Bison Illustrated April 2016

COULD WENTZ BE THE FACE OF AN NFL FRANCHISE?

APRIL 2016

ON THE CLOCK

COMPLIMENTARY

CARSON WENTZ

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FEATURE

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ON THE CLOCK: CARSON WENTZ

Carson Wentz’s life has been going 100 miles per hour since the 2016 FCS Championship game. He’s been across the country, competing in the Senior Bowl, NFL combine and Pro Day. He sits down with us to talk about this once in a lifetime experience and the upcoming NFL Draft.

48 LOGISTICS Director of Athletics Matt Larsen joins Casey Matthews and Josh Hemingway to talk about the logistics of getting NDSU Athletics on the road.

62 REMEMBERING THE GREATS Pat Fredrickson has worked at NDSU for 38 and has seen more than anybody on the athletics staff. We sit down with her for the inside story on NDSU’s history.

WHAT’S INSIDE 30

Mock Drafts

70

Wrestling Hall of Fame

32

Kevin Weidl

76

Moreland/Garcia

36

James Koh

80

Alyssa Reina

38

Talking Heads

84

Justin St. Clair

40

Joe Haeg

90

Young Boppers

42

Ben LeCompte

94

Dave Pearson

44

Pro Day

104

Ciao Bella

98

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APRIL 2016 | VOLUME 10 ISSUE 9 Bison Illustrated is a free publication distributed monthly (12 times a year). Our mission is to help promote North Dakota State University Athletics, provide a quality and fun reading experience and to improve the way of life in our community. The publication is mailed to homes across the US and has newsstand distribution throughout North Dakota and Minnesota.

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JOE’S EDITORIAL

EDITOR’S NOTE

How lucky are we to have Carson Wentz carry himself into the National Football League with NDSU and state of North Dakota badges on his golden right arm?

WENTZ

CARRIES FLAG FOR

NORTH DAKOTA FROM THE EDITOR JOE KERLIN

joe@bisonillustrated.com

hen Carson Wentz emerged from the giant inflatable Bison football helmet during the senior ceremony before the Missouri State game, he was wearing his shoulder pads and football pants when he hugged head coach Chris Klieman.

The wrist brace was still wrapped around his lower right arm, but the gesture caused the Fargodome to erupt. The decibel level is unknown, but you can’t put a number on the support toward him on that sacred Senior Day. It was the icing on the cake of an incredible career.

Why? Because deep down, every fan knows the heroic role he played while keeping the string of national championships intact. With everything he brought on the field, he brought it even harder off the field, which made him that much easier to root for.

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The game against Missouri State was a forgettable blowout. Caleb Butler fell on a fumble in the end zone during the first drive of the game and mayhem ensued.

Most of the 18,624 fans in Fargodome had left by the fourth quarter. The student section was depleted and all that remained were a few thousand diehards and the families of the players. Then it happened.

Big number 11, our starting quarterback, took the field.

The Fargodome crowd the size of a small school pep rally stirred with insanity.

Wentz lined up as a deep – really deep – tailback, took a few steps to the left and the play was over. The Bison legend made his way back to the sidelines to hug his head coach one last time.

But Klieman didn’t want the spontaneous ceremony to end. He called a timeout, waved his hands in the air toward the crowd and forced Wentz to make a curtain call like he’d just broke Roger Maris’s home run record.

You couldn’t help but stand, clap and give thanks for

bisonillustrated

@bisonmag

the memories Wentz had created on that very field, in that exact jersey.

In hindsight, Wentz’s era felt like all of 10 minutes compared to the ride of success over the last five years. And the truth is, maybe we didn’t appreciate it enough. I know I certainly didn’t. If the Kolpack brothers teamed up for a super book about the history of NDSU football dating back to the A.C. days, the Wentz chapter should be all of 20 pages. But maybe it should be longer. I mean, he’s meant too much, especially now.

Wentz defined Bison legacy. Whether it was his 4.0-grade point average or his soft tone in interviews, when he deflected credit in the direction of his teammates, Wentz is everything you want from a college quarterback and more.

Bison fans are lucky enough to experience more from Wentz when he gets drafted this month. First, second, 15th or 215th, Wentz is going to carry the NDSU

@joebisonmag

torch with him into the National Football League.

You can’t think of a better ambassador for what NDSU is all about than our redheaded hero.

He’s humble. He’s a faithbased servant leader who is going to change the culture of whatever franchise logo he’s wearing next.

During the curtain call on Senior Day, was Wentz waving good-bye to the crowd? Heck no. He was waving to let us know he’s got this. Whatever comes his way at the next level, he’s sure to make you, me and all of North Dakota proud to say, “You know what? He’s still one of us.”

SINCERELY, Joe Kerlin

BISON SHOTS

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BISON SHOTS

BISON SHOTS Carson Wentz has come a long ways since his freshman season in 2012.

After redshirting his first year at NDSU, Wentz made eight appearances his first year suiting up for the Bison. He threw for 144 yards and two touchdowns his freshman season while relieving Brock Jensen.

From three years on the bench to less than a month away from potentially being the first quarterback taken in the NFL Draft, it’s been quite college career for the Bismarck, N.D. native.

? DID WE MISS SOMETHING? Let us know and send us your pictures: joe@bisonillustrated.com

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ON THE CLOCK CARSON WENTZ

ON THE CLOCK

CARSON WENTZ

By Joe Kerlin | Photo by J. Alan Paul Photography

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BISON ILLUSTRATED • A P R I L 2 0 1 6

ON THE CLOCK CARSON WENTZ

I

f you’re anything like me, you’ve been taken aback by the meteoric rise and the jet-fueled hype train leading the Carson Wentz charge after the FCS Championship and into the 2016 NFL Draft. ESPN’s Anish Shroff told us it was coming, and that wave hit like an MJ Stumpf tackle. But should we really be surprised?

We knew how talented the Bismarck, N.D., native was at NDSU. What began as whispers leading into the title game against Jacksonville State has turned into fullblown shouts from the mountaintop. “Wentz is the No. 1 quarterback in this year’s draft,” is the sentiment being echoed at the top of everybody’s lungs. So, before the flashy lights of the NFL Draft in Chicago, let’s take a look back and see how Wentz, and his bandwagon, got this far.

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ON THE CLOCK CARSON WENTZ

H

e arrives without a posse. No former coaches, girlfriend or even his agent. It’s just him, back alone in the city that propelled him into the national spotlight as a student-athlete for North Dakota State University. He will spend the week in his college town after a two-month media cycle that has deemed him one of the most vaunted quarterbacks in the NFL Draft. He’s humbled, excited and possibly worn out from the travel caused by the newlyfound fame. He’s been to Irvine, Calif., where he trained with former pros, to Orlando, Fla., where he met with coaching legend Jon Gruden. He also made stops at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., and the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, Ind.

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BISON ILLUSTRATED • A P R I L 2 0 1 6

He appears at peace to be back in Fargo, where the snow has made its surprise mid-March appearance and where he can work out back in his original weight room with Bison strength coach Jim Kramer and Ryan Napoli. It’s like his college days and things seem to be back to normal, even if it’s just for a moment.

For once, no one is around him.

There’s no camera swinging over his head as he slings passes from sideline to sideline like it did in Indianapolis. There’s no Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner ten yards behind him breaking down his every move like he was at the NFL Combine. There’s no hungry press group waiting for him, eager to be fed his latest

“I’m a winner. You can look and it’s hard to find somebody with the physical abilities I have, but I go beyond that with the intangibles, the leadership, the mental side of things that people might take for granted.”

- Carson Wentz thoughts on his position in the 100th-something edition of Mel Kiper’s mock draft. No, today, he’s looking forward to grabbing lunch downtown and shooting his shotgun at the range, something he hasn’t been able to do in quite awhile.

Former NDSU quarterback Carson Wentz’s life is changing in front of our eyes and he’s well aware of what’s happening. Besides his Twitter mentions blowing up and the occasional mock draft he accidentally sees while watching his favorite shows on NFL Network and ESPN, all he wants to do is keep football, football, and allow the glitz and glamour run its course as he gets ready for next season. No matter whose jersey he’s wearing.

“My mentality is, don’t make it bigger than it needs to be,” said Wentz, as he sits in the basement of a building in Downtown Fargo, awaiting another photo shoot. “It’s just football. To the outside world it seems crazier but to me, it’s just: keep playing ball.”

And what comes with his rising stock are the hundreds of interviews that are requested that never get past his agent. The countless autograph requests

while he leaves from a throwing session in the Fargodome. There’s the never-ending string of articles and blogs breaking down every part of his college career, life and workouts across all corners of the Internet.

But the person who signed his letter of intent to play at NDSU in 2011 is still the same person plastered over cable sports network shows in 2016.

The doubters have been abundant.

Football pundits from across the country have critiqued every aspect of his game. And the most scrutinized aspect of it all is something Wentz had no control over: playing in the FCS. “You just have a chip on your shoulder and you go into it thinking that everyone thinks you can’t play because where you’re from and this and that,” Wentz said. “I’ve definitely had a chip on my shoulder but at the same time, I know I can play. I know what I’m capable of doing, so I just went out there and did my thing. The Senior Bowl, the combine, I didn’t stress out about it or make it any bigger than it needed to be.”

His quarterback coach for the last two seasons at NDSU is also getting frustrated with the questions doubting the legitimacy of the FCS game.

“I went through this too, coming from a small school myself.

When outside people that aren’t familiar with FCS football, they take shots because of the level of competition,” Randy Hedberg, a former Minot State and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, said. “I say if a kid dominates at that level, I think he can dominate at any level and I think Carson Wentz is that way. He was able to shine at the FCS level the last two years and he’s getting better and better.

I think the thing that’s important to know is that he has a very high ceiling, and I think he’s going to continue to improve because he’s extremely coachable.”

READ MORE

ON THE CLOCK CARSON WENTZ

The list of FCS quarterbacks that have successfully made the jump from low-level Division I football to the NFL isn’t very big. Most notably, Delaware’s Joe Flacco, Eastern Illinois’s Tony Romo and Harvard’s Ryan Fitzpatrick have made the jump and thrived in the League. Romo, who went undrafted, was somewhat of an anomaly. He was signed in 2004 and didn’t make his debut until 2006. Flacco, on the other hand, was a first-round pick, 18th overall to the Baltimore Ravens, in 2008.

He wasn’t the star in his rookie season, but Flacco led the Ravens to an 11-5 record and road on the coattails of a dominating defense to the AFC Championship game before falling to the Pittsburg Steelers.

is a group that helped Wentz’s rise to the national stage because it’s somewhat of a hipster story.

Many of the top quarterbacks in this year’s draft are from schools that produce perennial NFL talent.

When you’re talking about players from the likes of California, Michigan State, Penn State, Ohio State and Memphis, a school like North Dakota State tends to stick out in the minds of scouts and analyst searching for something different.

Zach Wentz, Wentz’s older brother, remembers his dad fielding phone calls from agents last summer, sensing scouts had finally seen his brother’s tape.

“You just look at the body of work of the player. You watch. You get a chance to see his physical tools, and then you match that with an opportunity to sit down and talk with him and judge what his maturity level is,” Baltimore Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said at the NFL Combine about scouting FCS-level players.

“You just cannot sit there and say a guy cannot play in the National Football League if he played at a smaller division.”

“We thought he’d have an opportunity, whether that was as an undrafted free agent, you know, just because of the tools,” Zach Wentz said. “By the end of last year, then we started thinking as a family maybe draft selection if we’re lucky. I’d have to ask him (Wentz’s dad) for specifics, but I know it took up a lot of his time for a while in the summer and early into this season as well.

He handled all the calls and he narrowed the list down of his own choices and then Carson made the final choice.”

Although playing in the FCS has many pundits turned off, there

Scouts Inc., NFL Draft Insider Kevin Weidl first remember seeing

Wentz when he was scouting John Crockett before the NDSU-Illinois State FCS Championship over a year ago.

“I believe it was a playoff game against South Dakota State,” said Weidl. “You saw the size, you saw the athleticism, the arm strength and you had a good feel for him, and then I scouted him in the preseason and I gave him a secondround grade going into the year.”

NFL Network host James Koh works with a team of analysts and former NFL players every day in Los Angeles. He remembers hearing Wentz’s name more and more after his performance against Jacksonville State in this year’s FCS Championship game.

“I work with a lot of fantasy football hipsters,” Koh said. “They don’t get too excited about guys that are really well-known so when they get a Carson Wentz, North Dakota State, they say, ‘Oh really? My radar is up.’ They like what they see on tape.”

The momentum has carried through the winter, and Wentz’s body of work has many NFL scouts clamoring and draft analysts giddy about Wentz’s potential to be a top-five pick in this year’s draft.

NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah, Lance Zierlein and Charles Davis join

“You just cannot sit there and say a guy cannot play in the National Football League if he played at a smaller division.”

- Baltimore Ravens GM

Ozzie Newsome

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BISON ILLUSTRATED • A P R I L 2 0 1 6

ESPN’s Todd McShay and Kiper have Wentz going go as high as second overall to the Cleveland Browns in April.

The Browns acquired Robert Griffin III just minutes after Wentz’s Pro Day and the likelihood of Wentz going to Cleveland seems grim. If you ask Koh, not going to Cleveland might be the best situation possible for a rookie like Wentz.

“Playing UNI or Montana, it’s not the same as playing the Steelers or Ravens,” Koh said. “I think he needs a little bit of an adjustment period and the biggest thing for him is, we can talk so much about young quarterbacks, but the one thing you don’t know and will never show up on tape and you’ll never see at the combine is how these dudes are going to respond to adversity.”

What Koh might not know is the amount of adversity the Bismarck, N.D., native has already overcome in his short five years at NDSU. That’s what might make Wentz qualified for taking the keys to an organization with more issues than any other in the League.

Even before becoming a Bison, in high school, Wentz was forced to stop playing his favorite position in baseball: shortstop. He was also forbidden to pitch. The injury wiped away his junior year at quarterback so he was forced to play safety and linebacker. (No wonder he enjoys the contact of running over undersized defensive backs in the Missouri Valley.)

Wentz’s was never a camp guy, either. He was off most school’s radars at the same time he was leading Bismarck Century High School to a state semifinal appearance. Besides a late entrance to the party by Central Michigan, Wentz was only fielding offers from FCS schools.

He picked NDSU. A school with an enrollment under 15,000 was in its eighth year of Division I

classification and the football program had only produced six NFL Draft picks since 1991. In 2011, Wentz’s first year, the Bison had five quarterbacks on their roster. Four of them were sophomores and younger.

It took patience to crack the starting lineup. Wentz waited for his time while he was stuck behind the all-time winningest quarterback in FCS history, Brock Jensen. The only time he sniffed the field was during janitorial duty during another Bison blowout.

There’s also the 14-0 deficit he had to overcome against a Big 12 program during his first start.

Wentz waited three years for his opportunity to lead the Bison under center and before the first half of his first start, the Iowa State Cyclones had buried him in a hole. Go back to stories on that game. Who did John Crockett say led them to victory? Carson Wentz.

He also answered the clutch question with his three fourth quarter comebacks in the 2014 FCS Playoffs. And lest we forget the game-winning drive in the championship game against Illinois State with 1:47 remaining in the fourth quarter.

What about that time he broke his throwing wrist in the first half of NDSU’s biggest slip up in five years? After waiting three years to start, the majority of his senior year was taken from him in the blink of an eye against South Dakota.

Eleven weeks after the devastating loss to South Dakota, Wentz announced he was going to return to play in his last college game. All he did was combine for three touchdowns in a rout of Jacksonville State in the FCS Championship game.

None of these things stopped Wentz into becoming the player he is today. That’s what’s special about him. Every single instance

READ MORE

ON THE CLOCK CARSON WENTZ

Wentz was faced with a less-thanideal situation for his team or himself – i.e., adversity – he rose to the occasion.

“I think Carson and I grew up, and whether it was in athletics or academics, we were one hundred percent committed,” Zach Wentz said. “That’s just part of how we were brought up I think and now he took it to a whole other level in the football side of things. He spends so much time in the film room, watching film of NDSU, the opponents, recently watching NFL film. So he’s spent so much time doing that stuff and now the offense at NDSU has given him a great opportunity to have success at the next level just because of so many schemes they ran at NDSU.” Hedberg said it was Wentz’s leadership and ability to give advice to the younger quarterbacks that helped NDSU win its fifth consecutive title. It’s not only his skill and his football IQ, it’s the way he can process what’s happening on the field quickly, continued Hedberg.

So why select Wentz as the future quarterback for your franchise?

“I’m a winner,” Wentz said. “You can look and it’s hard to find somebody with the physical abilities I have, but I go beyond that with the intangibles, the leadership, the mental side of things that people might take for granted. Can you get guys going, can you get in the right

play calls, can you handle a lot of information, can you process quickly; a lot of the things to the general fan might go unnoticed about me.”

On April 28, the mock drafts will be set aside that evening in Chicago. Wentz will be on the minds of millions of viewers tuning in to see where the kid from NDSU will go. Certainly, the entire state that’s become enamored by Wentz will be watching, pleading and praying to see where the man that represents so much more than NDSU will end up.

“It’s just awesome knowing the support and the following that I’ve had, not only in college but it’s going to continue and it means

a lot to me to represent my home state and everything,” Wentz said.

“I take great pride in that so I hope to represent them well.”

North Dakota has produced three NFL quarterbacks in the Super Bowl era. Hedberg and Brooks Bollinger were blips on the radar compared to the attention Wentz has and will continue to receive.

The Peace Garden State will have a new face representing it through the NFL, and it couldn’t be a better individual than Wentz.

With no posse, no ego and no ulterior motives, Wentz is much more than a prototypical franchise quarterback. He’s your typical North Dakota kid who wants and will continue playing a child’s game until they tell him he no longer can. He’s a faith-based 4.0-student with a future behind a headset that not only NDSU and North Dakota can get behind, but someone the kid down the block can relate and look up to.

There’s no doubting the changes that are coming for Wentz once he’s wearing the NFL shield on his collar. What will fail to change is the attitude and person Wentz has developed into at NDSU. And that, more than anything, should make NFL teams excited to have Wentz on their roster. * * *

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ON THE CLOCK MOCK DRAFTS

Photo By Rich Arden/ESPN Images

2016 NFL DRAFT ORDER

ON THE CLOCK

MOCK DRAFTS PROJECTING WHERE WENTZ WILL GO

PICK 1 PICK 2 PICK 3 PICK 4 PICK 15 PICK 22 PICK30

TITANS BROWNS CHARGERS COWBOYS RAMS TEXANS CARDINALS

ANALYST KEY

PICK 1

PICK NUMBER

2016 NFL MOCK DRAFT ANALYST PROJECTIONS 2nd PICK 3rd PICK 4th PICK

4th PICK

2nd PICK

2nd PICK

NFL DRAFT 2016 15th PICK

22nd PICK

22nd PICK

22nd PICK

30th PICK

MOCK DRAFT VERSIONS

PICK 31 MOCK DRAFT 1.0

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MOCK DRAFT 2.0

BISON ILLUSTRATED • A P R I L 2 0 1 6

MOCK DRAFT 3.0

MOCK DRAFT 4.0

Bucky Brooks – NFL.com Brooks logged five years in the NFL and served in pro personnel departments with the Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers for nine years. He became an analyst in 2007.

Chad Reuter – NFL.com Reuter started covering the NFL Draft in 2001.

He joined NFL Netowrk in 2011 as a senior researcher for the East-West Shrine Game, Senior Bowl, Scouting Combine and NFL Draft.

Mel Kiper Jr. – ESPN Kiper has been expert analyst for ESPN’s annual NFL draft coverage since 1984.

Todd McShay – ESPN McShay has been a collage football and draft analyst for ESPN since 2006. He is the director of college football scouting for ESPN’s Scouts Inc.

CARSON WENTZ DRAFT BIO NFL COMBINE 40-yard Dash – 4.77 seconds (3rd) Vertical Jump – 30.5 inches (12th) Broad Jump – 118 inches (T2nd) 3-Cone Drill – 6.86 seconds (3rd) Wonderlic – 29

NDSU STATS Games Played – 43 Starts – 23 Starting Record – 20-3 4th Quarter Comebacks – 5 Completions – 392 (3rd All-Time) Attempts – 612 (3rd All-Time) Completion % – 64.1 (3rd All-Time) Passing TDs – 45 (3rd All-Time) INTs – 14 Passing Yards – 5,115 (3rd All-Time) Passing Efficiency – 153.9 (3rd All-Time) Rushing Attempts – 216 Rushing Yards – 1,028 Rushing TDs – 13 Average Yards/Carry – 4.8 Receiving TD – 1 Total Offense – 6,143 (5th All-Time)

NDSU RECORDS Passing Attempts w/o Interception – 143 Single Game Passing TDs – 5 Single Season Passing Attempts – 358 Single Season Passing Completions – 228 Single Season Passing Yards – 3,111 Single Season Total Offense Yards – 3,753 Single Season Total Offense/Game – 243.1

ACCOLADES 2016 NFL Combine Participant 2016 Senior Bowl Participant 2015, 2016 FCS Championship Game Most Outstanding Player 2014 College Sporting News Fab 50 All-America 2014 College Sporting News FCS Playoff MVP 2014, 2015 All-MVFC Honorable Mention 2015 MVFC Offensive Player of the Week 2015 NCAA Elite 90 Award 2013, 2014 NCAA Elite 89 Award 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year 2014, 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team 2014, 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-District 2014, 2015 MVFC All-Academic First Team 2012, 2013 MVFC Commissioner’s Academic Excellence Award 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 MVFC Honor Roll

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ON THE CLOCK KEVIN WEIDL

ON THE CLOCK

INSIDER POINT OF VIEW

Kevin Weidl has worked for Todd McShay’s Scouts Inc., for nine years. He’s worked in the TV booth for the SEC Network and has provided sideline coverage for games on ESPNU. Weidl played quarterback for Division II Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Photo By Rich Arden/ESPN Images

By Joe Kerlin

PRE-SENIOR BOWL

THE INTERVIEW

ack on January 19, we had a phone conversation with Scouts Inc.’s Kevin Weidl about Carson Wentz as an NFL Draft prospect and how NFL executives are evaluating the Bison quarterback fresh off his fifth FCS national championship.

The Senior Bowl was just around the corner, and Weidl told us to be prepared for the “big waves” of hype surrounding NDSU’s former quarterback.

Bison Illustrated: When did you first hear the name, Carson Wentz?

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Kevin Weidl: “The running back last year that came out, John Crockett, I was doing his evaluation and obviously watched the tape, and Anish (Shroff) had mentioned him and I watched a couple games.

I believe it was a playoff game against South Dakota State, I watched a couple games. You saw

ON THE CLOCK KEVIN WEIDL

the size, you saw the athleticism, the arm strength and you had a good feel for him, and then I scouted him in the preseason and I gave him a second-round grade going into the year.”

BI: What are NFL Scouts telling you right now about Wentz?

KW: “I think, talking with scouts and getting more background on him, I didn’t have much background on him, that’s the thing that’s really going to sell you on him. The size, the arm strength, the mobility was there; the ability to make the NFL throws were all there. I think more importantly, what you hear about this guy is the intangibles and his makeup, and leadership skills. The understanding of just having that responsibility of knowing you can put the keys to the franchise in a guy like this. He understands the role and won’t embarrass you. This guy could be the face of your franchise. He’s the type of guy that’s not a partier. He’s not looking for the limelight. He’s a guy that wants to win and is unselfish. I heard he’s very smart on the white board, and just has an understanding and a great feel. I heard nothing but excellent things in terms of intangible wise. Obviously, I’ve never spoken to him, but guys that I trust in the league have some very, very good input.”

a guy that can process it quickly, so mentally I think the biggest jump, I think with the quarterback position, the biggest jump going from college to the NFL, is first off, playing quarterback in the NFL is the hardest position in sports.

It just is. So much is put on your plate in terms of checks, being able to read defenses, especially complicated defenses this year. The biggest struggle for quarterbacks jumping from the college level to the NFL is number one, the speed of the game, and number two, the mental process of it, seeing different looks, being able to diagnose and make pro-style reads.

The one thing you hear about him is that he’s a very intelligent kid, can process it, understand it, he’s going to grind, going to work at it, so all the physical tools are there, you just want to see mentally what he has.”

BI: Do you think the mystique surrounding Wentz, especially after the injury, almost helped him in a year that the QB class isn’t the deepest?

KW: “I wouldn’t say it’s not as deep, there’s a lot of depth in this quarterbacks class. I don’t think

there’s a lot of talent, in terms of elite talent. I don’t think there’s a lot of elite talent at the top this year. So I think that helps him, but I think there’s really good depth. Now if we’re talking about elite guys at the top like Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota, I don’t think there is one. But to me, why I think Carson Wentz can be so intriguing this year is that you have a guy that’s, first of all, (he) knows what it takes to win national championships and has played on winning teams.

Mentally (he) has it. He’s 6-foot-5 at 230 pounds, very strong arm, lot of upside and great overall make-up, so that in itself is very intriguing. I think with a class like this, where there’s not a stand out guy like Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota if you will, I think it could really help him out in this area. I think there’s a big wave of Carson Wentz coming I would say buzz coming at the Senior Bowl, it’s going to be interesting to see what he does at the Senior Bowl.

Talking to people in the league that I trust very well said, ‘Be ready for this Carson Wentz wave to hit coming up here before the Senior Bowl and the combine.’”

BI: What’s one thing they love about Wentz?

KW: “Intangibles. … And there are a lot of guys that have physical traits to them. But I think more-so than anything, studying quarterbacks, there’s a lot of other guys that have this strength. It’s can they handle adversity, are they smart ... The guy is very intelligent – you can tell on the board and you can tell on the film he goes through his progressions. He’s

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ON THE CLOCK KEVIN WEIDL

BI: What will he be able to prove at the Senior Bowl?

KW: “He’ll be in meeting rooms with the teams. He’ll be in the meetings and more importantly, when they do private workouts, when they get to the combine, when they put him on the whiteboard, they’re going to see, you know, have him draw up plays. They’ll be able to talk to him and get a feel just talking to guys if

they’re mature, if they can process it, how well they get on the board and diagnose plays and walk you through concepts, especially.

During the interviews at the Senior Bowl, they’ll get that, but I think the combine when teams can get you on the whiteboard, and in private workouts is when they really sit down and pick his brain about what he knows and what he doesn’t know.”

BI: What are you seeing on tape that makes him stand out compared to the other quarterbacks in this class?

KW: “I think there’s a lot of tapes that we still need to watch.

Obviously, this year we haven’t seen much of his tape and he missed those games. But for him to come back and play as well as he did, it wasn’t a great game but he played fairly well in the championship game. That’s a really positive sign after eight weeks being off and then being thrown into a championship game, against a team that’s only lost to Auburn in overtime, really good Jacksonville State team. It’s really impressive so. To me personally, I think he’s right up there. I think there’s a very good chance that he’s going to be the first quarterback taken off the board this year. I think, to me, I would have him and Goff at the top and Paxton Lynch behind him.”

BI: Who are you comparing him to right now?

KW: “Joe Flacco – more athletic.

1-AA guy, big strong arm, he can throw the football. I think he’s a little more athletic than Joe. There’s a lot to like in terms of make-up, he’s a good kid. Joe obviously wasn’t a rah-rah guy, I don’t think he’s – you know he’s passionate in terms of having a little more energy than Joe does, but he’s also calm, very cool, very responsible, don’t have to worry about him off the field, always going to do the right thing, be the leader you want him to be and be the leader you want your quarterback to be.”

BI: Right now, where do you have him?

Photo By Senior Bowl

KW: “We have him at Scouts Inc., as the fourth quarterback right now. … We’re grouped together but me personally, I’ll be honest with you, I think he’s the top quarterback in this class.” * * *

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ON THE CLOCK JAMES KOH

ON THE CLOCK

BREAKING DOWN CARSON WENTZ WITH JAMES KOH BREAKDOWN Bison Illustrated: When did you first hear the name Carson Wentz?

James Koh: “It was probably about two months ago I heard the name Carson Wentz. Here’s the thing, I know I didn’t watch tape on him until about a month ago. I was surprised. He has a limited body of work, obviously. What I liked about him and what jumped off the tape immediately was the fact that he can throw short and intermediate routes really well. The back shoulder is not a problem for him at all. I loved that about him.

I started watching more tape and more game tape, and I guess what I didn’t like, he struggles down the field, throwing the ball down the field, even the catches and the touchdowns and the big plays. At the NFL level, a lot of those are going to get picked off. He either throws them too flat or he straight underthrows them. I think his arm strength is good, not great.”

BI: What team would fit best for Wentz?

JK: “It’s really interesting the parallel he’s had in his career to

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By Joe Kerlin Photo By NFL Images

Ben Roethlisberger and I think he needs to go to a team – first of all, it goes without saying all young quarterbacks need to go to a team that will bring them along slowly.

I think Cleveland is every young quarterback’s nightmare right now.

They have no weapons, a suspect defense and they are in a complete and utter rebuild. They lost Alex Mack, they lost Mitchell Schwartz, two key pieces on their offensive

James Koh is the host of NFL Networks NFL Fantasy Live.

Koh specializes in fantasy football but took some time from his busy schedule in Los Angeles to field questions we had about Carson Wentz.

line. They’re in a complete and utter overhaul. Now Carson Wentz, to Cleveland, has to be very enticing because the dude is big, he can run, he’s been known to run, he likes to run and when you have a bad offensive line, you need a guy that’s big and strong and can run a little bit and kind of give your offensive line a little bit of a break every now and again. But that being said, I’d hate any quarterback

ON THE CLOCK JAMES KOH

at this point go to Cleveland because you know he’ll be pressed into service early and he’s just not ready. That’s just the bottom line.

“David Carr is a great example.

Coming from a small school like he did, he had all the tools, man. It’s just a matter of he got hit so often and so hard, that it’s impossible to have developed. You know what I’m saying? I shouldn’t say impossible, but I mean, my god, the level of punishment he was taking – any normal human is not going to be able to respond to that at some point. That’s the kind of punishment I see the Cleveland quarterback taking next year, because again, they just don’t have weapons. They lost Travis Benjamin, I love Gary Barnidge, but again, you’re talking about somebody who is in their early 30s and was primarily a blocking tight end his entire career.”

BI: Let’s take Cleveland off the board. Could you see a situation where you have Denver or Houston, who have a new quarterback, but they need to develop someone?

JK: “The team I would love to see him go to is the San Francisco 49ers. I really would. I know they’re shopping Colin Kaepernick right now. Colin Kaepernick sounds like he’s not too terribly happy with his situation there.

Chip Kelly, as much as you can ride the guy, you can say whatever you want about Chip Kelly but the bottom line is he’s been able to take a certain type of quarterback and mold them. If Carson Wentz, who again can run around a little bit, I think his rushing stats are extremely deceptive because we’re talking about a guy who’s 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds, kind of crushing smaller linebackers, that’s fine, but I don’t think that’s going to work in the NFL but he’s still mobile and that’s what I like about him is that he’s mobile, he’s not a statuous guy in the pocket. That’s again where the Ben Roethlisberger comparison comes in. Ben Roethlisberger is not looking to run downfield, but if he has to, he can and he can shed

tacklers and that’s the important part in the pocket. I think Carson Wentz can do something similar.

If Chip Kelly got ahold of him, it would be really interesting to see what would happen there.”

BI: What do your colleagues at the NFL Network say about Wentz?

JK: “It’s interesting. I work with a lot of contrarians (laughs). I work with a lot of fantasy football hipsters. They don’t get too excited about guys that are really wellknown so when they get a Carson Wentz, North Dakota State, they say, ‘Oh really? My radar is up.’

They watch a little bit of tape, they like what they see on tape. I think most everybody I work with, especially on the fantasy side, is a lot more excited about Carson Wentz than Jared Goff. I mean, Connor Cook, it’s interesting to me about Cook and (Christian) Hackenberg thing. Those guys will be fine back-ups, but you need to watch more than a few games to realize this guy, I don’t think for Connor Cook and Christian Hackenberg to me, they don’t have the tools to be good NFL guys because first of all their accuracy is just not there at all.”

BI: So what’s grabbing your attention about Wentz as a pro prospect?

JK: “Carson Wentz, like I said, I’m interested in him as a prospect because of his size and his advanced ability to throw short and intermediate routes because to me that’s way more important to a young quarterback than being able to throw deep. Right now, I think he’s got some serious issues throwing deep. A, he doesn’t set his feet very often and the throwing motion is a little bit unorthodox, which is the most euphemistic way to put it. He almost throws it three-quarter, the way he throws it and he doesn’t fully utilize his length. But again, he can sling it, though. I like the way he can throw on the run, everything from 15 yards and in, he can make those throws, all day long. And for a young quarterback that is huge. Those things I like.

That’s why he’s such an interesting prospect too, especially with his big body. The way his size is. He’s also built for more of a shorter pass game anyway. If you get to him, he can chuck a tackler here or there and turn out some yards.

The other thing I like about him too is he always keeps his eyes downfield. He’s always looking to make that play. He doesn’t ever think a play is dead. That’s from what I’ve seen. He doesn’t give up on a play.” * * *

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ON THE CLOCK TALKING HEADS

ON THE CLOCK

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WHAT THE TALKING HEADS ARE SAYING

BREAKDOWN

arson Wentz has been on the lips of many recognizable faces in sports media. We gathered quotes and excerpts from many of the most popular pundits covering the NFL. Photos By Peter DaSilva, Joe Faraoni, Phil Ellsworth, ESPN Images, NBC Sports Images, NFL Images

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Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) ESPN’s First Take “Extremely impressed. I will be the first to admit, I did not watch one snap this young man played at North Dakota State because I’m not going to watch him play Montana, Weber State, North Dakota and South Dakota State, and by the way, he got hurt. … I was impressed with his maturity, with his command, how he talked about his faith got him through the long eight weeks it took to get right for the national championship game, which was a little dicey to come back and play in. … When I saw the video of him outside with Gruden this young man is 6’5’’, 237 and he looked as big as Big Ben (Roethlisberger) to my eyes. Big Ben is listed at 6’5’’, 240 so three pounds give or take a couple here or there. So I’m seeing the stature, the big bone size that we see in Roethlisberger. Is he as good as Roethlisberger? I have no idea. But by all account, everything is there. All the intangibles are there and all the size.”

ON THE CLOCK TALKING HEADS

Peter King (@SI_PeterKing) Sports Illustrated “The point is, I could see Wentz becoming the big star of a starless draft. Not that he cares, or wants the attention. He won’t want it. But the NFL does a good job of inventing heroes, and the first quarterback picked in any draft is going to get the hype machine going. And as teams prepare to leave Indianapolis at the close of the combine today, with the draft two months away, Wentz could be that guy. Cleveland has a crying need post-Manziel for a franchise quarterback. It’s too early to ID the leader in the clubhouse, but the temperatures I took of quarterback-needy teams over the week showed Wentz leading in the race for first QB off the board.”

Cris Collinsworth (@CollinsworthNBC) NBC “Wentz is a powerful-looking guy. His size makes an impression, but his ability to run is even more impressive. He appears to have a top-15 NFL arm.

Wentz might not be as fast, powerful or athletic as Cam Newton, but at 6-foot-5 and 237 pounds, Cam is not an unfair comparison for him. Wentz has a lot to learn making the huge jump from North Dakota State to the NFL, but his talent is undeniable. His arm strength and athleticism allows him to make the off-balance throws necessary in the NFL.”

Michael Smith (@michaelsmith) ESPN’s “His & Hers” Mike Mayock (@MikeMayock) NFL Network “When I look at (Wentz), I see a kid that’s as athletic or more athletic than Andrew Luck. He’s bigger than Andrew Luck. He’s got arm strength comparable to Andrew Luck. He just doesn’t have the experience that Andrew Luck has at a high level that Andrew has coming out of college. So I see a ceiling for this kid similar to Andrew Luck. That’s why I believe in this kid so much.”

“Those FCS cats, man. (Steve) McNair was an FCS cat.

Joe Flacco was an FCS cat coming out of Delaware. So Mike (Mayock) had me at Andrew. He could’ve been like, ‘Andrew Wiggins.’ He said Andrew and I was like, yes, you telling me this guy might have some of Andrew Luck? I’m taking him at two to Cleveland. If Cleveland wants to pass, I’m taking him at four to Dallas. Sorry, Tony Romo, I know you think you got a couple years left, but I’m taking the heir apparent if this cat has any semblance of Andrew Luck to him. And I’ve never seen him take a snap.”

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ON THE CLOCK JOE HAEG

ON THE CLOCK

JOE HAEG

L

ost in much of the Carson Wentz exposure is the offensive lineman that was protecting his backside for two years. Left tackle Joe Haeg was a four-year starter at NDSU and caught the attention of many NFL scouts early in his college career. Now that the draft is just around the corner, we talked with Haeg about his experience from the moment he left the field for the final time in Frisco, Texas.

*This conversation has been edited for print. Check out the extended interview with Joe Haeg on BisonIllustrated.com.

By Joe Kerlin

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Bison Illustrated: Now that you’re back in Fargo before Pro Day, are you working out with Jim Kramer?

Joe Haeg: “Yes, we have some summer workouts planned with the team. It’s been an awesome experience and I’m just excited to see where I’m going.”

BI: In the pre-combine interview, you said NDSU helped you prepare for this moment. In what way did NDSU help you get ready for this?

JH: “I think a lot of it was that NDSU does a really good job of developing young guys. There’s a lot of programs that other colleges in general that will kind of take young guys, put them aside and hope they develop on their own until they become a player they can use. At NDSU, every guy is being developed just as much as a fouryear starter was when you come in as a freshman. I think NDSU does a really good job of that, building a strong culture here of winning and it’s an awesome experience.”

BI: What did you want to prove while you were at the Senior Bowl?

JH: “For me and Carson (Wentz) or anyone from a small school that other teams look down upon, the main thing for that was to be able to go out and prove that it doesn’t matter where you’re from once you get on the football field. It matters because every guy is on the same playing field and you have to prove that you’re a top player out there.”

BI: You hurt your shoulder before the Senior Bowl game, but still participated at the combine. How well do you feel you stacked up against your peers?

JH: “I thought I did really well. I showed a lot of natural athleticism, which is something that is my biggest selling point as an offensive lineman. There are so many crazy athletic guys that are pass rushers in the League and being more athletic now is a bigger part of being an offensive lineman in the League. I think I sold that well. I think I did well in a lot of

ACCOLADES 60 Games Played 2016 Senior Bowl 2015 Walter Camp FCS All-America Team 2015 STATS All-America First Team 2015 STATS FCS Offensive Player of the Year Finalist (13th) 2014 Sports Network All-America First Team 2014 AFCA All-America 2014, 2015 Associated Press AllAmerica First Team 2014, 2015 FCS Athletic Directors Association All-America 2014, 2015 College Sporting News “Fab 50” All-America 2014, 2015 College Sporting News Offensive Lineman of the Year 2014, 2015 All-MVFC First Team 2015 MVFC Offensive Lineman of the Week (2x) 2014 MVFC Offensive Lineman of the Week (2x) 2013 MVFC Offensive Lineman of the Week

my interviews so it was a good experience.”

BI: I wanted to ask you about the interviews at the combine. Did you have people preparing you for all the crazy questions they’d ask you?

JH: “I was able to train with a guy for interviews. He taught us a lot of things about the process like what to expect. It’s weird though, because the interviews are the things that I’m very confident with.

There are definitely some guys that struggle with that aspect of the process but it’s always been something that’s solid for me. Being in those interviews, you just have to be yourself.”

BI: What were some of the off-thewall questions you received for an NFL team?

JH: “Yeah, I mean, there are a lot of questions that are weird, but the weirdest questions are probably the psychological evaluations. They would make a statement and you’d have to either agree or disagree with that statement. And it would be like, ‘I love flowers. Do you

agree or disagree?’ Or, ‘I cry during movies. Do you agree or disagree?’

There were like 300 of those questions and that was only one of the evaluations. You had to do five psychological evaluations. That was probably the scariest part of the whole combine situation but it was an experience that’s for sure.”

BI: What did you do with most of your time in Indianapolis for the combine?

JH: “We were down there for four days, but half the time was spent doing medical stuff. It was a crazy four days.”

BI: How is the shoulder you hurt at the Senior Bowl?

JH: “The shoulder is brand new, it feels like. I was able to get a cortisone shot in it a week before the combine so that really helped a lot. It feels really good.”

BI: Will you be doing the bench press at Pro Day? JH: “We’re still 50-50 on it; mainly because I lost so much training time with the bench. We’ll see. Most likely, I would. If I didn’t do it, I would wait to send the video to all the teams, which is not a big deal for guys that have injuries in the shoulder. We’re playing it by ear right now.”

BI: Why should an NFL team take a chance on you?

JH: “I think they should because I think I’m an offensive lineman that moves well in space. I’m very athletic and I can make the play across the field, as well. I’m a guy that you’re not going to be getting any phone call from at three in the morning because I’m in trouble. I’m a very team-oriented guy and I’m all about – I’ve been able to play for a great program and I’m very teamoriented.”

BI: You grew up in Minnesota. Are you hoping they take a hard look at you?

JH: “(Laughs) I did grow up a pretty big Vikings fan, but I’d be happy to go anywhere.” * * *

ON THE CLOCK BEN LECOMPTE

ON THE CLOCK

BEN LECOMPTE

By Joe Kerlin

T

he greatest punter in NDSU history was snubbed of an NFL Combine invite. But Ben LeCompte was able to use that as an opportunity to participate in other camps and combines across the country that will provide him the exposure he needs to land on an NFL roster. We spoke to LeCompte a week before NDSU Pro Day. *This conversation has been edited for print. Check out the extended interview with Ben LeCompte on BisonIllustrated.com.

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Bison Illustrated: Where did your journey take you after Frisco?

Ben LeCompte: “After Frisco, the following Tuesday, I moved to the Scottsdale/Phoenix area to train. Moved into an apartment out here and then I just started training out here and then I did three regional combines that were available for me to do because I wasn’t invited to the NFL Combine.

They are basically combines set up specifically for athletes that don’t get invited to the NFL Combine.

They’re not like regional NFL Combines because kickers and punters actually can’t attend other combines, so there’s these three senior scouting combines just for

kickers and punters put on by three different organizations.”

BI: Is that what your video from Kohl’s Kicking was about?

BL: “The one Super Bowl weekend in San Diego, that was Mike Husted, Husted Kicking Combine.

On Valentine’s Day weekend, that was Kohl’s Kicking, Jamie Kohl’s Kicking Organization. The one on the last weekend in February was Garry Zauner kicking camp, and the first weekend in March when I was in Fort Lauderdale, Tampa and Miami, that was also with Kohl’s Kicking.”

NDSU CAREER RECORDS Punt Yards – 10,158 Punt Attempts – 228 Average Yards/Punt – 44.55

BI: How did you feel you stacked up against everybody else there?

BL: “I thought I performed really well at the San Diego combine.

I finished first one day, second the other day. The Kohl’s Kicking Combine I made it, out of 85 punters I made it to the Top 10, finished about fourth I think it was overall, and then, for the Garry Zauner one in the last weekend in February, I didn’t perform as well as I would’ve liked but it still went well.”

BI: What was your focus in training before your Pro Day? BL: “Basically, what I was trying to do with that is focus on not necessarily making a lot of changes, but just becoming more consistent because I have friends who are in the NFL. I’ve been around NFL punters in the summer and stuff and the phrase everybody uses is called an “A-Ball.” Your best punt is your A-Ball. So I knew that my A-Ball is the same A-Ball that NFL punters can hit, it just came down to being able to hit that A-Ball as consistently as they do.”

BI: You didn’t go to the combine so do you feel like you’ve gotten enough exposure?

BL: “At first, I was – obviously, everybody wants to go to the NFL Combine – I was really heartbroken and bent out of shape about not going because I think, in my eyes, I deserved to go. I was the NDSU career leader, third all-time in the FCS, first all-time in the Missouri Valley, I thought I had all the career accolades and the seasons and the career to be an NFL Combine punter. But at the end of the day when I look back on

it, it’s kind of a blessing in disguise that I didn’t go, because, like I said, those three combines that I went to are only open to non-combine athletes. … When I look back on it now, I’m not really that bent out of shape about not going to the NFL Combine. The Chicago Bears reached out to me yesterday. I have a workout with them on April 14, but other than that, I haven’t really reached out to too many NFL teams, but it’s the process starting right now. Teams are really starting to get into interviewing guys and bringing them in to work out. The nature of the game is that punters and kickers and long snappers, we’re on the bottom of the totem pole, they’re going to reach out to the quarterbacks, the running backs, their offensive tackles, their whatever until they feel comfortable then they will get to punters and kickers last. Like I said, I’m patient, but it’s not the end of the world right now.”

BI: Why do you think an NFL team should take a chance on you?

BL: “I think an NFL team should take a chance on me as a free agent or late-round draft pick or whatever they decide just because I’ve played for five years in college. I have a lot of big game experience by playing on a huge stage, I perform really well under pressure and I’m able to perform well at any craft that’s needed. I can perform two crafts at an NFL level like I mentioned and I’m very confident in that, and then the third one being field goals. I can get a team out of a pinch or out of a bind. I watched so many times last year where team’s kicker would go down in the middle of the game and then, the punter looks like a fish out of water trying to kickoff and kick field goals and I think I’m a specialist where that wouldn’t necessarily happen.” * * *

BISON PRO DAY

BISON PRO DAY Ten former Bison had their chance to show their skills in front of NFL scouts during NDSU’s Pro Day inside the Fargodome. Carson Wentz was the star of the show, but CJ Smith, Jordan Champion, Lucas Albers, Andrew Bonnet, Jeremy Kelly, Joe Haeg, Zach Vraa, Ben LeCompte and Christian Dudzik also put on a show.

Carson Wentz drops back to pass during his throwing workout. Ryan Smith, Zach Vraa, Lucas Albers and Titus Mack were Wentz’s receivers.

He completed his first 45 passes and went 62-65 during the workout.

(Left) Carson Wentz, Ron Jaworski and Britt McHenry chat on ESPN from the sidelines at the Fargodome.

(Above) Chris Klieman and Tim Polasek talk to Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson.

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BISON PRO DAY

Former Bison cornerback CJ Smith flies through the air during the standing broad jump. A whole flock of his former teammates were on hand to cheer on their former captain.

Carson Wentz uses the bands to stretch while he speaks to his quarterback coach Ryan Lindley and NFL Network Draft Analyst Mike Mayock. Wentz spent time with Lindley in Irvine, Calif., preparing for the Senior Bowl, combine and Pro Day.

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$650,0 MATT LARSEN PLANNING THE NEXT MOVE

A

fter NDSU plays Iowa in September, only Oregon will remain as the lone FBS opponent in NDSU’s future. 2020 is a half-decade away, but NDSU Director of Athletics Matt Larsen knows when to jump on an FBS opportunity when he sees one.

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Filling out the 2016 NDSU football schedule shows just how long of a process it can be to schedule teams to play a five-time defending champion. That’s why when Oregon came knocking, Director of Athletics Matt Larsen rushed to the door to welcome a game against the Ducks in Eugene, Ore., in 2020.

NDSU is deadlocked on two philosophies when deciding whom to play on the gridiron: six home games is a must and never ignore the importance of scheduling an FBS opponent.

“We always want to have six homes games because that drives revenue,” said Larsen, who is almost through his second year at the helm of

By Joe Kerlin Photo by J. Alan Paul Photography

the athletic department. “And the opportunity to play six home games in the Fargodome, with that homefield advantage, in front of our fans is a huge benefit.”

Larsen also stressed the importance of eclipsing the eight-win mark, which has traditionally been the magic number for teams looking for a bid into the FCS Playoffs if they don’t win their conference. NDSU, on the other hand, hasn’t had to worry about being on the playoff bubble since 2010. What they’ve been consumed with more than anything is locking in the next FBS opponent.

Former Director of Athletics Gene Taylor was able to get Iowa on the

LET’S GET LOGISTICAL

000 The amount Oregon guaranteed to pay NDSU for the Bison to come to Autzen Stadium.

BIG NUMBER YEAR 2020 2016 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010

TEAM Oregon Iowa Iowa State Kansas State Colorado State Minnesota Kansas

SCORE

BONUS

(??-??) (??-??)

(34-14) (24-21) (22-7) (37-24) (6-3)

$650,000 $500,000 $350,000 $350,000 $250,000 $375,000 $375,000

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LET’S GET LOGISTICAL

2016 schedule back in September 2011. It took until this past August for NDSU to lock-in their next FBS opponent.

“Oregon worked out because I actually knew the Senior Associate Athletic Director at Oregon (Eric Roedl),” said Larsen. “He used to be at Temple so when I was at Stony Brook, we got to know each other a little bit and became colleagues.

So when he went out to Oregon, he and I talked about a little bit when I was at Stony Brook about maybe making a matchup there, but it just didn’t end up working out.”

NDSU has thrived playing FBS opponents in the Midwest. But with the Big 10 forbidding its members to play FCS opponents anymore and a three-game winning streak against the Big 12, NDSU needed to extend its reach to the coast.

Larsen and head coach Chris Klieman began working together to find the next FBS opponent.

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“Ideally, you’re looking for an FBS game that you have an opportunity to be competitive in and an opportunity to win,” Larsen explained. “We talked a lot early on about Oregon and it was one that he felt comfortable with and certainly I felt comfortable with it.

I think, also, the profile of Oregon over the last couple of years really resonates with our fan base, really resonates nationally, which we felt like was really positive. So we started looking at dates to see if the dates matched up and once we got the dates matched up, then it was financials. And some of the things that we look for when we’re negotiating the FBS games is the guarantee — the amount of money that they’ll give us to go out there.

It offsets travel cost, but it also is an influx of revenue into the budget.”

Ticket allotment is another stipulation in the contract and NDSU will receive 3,000 for its trip to Autzen Stadium on September 5, 2020.

Larsen, his staff and Klieman are now in the process of looking for two more FBS opponents for the 2018 and ’19 seasons. NDSU will not play an FBS opponent in 2017 because of its home-and-home series finishing up in Cheney, Washington, against Eastern Washington.

“Ideally, you try to make it a destination for our fans,” Larsen said. “As nice as it would be to go down and play the University of Miami, it’s really tough for our fans to get there. So ideally, if we could go somewhere within driving distance. ... They could drive to Texas. We have a lot of alums in Arizona. Obviously California would be easy to get in and out of, so I think those are the ones we’d look at.”

NDSU will receive a guaranteed payout of $650,000 in 2020. It will be the highest payout to date in NDSU football history. * * *

LET’S GET LOGISTICAL

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$35

The per diem amount each student-athlete gets on the road per day. However, it’s rare they ever receive the full amount.

CASEY MATTHEWS ORGANIZED CHAOS ON THE ROAD

S

cheduling is one thing, but organizing an entire group of student-athletes on the road is another.

Men’s basketball Director of Operations explains to us his role on the team and why he needs to be the most organized man in the gym.

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Casey Matthews doesn’t involve himself with creating the schedule for the NDSU men’s basketball team, but he is in charge of getting the players and coaches on the bus to physically get them to the gym. As the director of basketball operations, Matthews doesn’t get to hear his name announced over the PA system before the game or allowed to give head coach Dave Richman his insights during the game. But he’s okay with that for now.

Matthews joined the NDSU staff last summer, replacing Josh Vaughan as the men’s basketball director of operations. A lot of what his role entails is administrative work. He maintains order with

By Joe Kerlin Photo by Paul Flessland

the budget, creates itineraries for road trips, makes sure the student-athletes are keeping up with classwork and helps Richman with the minor details of running a successful Division I program.

Everything from the bus company picking up the team at the airport to the flight ticket itself, Matthews needs to stay organized so the team doesn’t miss a beat off the court while traveling.

Flights are booked and hotels are reserved in the late summer before preseason practice kicks off.

Matthews has a system where he goes through the schedule with Richman by first filling out when the games are and if they’ll need to

LET’S GET LOGISTICAL

Casey Matthews is the Director of Basketball Operations for the men’s basketball team.

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LET’S GET LOGISTICAL

stay in the hotel the night before or after. These schedules hang in Matthews’s office so assistants can come check when and where they’ll be if they want to go visit a recruit.

“Conference is a little easier,” Matthews said. “For instance, Western Illinois, there’s only one hotel in Macomb that we want to stay in, and that’s the Hampton Inn. If I don’t get on it early, that’s one of the first things Dave told me. So this is a later trip, but I booked this hotel back in September. And because if that hotel would’ve sold out at any point, then we’re staying somewhere we don’t want to stay.”

Fifteen rooms is the standard when booking a hotel, although redshirts and non-scholarship athletes don’t always join on the road. In redshirt Deng Geu’s case, he started staying back in Fargo to maintain his workout schedule with strength and conditioning coach Jason Miller.

Certain coaches also have certain tastes on the road.

Richman is Matthews’s fourth head coach in four years and learned early on Richman likes the team to eat in the hotel to avoid extra time on the bus.

“My first boss at Southern Miss, he didn’t like that,” Matthews said. “He wanted the guys to go, get out of the hotel. At (UNC) Wilmington it was the same thing. Get out of the hotel, go eat somewhere, in fact, my first year at Southern Miss, for pregame meals, we always left and went somewhere.”

Another idiosyncrasy Matthews has noticed of the Bison basketball team is that they try to avoid early shoot around times. Matthews thinks Richman knows the players don’t like them, so they try to avoid it as much as possible.

For example, when the Bison played in Omaha and needed

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to have their shoot-around in a different facility because the ice was uncovered at Baxter Arena, the Bison took that opportunity to visit a man tied to the NDSU program – Creighton head coach Greg McDermott.

“It was great. They have a beautiful practice facility. It was a really good experience for our guys, too,” Matthews said. “What I took away from it, our practice facility here is unbelievable.

Theirs is really, really nice as well. It made me realize how nice we have it. It’s really, they have versus what we have – they have some graphics on the walls, which we don’t have yet.

But other than that, our facility’s probably a little bit bigger.”

Matthews said he’s also lucky to have found a culture that fits his vision of how a basketball program should look like. With his job description constricting his coaching ability, he has grown a different bond with the players. He said he wants to help mentor the student-athletes.

“Having that opportunity to sit down with Khy (Kabellis) away from basketball, he’s in normal clothes, we’re in normal clothes and it’s just, ‘Hey, I care about you, kid. What’s going on in your life? How’s school? How’s your folks? Are you adjusting to Fargo?’ And Dave is really big on having those relationships and knowing what’s going on in their lives,” Matthews said.

He continued explaining the locker room as the tightest one he’s been around.

Matthews will be returning to NDSU next year to assume the same role. As long as he remembers to book the Hampton Inn in Macomb, Ill., he’ll be back with the coach and the program he has become so impressed with. * * *

ITINERARY North Dakota State Men’s Basketball Travel Itinerary IPFW/WIU

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20 WEATHER HI: 23 LO: 16 9:00AM

Practice @ SHAC

10:45AM

Arrive at Fargo Airport

12:14PM

Flight departs Fargo (Lunch: Per Diem)

2:10PM

Flight arrives at O’Hare

2:45PM

Bus departs airport for Fort Wayne

7:30PM

Arrive at Hilliard Gates Center for practice (Time Zone Change to EST)

8:30PM

Depart Hilliard Gates Center for hotel (Hilton)

8:45PM

Arrive at hotel

9:00PM

Dinner/Film

11:00PM

Lights Out - Room Checks

GAMEDAY!

THURSDAY, JANUARY 21 WEATHER HI: 23 LO: 16

10:00AM

Breakfast @ hotel (WakeUp Call 9:45AM)

11:30AM

Scouting Report

12:00PM

Depart hotel for shootaround (5 miles)

12:15PM - 1:15PM

Shootaround at Hilliard Gates Center

1:20PM

Depart Hilliard Gates Center for hotel

1:35PM

Arrive at hotel

3:00PM

Pre-Game Meal at hotel

5:10PM

Depart hotel for game vs.

IPFW

5:30PM

Arrive at Hilliard Gates Center

7:00PM

Tip-Off vs IPFW

8:45PM

Post Game meal delivered to the arena

9:30PM

Depart Hilliard Gates Center for Courtyard Champaign

FRIDAY, JANUARY 22 WEATHER HI: 30 LO: 16 12:30AM

Arrive at Courtyard Champaign (Time Zone Change to CST)

10:00AM

Breakfast (9:45 wake-up)

11:00AM

Depart hotel for Macomb, Ill.

LET’S GET LOGISTICAL

L E T ’ S

G E T

L O G I S T I C A L

12,000 JOSH HEMINGWAY YOUR TICKET TO THE MADNESS

A

s you all know, tickets have become a hot commodity for NDSU football games. Single-game tickets, standingroom-only tickets and even season tickets have become a yearly and almost daily battle for some fans. The man behind all the madness has been through a battle or two in his NDSU career.

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BISON ILLUSTRATED • A P R I L 2 0 1 6

Thirty-five minutes is all it took on Aug. 1, 2015. It was just halfpast 8 a.m. when NDSU officially ran out of allotted single game tickets for the upcoming 2015 Bison football season. Bison fans from across the country were logging into the online ticketing system, calling the ticket office and waiting outside the box office in the Fargodome to claim their spot for at least one of the six home games among the thousands of rabid fans inside the stadium.

The official capacity at the Fargodome for a football game is 18,700. Last year, NDSU’s average attendance was 18,497, which

By Joe Kerlin Photo by Paul Flessland

means the Fargodome averaged 98 percent capacity, ranking them eighth in the FCS. The largest crowd ever recorded was during Homecoming in 2013, when 19,108 fans watched the Bison play Missouri State.

According to Assistant Athletic Director for Business and Ticket Operations Josh Hemingway, NDSU reserves a little over 12,000 seats for season ticket holders. He said that number has held strong during NDSU’s championship run, but he still fields anywhere from 3,500 to 4,500 new season ticket requests every year.

LET’S GET LOGISTICAL

0 The approximate amount of season ticket holders for NDSU football games.

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LET’S GET LOGISTICAL

ATTENDANCE RECORDS 1st – 19,108 (10/12/2013 vs. Missouri St.) 2nd – 19,065 (10/6/2012 vs. Youngstown St.) 3rd – 19,053 (11/18/2006 vs. SDSU) 4th – 19,044 (9/19/2015 vs. North Dakota) 5th – 19,042 (10/12/2002 vs. North Dakota)

6th – 19,034 (10/11/2014 vs. Southern Illinois) T7th – 19,020 (9/30/2000 vs. North Dakota) T7th – 19,020 (9/13/2014 vs. Incarnate Word) 9th – 19,011 (10/6/2007 vs. UC Davis) 10th – 19,006 (10/17/1998 vs. North Dakota)

In recent years, NDSU has made an agreement with the Fargodome to allow for standing room only tickets, which are sold August 1.

Hemingway said they tend to cap it around 300 so the four corners of the stadium aren’t too crowded.

Just ask Bison fans Micah Zimmerman, Troy Kind and Jim and Penny Potter, the first four fans in line at the Montana ticket office last summer when Griz single game tickets became available.

“It gives people an opportunity to get tickets early and in advance,” Hemingway said. “Sometimes, when you have to wait for that Friday before the game, it is tough for people that are a further distance away who are trying to make plans. The more tickets we can get out earlier the better.”

“It’s amazing,” Hemingway said.

“We’ve gone from a point where we struggled to try and fill the Fargodome to now we can’t cover all the requests. And now we’ve got people that are fanatical about it to the point where they’re traveling, booking flights to go buy tickets, not just to go to the event, but to actually buy the tickets.”

The Missouri Valley Football Conference has made an agreement with all its schools that allows visiting teams 200 tickets so traveling supporters can get in the stadium. On rare occasions, NDSU has to rely on consignment tickets because the demand has been so high. For a few of NDSU opponents last season, tickets were returned and sold to the public Friday morning.

The reach of Bison Nation’s passion has extended past tickets for home games and away games in the conference. It’s spilled onto the road, for nonconference games, where fans are going to extreme lengths to get their tickets to away events.

NDSU will begin taking requests May 1 for the September 17 matchup against Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. The online requests will be open until May 15, and from there, NDSU will start distributing tickets based on priority points. Iowa has given NDSU approximately 3,000 tickets to distribute to fans.

“People accrue priority points typically one or two ways.

Donations to the university, in particular, athletics and then consecutive years of season ticket purchase,” Hemingway said. “There are a few other things. Letter winners get additional points, and there are points for donations to the NDSU development foundation

whether they’re marked for athletics or the university in general.”

There’s no question football tickets are hard to come by, so that’s why NDSU and Hemingway urge fans to start thinking seriously about basketball season tickets before the Sanford Health Athletic Complex is open. Hemingway said right as the first shovel was going into the ground for the new basketball arena people started reserving their season tickets to make certain they’ll get a seat in the SHAC. This year’s season ticket holders will have the first chance to reserve their tickets for next year before season ticket requests open up for the public. The capacity hasn’t been set for the new basketball arena, but the architecture firm estimates it will be in the 5,600 to 5,800 range.

No matter the capacity of the new arena, Bison fans will be sure to fill it to the top, just as they have become notorious for doing at the Fargodome. It may have caused headaches in the past, but Hemingway and the athletic department can rest easy knowing the support from Bison Nation will never yield. * * *

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PAT FREDRICKSON

By Joe Kerlin Photos By Paul Flessland, NDSU Archives

REMEMBERING THE GREATS WITH NDSU’S HISTORIAN 60

BISON ILLUSTRATED • A P R I L 2 0 1 6

N

o, Pat Fredrickson isn’t technically a NDSU Athletics’ historian, but her resume qualifies her. The Associate Athletic Director heads up the business operations and has been with the Bison since 1978. She’s outlasted numerous athletic directors and coaches but guarantees the one factor that never leaves is that the quality of people at NDSU remains the same. We caught up with Fredrickson to recall some of the greatest memories and people at NDSU.

DR. A.L. “ADE” SPONBERG

ERA

r. Ade Sponberg hired Pat Fredrickson in 1978, so she’s a little biased when talking about the athletic director that was first introduced at NDSU in 1973.

D

“Ade was a great man,” Fredrickson said. “I think it was his ability to really hire coaches.

He had a certain demeanor about him that he was always highly respected in the department. He was always very nice to people, and I don’t know if I can ever recall at any time him being upset or anything. He was a great boss.”

Sponberg’s reputation of selecting the right coaches came in December 1975 when he hired Jim Wacker from Texas Lutheran College. Wacker went

24-9-1 in three seasons before moving on to coach at Southwest Texas State. Enter Don Morton, the man credited with turning around the offensive scheme at NDSU. Morton would leave after the 1984 season for Tulsa. Then, Earle Solomonson was hired and won two championships before bolting to Montana State. The last football hire under Sponberg was Rocky Hager, who would win two more national championships.

The track record continues in other sports. Sponberg also hired the all-time winningest men’s and women’s basketball coaches Erv Inniger in 1978 and Amy Ruly in 1979. He also hired current long-time men’s track and field coach Don Larson in 1979.

PAT FREDRICKSON

DACOTAH FIELD TO FARGODOME

acotah Field served as the Bison home field from 1938-1992.

In 1993, the Fargodome opened and has served as NDSU’s home venue for football games ever since.

Packing 19,000 fans is no small feat, and one of Fredrickson’s oldest memories is plotting the seating chart for the season ticket holders at Dacotah Field to the Fargodome.

D

“I was trying to put them where they were at Dacotah

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Field into the same seats in the Fargodome,” Fredrickson said. “It was totally different. (With the seat arrangement.) That was a very crazy part of my career.”

The Bison are 129-22 at the Fargodome. That’s a winning percentage of over 85 percent.

“I look back now, and for two, three years people were saying we shouldn’t have left Dacotah Field. Look where we are,” Fredrickson said. “Now, they’re saying they need a bigger venue.”

PAT FREDRICKSON

GENE TAYLOR ERA

G

ene Taylor was hired at NDSU July 2002 from the Naval Academy. He arrived during a time when NDSU was at a crossroad. NDSU was ready for a Division I transition and Taylor was given the job to orchestrate the program-changing move.

championships during his time in Fargo.

Fredrickson remembers a great leader, but she was fond of another side of Taylor.

Fredrickson can still see him in her office when he informed her he was leaving.

“He had the business side of it, and all this work to do, but he also believed in, ‘You can’t have your whole life focused around your job,’” Fredrickson said. “Which is what happen a lot of times in athletics department. You’re consumed by your job, but Gene always believed in getting away and that you can’t work 12-14 hours a day.”

“When Gene came in here, and I’ll never forget it as long as I live. He’d been gone and he came in here and I was in the middle of the budget process and we’re getting toward the finalization of it and – I can still see him – he looked squared at me, because I said we have to meet and do this and this, and he just looked at me and said, ‘Pat, I’m not going to be here anymore,’” Fredrickson recalled. “I thought he was joking but then he told me he was going to resign and go to Iowa. But I was really happy for him.”

Taylor was successful in the transition.

He put NDSU into the Summit League and the football team would eventually win three straight national

DIVISION I ene Taylor’s name is synonymous with the graceful Division I transition.

It was a vital fiveyear period for NDSU, beginning in 2005, as they were faced with many challenges such as raising the budget and finding a conference.

G

“There’s been some things that always comes along, like the Division I transition,” Fredrickson said. “I will admit that was a little scary because of what

I do. We came through that just unbelievably.”

At the start of the transition, NDSU Athletics’ budget was $5.6 million. By the time Taylor left in 2014, the budget was up to $17 million and will now exceed $20 million, according to Fredrickson.

“All I can say is it was scary,” Fredrickson said, admitting she lost more than a few nights of sleep during the transition. “We

were ready for it. To me, there was no looking back. That was the right decision at the right time. I think we really hit a peak in Division II. There was an aura about Division I. There just is. We were as far as we could go in Division II, and then, we were always going to be on top in Division II, so you want to challenge.

We’re all about that and that’s what Division I does. It’s a challenge and you work hard when you get there and it’s unbelievable.”

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PAT FREDRICKSON

BISON SPORTS ARENA LEGACY redrickson spent all but the last two years of her career inside the walls of the Bison Sports Arena. We’ll let her explain how that went with these two shorts stories:

F

War Story “What I’m not going to miss, we had the weight room above my office. It was unbelievable. I think the funniest story was, we had the weight room upstairs and it was a timing thing, so we knew when they were going to do those clean things and drop the weights. We get used to it.

We have a gentleman out there buying tickets and he’d been in the service. When they started dropping those weights, he dropped to the floor. That’s how loud it was. And people would say to us, ‘Does it bother you?’ We got so used to it.”

Mr. President “I was there when President (George W.) Bush visited. It was so interesting. I’ll never forget when they came in because we had to meet with the secret service and all that. I considered myself on the inside because they had a point person, so I got to wear one of those buttons. And the little button tells all their people that she’s been cleared, she’s okay. If you need anything, go to her.

It was very interesting to work with them. They came 10 days in advance to check everything and we all had to get cleared.

I’ll never forget because one of the secret service

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guy’s name was Bill. He was the lead secret service guy. I’ll never forget it, because when he came to me, he said, ‘After this is all set and done, Pat, because of what we’ve accomplished here.’ And he was very complimentary of us. ‘I will make certain that you meet him, face-to-face, and shake his hand.’ And I did at the very end. Everybody had left and President Bush was in a meeting.

They left and his motorcade was waiting and he walked out and here we were. You know what I said to him? I introduced myself, Bill actually introduced us, and I looked at him and said, ‘President Bush, this would’ve never had happened if it wasn’t for having a woman in charge.’ And he busted out laughing.”

PAT FREDRICKSON

THE FUTURE DSU Athletic Director Matt Larsen is Fredrickson’s fifth AD during her 38-year tenure. She says every new face in the building has provided a spark in her to continue her long career.

N

With the new Sanford Health Athletic Complex just around the corner and full cost-of-attendance for all sports kicking in this fall, Fredrickson hasn’t found a reason to leave yet. She

has all the confidence in the world in Larsen.

“Cost of attendance, raising the money for that, and our budget’s getting bigger and bigger every year, he’s got a personality and is a really good businessman. I call him a numbers guy, so he’s my kind of guy,” said Frederickson.

“He just does things the right way. He’s just great to work for.”

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HALL OF FAME WRESTLERS

ACCOLADES todd fuller (174, 1998-02)

2000, 2001, 2002 Threetime NCAA Division II national champion at 174 pounds 2002 Most Outstanding Wrestler at NCAA Division II National Championship 2000, 2001 member of NCAA Division II national championship teams Three-time North Central Conference finalist 2000, 2002 NCC Champion 2001 member of the NCC Championship team 2001-02 North Dakota Associated Press Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association’s Collegiate Male Athlete of the Year 101-29 career record Pitched and played outfield for the Bison baseball team

BISON WRESTLING

High Five T

By Joe Kerlin | Photos By NDSU Athletics

68

he 20th edition of the NCAA Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame ceremony took place March 10 in Sioux Falls, S.D. Five former NDSU wrestlers were inducted this year joining Bucky Maughan, Bill Demaray, Brad Rheingans, Lee Petersen and Mike Langlais as the other former Bison wrestlers in the Hall of Fame.

BISON ILLUSTRATED • A P R I L 2 0 1 6

One of the most accomplished wrestlers in NDSU history, Steve Saxlund, was among the five former Bison wrestlers inducted into the Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame this March.

Five other NDSU wrestlers and coaches have been enshrined in the Division II Hall of Fame, but it took some time for wrestlers in the 1990s to have their moment.

HALL OF FAME WRESTLERS

Saxlund believes it was their time when the ceremony came to Sioux Falls and the NCAA was able to enshrine a class exclusively of North Central Conference wrestlers. Joining the five Bison wrestlers were four from South Dakota State, two from Augustana and one from Minnesota State University Mankato.

STEVE SAXLUND (167/184, 1997-01)

2002 NCC heavyweight champion 1998, 2001 member of the NCC Championship team 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier Fourth at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials Fourth at the 2003 U.S. World Team Trials Fifth in Greco-Roman at the 2003 U.S. Nationals

Current Minnesota StateMoorhead wrestling head coach Kris Nelson nominated the five Bison wrestlers. Nelson was either a teammate or coached all five.

“If he didn’t, I don’t know if we’d ever get in, not because we weren’t deserving but you need a coach to nominate you and since NDSU is at the Divison I level, it’s just different,” Saxlund said. “I think it’s the right time to go back to those guys’ stomping grounds. We should recognize those two schools (NDSU and SDSU) as a part of the Division II era.”

Two-time NCAA Division II national champion Four-time North Central Conference placewinner 2002 NCC heavyweight champion 1998, 2001 member of the NCC Championship team 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier Fourth at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials Fourth at the 2003 U.S. World Team Trials Fifth in Greco-Roman at the 2003 U.S. Nationals Eighth at the 2004 and 2011 U.S. Nationals

Two-time NCAA Division II national champion Four-time North Central Conference place-winner

“Everybody this year was from the North Central Conference.

They were wrestlers we competed against a lot,” Saxlund said. “It was neat hearing their stories and stuff. We all knew each other so that was cool.”

ACCOLADES

ACCOLADES

Eighth at the 2004 and 2011 U.S. Nationals

Saxlund said there hasn’t been a reunion with any of the national championship teams, but they used to get together all the time at the national championships during NDSU’s Division II days.

“Bucky (Maughan) really pulled a lot of guys together for a long time,” Saxlund said. “Another cool thing about Bucky and his era

NICK SEVERSON (Heavyweight, 1998-02)

when he coached the national tournament, NDSU always had the most fans at all the Division II national tournaments and it was because that was the reunion.

Everybody that wrestled was a fan of Bison wrestling.

“I don’t think we realized what it was until you look back on it. All the people there that you see their names on the wall as All-American and National Champions, then you get to meet the people when you’re at the tournament. It was really cool to see that.”

Along with Saxlund, Todd Fuller, Nick Severson, George Thompson and Ryan Wolters were also enshrined into the Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame. Saxlund was a teammate with all four.

“That was cool because we saw their families and I knew them really well, and I see some of them every once in awhile, but it was really cool getting everybody together again,” Saxlund said. “It was a neat thing and brought back some memories from the good ole days if you want to call it that.”

Saxlund was inducted into his high school’s Hall of Fame, but has yet to crack NDSU’s. The

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HALL OF FAME WRESTLERS

ACCOLADES 1995 NCAA Division II National Champion Three-time Division II All-American 1998 member of NCAA Division II national championship team 2000 student assistant of NCAA Division II national championship team Four-time North Central Conference placewinner 1995 NCC champion 1995 Amateur Wrestling News All-Freshmen Team 82-31 career record

Ryan Wolters (190, 1994-98) weekend in Sioux Falls allowed him time to reflect on some of his greatest memories with his former teammates. Specifically, the ones who helped him train for the national championship when their season was already finished.

“If I needed somebody to come on a run with me or work out before nationals. You’re not pulling one

North Dakota’s Mr. Wrestling at Fargo South High School

of the starters, because they’re on their own routine,” Saxlund said.

“I remember a specific case where there would be guys saying, ‘I can’t wrestle you, you’re in way better shape, I’m in college party mode and you’re trying to win a national title.’ So I would get three guys and they would rotate in and they just had to be good for a minute, then they got two minutes off, ‘Can

ACCOLADES

you handle that?’ They were like, ‘Yeah, we can do that.’ So that’s what we did.”

Those teammates who volunteered to wrestle when they wanted to enjoy the offseason were the guys that inspired Saxlund to win three national championships. Their talent also pushed him every day, remembers Saxlund.

“As a returning national champion and finalist, you’d think, ‘Oh it’s practice, he must clean up on everybody,’” Saxlund said. “Well, there’d be a couple days in a row where I might not score a takedown just because you have so many good kids in the room.”

Saxlund remembers numerous times after practice when his teammates would rush to the weight room when he didn’t want to go. But he was forced to follow along because if they were getting better and he wasn’t, he’d lose his starting job.

The Bison were as dominant as any program in the late-1990s and at the turn of the century. They won three national championships from 1998-2001. With five wrestlers during that time finally in the Division II Hall of Fame, the Bison era is finally properly enshrined in the sport’s most coveted trophy case. * * *

1995 NCAA Division II National Champion

George Thompson (134, 1994-98)

Three-time Division II All-American 1998 member of NCAA Division II national championship team 2000 student assistant of NCAA Division II national championship team Four-time North Central Conference placewinner 1995 NCC champion 1995 Amateur Wrestling News All-Freshmen Team 82-31 career record North Dakota’s Mr. Wrestling at Fargo South High School

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BISON ILLUSTRATED • A P R I L 2 0 1 6

2001 NCAA Division II National Championship team (Hall of Fame inductees highlighted) Top row, far left - Nick Severson Top row, middle - Steve Saxlund Top row, second in on right - Todd Fuller

SOFTBALL MORELAND/GARCIA

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BISON ILLUSTRATED • A P R I L 2 0 1 6

SOFTBALL MORELAND/GARCIA

6-4-3 NDSU softball’s starting shortstop and second baseman have made quite the pair up the middle.

Now they hope their talents can lead NDSU to another Summit League Championship.

Logan Moreland and Cheyenne Garcia are hoping to turn two into three this spring.

By Joe Kerlin

You have to go back to May 4, 2013, to find the last time seniors Logan Moreland and Cheyenne Garcia didn’t share the same infield during a Bison softball game. That’s over 140 games in a row without the shortstop and second baseman not being paired together in the middle of the infield. Coincidence? No. Luck? Maybe. Advantage Bison?

Absolutely.

Garcia has started every game of her Bison softball career. The Vista, Calif., native has a career batting average of .355 and has hit more home runs in her career (27) than errors committed (16) in the infield. These unbelievable numbers finally culminated into 2015 Summit League Player of the Year honors last season.

By J. Alan Paul Photography

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SOFTBALL MORELAND/GARCIA

CAREER NUMBERS Logan Moreland – Shortstop Games Played – 172 Batting Avg. – .355 Hits – 200 Runs – 134 Double – 18 Triples – 5 Home Runs – 17 RBI – 93 Slugging % – .495 On-Base% – .416 Stolen Bases – 52 Cheyenne Garcia – Second Basemen Games Played – 184 Batting Avg. – .335 Hits – 201 Runs – 164 Double – 51 Triples – 9 Home Runs – 27 RBI – 145 Slugging % – .585 On-Base% – .394 Stolen Bases – 53

Moreland wasn’t far behind. The shortstop from Woodland, Calif., hit .421 last year, two points behind the team leader Garcia. Moreland also has one less career hit than Garcia (200) but has had 36 fewer at-bats.

What do all these stats mean?

Trouble for the Summit League and all smiles from softball head coaches Darren Mueller and Jamie Trachsel.

“It’s nice to have a set person that’s always been there,” Moreland said of Garcia. “It definitely gives me confidence getting it over to her and then we can use each other to give everyone else confidence.”

“Yeah, definitely,” Mueller said when asked if Garcia and Moreland make his life easier. “I think our whole infield is strong and having them in place where they’re comfortable with each other, knowing what each other does on the other side of the 76

BISON ILLUSTRATED • A P R I L 2 0 1 6

field. I think that’s a big part of the success and is great to have on our part of the defense.”

The two veteran middle infielders are two of the six members of NDSU’s 2013 freshmen class. Jackie Stifter, Maritza Lopez-Portillo, Jenna Isbel and redshirt junior Alyssa Reina provide the leadership for an NDSU softball team in the midst of one of their toughest nonconference schedules ever.

NDSU is 1-3 this season against schools ranked in the Top 25, with the lone winning coming against a No. 2 Alabama team in the beginning of March.

But it hasn’t always been Garcia, Moreland or the rest of the seniors getting the big hits.

“I feel like our underclassmen are actually doing really well and

they’ve been getting a lot of RBIs at big times when we really need them,” Garcia said. “It’s really nice being able to depend on anyone up and down the lineup.”

NDSU began Summit League play April 4. Garcia added they are knocking on the door of where their potential can be as a lineup.

“We’re pretty close,” Garcia said.

“I feel like our lineup isn’t exactly where we need it to be, and I’d be nervous for teams that play us when we all are on at one time.”

With back-to-back League titles in their pockets, NDSU is already the target from every other team.

But with Garcia and Moreland up the middle on defense and in the heart of the lineup, it’s going to be a long spring for the pitchers in the Summit League.

SOFTBALL ALYSSA REINA

HUMAN BACK STOP

By Joe Kerlin Photos by J. Alan Paul Photography

Redshirt junior catcher Alyssa Reina has caught some of the best pitchers to ever roll through NDSU. Most people forget she can get it done at the plate, too, with a .303 career batting average. We caught-up with Reina while the team was in Washington DC to see how the season is going with a young pitching staff.

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Bison Illustrated: You guys are in the midst of an 18-day road trip.

What’s it like to be around your team like that 24/7?

BI: Krista Menke graduated after last year, so Jacquelyn Sertic has made the transition to the No. 1 starter. How’s she doing?

Alyssa Reina: “As far as the offseason, we usually spend a lot of time with each other anyways, even outside of softball. I mean, a lot of the girls live together and we usually study together or hang out or go to dinner. It’s not like we don’t hang out with each other. It’s just when we go into the season, it’s like we never really have a moment away from each other.

Obviously, we still live together but some of us when we travel, we’re always together. We play together so it’s not a bad thing because we’re very used to each other. And we’re a close team, so I wouldn’t say it’s dramatic. We usually put ourselves in a position during the fall season to be close because we do hang out with each other so much.”

AR: “I think she’s given us a lot. I think it’s more of a mental progression than a physical. I think that she knows her role now and that she’s very open to us having her back as a defense and the offense, knowing that she had to step up and she had to be there for us and I think she’s enjoying that role too because she’s very good about staying in the moment and with everyone, there are things to work on and that goes for anyone on the team, but she is a hard worker. She’s determined and she wants to get the job done and she wants to get it done for us. I think that’s the most important thing.

She’s definitely stepped into that role very well.”

SOFTBALL ALYSSA REINA

ALYSSA’S CATCHING HISTORY Whitney Johnson – 2013 Summit League Pitcher of the Year Appearances – 36 Wins – 23 Complete Games – 26 ERA – 1.75 Strikeouts – 265 Krista Menke – 2015 Summit League Pitcher of the Year Appearances – 46 Wins – 34 Complete Games – 36 ERA – 2.11 Strikeouts – 391

BI: Sertic and your other pitcher KK Leddy are only a year apart. Are they developing at the same rate?

AR: “Yeah, I think they have different personalities, that’s for sure. Both personalities work for each pitcher. I want to say they aren’t completely different in their mindset, just because they are both young pitchers, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not going to go out there and give their all and do their best for us. Is there improvement to make?

Probably, and every person on this team needs to make improvements, just to keep getting better together.

With the pitchers, I don’t think catching them is going to be different.

When they go out in the field they have one goal in mind. They’re different but also the same.”

BI: You’ve caught a couple great pitchers. Is this year a challenge with this new era in NDSU pitching?

AR: “No, not necessarily. I went from Whitney (Johnson) to Krista (Menke), to Jackie (Sertic), to KK (Leddy) and Katie (Thun), and it’s not necessarily new. I wouldn’t say new era. Every year is going to be different because you have a different team, but as far as catching, even though your pitcher needs to know what they want or need, and (you need to) give that to them as much as possible. As a catcher, I just need to know who is throwing that game and what I need to do to help them do their best. I wouldn’t say it’s a new era, it’s just another thing that needs to be done.” * * * 80

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JUSTIN ST. CLAIR MEN’S TRACK & FIELD COACH

FROM THE

GROUND

UP

By Joe Kerlin | Photos By NDSU Athletics/Richard Svaleson

Justin St. Clair joined the NDSU track and field coaching staff as a throws coach in 2011. What happened immediately after was a chain reaction of success that began with one athlete qualifying for nationals and continues with an endless list of throwers consistently shattering school records. Today, NDSU ranks somewhere among the top in every throwing category across the country. And we have coach St. Clair to thank for that.

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JUSTIN ST. CLAIR MEN’S TRACK & FIELD COACH

better selection and now we have a really big group.”

Competition Within the Team Every men’s track and field throwing record is held by a student-athlete currently on the team.

“Everybody feeds off of each other, and I just think hard work, commitment, and having a group of people who are committed to throwing well, it’s just taken care of itself. Success is feeding success and each time it’s, ‘Hey, what can we do, how much further can we push this envelope? How can we do a little bit better?’ For me, coaching-wise, it’s all about being consistent. Me being consistent as a coach, so they know what to expect. There’s no guesswork on what my expectation is, they know what to expect out of me and on the flip side they have an expectation of themselves, and they just go out and they’re consistent. Consistency develops bigger throws. Is it rare? Yes, it’s a little bit rare and it’s great and fun.”

Formation of Camaraderie “I think it’s just our atmosphere. It’s the camaraderie and our whole team is that way. Obviously, each individual group is a little bit different, but our whole team is pretty supportive of each other and it’s just our way of doing things.

You see it, I think, in all the sports, not just track. You see it in football, you see it in basketball. We’re in it to win it together, it’s a team thing. I don’t have to do much. I set my expectations and this is what we need to do. That’s it.”

2016 Accolades • Midwest Region Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) • The only school to have four women mark farther than 48 feet in the indoor shot put.

• One of five schools to have four women mark farther than 58 feet in the weight throws.

• No. 1 women’s shot putter group in the country • No. 2 women’s weight throw group in the country • Women finished 1-2-3-5-7 in weight throw at Summit League Championships • Women finished 1-3-5-8 in shot put at Summit League Championships • Men finished with the top six finishers in shot put and scored 72 of a possible 78 team points during the Summit League Championships

Alex Renner - G.O.A.T.?

Top 5 All Time The five farthest indoor shot put throws in NDSU men’s track and field history are by athletes that are currently on the team.

Justin St. Clair: “It’s interesting because originally when I first came here we had one guy: Casey Orgon, who threw 52 feet. We used to get pretty excited about that, ‘Wow, we got this guy, he’s doing okay and shot put wasn’t his primary event by any means.’ Slowly things started to get better. Recruiting got a little easier, we were able to get

Junior Alex Renner crushed the indoor shot put record this season. He’s ranked 13th nationally, the highest a Bison has ever been.

“The great thing is, he’s ranked pretty high, but he’s just scratching at his potential right now. … I don’t want to put a limitation. I just say just train hard and let’s see where it goes. A lot of times you’ll say, ‘Hey, you can throw this,’ and then there’s all of a sudden this mindset of needing to chase this mark. Instead of allowing the process to happen, you’re just pushing and chasing, so I’m more go through the process of training, go do all the right things and let the results happen.

Praise from women’s head coach Stevie Keller: “Anyone who has been around our program knows that Justin has played a vital role in the success we’ve had at North Dakota State. He’s built this throws program from the ground-up, and now it’s one of the best in the country. He has tremendous work ethic and dedication, and that’s reflected by his athletes. We’re lucky to have him representing the Bison.”

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JUSTIN ST. CLAIR MEN’S TRACK & FIELD COACH “Opposed to forgetting how the process makes the far throw. A formula, right. You have to do A and B in order for C to happen or D to happen. A lot of times you’ll find people who are just result driven, but you need to be process driven, because the process is what creates the result, in my opinion.”

“We have a massive squad. When I first came here as a coach, we had seven or eight throwers across the board with all the throwing events, javelin, shot put, discus, hammer.

We now have 25 throwers. So in five years, we went from that to where we are now.”

Recruiting Specialty Huge Pool of Talent NDSU has 25 throwers on the men’s and women’s roster, including nine studentathletes who specialize in the javelin.

Not only is NDSU getting more throwers, they’re getting better recruits every year.

“Personally, for me, recruiting-wise, I don’t always necessarily throw

those type of things out there (recent throwing success). I don’t know. For me, it’s more about telling them this is the program we have, this is how we’re operating and we’re having some success and things are going well. But I don’t say, ‘Hey guys, you have to come here because we have these guys that are doing this, this person is doing this.’ We have a good program and it’s based around hard work and commitment and academics, it’s not just one thing. It’s not just throwing. It’s a combination of everything.”

* * *

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JUSTIN ST. CLAIR MEN’S TRACK & FIELD COACH

250 FEET

J

FROM THE

J

GROUND

UP THROW-CHART

MAP This graphic shows the difference Justin St. Clair has made since joining the NDSU track and field coaching staff in 2011. We have seen Bison throwers improve their distances in almost every throwing category. Here is how the old and new outdoor throwing records stack up.

S J D H

= = = =

SHOT PUT JAVELIN DISCUS HAMMER THROW

= = = =

WOMEN’S CURRENT RECORD WOMEN’S FORMER RECORD MEN’S CURRENT RECORD MEN’S FORMER RECORD

BISON ILLUSTRATED • A P R I L 2 0 1 6

Riley Dolezal 228-10 (2009)

H

200 FEET

H D

Emily Lesser 199-0 (2013)

H

Diandra Bauer 186-4 (2001)

Casey Orgon 216-6 (2013)

H

Scott Johnson 193-4 (2010)

Katelyn Weimerskirch 172-10 (2014)

J

Sierra Rosenau 165-9 (2016)

D

Julie Beck 155-11 (1994)

150 FEET

J

Jennifer Leddon 147-6 (1995)

100 FEET

S S S

Emily Lesser 54 ft -2 in. (2015)

Julia Karst-Gray 51-1 1/2 (2000)

50 FEET

START 86

Matti Mortimore 238-7 (2016)

Alex Renner 61-3 (2015)

S

Justin Camperud 55-9 1/2 (2000)

BASEBALL YOUNG BOPPERS

YOUNG

MASON PIERZCHALSKi

BOPPERS

By Joe Kerlin

Photos By NDSU Athletics, Jim Trewin, Jacob Funk, Tyler Ingham

N

DSU took to the baseball diamond on fire this season.

They won seven of their first eight games and are about to embark on the Summit Leauge season. A trio of sophomore hitters have led the way. Bison Nation, meet the Young Bison Boppers.

JAYSE MCLEAN BRAYDEN RESCH

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BASEBALL YOUNG BOPPERS

#10

MASON PIERZCHALSKi

STATS Games Played - 18 Batting Average - .328 Runs - 7 RBI - 10 Slugging Percentage - .403 On-Base Percentage - .408

THIRD BASE Mason Pierzchalski started 23 games for the Bison at first base during his freshman season. With John Skrbec graduating after last season, the sophomore from Sammamish, Wash., has made the move to third base. He’s also solidified his place in the middle of the Bison lineup and has provided protection for players like Ben Petersen.

What’s been the key to success so far this season?

“I think the biggest thing I see is that we’re responding right away. If the other team has a big inning we’re coming back and we’re putting up two or three runs, to make that big inning seem not as big. Last year, at times, when we got down, we didn’t really have that fight-back instinct. This year, I feel like no matter how many runs the other team is up by, we are at the point where we can turn it around at any given time and win a ball game.”

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#6

BRAYDEN RESCH FIRST BASE

STATS Games Played - 17 Batting Average - .323 Runs - 11 RBI - 14 Slugging Percentage - .385 On-Base Percentage - .457

Brayden Resch started in 31 games as a freshman last season. The hardhitting first baseman was thrown into the outfield due to injuries and hit a modest .260. This season has been another story. The sophomore from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan has the second-best batting average on the team at .323 and has solidified his number two spot in the lineup.

What clicked for you this season?

“I’ve been working hard all winter, getting into a new approach from high school to freshman year last year seeing a new style of pitching. This year, I knew it was coming and how they were acting and I just changed my approach a little bit and it’s going well so far.

Honestly, more patience.

I’m not getting myself out as much. If they get me out, they get me out, and if so, tip your cap to them, but if they give me something to hit, I’m hitting it.”

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BASEBALL YOUNG BOPPERS

#24

JAYSE MCLEAN OUTFIELD

STATS Games Played - 17 Batting Average - .208 Runs - 7 RBI - 6 Slugging Percentage - .245 On-Base Percentage - .323

Jayse McLean came out this season crushing the baseball. Since then, he’s cooled off but is still a player that causes opposing pitchers to double-check the gameplan. The Great Falls, Mont., native started 16 games in the outfield last season, and this year, he has found himself up and down the lineup.

How has your approach at the plate changed since your freshman season?

“It’s experience. Since I’ve been here, I’ve had two fall balls, a spring and summer.

Coming where I’m from, I didn’t see quite the level of competition that I see here, and just the repetition, getting comfortable and the game slowing down a little bit and that makes everything easier.”

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DAVE PEARSON BASEBALL COACH

OUT HIS DREAM

T

he Bison baseball team will be given 11.7 scholarships next season to fill a roster of somewhere around 35 players. The number doesn’t seem like much, but compared to the six scholarships head coach Tod Brown and associate head coach Dave Pearson were given when they arrived in 2007, they have hit the jackpot. With or without a full amount of scholarships, the Bison started the 2016 season with a fever pitch. They won their first game of the season for the first time since 2013 and won their first three games of the season for the first time in 14 years. We chatted with Pearson, associate head coach and hitting coach, about the season ahead and how he ended up back at NDSU after a long string of success elsewhere.

By Joe Kerlin Photo By J. Alan Paul Photography

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THE SITDOWN Bison Illustrated: Why make the jump back to college ball after being out in the West Coast League in 2006?

Dave Pearson: “I was always coaching at Mayville doing the assistant coach thing, then I went out to the West Coast League and it’s more of a summer ball league. There were good experiences building up your resume, working with other coaches, seeing different philosophies, building a bigger network and just working hard. Certainly, I started school here (NDSU) as a freshman, I knew that I always had a passion for this state and this school, and I was certainly excited when Coach (Tod) Brown called for the interview. We were in the playoffs out there, I got a call at three o’clock and I took off by five and drove all night, and I slept in my car in Billings Mont., got up and came all the way in and met that night at a Ruby Tuesday’s.

I got married that June, I was home for a week, left Monday morning to go back and coach so certainly there’s the life of a coach, hitting the road and going to do things. Being close to home, my parents were here, my wife’s parents were here so to me this is the dream place to be and have an opportunity to coach.”

BI: Where do you feel NDSU has improved as a baseball school over your tenure?

DP: “I think we’ve been able to add overall depth over the years of talent.

I think obviously when we took over, we had fewer than six scholarships and that first class, 5.8 of it was graduating. I put 22-or-so thousand miles on my car that first year of recruiting 24 guys. We go out there and try to find the best players and good students and people and a good teammate and try to add all that into the program.”

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DAVE PEARSON BASEBALL COACH

thing I want them to take away is that they come here, get a degree and learn about the game. Certainly, have an infectious attitude of love for showing up and doing what we do. You know, hopefully, they understand that we’re going to challenge them and we’re going to try and make them better and that we’re not going to accept mediocrity, and that it’s about trying to win championships and being good people in the process. If we can get our guys to do that, then we’ve done a lot.”

TRACK RECORD OF SUCCESS BI: So has it been about the type of players you have been bringing in?

DP: “Some of it is also the school. The school has branded itself over the past eight years much different than it was when we first got here. The success of all the programs – people everywhere we go know and want to be apart of the program – and just trying to find the right guys that fit. We’ve played for some championships (three), won one and would have certainly liked to have won more. Every day we show up here we’re trying to win another one. That’s our expectations.”

BI: What’s it going to take for this year’s club to be a championship contender?

DP: “The overall chemistry, I feel like, is really good. The guys really get along.

We’re as deep as we’ve been from top to bottom that I’ve seen since we’ve been here. It’s going to take us playing at what we do best. We execute, we defend, throw strikes and compete in the (strike) zone and when we do that, we give ourselves a shot to beat anybody in the country. We just can’t beat ourselves. Last year, we were making errors and there were too many walks. Our guys just need to play how they’re capable of playing and I just like our guys an awful lot. I think they work hard. Coach (Jason) Miller does an awesome job with the strength program and Coach (Tyler) Oakes and Coach Brown are as good of pitching guys as anybody else in the country. You throw in the success we’ve had offensively, you throw in an All-Academic National Player of

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the Year, a bunch of All-Conference players over the course of the last few years, we’ve proven that our system works and it’s just guys doing what it takes within the system.”

BI: You were inducted into the Dakota College at Bottineau Hall of Fame last year. What did that mean to you?

DP: “It just means, and I said this when I was going through the Hall of Fame speech, when you’re playing you don’t try to play to be a Hall of Fame player.

You go and work hard in the weight room, work hard with your teammate and you work hard with what you’re trying to do and you hope that one day you’re successful and try to win a championship. If you get voted into the Hall of Fame it just means that you had a good career that you hope left a mark. I guess I don’t know a way to describe it rather than it was a huge honor.”

BI: Fair to say success just follows you?

DP: “I’ve been fortunate to be a part of a lot of good teams with a lot of good players, and that’s what it comes down to. Coaches that have worked hard, that have the passion for the game and their players and I’ve just been fortunate to be a part of a lot of it. I try to bring good energy and good passion and care for everybody and everything we do.”

BI: What do you hope your players are taking away most from your coaching?

DP: “That’s a good question. The biggest

PLAYING CAREER 2000 – Mon-Dak Champs at Minot State-Bottineau 2001, 2002 – Region 3 Champions at Mayville State 2002 – NAIA World Series at Mayville State COACHING CAREER 2003 – North Dakota State Tournament at May-Port-CG High School 2004 – 37 wins and North Central Conference Champions at University of North Dakota 2005 – Dakota Athletic Conference Champions at Mayville State 2006 – West Coast Collegiate playoff appearance at Kitsap BlueJackets 2014 – Summit League Champions at North Dakota State

The Rise of North Dakota State Summit League Regular Season Finishes 2008 – 8 2009 – 5 2010 – 6 2011 – 3 2012 – 3 2013 – 4 2014 – 5* 2015 – 5 2016 – 4** * = Won Summit League Tournament **= As of March 24

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WHERE ARE THEY NOW ERIC NUTZHORN

Eric Nutzhorn started the majority of his career at third base, but he could play anywhere on the diamond.

He also claimed a career .273 batting average.

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WHERE ARE THEY NOW ERIC NUTZHORN

?

WHERE ARE THEY

NOW?

ERIC NUTZHORN NDSU BASEBALL

By Joe Kerlin Photos by NDSU Athletics

Eric Nutzhorn could not be reached for this story. He is home, and is fighting for his life against the evils of cancer. Nutzhorn or “Nutz” as his former teammates and friends call him is battling a rare cancer called epithelioid glioblastoma multiforme.

Nutzhorn played baseball at NDSU from 2008-10 and now needs your help.

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WHERE ARE THEY NOW ERIC NUTZHORN

ric Nutzhorn played for the Bison baseball team for three seasons. He was a durable player with the ability to play anywhere on the field. Today, his toughness is being tested by the worst evil of all – cancer.

E

It started when Nutzhorn was on the Bison baseball team. He would get headaches from flying, his close friends Andrew McInnis said. The tumor was discovered in 2011, but surgeons said it would be impossible to remove it.

Nutzhorn had surgery so doctors could remove what they could, and that was when the battle began.

“Eric had to retrain his brain to even be able to walk again,” McInnis said. “He had a ton of work to do for his cognitive skills and despite being told he would

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never be able to finish school, he was able to graduate. This in itself was a giant win for Eric.”

Nutzhorn is from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan and now lives in Creston, where he went to high school. McInnis said he was supposed to come over to his place one night this past summer but Nutzhorn never made it.

“I tried calling him a few times, and when I still hadn’t heard back in the morning I knew something was wrong. He never didn’t respond,” McInnis said.

“At about two that afternoon, it was a Saturday, I got a call from Eric’s aunt telling me he had been rushed to Cranbrook, B.C., to the hospital the previous evening, then air lifted to Calgary. He was in the ICU in the foothills hospital in Calgary.

“The doctors said he was dead on the table, but due to his incredible health and life as a fitness trainer and athlete, he was able to defy the odds and pull through.”

Nutzhorn returned to Creston after the scare sent him to Calgary.

On November 16, he underwent another brain operation and the doctors were able to remove 99 percent of the tumor. He started suffering from seizures as a result of the operation.

Nutzhorn was sent to Vancouver to rest and for the doctors to keep an eye on him. That’s when McInnis started a GoFundMe page for the Nutzhorn family.

“What pushed me to start the campaign is that Eric has needed the support of his parents through all of this,” McInnis said. “The trip to Vancouver cost them well over

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WHERE ARE THEY NOW ERIC NUTZHORN

? $5,000 to stay in hotels and to just be there for him. This doesn’t include Calgary and the hotel there, meals, gas, medications, his dad’s lost wages and Eric’s lost wages.”

McInnis said Nutzhorn and his parents are like family to him.

McInnis’s brother has been in a two-year fight with Leukemia, and the Nutzhorns have helped him tremendously, he said. Even McInnis’s 3-year-old daughter is close with “Uncle Nutz.”

As of today, the GoFundMe page has raised $5,612 in two months.

But the Nutzhorn’s still need your help, and that’s a challenge McInnis is more than happy to take on.

HOW YOU CAN HELP IN

FIVE STEPS

“All he is worried about is getting better so his friends and parents don’t have to worry about him anymore,” McInnis said. “It bothers him to see so many people upset and worried about him. He just wants to get better so everyone else can feel okay.”

1

2

1. Log onto gofundme.com.

2. Type “Eric Nutzhorn” into the search bar.

3 3. Click on link below that reads “Help for Eric Nutzhorn And Family.”

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McInnis’s last update to the GoFundMe page was nearly a month ago. In the post, he said Nutzhorn is in his final days of treatment and is ready to come home before going back to Vancouver for a follow-up exam.

* * *

4

4. Click the “Donate Now” button on the right side.

5

$

5. Leave your donation for Eric Nutzhorn and his family.

CIAO BELLA

Ciao Bella

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By Joe Kerlin | Photos by NDSU Athletics

The Bison soccer team took a trip to Italy and San Marino from March 12-20.

We caught up with Head Coach Mark Cook halfway through the trip to see how the team was doing abroad.

CIAO BELLA

Professional Perspe ct

ive

On the second day of the Italian tour, the Bison soccer team was greeted with a guest appearance from an Italian soccer coach, Giuseppe Baresi. “Allenatore” Baresi coaches at the Inter Milan football club.

spaces, which required the girls to play faster.”

“It was great having someone with that much experience work with our team,” Mark Cook said.

“The interesting thing was that he did a lot of the same stuff we do at practice here at NDSU. The little differences were that he did much of the training in smaller

“At the end of the session he did comment that he liked how much passion the girls showed and how hard they worked,” Cook said.

“Plus you could not find a more beautiful setting for a training session.”

Not only was it a great experience to be coached by an Italian legend, the scene at practice was breathtaking.

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lly

Undefeated Internationa NDSU defeated two clubs while they were in Italy. On their fourth day of the trip, they defeated USD San Zaccaria, 3-2.

The following night, the Bison beat Calcio Femminile, 5-2.

“I think the biggest thing is that the girls have been able to play without pressure,” Cook said. “The games are friendlies so we can experiment with lineups and formations and it allows the girls some freedom to experiment and work on their weaknesses.”

Roxy Roemer, Anna Reinholz and Autumn Muckenhirn combined for five the following night.

“Both teams were very strong technically and posed some challenges for us. The first opponent San Zaccaria plays in the top professional division in Italy and they had two full national team players. We learned a lot about ourselves and both games provided us with a great foundation to work with as we move forward with the rest of our spring season.”

Britney Monteon, Amy Yang and Lauren Miller tallied the Bison goals the first night.

Yang, Natalie Fenske,

Lasting Friendship Freshman forward Britney Monteon has been keeping a blog on GoBison.com. She updates it every day with the happenings around the team while they’re overseas.

Go online to check out all the delicious Italian delicacies they’ve tried, including gelato and Italian pizza.

“The time they have spent together both on and off the pitch is going to have a huge impact on this team,” said Cook. “The memories they have made will last a lifetime and I know they have become

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a much closer group having experienced this trip together.”

As for next season, nothing guarantees a Summit League title quite like a lucky pig nose found in Florence, Italy.

Cook explained: “The story is if you rub the pig’s nose and make a wish it will come true.

Every player and coach rubbed his nose and made a wish to win the Summit League next year and, of course, we are going to make that wish come true.”

SUMMIT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT

NORTH “DUNKOTA” STATE BASKETBALL SUPER FANS Robert Roehrich, Brandon Geffre, Alex Kuznia and Alan Roehrich didn’t mean for their suit coats to become a signature look for the four NDSU Super Fans who come down to Sioux Falls, S.D., for the Summit League tournament. They just didn’t want to jinx the first League tournament run back in 2009.

The suit coats worked and the allure of the Summit League tournament resonated with the four college friends who have only missed the tournament once since NDSU became eligible.

“It’s one weekend that we kind of get to pretend we’re 106

still in college,” the friends said, finishing each other sentences. “The atmosphere is just unbelievable down here.”

“Three years ago, I came for the first time and I have no intention of stopping,” Geffre said. “I came once, I got caught up in the environment and I look forward to this weekend every year.”

The four were loud and proud throughout the entirety of all three games this season.

They even brought signs poking fun at SDSU, as well as their “Tyrannosaurus Dex” piece of art inspired by Dexter Werner.

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SUMMIT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT

SUMMIT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT

Quick photo recap of the 2016 Summit League Tournament Photos by Joe Kerlin

Check out the boys with their “Tyrannosaurus” Dex Poster

QUARTER FINAL ROUND

NDSU 60 IUPUI 45 107

SUMMIT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT

SEMIFINAL ROUND

NDSU 69 IPFW 68

Chris Kading throws down a monster two-hand dunk against IPFW.

CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND

NDSU 59 SDSU 67 108

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SPORTING CALENDAR

2016

SPORTING CALENDAR

APRIL/MAY

13 BASEBALL vs. North Dakota (Fargo) 5 p.m.

15 BASEBALL at South Dakota State (Brookings, S.D.) 3 p.m.

24 BASEBALL vs. Western Illinois (Fargo) 1 p.m.

4-5 WOMEN’S GOLF Gary Crossley Ford KC Shootout (Kansas City, Mo.) (Shoal Creek GC)

13-14 WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD California Invitational/ Mt. SAC Relays Multis (Azusa, Calif.) TBA

15 WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD Bryan Clay Invitational (Azusa, Calif.) TBA

26 BASEBALL vs. Minnesota (Fargo) 6:30 p.m.

5 BASEBALL at Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minn.) 3 p.m.

13-14 MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD California Invitational/Mt. SAC Relays Multis (Azusa, Calif.) TBA

APRIL

5 SOFTBALL at University of Wisconsin (Madison, Wis.) 3 p.m.

5 SOFTBALL at University of Wisconsin (Madison, Wis.) 5 p.m.

6 BASEBALL vs. Minot State (Fargo) 5 p.m.

8 BASEBALL vs. Fort Wayne (Fargo) 6:30 p.m.

9 SOFTBALL vs. IPFW (Fargo) 12 p.m.

9 BASEBALL vs.

Fort Wayne (Fargo) 1 p.m.

14 MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD Cal State LA Twilight Open (Los Angeles, Calif.) TBA 14 WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD Cal State LA Twilight Open (Los Angeles, Calif.) TBA 14-16 MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD Mt. SAC Relays (Norwalk, Calif.) TBA 14-16 WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD Mt. SAC Relays (Norwalk, Calif.) TBA

9 SOFTBALL vs.

IPFW (Fargo) 2 p.m.

9 MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD Husker Spring Invite (Lincoln, Neb.) TBA 9 WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD Husker Spring Invite (Lincoln, Neb.) TBA

15 MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD Bryan Clay Invitational (Azusa, Calif.) TBA 16 SOFTBALL at South Dakota State University (Brookings, S.D.) 12 p.m.

28-30 MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD Drake Relays (Des Moines, Iowa) TBA

16 SOFTBALL at South Dakota State University (Brookings, S.D.) 2 p.m.

28-30 WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD Drake Relays (Des Moines, Iowa) TBA

17 SOFTBALL at South Dakota State University (Brookings, S.D.) 11 a.m.

29 BASEBALL vs. Oral Roberts (Fargo) 6:30 p.m.

17 BASEBALL at South Dakota State (Brookings, S.D.) 1 p.m.

18-20 WOMEN’S GOLF Summit League Championship (Nebraska City, Neb.) (Arbor Links GC)

11-12 MEN’S GOLF ORU Shootout (Tulsa, Okla.)

(Forest Ridge) 12 BASEBALL vs. Mary (Fargo) 5 p.m.

Photo by Cory Erickson

BISON ILLUSTRATED • A P R I L 2 0 1 6

29 MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD Kip Janvrin Open (Indianola, Iowa) TBA 30 SOFTBALL at University of South Dakota (Vermillion, S.D.) 12 p.m.

20 BASEBALL vs. Valley City State (Fargo) 6:30 p.m.

30 BASEBALL vs. Oral Roberts (Fargo) 1 p.m.

22 BASEBALL vs. Western Illinois (Fargo) 6:30 p.m.

30 SOFTBALL at University of South Dakota (Vermillion, S.D.) 2 p.m.

MAY

23 SOFTBALL vs. Western Illinois University (Fargo) 12 p.m.

1 SOFTBALL at University of South Dakota (Vermillion, S.D.) 11 a.m.

23 BASEBALL vs. Western Illinois (Fargo) 1 p.m.

1 BASEBALL vs. Oral Roberts (Fargo) 1 p.m.

23 SOFTBALL vs. Western Illinois University (Fargo) 2 p.m.

1-3 MEN’S GOLF Summit League Championship (Newton, Kan.) (Sand Creek Station)

23 FOOTBALL vs. Green & Gold Spring Game (Fargo) 1:30 p.m.

24 SOFTBALL vs. Western Illinois University (Fargo) 11 a.m.

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29 WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD Kip Janvrin Open (Indianola, Iowa) TBA

19 BASEBALL at Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minn.) 6 p.m.

22-23 MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD Lyle Hokanson Classic (Fargo) TBA

10 BASEBALL vs. Fort Wayne (Fargo) 1 p.m.

27 SOFTBALL at University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minn.) 6 p.m.

16 BASEBALL at South Dakota State (Brookings, S.D.) 1 p.m.

22-23 WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD Lyle Hokanson Classic (Fargo) TBA

10 SOFTBALL vs. IPFW (Fargo) 11 a.m.

27 SOFTBALL at University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minn.) 4 p.m.

BISON WORD SEARCH

WORD SEARCH

S WORD D N I TO F

CARSON WENTZ RANDY HEDBERG KEVIN WEIDL JAMES KOH ZACH WENTZ

JOE HAEG BEN LECOMPTE MATT LARSEN CASEY MATTHEWS HEMINGWAY

ERIC NUTZHORN PEARSON MORELAND GARCIA ST CLAIR

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BISON CROSSING

Bison Crossing SPECIAL EDITION

CARSON WENTZ

1 2

3 4

5 6 8

7 9

10

11

12

Down

13

1.

Wentz is from this town in North Dakota.

Wentz participated in this allstar week that’s exclusively for senior college football players.

Wentz threw his first career touchdown pass to this former tight end.

Wentz scored the first rushing touchdown of his career against this team.

Wentz attended and graduated from this high school.

Wentz was in this city in California working out for the NFL Draft and his Pro Day. Which wrist did Wentz break against South Dakota, causing him to miss eight games.

The number of FCS Championship Most Outstanding Player awards Wentz won.

14

2.

3.

5.

8.

10.

11.

12.

ANSWERS

15

Across

4.

6.

7.

9.

13.

14.

15.

N A C U O Y DO IT!

Wentz made his first career start against this Big 12 team.

This is the first team Wentz had a fourth quarter comeback against.

Wentz majored in health and _____ education while at NDSU.

Wentz won the ____ _____ 89/90 award three times during his college career.

coach.

Wentz got to speak to and work out with this ESPN personality who is a former NFL Wentz caught his only touchdown from this player against Western Illinois in 2014.

Wentz threw for a career-high five touchdowns against ____ State.

er!

SEE ANS

t corn f e l n i S R WE

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1. Bismarck 2. Senior Bowl 3. Taylor Nelson 4. Iowa State 5. Robert Morris 6. Western Illinois 7. Physical 8. Cent ury

9. NCAA Elite 10. Irvine 11. Right 12. Two 13. Jon Gr uden 14. John Crockett 15. Missouri

$

TEAM MAKERS

TEAM MAKERS

NEWTON’S THIRD LAW OF DONATION emember Newton’s Third Law? The one that states for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction? For example, if we eat all the food we can at tailgating, we will not feel well during the game. When you were younger, if you drag-raced your bike and hit gravel, you broke your arm or some other limb. The lesson is elementary, so you get the point.

R

But now, you ask yourself, “Hey, Mr. Doctor, what’s is the point of all this?” Well, it’s simple – if you become an NDSU Team Maker, you get to enjoy all the excitement of NDSU Athletics, tailgating, and hanging out with other Bison fans that share the same drive as you and passion for NDSU. The reaction side of your donation is that another student-athlete has the opportunity to live their dream of playing the sport they love on the court, field and track.

Maybe you don’t look at the other side that closely when you

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BISON ILLUSTRATED • A P R I L 2 0 1 6

When it comes to making NDSU Athletics a part of your life, there’s no better way than becoming a donor.

By Paul Bougie

think about joining Team Makers.

Maybe it is just because you want a chance to get the priority points, for a chance to either get seats or get better ones than you already have. Just so you know, we – as in current Team Makers – are okay with that. This is probably because you don’t know what goes on with that donation.

No matter your reason for joining the Team Makers, we still give yours and all donations to our student-athletes in the form of scholarships and various facility upgrades and the things they need to succeed. Joining is really a winwin for both sides.

Am I getting a bit too simple on this? Maybe, but it all boils down to one thing: NDSU support. We all have different passions, convictions and reasons we donate to NDSU. For most who are reading this edition of Bison Illustrated, you have a passion for athletics. There are those who have careers in architecture, and that is where their donation goes. The same

goes for pharmacy, arts, business, agriculture and the list goes on.

Think about it this way. If you donate to the new research facility, there’s a good chance a student-athlete on say Darren Mueller’s softball team will have a class that requires a lab session in the research facility you helped donate to. So, indirectly, you’re not only helping the institution, you’re helping the institutions’ students who are in athletics.

It all come to the betterment of the University.

So, as a Team Maker and athletics supporter and NDSU supporter, I ask you to take the time and give. It is really simple. If it is the University side: go to ndsufoundation.com/ give. And to give to NDSU Athletics: ndsuathleticfund.com.

Bottom line: The action of a donation will cause a reaction of better athletics.

Go Bison!

SWANY SAYS

swany says NOTHING SMALL-TIME ABOUT WENTZ OR NORTH DAKOTA STATE FOLLOW @swany8

tried to write the end of this column a few different times in a more tactful manner.

It didn’t convey the same message, so I opted to keep it sharper than a bullet pass from Carson Wentz. Wentz, the quarterback from North Dakota State, is slated to be one of the top quarterbacks, if not the top overall pick, in this year’s NFL Draft.

Coaches, NFL executives, scouts, and draft analysts are gushing over Wentz’s rocket arm, broad frame, accuracy, on-field leadership, character, and just about every other attribute you can think of – both tangible and intangible.

I

Here’s a sampling: Todd McShay, one of ESPN’s top draft analysts, says Wentz “has the height, sturdy frame, natural accuracy and onfield leadership you look for in a quarterback.” The Cleveland Browns own the second overall pick in the draft and are viewed by many, barring a trade, as the first team that will take a quarterback. Mel Kiper Jr., EPSN’s other top draft guru, thinks the Browns should take the Bismarck, N.D. native that led NDSU to its last two Football Championship Subdivision national titles. “Wentz would make sense here as a super physical talent whom new [Browns] coach Hue Jackson can develop.”

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BISON ILLUSTRATED • A P R I L 2 0 1 6

BY JOSHUA A. SWANSON *Swanson is a native of Maddock, N.D., a proud NDSU alum and a lifelong Bison fan.

Going a step further, Jon Gruden, the Monday Night Football host and former NFL Super Bowl-winning head coach called Wentz “the most NFL-ready quarterback that we’ve had in here the last couple years,” after the Bison signal-caller appeared on Gruden’s QB Camp special for ESPN’s SportsCenter. The other guys that were previously featured on Gruden’s QB Camp include Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson, Cam Newton, Teddy Bridgewater and Derek Carr – all NFL studs. Likewise, during his Pro Day at the Fargodome a few weeks ago, the NFL Network’s Mike Mayock, another draft analyst and unabashedly pro-Wentz supporter, compared Wentz to Luck, the All-Pro quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts. After throwing laser passes all morning, Mayock opined, “Let me tell you, he’s 237 pounds and he’s every bit as athletic as Andrew Luck or Cam Newton, and I believe that 100 percent.”

By the way, not only can he sling it on the football field, Wentz is a two-time academic All-American and winner of the NCAA’s Elite 90 Award, which goes to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average in his sport. He carried a 4.0 GPA in health and physical education.

It’s high praise for one of the biggest enigmas of the NFL Draft in recent memory. After registering high marks for his performance at the Senior Bowl, the NFL Draft Combine, and his Pro Day, how exactly can Wentz still be this mysterious quantity

from a team that has won the last five FCS national championships, appeared numerous times on ESPN and ESPN2, and plays in a conference – the Missouri Valley Football Conference – that is better than many FBS conferences? Therein is the rub.

The only knock on Wentz is that he played for a “small-time” school against supposedly “inferior competition” at the FCS level. Please.

That is what I take issue with. There is nothing, absolutely nothing smalltime about Wentz or NDSU. Anyone who thinks differently doesn’t know their head from a hole in the ground.

The Bison finished this season ranked 36th in the Sagarin ratings, a ranking system of every team at the FBS and FCS level. The other top-tier quarterbacks in this year’s draft, Jared Goff of California and Memphis’s Paxton Lynch, played for teams that finished 32nd and 48th, respectively.

Last year, in 2014, when Wentz, Goff and Lynch were all starters, NDSU ranked 32nd in the Sagarin ratings while Memphis finished at 39th and California came in a step lower at 59th.

For his part, during interviews the week of the Senior Bowl, Wentz explained that the small-time label is only that – a meaningless label.

“I want to address that right away and prove I can play at a high level, play at a fast level, and compete with those guys and really excel,” said Wentz. “I feel I have the mental and physical abilities to play at this level.

I’m ready and excited to prove that.”

And those who know, know there isn’t anything small-time about the Bison, a program that currently has five players on NFL rosters, including Marcus Williams, who finished fifth in the NFL in interceptions last year with six picks for the New York Jets. Often overlooked is the fact that Wentz played with NFL-caliber talent during his time at NDSU, guys like Williams, Kyle Emanuel, Billy Turner, John Crockett, Joe Haeg and C.J. Smith.

Also overlooked are nuggets like this. In this January’s national championship game against Jacksonville State, Wentz led the Bison to a 37-10 thrashing of the

Gamecocks. Playing in his first game in ten weeks after suffering a broken wrist, Wentz was sharp, connecting on 16-of-29 passes, several NFL-esque lasers, with one passing touchdown and two rushing scores. This is the same Jacksonville State team that marched into Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium and nearly pulled an upset last September before falling 27-20 in overtime to a team that played in the 2013 FBS national title game. The fact is, NDSU would beat the majority of teams at the FBS level if lined up against them, despite having 20 fewer scholarships. Why? Because NDSU has better athletes than most of these schools.

Dennis Dodd, a senior columnist for CBS Sports, has followed NDSU’s record-breaking success since 2011.

Dodd knows the football-obsessed culture in North Dakota is more akin to the big-time football of the Southeastern Conference as opposed to some backwater where a mythic quarterback has grown like a diamond in the rough only now to emerge as a franchise player for the team smart enough to draft Wentz. “Since 2006, the Bison are 8-3 against FBS competition. They open 2016 against Iowa. … By all rights, NDSU should be playing in FBS,” Dodd said. In an unsolicited response to a tweet by a Fox Sports college football and draft analyst, ESPN’s Chris Fowler exclaimed, “[Y]ou should see the place [Fargo] during a fall Saturday. Two unforgettable GameDays there.” The smart guys know that Wentz won’t shy away from the big stage and bright lights. He will excel on them.

So, for those expert analysts and NFL execs knocking Wentz for playing at some small school in Fargo, N.D., I’ll leave you with this. Start updating your resume. There is nothing smalltime about Wentz or NDSU. If you pass on Wentz because you have some misconception of the level of play at NDSU, get ready for the red-haired, faith-based, hometown, pride of North Dakota kid from tiny Bismarck to spend the next 15 seasons stealing your lunch on the NFL playground.

* * *

***

POP QUIZ

POPQUIZ

WITH NDSU ATHLETES

What’s your favorite class this semester and why?

What are you most looking forward to this summer?

What musician/ musicians do you enjoy listening to while studying?

It has to be Wellness, because it talks a lot about what we do in athletics.

I’m looking forward to playing a lot of golf and traveling to all the tournaments I have lined up.

I like listening to a lot of country music, so Florida Georgia Line, Keith Urban and Jason Aldean. My favorite though is Bo Burnham!

Middle Level Teaching Methods. Because I get to help out in a middle school classroom.

Hanging with family and friends and going to country concerts.

Especially the Dixie Chicks!

Any country artist.

This summer, I am looking forward to spending two weeks in London and Paris with my little sister.

None. If I start listening to music, I end up singing and dancing along, so I try to study in silence.

Going to the lake and fishing.

I don't listen to music when I study because it distracts me.

Nick Myhre

Nick Myhre is a sophomore from Rolette, N.D. Last season, he only competed in one tournament, but this season has been one of NDSU’s top golfers. He averages 76.3 per round and shot a careerlow 67 in the first round at the Old Dominion University/Outer Banks Collegiate.

GOLF

Jackie Stifter

Softball

Jackie Stifter is one of the five seniors on the Bison softball team looking for their third consecutive Summit League championship. The first baseman was named the Summit League All-Tournament team last year after hitting .556 in three games.

Stifter is a career .305 hitter.

Anna Benke

Track & Field

Anna Benke is a senior pole vaulter from Chanhassen, Minn. She’s placed fourth three times in the pole vault during the Summit League Indoor Championships. Benke personal best pole vault of 4.15 meters came at the Air Force Indoor Team Challange.

Public Health Nursing because I like learning how, as a nurse, I can help a whole community achieve health, not just an individual patient.

It is rewarding to learn how big of a difference I will be able to make as a nurse.

Parker Trewin

BASEBALL

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Parker Trewin is one of the four senior captains on the baseball team. He’s a left-handed pitcher with what baseball guys call “nasty stuff.” The lefty has logged 130 strikeouts in 137 innings in his career. He struck out a career-high 68 back in 2014.

BISON ILLUSTRATED • A P R I L 2 0 1 6

Billiards, because it's an old man game, and I'm an old man.

If you could guest star in any TV show what would it be?

What role would you play?

You’re in a 3-on-3-basketball tournament.

Which two teammates are you picking for your team?

It would have to be Alaska: The Last Frontier.

It’s a show on Discovery Channel, all about the outdoors, and I love anything to do with the outdoors.

Connor Holland for a spot-up shooter, and Cam Caraveau so we could run some screen and rolls.

That would be a deadly three-person team.

I would definitely want to be a guest judge on Chopped!

Dani Renner as my post and Logan Moreland as shooting guard.

Fixer Upper because I love Chip and Joanna Gaines and I would love to have a newly remodeled house.

Bugs Bunny and Michael Jordan. Welcome to the Space Jam.

I would like to Co-host Saturday Night Live with Blake Lively.

Matt Elsenpeter and Alec Abercrombie