GRAND FORKS, N.D. — As the the fall camp concludes for the University of North Dakota football team, much of the media coverage has focused on the offense. Maybe so, as that group looks to fill in some key skill positions. But, quietly and consistently, the defense soldiers onward.
Led by a solid group of upper classmen, most who have started or seen considerable playing time for three or four years, has continued to improve. Pushed by the talented younger guys, they seem quicker and reaction times are faster.
There are still things to work on head coach Chris Mussman will point out, but they seem to be in a good place right now.
“We’ve got a big gap between our older guys and our younger guys,” Mussman said. “Our younger guys have to do a better job. We’re still a little inconsistent with the little things.”
The group of upperclassmen went through a similar phase three years ago. During UND’s first year of its Division I transition, that group was the young and talented, yet raw, group of newcomers. They were forced into action because of the injuries and need for athleticism. Now they compliment each other on the field.
“Sometimes we don’t have to talk about it, we just know what the other person is thinking,” said senior defensive back Kris Ankenbauer (Murphy, Texas). “All we need to do is gel completely, get rolling and get on the same page.”
Two-deep
Mussman and the coaching staff released the two-deep roster (download available at top of this page) on Wednesday. Looking at it, one can see the gap of years. The talented upperclassmen dot the starting positions, followed by many redshirt freshmen and sophomores in the back-up positions.
UND will rotate numerous players in at every position on defense, however, and in no-time, those are likely to be more names that will stand out for Sioux fans.
Regular routine
Fall camp officially ends on Friday, however with the start of classes earlier this week, the style of practice has been mixed. A little of the fall camp with a dash of Idaho planning.
“It was a pretty tough fall camp,” said senior linebacker Curtis Dublanko (Thorsby, Alberta). “I think we’re ready to get in the season mode and start playing games.”
The official start of the Idaho practices is set for Sunday.
Youth football
The team will also take in a little fun before the official start to game week. Tomorrow night at Williamson Park, the UND football team will be working with area youth football teams and players.
Mussman said it’s always nice to have the players interact with young UND fans and help build the sport in the area.
Miller continues to stand out
True freshman Jake Miller (Bismarck, N.D.) continues to stand out. At Wednesday’s practice, he made two nice plays in a row, erupting cheers from the offense and up-downs for the defense.
On the first play, Miller took a screen play and had 30 yards of free space in front of him thanks to a couple of key blocks by wide receiver Marcus Hendrickson (Perham, Minn.) and linemen Ian McGurran (Fargo, N.D.) and Joe Kleason (Eagan, Minn.).
Then on the next snap, Miller broke through a hole on the right side that gained a considerable chunk of yards.
Alerus test run
After Wednesday’s practice, the team was at the Alerus Center for the first time of this fall, running through to pregame routine. They also got a chance to see the new introduction video and entrance.
The fans, however, will have to wait until the home opener on Sept 18.
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