I think I can speak for most everybody when I say we are craving normalcy at this point.  We want school.  We want sports.  We want our “old life” back.

Thunder Lake Lodge

One event that brought back some normalcy is seeing UND release their 2020 roster. Since we are always purveyors of positivity here at UNDFB360 :), it was exciting to see this and be able to hold on to hope there will be a full football season for the Fighting Hawks.

The roster had a few surprises and did also have some number changes that people will need to get used to.

One noticeable ommission was that of #36 Hunter Pinke.  Most of you know the story about Hunter and his tragic skiing accident but to not see him on the roster gave me pause.  The next thing I noticed is that nobody is going to wear #36 this fall, as it should be. Pinke is still a vital member of this program and will be there spiritual leader once again.

UND also added running back in Austin Clemetson for the 2020 season.  The 6’0″-195 Wyoming transfer will have three years remaining after redshirting in 2018 and not playing for the Cowboys in 2019.  Clemetson is a Gillette, Wyoming native who rushed for 1,847 yards and 21 TD’s as a junior before being injured the majority of his senior season.

Number changes for 2020

C.J. Siegel – #3 (was #23)

Hayden Galvin – #17 (was #16)

Tanner Thorsness – #58 (was #59)

RB Isaiah Smith out of Minneapolis has been particularly noticeable according to many around the program.  The 5’10”-225 bowling ball has speed to go with his mass and depending on the injury situation could be a candidate to get reps as a freshman.

The staff is excited about the potential of this freshman class, especially along the offensive line.  They brought in some long frames (Easton Kilty, Jack Kuntz, Jagger Ferden) to go along with some more compact brawn (Andrew Fenton (injured), Peyton Lotysz, Bennett Weber).

It appears that UND made concerted effort to beef up their offensive line after last season when they couldn’t seem to get the push they needed, especially on short yardage downs.

Kyle Hergel – 305 (was 288)

Ryan Tobin – 300 (was 274)

Nate Nguon – 305 (was 298)

Bennett Helgren – 310 (was 290)

Kyle Downs – 295 (was 278)

Ben Christian – 300 (was 288)

On the other side of the line there were some beefed up bodies, as well.  The UND defensive line needed to get bigger and stronger to withstand the massive offensive lines they are about to encounter each week in the MVFC.

Graham Devore – 260 (was 234)

Quintin Seguin – 270 (was 234)

Chandon Pierre – 265 (was 256)

Griffin Lickfeldt – 270 ( was 263)

Tanner Thorsness – 255 (was 242)

Luke Lennon – 240 (was 214)

Isaac Moore – 235 (was 214)

Elijah Beach – 280 (was 267)

Jalen Morrison – 285 (was 278)

Jaelen Johnson – 245 (was 228)

I know Garett Maag (6’5″) is only listed at 210 but he looks likes he’s 225.  He is monster out there at WR and could easily be mistaken for a defensive lineman.

In other news UND has lost their home opener vs. Valpo due to the Pioneer League cancelling all non-conference games.  This means as it sits now the Hawks would open at Kansas State on Sept. 12th.  However, we are hearing that the Big 12 could go to a “conference games + 1 non-conf game” type of schedule, much like the ACC just did.  That would more than likely leave UND out in the cold because KSU has Vanderbilt on their schedule and that game would be much more attractive to the television audience and whatever paying customers could attend.   The SEC just announced they are going conference-only so the KSU/Vandy game is off.  This could definitely help UND.  KSU’s other non-conference game is vs. Buffalo.

One caveat is that the Big 12 only has 10 members so that plan would only give them 10 games total, whereas 11 is much more appealing.