Presents
BISON GAME DAY NORTH DAKOTA STATE
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2023
►When: 4 p.m., at the UNI-Dome, Cedar Falls, Iowa ►TV: WDAY (ABC)
NORTHERN IOWA
►Radio: 1660-AM, 107.9-FM
BISON GAME DAY NORTH DAKOTA STATE AT NORTHERN IOWA
G2 | SPORTS | Saturday, November 18, 2023 | tHe Forum
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Photos by David Samson / The Forum
North Dakota State’s RaJa Nelson beats Southern Illinois’ Ubayd Steed on a pass reception on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023, at the Fargodome.
RAJA EVOLVING INTO NDSU’S RENAISSANCE MAN Counting high school, RaJa Nelson has played a lot of positions on the football field BY JEFF KOLPACK The Forum FARGO he football practice drill at Lakeville North High School in the Twin Cities a few years ago was to have RaJa Nelson take a kickoff and find out who could catch him. The coaching staff wanted to find kickoff coverage guys. It would have been a lean coverage team if that was the only standard. Only a couple of teammates could lay a hand on Nelson. “His quick twitch was incredible,” said Lakeville North head coach Brian Vossen. That quick twitch is turning into one of the more interesting offensive players in North Dakota State’s Division I FCS history. Yes, the senior Nelson is a receiver. Yes, he’s been a staple as a kickoff returner. Lately, and perhaps it started last spring, he’s becoming more of a factor as a running back — even if he really isn’t called a running back. Vossen has no trouble calling him anything, including “the best player that ever wore Lakeville on the back of his jersey.” That’s saying something. For one, Vossen just finished his 21st year of coaching at Lakeville North, 14th as the Panthers head coach. This is no small-school program, but one of the powers in one of the biggest metros in the country. In football terms, they call Nelson a Swiss Army knife and in his case the closest on-field doppelganger to Nelson in the Division I era was perhaps Ryan Smith, who was about the same size as the 5-foot-9 Nelson and was adept at both carrying the ball and receiving it. The difference is Smith got most of his carries on jet sweeps while Nelson has lined up in the backfield
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North Dakota State’s RaJa Nelson dives for the pylon against Southern Illinois’ PJ Jules on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023, at the Fargodome. like a true running back. But don’t call him a running back. “We spend some time together,” said NDSU running backs coach Joe Beschorner. “You can tell he has good change of direction, good vision, good patience for setting up blocks and poise. He’s really intelligent, he understands our scheme and he’s been in our system for a long time.” Smith, who finished his career in 2013, had 32 career carries in 54 games averaging 8.5 yards per attempt. He was most dangerous in the 2013 season when he averaged 10.6 yards. Nelson, however, has a ways to go to catch Smith’s receiving excellence of 147 career
receptions and eight touchdowns. He parlayed his college performance into a decent three years in the Canadian Football League. The multi-dimensional threat has been Nelson’s thing since he was a freshman in high school when he was a starting receiver for Lakeville North. He played both running back and receiver and was also the punt returner as a sophomore. Nelson added defense to his resume as a junior starting at either cornerback or safety in addition to playing offense, helping the Panthers to the Minnesota 6A state football title. That was a powerful team that included Bison defensive
linemen Eli Mostaert and Will Mostaert. The Panthers beat Eden Prairie for the first time in school history in the title game. Nelson was a running back, but the Panthers’ senior back that year was school-record holder Brian Curtis. “But RaJa’s seven or eight carries a game with us that year, a lot of times he would show the path that we wanted the other running back to run through,” Vossen said. “RaJa had better vision. So like when we were running a stretch play, RaJa understood how to bounce it out or keep it in. Then we would send Brian Curtis back in to do it.”
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BISON NOTEBOOK
David Samson / The Forum
North Dakota State center Brandon Westberg (77) calls out a blocking assignment against Southern Illinois on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023, at the Fargodome. Bison guard Jake Kubas (63) was named the Missouri Valley Football Conference offensive lineman of the week after his team’s performance against the Salukis.
NDSU offensive line preparing for another stout run defense North Dakota State rushed for more than 200 yards last weekend against a stingy Southern Illinois run defense, which was ranked third in the FCS BY ERIC PETERSON AND JEFF KOLPACK The Forum FARGO
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orth Dakota State rushed for more than 200 yards last weekend against one of the top run defenses in Division I FCS. The 217 yards were the most Southern Illinois, which was the third-ranked rushing defense in the Football Championship Subdivision, had allowed in a game this season. Bison senior guard Jake Kubas said the performance boiled down to mindset, especially in the second half when NDSU scored 21 unanswered points in a 34-10 victory. “As an offensive line, we always want to play with a pretty violent intent, trying to finish guys and set the tone for our entire team,” said Kubas, who was named Missouri Valley Football Conference offensive lineman of the week. The Bison will play Northern Iowa at 4 p.m. Saturday at the UNI-Dome, a game with dripping with playoff ramifications for both teams. “It seems like they’re always in the hunt for playoffs,” Kubas said. “It seems like they’re always a consistent football team.” Senior center Brandon Westberg agreed that the offensive line effort against the Salukis was productive. “It might not have been our best, technique, fundamentalswise, but willingness of want in that game was more than Southern Illinois,” Westberg said. “It shouldn’t have taken to Week 10 to get into that gear.” The Bison face another stout run defense this weekend. The Panthers are limiting opponents to 90.4 rushing yards per game.
Reese Strickland / USA TODAY Sports
Northern Iowa head coach Mark Farley and the Panthers likely need a win against North Dakota State this weekend to earn a spot in the FCS playoffs. SIU was holding teams to 83.3 yards per game entering last Saturday’s game against NDSU. The Bison had four different players rush for at least 45 yards against SIU, including senior running back TaMerik Williams, who ran for 51 yards and two touchdowns on eight attempts. “We kind of got back to some of our roots, running some of our A-gap power, and getting everybody involved,” Westberg said. “We had a bunch of guys touch the ball.” The Bison are averaging 240.6 rushing yards per game, which ranks fourth in the FCS. “We’re kind of like a wounded
ready to play this football game. We let one get away from us last week after playing so well for so long.” Panthers looking to The Bison (7-4, 4-3) have won rebound from road loss three of their past four games Northern Iowa is coming off a 35-16 road loss at Missouri State and could potentially earn a — which had three wins heading seed in the FCS playoffs with a victory against UNI. into the game — last weekend “It was always going to come after the Panthers had won six down to the North Dakota State of their previous seven games. UNI (6-4, 5-2 MVFC) likely needs game, always does,” Farley said. “If you’re playing for big games a victory against NDSU to earn in November, you’re doing somea spot in the FCS playoffs. thing and we are and then “I would assume you win, you’re in,” Panthers head coach you’ve got a great team coming Mark Farley said. “I think that’s in here on top of it.” common knowledge. I don’t think that’s a guess. We gotta get NOTEBOOK on G5
animal against the wall and all you can do is fight,” Westberg said.
BISON GAME DAY NORTH DAKOTA STATE AT NORTHERN IOWA THE forum | Saturday, November 18, 2023
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NOTEBOOK CONTINUED from G4 Bison in line to tie playoff streak NDSU will be gunning for his its 14th straight FCS playoff appearance and likely will tie New Hampshire for second place in most consecutive trips to postseason. New Hampshire also has 14, but the Wildcats are 5-5 and likely will be left out of the 24-team field. Montana has the FCS record with 17 straight postseason trips from
1993-2009. New Hampshire’s streak went from 2004-17. The Bison started their streak in 2010 while South Dakota State, which is a lock for its 12th straight trip, started its streak in 2012. The bracket for the 24-team tournament will be announced on the NCAA’s FCS selection show Sunday beginning at 11:30 a.m. on ESPNU.
Bison may have found next CB tandem NDSU true freshman cornerback Jaquise
Alexander has seen his role increase after an injury to senior Marcus Sheppard two weeks ago. Sheppard appears to be working himself back into the mix, but Alexander may start his second straight game against the Panthers. Another true freshman cornerback, Najee Nelson, made his presence known with an interception late in the Southern Illinois game last week. Nelson also may be working himself into more of a role. His emergence is one
reason his older brother, senior receiver RaJa Nelson, will use his pandemic eligibility year and come back next season. Brian Vossen, the brothers’ high school coach at Lakeville North in the Twin Cities, said Najee “is also a great athlete, just more angular, more of a natural cornerback where RaJa was just a natural athlete.” Najee Nelson has played in two games and will preserve his eligibility this year because of the NCAA’s four-game rule (postseason doesn’t
count) while Alexander has already played in five games. Both players appear to be on track to be a cornerback tandem in at least the next couple of years. “I think we both can be the future of the program,” Nelson said. “It’s great just to build that chemistry with each other.”
Etc. Etc. Etc. • NDSU has a 29-26 edge in the all-time series against Northern Iowa, including wins in the past eight meetings. The
NELSON CONTINUED from G2 As if that wasn’t enough, Nelson played quarterback as a senior and was named the Star Tribune’s Metro Player of the Year. He made the switch to QB just a few weeks before the season when the Panthers had a couple of players leave. Nelson didn’t blink, learning the position during a short, couple week mini-camp before practice started. “He was so fun to coach, just high energy but also just super respectful,” Vossen said. “Just one of the world’s greatest. We loved him.” Although not playing receiver since his junior season, it’s what he did at college summer camps like NDSU’s three-day event. The Bison recruited him on both sides of the ball, signed him to a letter of intent and told Nelson they would make a position decision when he came to campus. “I think coach Roehl won that decision, so it
David Samson / The Forum
North Dakota State’s RaJa Nelson heads upfield with a reception against Southern Illinois on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023, at the Fargodome. was receiver,” Nelson said, referring to offensive coordinator Tyler Roehl. He played 10 games in the spring 2021 season as a true freshman, with his role steadily increasing the following two seasons. That now includes carrying the ball.
“I think we can continue to give him carries out of the backfield,” said head coach Matt Entz. “He does a great job of making people miss. He’s a different style of back.” Senior TaMerik Williams is the power back. Senior TK Marshall and sophomore Barika
Kpeenu have shown a blend of speed and power. “We have changeups,” Entz said. “Then you add our quarterbacks in there and I think you see a number of different running styles.” Nelson’s style was unleashed against Western Illinois when he
ripped off a 76-yard touchdown run on a basic-looking running play. He led the Bison in rushing that day with 103 yards, the first Bison back this season to go over 100 yards, even though he’s not a running back. “I feel like that game
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teams did not play last season due to the MVFC scheduling rotation. NDSU is 4-3 in the UNI-Dome. • Seven Valley teams were ranked in the Stats Perform Top 25 media poll this week in NDSU, South Dakota State, South Dakota, Southern Illinois, North Dakota, UNI and Youngstown State. • Since the building opened in 1976, Northern Iowa is 228-63-1 in the UNI-Dome for a winning clip of 78%.
showed that once I get a feel for it, I can do a lot of big things with the ball in my hands,” Nelson said. “I feel like I’m just scratching the surface. With time and more carries, I think I’ll continue to get the feel for it at the college game and the speed that college football is played at.” He’ll be doing that for another season, also. Nelson said he’ll use his extra year of eligibility because of the pandemic, in part because his role is expanding and his brother, Najee Nelson, is a true freshman cornerback who has already seen the field. “He’s got a lot of ability that has yet to be unleashed,” Najee said. “When he was getting recruited, I was at every single visit with him and once he was here I went to every single game. It already felt like home to me.” Readers can reach Forum reporter Jeff Kolpack at jkolpack@forumcomm.com. Twitter@KolpackInForum
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