We have entered the era of free agency in college football and rosters will be overhauled like never before. That much is certain.
Some schools will go to the extreme, like Missouri State, others will do some minor tweaking, like UND. For the old guard it is bordering on sacrilegious to leave your school, for the younger crowd it is a sign of the times.
The Hawks looked to shore up both of their lines recently with the addition of two transfers via the portal. DE Ben McNaboe and RG Babak Ghadaksaz recently tweeted their commitments to UND for the 2021 fall season.
McNaboe, 6’3″-240, started his career at the University of Minnesota where he redshirted and then played sparingly last fall. The Rogers, MN native will have four years of eligibility left.
McNaboe will add much needed depth to the Hawks defensive line, a unit that played well this spring but desires more size and play-making ability from their 3-4 defensive ends. The Hawks do have youth they are high on in Steven Keech and Luke Lennon but overall depth is vital heading into their first full MVFC season.
McNaboe’s father, Tim, played at UND and the University of Mary.
The defensive unit is rumored to be losing starter Graham Devore, which would obviously be a major loss as he was their most productive player. There hasn’t been any confirmation on it but if he does leave the addition of McNaboe will be even more important. The rest of the defensive line unit should be returning this fall.
On the other side of the ball Joe Pawlak was able to get a commitment via veteran starter Babak Ghadaksaz. The Portland State senior began his career at Saddleback College and then transferred to PSU after two seasons.
Ghadaksaz will add starting potential to the guard position that lost both it’s starters in the past month when Kyle Hergel transferred to Texas State and Ryan Tobin being rumored to be graduating and therefore done with his career. Ghadaksaz, 6’2″-290, shows excellent footwork and agility on tape. He is a perfect size for a pulling guard while also showing the ability to pass protect well. He picks up movement and trades off guys quite easily.
The Hawks are very high on their freshman OL class and the addition of Ghadaksaz will help give those guys time to develop. I would expect UND to possibly go after another OL if possible but if there is one position that is hard to attain an asset these days, it’s offensive line. Everyone needs offensive lineman.
