Monday night notes
A few quick notes from Monday night:
- Zachariah Babington-Johnson is still playing pro football. Talked with ZBJ on Monday night and he said he has an upcoming workout with the Carolina Panthers. He hopes the workout with the NFL team will take place in March. The former UND linebacker had a good career with the Sioux and has played a couple of years in af2. He was hurt last season at Manchester, but put up some good numbers before that in Louisville.
- The UND football banquet was held Saturday. No surprises in the awards announced at the banquet. The award winners were: Offensive scout: Seth Nichols; Defensive scout: Brock Lundeen; Offensive lineman: Kyle Bondy; Offensive back: Mitch Sutton; Receiver: Ryan Konrath; Defensive lineman: Ty Boyle; Linebacker: Curtis Dublanko; Defensive back: Joel Schwenzfeier; Most improved: Dublanko; Special teams player: Brandon Hellevang; Offensive player: Sutton; Defensive player: Dublanko
- Kalen DeBoer should be a great fit on Dale Lennon's staff at Southern Illinois. DeBoer, the former Sioux Falls College coach, has the same demeanor as Lennon.
- Idaho, UND's opening opponent in 2010, signed 25 players last week, including seven offensive linemen. The Vandals, who won a bowl game last season, return only one starter on the offensive line. The seven linemen signed by Idaho average 6-foot-4 and 310 pounds. Of the 25 players signed, nine come from California
Posted by: Wayne Nelson on 2/08/2010 at 8:11 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: awards, football, idaho, southern illinois, und
Texas recruit
The one football recruit from Texas signed by UND comes from Garland High School, a school that had 14 players sign letters of intent Wednesday.
Garland wide receiver Tyrhe Ivery didn't gain the notoriety of some of his teammates but he's expected to help the Sioux at the receiver position. He caught 25 passes for 330 yards and two touchdowns on a 9-2 team that was the Texas District 10-5A champion last season. Ivery also was a first-team All-District 10-5A selection.
Two of Ivery's teammates signed at Texas. Garland linebacker Tevin Jackson, ranked No. 36 on Rivals100, signed with the Longhorns as did receiver Adrian Phillips. Other Garland players signed at Kansas, Iowa State and Air Force.
Based on the last two recruiting classes, UND is making strides in recruiting big-time high school programs in Texas and California. Can't imagine the players UND signs from those schools won't help the Sioux in the next few years.
The Sioux still are recruiting skill players out of Texas and Florida for next season.
Posted by: Wayne Nelson on 2/04/2010 at 3:44 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: football, recruiting, texas, und
More recruiting news
Running back Steven Battle, who played three seasons at UND, has transferred to Bemidji State.
Battle, who will be a senior at Bemidji, played in nine games last season for UND, rushing for 87 yards on 10 carries. In his career, Battle played in 41 games for the Sioux.
The news of Battle's transfer came from Bemidji State, which announced its 2010 recruiting class Wednesday.
Among the 27 Bemidji recruits is Grand Forks Red River offensive lineman Matthew Coen-Tuff, who started two years for the Riders.
Posted by: Wayne Nelson on 2/03/2010 at 7:54 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: bemidji state, football, recruiting, und
Sioux lose Archer
Two days after UND's Jan. 23 game against South Dakota, UND redshirt freshman Doug Archer suffered a serious knee injury in practice. It was a big blow, considering Archer scored a career-high 12 points against South Dakota. Archer was starting to deliver for the Sioux.
UND coach Brian Jones, however, said Wednesday that Archer will miss the remainder of the season with a torn right anterior cruciate ligament.
“You never want to see anyone get injured, but Doug is the type of kid who will bounce back from this because of his work ethic,” Jones said. “It’s disappointing because he was really coming into his own since we started league play. But, you don’t have to worry about a kid like Doug because his passion and desire to play the game will make him even better when he comes back next season.”
Archer had seen action in all 19 games prior to the injury and was averaging 7.7 ppg in Great West play.
The Sioux also lost starting center Derek Benter to an injury in the South Dakota game.
Benter missed UND's Great West Conference games in Texas last week, but is expected to return to the Sioux lineup soon.
Posted by: Wayne Nelson on 2/03/2010 at 4:29 PM | Comments (1) | Permalink
Tags: archer, basketball, great west, und
UND brings in 24
Some first impressions of the UND 2010 football class that was announced Wednesday:
- It's obvious the Sioux were looking for speed and skill in this class, signing running backs and wide receivers from California, Arizona and Texas.
- Breon Butler was the one recruit that was kept under wraps. The running back from Pittsburg, Calif., may turn out to be a player who will see the field in the fall. He has an impressive highlight tape. We'll try to have more on Butler in Thursday's Herald.
- The lack of speed was a weakness for the Sioux last season. With Butler, wide receiver R.J. McGill of Phoeniz, wide receiver Tyrhe Ivery of Garland Texas, and cornerback Daryl Brown of Wayzata, Minn., that need apparently has been addressed.
- UND expanded its recruiting area, specifically targeting California. Three players from California signed with the Sioux and another - a linebacker - backed out of his commitment Tuesday.
- The best early guess is that Butler and McGill will be the prime candidates to play as true freshmen.
- Also, the Sioux landed players from three of the top Minnesota high schools - Cretin-Derham Hall (OL Shea Walker), Wayzata (Brown) and Eden Prairie (TE Taylor Grant).
- The Sioux aren't done recruiting, either. Coach Chris Mussman said there could be a couple of more signings announced at a later date. There are players in Texas and Florida the Sioux are still recruiting, another sign that more speed will be brought in.
- According to Mussman, running back Josh Murray, who was academically ineligible last season, is on course to play in 2010.
Posted by: Wayne Nelson on 2/03/2010 at 2:15 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: fighting sioux, football, recruiting, und
