5 things to know about UND football signing day
Dec. 21—GRAND FORKS — The UND football program signed 26 prospects on Wednesday, the start of the NCAA early signing period.
Here's five things worth knowing about signing day.
UND football coach Bubba Schweigert pinpointed the defensive line in his postseason press conference as an area the Fighting Hawks needed to improve to make gains on a 7-5 season in 2022.
On Wednesday, UND took a first step toward addressing the defensive line with the addition of New Mexico transfer Jake Saltonstall.
Saltonstall, who's 6-foot-4 and 260 pounds from Morgan Hill, Calif., played three seasons at the University of New Mexico.
He appeared in 31 games, registering 75 tackles (32 solo), 10.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks.
He played in 12 games in 2022 with 27 tackles, 4.0 TFL and one sack.
Prior to New Mexico, Saltonstall spent one year at Foothills Junior College and had 52 tackles, 18.0 TFL and 9.5 sacks.
Jason Maciejczak, a big offensive line prospect out of Pierre, S.D., flipped his commitment from UND to Nebraska earlier this week.
Maciejczak picked UND this past summer over an offer from Kent State. The 6-foot-4, 320-pound guard was recently offered by new Nebraska coach Matt Rhule's staff.
"University of North Dakota, thank you!" Maciejczak said on Twitter. "Can't thank you guys enough for the relationships we've built and people we've met! With that being said I am extremely blessed for the opportunity to play in the Big 10 and very excited to announce I am committing to the University of Nebraska."
Of the 26 new prospects, UND signed 12 from Minnesota and five from Wisconsin.
"I think the longer we're in the Missouri Valley, we were able to find more length in guys we can get bigger and more physical in the program," Schweigert said. "We have to always have speed and guys who can move their feet, but I think we were able to compete more for the guys with more growth potential."
UND signed three players from the immediate area in Northwest Minnesota including Crookston's Ethan Boll, Kittson County Central's Isaac Folland and Folland's teammate Kaden Vig, who wasn't previously a publicly known commitment.
"It's awesome to get area kids," Schweigert said. "Ethan really did a good job in our camp, and we were really impressed with how he competed. Isaac really played hard for a big guy in camp, and we saw that throughout his senior year. He's a big-effort guy. Guys with a big frame and works hard, those guys are going to make it. Kaden is a big frame guy we are going to give an opportunity."
UND knows keeping a quarterback prospect from commitment to signee isn't always easy.
A few years ago, UND lost a long commitment from Nebraska's Cedric Case right before signing day, which ultimately led the Hawks to Tommy Schuster.
UND quarterback commit Jerry Kaminski from Sun Prairie, Wis., signed with the Hawks after a long commitment.
Kaminski was named Wisconsin's top quarterback of 2022 and the top offensive player of the year.
"(UND offensive coordinator Danny Freund) has been tracking him for some time," Schweigert said. "He has a lot of intangibles as far as leadership. You can see he has a lot of ability to rally guys. He's a football junkie. He throws the ball year-round and plays on 7-on-7 teams ... he has a great desire to learn and get better."
Especially in the transfer portal era, high school recruits aren't often pegged as difference-makers the following season because they need time to develop strength and learn the system.
Schweigert highlighted three possible prospects to make an impact early in their careers.
Schweigert pointed to outside linebacker Lance Rucker (Omaha, Neb.), wide receiver Adam Poncelet (Goodhue, Minn.) and running back Sawyer Seidl (Hugo, Minn.).
"Rucker will have to get better, but he showed a lot in camp and played really physical," Schweigert said.
Rucker, 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, had 162 total tackles, 39.0 tackles for loss and 21 sacks in his prep career.
Seidl piled up 5,059 rushing yards and 65 touchdowns at Hill-Murray.
"Sawyer is very skilled," Schweigert said.
Poncolet, 6-3 and 190, had 118 catches for 1,957 yards in high school.
"Poncolet is a big receiver, and we have to see how he gets in here and competes during the summer and fall camp," Schweigert said.
The signings
Ethan Boll, 6-2, 210, LB, Crookston, Minn.
Jace Boswell, 6-2, 224, LB, Holton, Kan.
Ben Buxa, 6-3, 285, OL, Lake Mills, Wis.
Landon Docken, 6-0, 165, K, Fargo, N.D.
Logyn Eckheart, 6-3, 265, DL, Glenwood, Iowa
Dopalo Egunjobi, 6-5, 310, OL, Winnipeg (U of Manitoba)
Wesley Eliodor, 6-0, 200, WR, Fort Lauderdale (U So. Dak.)
Tyler Erkman, 6-1, 180, S, Lake Zurich, Ill
Isaac Folland, 6-3, 330, OL, Halma, Minn.
Noah Gehin, 6-3, 230, TE, De Pere, Wis.
Michael Gross, 6-3, 175, WR, Eden Prairie, Minn.
Jerry Kaminski, 6-2, 205, QB, Sun Prairie, Wis.
Kellen Kinzer, 6-4, 225, LB, St. Cloud, Minn.
Sam Klestinski, 6-1, 195, P, Madison, Wis.
Jacob Lopau, 6-7, 300, OL, St. Joseph, Minn.
Owen McCloud, 6-0, 225, LB, Lakeville, Minn.
Braden Mohr, DL, 6-3, 240, DL, Farmington, Minn.
Adam Newel, 6-2, 290, DL, Green Bay, Wis.
Adam Poncolet, 6-3, 190, WR, Goodhue, Minn.
Lance Rucker, 6-4, 215, LB, Omaha, Neb.
Jake Saltonstall, 6-4, 260, DL, Morgan Hill, Calif. (U of New Mex.)
Matthew Schoenecker, 6-7, 260, OL, New Prague, Minn.
Zack Schusted, 6-6, 238, TE, Ham Lake, Minn.
Sawyer Seidl, 5-10, 170, RB, Hugo, Minn.
Kaden Vig, 6-5, 225, DL, Hallock, Minn.
Marcus Wahl, 5-11, 160, CB, Winnipeg
