Herald UND football mailbag: Transfer impressions, running back search and defensive needs

Apr. 17—GRAND FORKS — With the conclusion of spring ball earlier this month, Herald UND football beat writer Tom Miller fielded questions from readers for the latest installment of the UND football mailbag.

Q. Will we see anymore transfers come in? Seems like UND could still get some help at the RB, LB and especially safety spot.

A. I think we'll see more transfers come in and those three positions you listed are where I expect UND to target. UND missed on a Northern Michigan running back transfer Tyshon King, who had offers from Northern Illinois and Youngstown State and picked Youngstown to the surprise of a few of us.

I get the sense UND prefers the transfer window after spring ball even though if you land a player before spring ball there's major advantages to getting him in the system for the spring semester.

However, after spring ball, you can develop better relationships with transfers because you're not rushing them ahead of the spring ball window. This later window is when UND snagged Tyler Hoosman last season.

Q. Besides Quincy Vaughn going to TE, any other position changes this year? I think Max Gunderson is a great athlete who could play more than TE.

A. The only position change I can think of other than Vaughn is young tight end Josh Yon from Thompson. Yon swapped over to play some inside linebacker this spring.

I was curious to see if UND was going to try quarterback Colton Hackel elsewhere in the fall because he has nice athleticism and build, but the Perham product has entered the transfer portal with the quarterback depth chart stacked up ahead of him.

Speaking of the quarterback depth chart, I'd also be curious if former Langdon standout Simon Romfo could play some wide receiver. Romfo has shown nice escapability but I'm unsure if there's a path at quarterback for him.

Q. Offensively, is this the highest the expectations have been for this unit in the Bubba Schweigert Era?

A. I believe so. You have a clear-cut starting quarterback in Tommy Schuster, an offensive line that finally goes about nine players deep and a wide receiver corps that has added the missing element in South Dakota transfer Wesley Eliodor.

The tight ends are proven, too, with the possibility of Quincy Vaughn emerging as a playmaker.

The only question is how UND replaces Tyler Hoosman.

Q. Defensively, is there a position group you feel will be much improved over this past season?

A. I think the obvious answer would be defensive line, where Ben McNaboe returns and will have the help of Northern Illinois transfer Jeff Griffin Jr., and New Mexico State transfer Jake Saltonstall.

Add to that, I think Casey Schultz and Jack Teiken are going to start making more plays for this team as they physically mature.

Schultz was a bit slowed to injury at spring ball but Teiken generated a lot of buzz.

UND lost a nice depth piece on the defensive line with Luke Lennon moving on, but there's solid options with Barty Ogbu, Craig Orlando, Jaelen Johnson and Elijah Beach.

Q. How has Red Wilson looked and what should his role/production be this coming season?

A. After a 2022 season in which he was eased in to the system during a feeling-out period between he and the coaching staff, Wilson looks primed for a big year.

I know fans were concerned when he sat out the last practice of spring ball, but it was just bad timing after suffering a minor injury the day before when he ran in to some friendly fire running a route in a non-tackle drill.

Now it's just up to Danny Freund to decide where to use him best, whether it's in the backfield or at wide receiver. I'm sure we'll see both to some extent.

With Wilson, Bo Belquist and Wesley Eliodor, there's no shortage of tough-to-tackle bubble screen options.

Q. What does the kicking-punting situation look like heading out of camp and into fall?

A. Brady Stevens appears to still have the kickoff and field-goal kicking jobs, although C.J. Elrichs isn't far behind. Elrichs has a few more roller-coaster days right now, but that's normal for a young player. The question will be how fast can he iron those out? Fast enough to challenge Stevens in 2023? Maybe.

UND will be new at punter for what seems like forever after the graduation of Cade Peterson. Luke Silvernale is likely to start the season as the No. 1 punter, although UND will bring in a rookie for fall camp, too.

It's hard to tell how punting is going because the Fritz Pollard Jr. Athletic Center isn't tall enough for the hang time UND wants at punter.

And with the terrible spring, UND's outdoor punting options weren't great.

The Hawks are going to miss the athleticism of Peterson, who had a long reach and a track background.

Silvernale appears to have the leg, but we'll wait to see how he handles a bad snap and how fast he can get kicks off.

Q. What do you see as the biggest question marks on both offense and defense for the 2023 season?

A. On offense, the biggest question mark for me is how UND plans to replace the production of Tyler Hoosman.

Who handles the tough-yard carries and the red-zone chances? Isaiah Smith and Luke Skokna have roles, but those haven't been their strong suits in past years.

UND will look for outside help, but it's also worth keeping a watch for in-house option Gaven Ziebarth, who has the build for this role and has shown glimpses of how he could help UND make up for missing Hoosman.

Also, UND has a brand new running backs coach. Sometimes you never know how a different set of eyes sees a depth chart.

On defense, UND needs to see better production at outside linebacker. Yes, UND was coming off losing Jaxson Turner and Ty Shannon but the Hawks just weren't good enough there in 2022.

Ted Mulin is a fantastic leader and is a nice piece, but UND needs others to emerge. If Josh Navratil and Matt Koshiol — two players with terrific athleticism who haven't quite put it all together yet in Grand Forks — can have breakout seasons in 2023, that would go a long way to fixing this defense.

Q. I still think they need help at OLB and safety. You think they will find some help there in the portal? A healthy Sammy Fort will be nice but don't know what to think about the rest of the crew.

A. UND needs to take a look at those two spots, no doubt.

As I mentioned in my previous answer, I think there are intriguing in-house options with Navratil and Koshiol at outside linebacker.

Safety is a concern. I will say it looks like Gardner Webb transfer Malachi Buckner is at a better playing weight this spring and could be improved and Kadon Kauppinen has all the physical tools to get it done. Perhaps a change in leadership at defensive coordinator is what those two need.

Jett Sutton has also made plays at safety in his limited chances. He has great, long reach, but he still might need another year to add to his frame.

UND would've liked to see more reps for players like Cole Davis and Ethan Ball, but those two were injured this spring and sat out spring ball.

Overall, the safety position group needs more talent.

Q. What positional group would you consider our biggest strength and what group is our biggest weakness heading into next year?

A. I think UND's biggest strength is at wide receiver. You lose Garett Maag, but you return Bo Belquist and Red Wilson and you bring in Wesley Eliodor, who has proven he can get it done in this league.

There's also some nice players developing within the system like Jack Wright, Caden Dennis, Nick Kupfer and Nate DeMontagnac. Dare I even include the oft-injured Elijah Klein in this group?

You can also almost include Isaiah Smith in this group for the way he adds to the passing game.

The biggest weakness has to be at safety, where UND really struggled to replace Jordan Canady and Hayden Galvin.

Plus, I'd go as far as to say UND hasn't really been good enough at safety since Cole Reyes, and that's starting to be quite a long time ago.

It's also interesting how interconnected fixing a defense can be. Perhaps UND can look better on the back end if they're doing more in the front seven next season.

Q. Will Tommy Schuster break every record this year? If he stays ANOTHER year, will anyone come close to his records?

A. Yes, if he hasn't broken it already. Danny Freund still has the completion percentage record. That's about the only one hanging around at this point.

Schuster is accurate (career-best 69 percent last season) but Freund was a career 70 percent. Both are impressive.

If Schuster were to play yet another season in 2024, they would be untouchable records with Schuster taking advantage of both the four-game redshirt rule and the free COVID-19 year.

Q. Who's the biggest impact transfer after spring ball?

A. It's so hard to say at this point because of how little teams practice live.

UND's defensive line transfers pass the eye test, but we won't know the full picture until game time.

I will say UND's nose guard from Northern Illinois, Jeff Griffin Jr., looks the part at nose like we haven't seen since Tank Harris.

Wesley Eliodor at wide receiver from South Dakota would have a chance at this honor, but it's hard to say based on spring ball how much of the workshare he'll receive.

Q. Is the leading rusher next year currently on the roster?

A. I'm saying no. Isaiah Smith could be a feature back, but his role is probably best in how he was used in 2022.

I still think UND will find a big-bodied, between-the-tackles runner like Tyler Hoosman in the offseason.

Q. Have you heard any rumors about another running back?

A. After Tyshon King committed to Youngstown State recently, I haven't heard a new name in the mix for UND.

But it's also early. UND's spring ball starts, and wraps up, before most college programs.

So, although UND could start chasing another running back at any time, there's going to be a completely fresh crop in the transfer portal arriving in the next few weeks.