The UND Football team held their first and only scrimmage this past Friday.  Due to low numbers at certain positions (offensive line) they have tried to keep full-contact to a minimum and just work on installing the offense and honing up on fundamentals.  We have a feeling that there won’t be too many spots locked up this spring, making fall camp the time where players separate themselves on the depth chart.

Thunder Lake Lodge
  • The defensive unit was without a doubt the better side of the ball on Friday.  However, that is usually the case in spring ball as the offense has more to install and many more moving parts to sync than the defense.  This year is even worse as the offense is installing an entirely new offense with all new terminology.  If the defense didn’t get the upperhand we would be surprised.
  • There has been some speculation about whether this offense would install different packages for different QB’s, etc.  To answer that question, we saw multiple “quarterback draw” running plays, meaning athletic QB’s like Mollberg and Hanson will have that play available to them.
  • The UND offensive line seemed to struggle mightily.  They are short on numbers this spring, having only nine OL total, but they could not get much of a push at all.  The OL is going to benefit greatly from the addition of Juco’s Brendan Slaight and Colton Boas when they arrive this fall.
  • The longest run of the day was an 8-yarder by senior Jer Garman.
  • Third-string QB Jake Hanson (soph.) completed a couple nice passes to Tyrhe Ivery (sr.) and Tanner Vesledahl (soph.), with both catches going for about 10 yards.  The incumbent starting QB’s, Joe Mollberg and Ryan Bartels, didn’t do much in the scrimmage.
  • Freshman safety Cole Reyes had a punishing pass breakup along the sideline as FB Dwayne Pecosky was running a 15 yard 0ut-route and Reyes broke on it and laid out Pecosky just as the ball got there.  UND needs more of that this fall and we know Reyes is going to be counted on to contribute at the safety position.
  • The defense dominated on the goal line.  The offense ran about 5 plays from inside the three yard line and never scored.  The defensive line got a nice push on each play.
  • The decision to move senior Shea Walker (6’1″-300) from center to nose guard is going to be a good one.  Walker will not be an all-american or anything but he shows good footwork and quickness to go along with a nastiness that is needed at that position.  He will only get better as they progress into fall camp and he continues to log reps.
  • The safeties looked good overall as William James and Baylee Carr both made nice plays on the ball.  James cut off a couple long homerun pass plays, getting into the receiver and altering his route and not looking back for the ball until he gained dominant position.  Very nice to see.
A recruiting update:  Juco offerees Dashon Wade (Pasadena) and Brian Anderson (Butte) both ended up signing with Southern Mississippi.  They both supposedly had UND on the their short list until the FBS level Golden Eagles came calling.  WR Tim Patrick (Grossmont) and CB Jamal Mayo (Laney) are still out there and have not signed anywhere as of yet.  They both already visited UND.  We believe UND can still sign 4 players if they choose.  A program can only sign 30 players in one signing period and UND is at 26.