Even though UND sits at 3-6 heading into their Week 10 game vs. Weber State, there is plenty to play for when it comes to the players themselves. There are still many positions on this team that have not been solidified in 2014 and will be up for grabs come Spring Ball 2015. One of those positions is quarterback.
QB Keaton Studsrud, the true freshman who had his redshirt pulled last week, will be the starter for the rest of the 2014 season. We believe they pulled his redshirt due to the fact that QB Ryan Bartels shoulder injury will not heal up in time to play in these final three games. Bartels took over for starting QB Joe Mollberg, who ruptured his achilles tendon vs. Southern Utah two week ago. To say this has been a trying time up in Grand Forks would be an understatement.
This is a huge opportunity for Studsrud to establish himself as a contender for the starting QB spot in 2015. Obviously, spring ball will be a factor too but for Studsrud to have actual game tape on file will be an advantage for him, good or bad. OC Paul Rudolph will know what he has when it comes to mobility, arm strength, decision-making, huddle-command, etc.
We look for UND to keep the game plan very, very vanilla. Everyone must remember that Studsrud ran the UND scout team for the first nine weeks of the season. He probably knows 10-20 plays really well and is somewhat versed in the others. Another factor that could hurt Studsrud is the fact that the coaches will more than likely not use his speed/athleticism through QB truck plays/boots due to the fact he is one of two QB’s left on the roster (Jake Hanson being the other). If Studsrud gets hurt UND will be down to a walk-on and then probably any WR who has ever taken a snap in their life.
It is on the UND offensive line to step up and say, ‘we need to keep this kid upright the rest of the year’. One way to do that is by running the ball. The UND run game has been decent lately with senior Jer Garman running very well. Continue to run the ball and let Studsrud throw short to intermediate routes to try and move the sticks. Repeat.
The rumor as of yesterday is that two wide receivers have quit the team. We have not seen any confirmation on this but speculation via twitter and other sources is that junior Casey Young and true freshman Dev Ferguson have both quit. Young was buried on the depth chart and never could break through to earn consistentplaying time. He had 3 catches for 30 yards in 2014. Young played sparingly the last couple games due to Ferguson’s and RJ McGill’s injuries but obviously didn’t like something about the situation. Ferguson played a lot of snaps this season for UND but was constantly hurt and missed multiple games, including last week vs. EWU. To this point, Ferguson had 12 catches for 275 yards and 1 TD. Once again, we have not seen any form of verification on this.
As we said in in the spring, the defections from the team were not going to end after spring ball. UND lost 10+ players last winter after the coaching change. They lost a handful more after spring ball. They lost a few this fall during/after camp. They will lose more after the season. Most of these kids were not recruited by the current staff and may not like the new regime, and vice versa.
This biggest thing UND needs right now is players that want to be construction workers and build something that they can leave as their legacy at UND. They don’t need talent that wants to pick and choose their times to work hard and care about the program. They got a decent base of hard-working players to build off of but need a lot more of them before they get the ship steered in the right direction. It’s going to be a long process and the fans need to realize it. Enjoy the victories and look for things that are improving or not improving. Things will get better, we know that, but it’s going to take time.
