By now you all know the back story here, so I'm not going to dwell on the past. I personally was starting to think Todd Hoffner's situation had become toxic enough that he might not get another head coaching job, much less one in our league. Needless to say, having followed this story since it broke in August of 2012 and I'm personally thrilled for Coach Hoffner and his family that Minot State University has given him the opportunity to put his whistle and ball-cap back on and run a college football team.

This interview will be the first in a series I've done with a few select NSIC Coaches.


MW: Coach, being hired roughly a month ago you are certainly a bit behind the 8-ball with regard to recruiting. At the time we are doing this interview you have not yet announced your recruiting class. Can you tell me how are things going with your 2014 recruiting class?
Coach Hoffner: Well, taking the job with 5-6 days left in the signing period some work had been done already, but it was a tough on the staff that was here in transition to encourage young men to come to Minot State. We are trying to currently establish our territories and basically draw a circle around Minot within 5-hour window. We want to get a good base of recruits that are within a reasonable travel distance both for them and their families. In addition to that we are looking in other communities such as Phoenix, Las Vegas, Denver, and possibly Chicago and Minneapolis. These are our long term goals. The 5-hour circle is our immediate goal. We think it's very important to take care of our back yard. We will be looking to announce our 2014 class right around the end of the signing period, which will be in April.



MW: You've recently announced the hiring of Byron Thomas as your Defensive Coordinator. Can I assume your connection with him dates back to his playing days at USD, where you were the Offensive Coordinator at the time. What can you tell Minot State fans about Byron?
Coach Hoffner: First off, he's a tremendous character young man. He's highly energized and quality person in general, while his football knowledge base is outstanding for a young man. He was most recently at Culver-Stockton of the NAIA and has also been at Texas A&M, South Florida, and St. Cloud. I felt it was time for him to get the opportunity to be a Defense Coordinator. He's also a fantastic recruiter as well. His overall package was very appealing to me here at Minot State.


MW: That now brings me to the other side of the ball. Offensively you've got a lot of experience with calling the plays, are you looking to shoulder the load there or hire an Offensive Coordinator?
Coach Hoffner: Haha! That would be the long term plan, to have someone else take the reigns if you will. In time I'd like to see us be a dynamic offense that's tough for people to defend. Offensively we aren't going to be looking to be ordinary, otherwise it will be hard to be successful. We are going to try and do some things differently and attract young men that want to be part of that. For the short term I will be running the offense, until we can find someone to relieve me of those duties. As long as my wife's still in Mankato I think I'm safe until she gets into town here, and then I'm in big trouble. Ha.



MW: What offense type of offense are looking to run in 2014?
Coach Hoffner: Well there's a fair amount of uncertainty in my mind right now as to exactly what we are going to do just yet, but certainly we are going to cater the offense around the best skill players that we have. It would be unfair for me at this point not having seen the kids in pads yet to say exactly how I see our offensive looking just yet. With Spring Ball coming up shortly I will get a better idea in regard to personnel.


MW: Minot has struggled to run the football in the past few years, do you think that you will be placing great emphasis on the running game?
Coach Hoffner: Yes, we've always loved to run the football and it's important for a team be successful to run the ball when you have to and to slow down a pass rush. It's important to our future as well. The offensive line will play a large part in that as well.


MW: Coach, I gotta ask ya. Looking ahead to week 3, your Minot State team will be making a trip to Blakeslee Stadium to play Minnesota State-Mankato. Without question this will be an emotional return for you. At quick glance, what are your thoughts on that week 3 game?
Coach Hoffner: The only game we are focusing in on right now is Sioux Falls and that's a very difficult challenge for us. Personally I will be re-entering the league, which is nothing easy in itself. Personally I think we have the toughest schedule in Division 2 as we play the likes of Mankato, Sioux Falls, Duluth, St. Cloud, and the list goes on and on. We will be looking at a lot of teams that have been successful in the league and know what winning is all about. That's something that we want to evolve to and I just don't know how fast it will happen. But yes, it definitely will be different standing on the other sidelines at Mankato and ya know, looking at my old team, and looking at my new team. Yes, that kind of stuff will be interesting. We'll do our best and we'll go there to compete. But right now I'm pretty focused on what's going on with Sioux Falls, that's for sure.


MW: Coach you might not realize this but Sioux Falls was where Minot State played it's last playoff football game, back in the year 2009.
Coach Hoffner: Wow, I didn't realize that. Thanks, I'm a history guy.



MW: My last question for you Coach. You are essentially taking over a 2-9 football team which has thus far struggled in the Northern Sun. How do you plan on changing the identity and the culture of this program with the 3 to 5 year program that you alluded to in your press conference a month ago?
Coach Hoffner: I've hired a Strength Coach that's also a Defensive Line Coach, and that we will release his information here shortly this week. But he's already changing the attitude and mentality, the competitive spirit, and we're enhancing the attention to detail and little things that create success. We are creating a training setting in which the student athletes will be better prepared for game situations and there won't be a lot of surprises. We are very much challenging these young men and they are adapting well.


MW: Coach, given all you've been through over the last 2 years, and you probably don't even realize it but there are a whole lot of people throughout this region that are cheering you on. Best of luck this season and welcome back.
Coach Hoffner: Well I appreciate that Matt. That means a lot and the family and I have been through a lot. Thanks.