Over a two day span last week the UND Football program added a couple key pieces that they hope will continue them on their journey to the top of the FCS landscape.

In a bit of a surprise, former Sacramento State quarterback Nate Ketteringham confirmed that he is going to transfer to UND for this coming season.  Ketteringham will have two seasons remaining after he sits out this year due to the NCAA rule on same-level transfers.  We believe that Ketteringham will also need to pay his own way for this upcoming school year due to a fairly common conference rule that states any player who transfers in-conference cannot be put on scholarship for one year.

In 2016, Ketteringham (6’4″-200) threw for 1,977 yards and 13 TD’s vs 12 INT’s in the Hornets spread, shotgun offense.  He could be considered a running threat, as well, rushing for 132 yards and 4 TD’s.  Those numbers are a bit skewed by the fact that he didn’t have much time and was constantly hurried in many clips we saw (was sacked 35 times).

Ketteringham has good arm strength and a fairly quick & effortless release.  He will need to adjust to playing under center and the footwork that comes along with it but he has plenty of time for that.  His athleticism is outstanding and it really showed when he needed to evade pressure, bailing out of the pocket and finding receivers on the run.

His best game of the 2016 season came vs. Montana State one week before UND played the Hornets.  He was 34-54 for 356 yards and threw 4 TD’s vs. the Bobcats.  The next week UND shut them down, holding Ketteringham to 15-34 for 177 yards and 0 TD’s.

Ketteringham played his prep ball at powerhouse Centennial High School in Corona, California, leading them to the CIF state championship his senior season.

The guys over at Skyline Sports posted an extensive writeup on Ketteringham transferring to UND.  They pointed to many recent changes that happened within the Sacramento State staff/program as reasons why Ketteringham decided to move on.

 

Where does this put UND at the quarterback position as we look into the future?  In a pretty good spot, we think.

2017 – Studsrud (sr), Zimmerman (so), Ketteringham (rs-so), Heidlebaugh (so), Bolinske (rfr), Boltmann (tfr).

2018 –  Zimmerman (jr), Ketteringham (jr), Heidlebaugh (jr), Bolinske (so), Boltmann (rfr)

2019 – Zimmerman (sr), Ketteringham (sr), Heidlebaugh (sr), Bolinske (jr), Boltmann (so)

This is by far, and it’s not even close, the most talented the quarterback position has ever been at UND.  Zimmerman and Ketteringham will be dueling for the starting job for two straight years starting in 2018, with Boltmann, Heidlbaugh, and Bolinske on their heels.

Not to be overlooked, the UND offensive scout team will be giving the starting UND defense some awfully good looks this coming fall with Boltmann and Ketteringham playing quarterback.  They will make the defense better through their talent alone, plus theability to replicate the other team’s offense in a high-end fashion.


In coaching news, Head Coach Bubba Schweigert announced that he has hired Malcolm Agnew as the new running backs coach at UND.  Agnew, 24, comes to UND from Nebraska where he spent a season as a graduate manager mainly focusing on recruiting.  Agnew was reunited at Nebraska with his former head coach at Oregon State, Mike Riley.

In 2013, Agnew transferred to Southern Illinois from Oregon State and promptly put big numbers for the Salukis, rushing for 1,708 yards in two seasons.  He spent a brief amount of time with the Green Bay Packers but his career was cut short due to injury.  Agnew prepped at DeSmet Jesuit in St. Louis, Missouri.

Agnew played at Southern Illinois at the same time as current UND coaches Bubba Schweigert, Travis Stepps, and Eric Schmidt were on the Saluki staff.

Agnew will inherit a loaded backfield at UND.  With the return of their top three RB’s in John Santiago, Brady Oliveira, and Austin Gordon, along with FBS transfer James Johanneson, Agnew will have no shortage of depth but will need to figure out how to rotate them being they have all proven they can play at a high level.

Per Tom Miller’s blog, Agnew will not be the “recruiting coordinator” at UND.  That position was held by former running backs coach Kevin Maurice, who is now out at Eastern Washington in a similar role.  No word yet on who the recruiting coordinator will be.