out. Nobody to do that for him this year, so that is as big a question mark for me as who will replace Richard and Cornick, can Lund step up his game?

        I think the FS position will be in good hands. Dudzik came on last year and Shephard made solid contributions as the backup when Pike had to replace Eaves. I think we will be fine there.

        The OL is still the big black hole and arguably one of the two most important units on the team. Replacing the two most physical players on the line with candidates who have not demonstrated anything near that level of physicality and durability.

      • Kolpack,

        Here’s a far out idea for you non-”OL minds” out there: why not interview OL coach Fuchs and understand the position and players competing for playing time from the man himself?

        I know, sounds risky…but if anyone can pull it off, you’re our man!

  3. Harold Hamm is the name of the guy NDSU needs to help build the new stadium. He is a billionaire who lives in Oklahoma and is the 30 ruchest man in america, and 76th richest man in the world. He is one of the top oil men leading the way in Western North Dakota.I think Erv Inniger should come out of retirement for one last mission. To get Mr. Hamm and his oil company to make a donation to get the Bison a 40,000 seat Stadium in Fargo. Everyone on the blog says the Bison need to step up the recruiting of big donors, well this guys would be considered a huge donor! Are you listeing Gene? Erv? We could call the new stadium “The Harold”. I kinda like that! Go Bison!

  4. NDSU will be playing in the FargoDome for a long time. With the new turf for next season it will be an even better venue for the Bison.

    NDSU needs to renovate the BSA first and foremost. The FargoDome is one of the top football facilities in FCS. The BSA needs to be gutted and renovated.

    • I agree. The BSA will give us a huge edge and boost the perception of the program. The weight room training facilities, commons area and hall of fame will have a wow factor . The Dome is already top notch. I say we need to continue to make upgrades to the dome to make it better. They can do a small expansion for maybe 1500 or so to put us at 20k. They can continue to improve tailgating, add some more Bison gear, signage, and Bison statues to the outside of the dome. Mame permanant outdoor restrooms. And add green seats, and do something with the ugly west side.

      • Gabe I am with you on the green seat and other upgrades you mentioned. The Dome is one of the best, if not the best, football facility in FCS. The new lighting and new turf along with the new Bison football offices are huge upgrades. The green seats gotta be next. Even if the Bison get a new stadium it is going to be at least 10 years from now. Is it possible to build an addition to add another 1500 seats to get to 20,000 people at a game?

        • They cant add additional seating. The dome isnt going to waste money on new seating just because of the color. FYI NDSU isnt going to spend any money on what you think is important. They have much bigger fish to fry.

  5. Why do we keep bringing up FBS. Let us get the dominance in FCS like we did in D2 and then think about it. In the meantime, FBS saw the excitement generated by NDSU in the playoff run last year and now they are finally talking seriously about a playoff format for 4 teams to start. When there are more NDSU fans driving out of Texas after the FCS Championship game than Arkansas fans leaving from the Cotton Bowl, there is an impact. All of you who spew garbage about SU and no chance at FBS, think again, but we just need to dominate at FCS for awhile. Go Bison.

    • Where does this keep coming from that there were more Bison fans in Texas than Arkansas fans at the cotton bowl. It just simply isn’t true. I am looking at the picture right now and NDSU had a good showing but we would not have filled 1/2 the 4th deck at Dallas cowboy Stadium. 89000+ fans from both teams at the game. Arkansas had at least 36,000 or 3x the number of NDSU fans that traveled down. We can’t base a move to FBS on untruths and wishes.

      • Now I’m not saying we would have had 36,000 fans in Frisco, but I’m real curious to know how many NDSU fans we MIGHT have had in Frisco had there been enough tickets to accommodate the number of people who wanted to go.

      • I think the team that gets mentioned was K-State. I think they had 10-12k fans at their bowl game, comparible with the number of fans that traveled for NDSU. I know NDSU would have had a higher number if seating had been available.

      • Go back and read what the mayor of Frisco was saying about NDSU and their fans. He was the one that said we had just as many fans as Arkansas and Kansas State. He said we traveled like a FBS team.

      • “Where does this keep coming from that there were more Bison fans in Texas than Arkansas fans at the cotton bowl.”

        The same people who said there were 30+thousand fans at the Gopher game. Too funny.

  6. Motivation and desire were keys to the 2011 Championship season. I have seen the bad effects of a NUMBER ONE SEASON in transition to the nest season previously. Fans cheer “WE’RE # 1, WE’RE #1″ instead of “Hold that Line” or “Here we go Bison” as opposing teams are hungry to topple the prior “Poll Leaders”. The BISON learned what momentary loss of focus meant in the NDSU-YSU game …. Good luck and GO BISON by staying completely focused.

    Last year QB BROCK JENSON and WR WARREN HOLLAWAY were room mates who knew each other. Neither could let the other down. Warren knew pass routes, footwork, had great hands and speed. This meant that there were very few mistakes. Some how, I hope that the BISON coaches can figure out how to rekindle that very personal kind of rapport. We cheered for HEROES in 2011. I do wish that four young coeds from Minneapolis, MN were still there, too.

  7. Jeff nice article on the spring game. You know if they are doing the intro like at a normal game?

  8. Maybe read before writing. New name wrote that there were more people driving out of Texas . Nothing was said about more people at the games. 12000 people at a game does have an impact and I agree does not make a team Fbs ready.

    • The only thing that makes a team ready for the FBS is 85 scholarships and the stadium facilities.