With the end of the 2022 transfer portal season on May 1st, it is now official who all wants to move on. However, where those players end up could be going on for the next few months.
Many have found a home but others are still looking. Most programs, like UND, want the kids committed and be on campus by the time summer school starts. This locks them in, so to speak. A transfer is not bound to a school until they enroll and attend classes. The next few weeks are pretty important to get the majority of your transfers locked in.
In the past my opinion on transfers was lukewarm at best. It took a damn near perfect fit to get the most out of the player considering North Dakota’s location, weather, conference, etc.
Nowadays, however, the portal has made transfers a vital part of the program to not only add depth but replace what you lost to the portal. Lose one, take one. Rinse, repeat.
It’s the brutal reality of today’s collegiate athletics and teams need to take the chance that a player will “fit” much more than in the past.
Portal Additions (10)
Seth Anderson – Offensive Line (NDSU)
Jake Oliphant – Offensive Line (Northern State)
Brayden Bryant (Juco) – Offensive Line (Butler CC)
Tyler Hoosman – Running Back (Northern Iowa)
Grant Romfo – Wide Receiver (NDSU)
Montrellis Wilson – Wide Receiver (Mesabi Range CC)
Barty Ogbu – Defensive End (NDSU)
Aaron Cooper – Outside Linebacker (Cal Poly)
Devin Hembry (Juco) – Cornerback (NE Oklahoma CC)
Malachi Buckner – Safety (Gardner Webb)
Portal Subtractions (9)
Chrysten Cochran – Wide Receiver
Jacob Odom – Wide Receiver (Slippery Rock)
Quintin Seguin – Defensive End (Charleston Southern)
Quinton Urwiler – Outside Linebacker (Northern Illinois)
Caleb Nelson – Cornerback (Sacramento State)
Sam Robertson – Cornerback (Northern Illinois)
Billy Riviere – Tight End (Washington State)
Otis Weah – Running Back
Adam Stage – Kicker
When looking at how UND did in the portal a person has to break it down by position group and see what UND lost vs what they gained. Then, take a look at that the importance of that group in the grand scheme of a football program.
If a team improved at say, wide receiver, but the offensive line is still a major issue, they did not get better. The goal is to win a MVFC championship and we have all seen that it begins in the trenches. I will beat this drum until the day I die but UND needs to continue to improve their OL & DL in anyway possible.
After the position group name below I added a positive or negative symbol. The symbol designates whether I felt that position group got better and/or was able to replace what they lost (+) or whether that group took a hit in the portal ( – ).
You will also notice that Hunter Hansen (Northern State) is not listed – he is no longer on the team and I was told he is done with football. This is a bit of a blow to the OLB group as he would’ve added nice size to that unit.
Quarterback (neutral)
- Subtraction: None
No change at this position. Tommy Schuster, Quincy Vaughn, Trey Feeney, and Simon Romfo are back. Schuster is the starter but will be pushed all summer and in camp by the other three. I would argue that Schuster needs to be pushed and needs to evolve his game to take this offense to a higher level. The Hawks finished 8th in ppg in the MVFC with 24.5. That needs to improve.
- Addition: None
Running Back ( – )
- Subtraction: Otis Weah
The loss of Otis Weah is obviously a big one on the field as he was their spark plug on offense. I stated several times that the Hawks offense went as Otis did. Well, in Fall 2021 Otis was hit & miss all year and wasn’t the same aggressive, tackle-breaking workhorse he was in the Spring of 2021. The offense suffered because of it. That along with being suspended for a few games made for an undesirable situation that culminated in Weah entering the portal.
- Addition: Tyler Hoosman
UND answered that loss by saying they are good with the three main running backs they have coming back in Isaiah Smith, Luke Skokna, and Gaven Ziebarth – along with the return of Creighton Mitchell from leg injury. They also added senior transfer Hoosman from Northern Iowa to give them a power-back option. As you can see, there is a lot of versatility in this backfield and adding Hoosman is a low-risk, high-reward situation.
Wide Receiver ( + )
- Subtraction: Chrysten Cochran – Jacob Odom
Both Cochran and Odom were well down the depth chart and don’t impact the 2022 roster too much. Cochran had 3 catches for 27 yards in 2021.
- Addition: Montrellis Wilson – Grant Romfo
Wilson is an interesting addition as he brings a unique skill set to the team. He is listed at 5’9″-195 and it’s obvious by the tape that he has solid speed/shake/burst in his game. He would be guy that OC Danny Freund can get the ball too in a few different ways, whether it be quick stuff underneath, jet sweeps, out of the backfield, etc. He will definitely be counted on come August. Romfo will be a depth, scout team guy while he develops.
Tight End (neutral)
- Subtraction: Billy Riviere
Riviere was mostly a blocking tight end for the Hawks and with Adam Zavalney, Max Gunderson, Trae Steckler and Jaden Norby back the position group should be in good shape. There is very good size and diversity in this unit.
- Addition: None
Offensive Line ( + )
- Subtraction: None
The Hawks took a big hit in the loss of Matt Waletzko to the NFL, no doubt. They didn’t lose anybody to the portal, however.
- Addition: Seth Anderson – Brayden Bryant – Jake Oliphant
UND added three high quality players over Xmas break in Anderson, Bryant and Oliphant. All three have multiple years left to play and all have a nice ceiling to them. Bryant is a guard/mauler type of player. Anderson can play guard or tackle and brings talent to the group. Oliphant is a tackle body that UND is in desperate need of. These additions allow OL coach Joe Pawlak to move Easton Kilty out to left tackle and keep Donny Ventrelli at right tackle. Now UND is solid on the edges but need to develop the interior.
Defensive Line ( + )
- Subtraction: Quintin Seguin
Seguin had a solid 2021 season for the Hawks, notching 20 tackles and 1 sack. He logged alot of reps in his senior season for UND.
- Addition: Barty Ogbu
Ogbu is an interesting addition. UND wanted him badly out of high school but the Bismarck native chose to go to NDSU where he got lost in the shuffle and ended up behind some pretty good defensive lineman. Looking for a fresh start he is transferring to UND this summer. Ogbu, 6’3″-260, will be a defensive end in UND’s 3-4 scheme and should add some twitch to the position. This group had a good 2021 season but could definitely use more help at the DE spot. They are still looking for one more defensive lineman, at least.
Inside Linebacker (neutral)
- Subtraction: None
Their were no portal transactions at this position but four-year stalwart Noah Larson did announce he was moving on after the 2021 season. This hurts the overall experience level of the unit but with Devon Krzanowski, Caden White, Wyatt Pedigo, and Kason Kelley back they should be in good hands.
Addition: None
Outside Linebacker ( + )
- Subtraction: Quinton Urwiler
Urwiler was a backup in 2021 but brought a dynamo-aspect to the group. Undersized at 5′-11″ he was a powerhouse with high-end speed and twitch. Urwiler transferred back closer to home to attend Northern Illinois.
Addition: Aaron Cooper
To combat the heavy graduation losses of Ray Haas, Ty Shannon and Jaxson Turner, the Hawks brought in Cooper from Cal Poly. Cooper was a two-year starter for the Mustangs and logged a lot of reps, bringing experience that is desperately needed. Cooper tallied 39 tackles, 5.5 TFL’s and 2 sacks last season.
Safety ( + )
- Subtraction: None
UND didn’t lose anybody to the portal but lost multi-year contributors and 2021 starters Hayden Galvin and Jordan Canady to graduation.
- Addition: Malachi Buckner
Adding Buckner to group adds experienced talent to the unit. Buckner was an All-Big South performer for Gardner Webb and should be able to step in and contribute immediately. The Hawks return Kadon Kauppinen, Sammy Fort and Jayson Coley but the rest of the group is young. Buckner was a very important pickup for Bubba Schweigert.
Cornerback ( – )
- Subtraction: Caleb Nelson – Sam Robertson
The loss of Nelson and Robertson is definitely nothing to dismiss. Both were very talented corners and Nelson was coming into his own after being thrown to the wolves his true freshman season in 2019. Robertson was a backup but not for lack of ability. He would’ve been playing this fall, no doubt.
- Addition: Devin Hembry
The Hawks added juco corner Hembry to try and backfill after the graduation of Evan Holm and the portal losses of Nelson and Robertson. Hembry will bring depth but it’s too soon to know if he will be an every game contributor. The Hawks are most definitely hoping for freshman Clayton Bishop & Edmund Ocansey to show they are ready to play in 2022 opposite starter C.J. Siegel because they will be needed.
Kicker (neutral)
- Subtraction: Adam Stage
Stage was supposed to be UND’s starting kicker in 2021 but suffered an unknown injury after the NDSU game, to the point where he shut it down and never kicked again. This obviously hurt UND greatly in the SIU game when multiple field goals were missed and the Hawks ended up losing by three points. Stage, a St. Cloud State transfer, then entered the transfer portal after the season was over, once again.
- Addition: None
It appears to me that the Hawks are going with Brady Stevens in 2022. Stevens took over for Stage last season and ended up going 5-10 on field goals. He is their main kickoff man and has done a very good job at that, often hanging them high inside the 5 yard line allowing for excellent coverage.
As you can see by my grades, the UND roster as a whole was a net positive after the majority of the portal movement was done —- 5 positives. 2 negatives.
The most important positive grade in that bunch is offensive line and it’s not even close. UND added young, talented, physical players to their roster, a roster that was in need of depth and talent along the OL. The thing is they still need more help at OL and I know are still scouring for any talent that may pop up.
One avenue that seems to be ignored now due to the NCAA transfer portal is the junior college route. Typically, schools across the country would scour the juco’s in search of immediate, experienced help. But, now that the portal exists schools can get an NCAA-qualified player NOW instead of having to wait for the juco player to graduate in May of his second season (if not a qualifier out of high school).
This change has devastated the Juco’s around the country and left a whole lot of good players at home wondering if they will ever play again.
UND is still working the portal as seen by offers on Twitter. They have offered juco defensive lineman Hosea Wheeler of Sac City College. They had offered WR Kody Case from USD but haven’t seen much action there so assuming he is looking elsewhere.