NFL Draft is approaching! Any NSIC pro hopefuls this year?

[SW_Mustang]

I wish him luck but I don't see it unless he packs on weight and works very hard. The better teams didn't have much trouble with him,. 3 tackles versus Augie/ no sacks.

In 2017 (as a freshman), he set a D2 record for most forced fumbles with three. That same game he had 9 tackles, 3.5 were for a loss.

To your point, it wasn't against a great team though. Augustana only went 4-7 that year.

[SW_Mustang]

Shane Zylstra to the Vikings!

[BIGvikingFan]

Nobody sacks Augie because there whole game is 3 step and RPO. They rarely do 5 step and when they do they max protect with 7+. Also, how do you know that those better teams didn't assign 2 or 3 guys to keep an eye on him- or make sure he wasn't one on one with anyone? The guy was the best pass rusher in D2 football.

How about a little excitement for the young man and spare us your diagnosis of what you think his career will be- as if your GM in the League. Somebody that makes a lot of money to do that job thought he was good enough to Draft him.

If you can't be effective when a d2 offense game plans for you, you are going to have a tough time in the NFL I wish him well, he will have to work hard, harder than he worked to get 11 reps in the bench press because he won't be able to rely on natural talent in the NFL. But my apologies, I didn't realize I had to be a paid NFL expert to post an opinion on a d2 message board. I'll sit down and shut up and wait for to the paid NFL experts to chime in here.

[SW_Mustang]

Bemidji State DB Shae Weekes was drafted by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL. Spent one year at BSU and the prior three at Regina.

[fullthrottlerb1]

If you can't be effective when a d2 offense game plans for you, you are going to have a tough time in the NFL I wish him well, he will have to work hard, harder than he worked to get 11 reps in the bench press because he won't be able to rely on natural talent in the NFL. But my apologies, I didn't realize I had to be a paid NFL expert to post an opinion on a d2 message board. I'll sit down and shut up and wait for to the paid NFL experts to chime in here.

I wonder what your opinion would be if the young man decided to go Augustana. Saying that he needs to work "harder than he worked" before...isn't that true for everyone - even Trevor Lawrence? That is such a dumb platitude - of course he will have to work harder than he ever has to make it...IT'S THE NFL!

What you are doing is you're hating on a kid because he didn't go to your school. How about realizing what a good deal it is for the Northern Sun to have someone drafted instead of being the typical Augie high-nosed idiot-"He only had 3 tackles against MMMMYYYY Vikings-he's no good". Maybe celebrate how good Augie's coaches did game planning and how well the players must have played to neutralize his productivity.

It's not like he was a Quarterback and had the ball the whole game - he's a defensive end... do you honestly believe that teams can't adjust their game plan to work around a defensive lineman and still be effective? Then you really do know nothing - and you should "sit down and shut up"(your words). Even Aaron Donald get's lost and isn't effective when there are 2 and 3 people blocking him.

As I said, someone whose job and whose livelihood is on the line (someone that gets paid to do the job) selected him in the draft - didn't sign him as a free agent - selected him in the NFL DRAFT. But yea, lets listen to some BIG Augustana College Viking fan sh@t on a guy and tell everyone that he knows more than an NFL executive.

[BIGvikingFan]

I wonder what your opinion would be if the young man decided to go Augustana. Saying that he needs to work "harder than he worked" before...isn't that true for everyone - even Trevor Lawrence? That is such a dumb platitude - of course he will have to work harder than he ever has to make it...IT'S THE NFL!

What you are doing is you're hating on a kid because he didn't go to your school. How about realizing what a good deal it is for the Northern Sun to have someone drafted instead of being the typical Augie high-nosed idiot-"He only had 3 tackles against MMMMYYYY Vikings-he's no good". Maybe celebrate how good Augie's coaches did game planning and how well the players must have played to neutralize his productivity.

It's not like he was a Quarterback and had the ball the whole game - he's a defensive end... do you honestly believe that teams can't adjust their game plan to work around a defensive lineman and still be effective? Then you really do know nothing - and you should "sit down and shut up"(your words). Even Aaron Donald get's lost and isn't effective when there are 2 and 3 people blocking him.

As I said, someone whose job and whose livelihood is on the line (someone that gets paid to do the job) selected him in the draft - didn't sign him as a free agent - selected him in the NFL DRAFT. But yea, lets listen to some BIG Augustana College Viking fan sh@t on a guy and tell everyone that he knows more than an NFL executive.

No hating, just evaluating on the information available. No need to flip out. Discussions can be had by non-experts, at least I hope so - if not, I am only ever allowed to talk about chemical engineering for the rest of my life.

Comparing to Lawrence, come on man. 11 reps on BP is a sign he was a pedestrian in the weight room, not a good sign of work ethic. If he can fix that it will be great for him and the NSIC and I hope he does, I wish him well. His performance against top teams was not special, I provided Augie as an example because, uh, that's what I follow. You need to calm down. You're making a lot of assumptions and leaps to evil motives.

[vikingfaithful]

Chris Garrett faces an uphill battle, but he can make it in the bigs and I hope he does. Augustana free agent CJ Ham and MSU Adam Thielen made it as a free agent. Love seeing NSIC people make it as professionals.

[zimmy21]

Chris Garrett faces an uphill battle, but he can make it in the bigs and I hope he does. Augustana free agent CJ Ham and MSU Adam Thielen made it as a free agent. Love seeing NSIC people make it as professionals.

Don't forget Chris Reed!

[SW_Mustang]

(2) No hating, just evaluating on the information available. No need to flip out. Discussions can be had by non-experts *snip*

*snip*(1) His performance against top teams was not special, I provided Augie as an example because, uh, that's what I follow.

1 - I feel like your original comment is in response to mine, though I apologize if this is not the case. Similarly, I follow the Mustangs - who happened to be playing CSP the day I was there. What I know about Chris is what I saw. Were the Stangs a great team in '18? No - but he played well that day, regardless. That's what I happen to know about him. Again, if you were not referring to me, I apologize in advance.

2 - You're allowed to have an opinion, though largely basing your opinion on one specific metric is a little odd. That being said, Thielen didn't get his shot in the NFL because of his stats, he got his shot because of the raw numbers at pro day - and I think that's really want scouts want. Let's face it, there are no truly competitive teams in D2. That's why it's D2. Stats matter, but does playing well against a team literally no one has heard of outside of our little circle matter more than raw mechanics and ability to adapt?

He's going to be rough around the edges like every D2 guy, but the Rams clearly saw something in him to the point that they are willing to take a chance on him over some random FBS lineman that plays against real competition.

Food for thought. It's late here, so hopefully that made sense. I'll revisit it in the morning and edit it as need be.

[SW_Mustang]

Chris Garrett faces an uphill battle, but he can make it in the bigs and I hope he does. Augustana free agent CJ Ham and MSU Adam Thielen made it as a free agent. Love seeing NSIC people make it as professionals.

Seems to me that NSIC guys who make active roster have had a lot of staying power over the years. Leonhardt and Moore had relatively short careers, but Thielen is ~7 years, Reed is ~5 years, Ham is something like 4 years... etc, etc. We also boast 3 Pro Bowlers. Not bad a for a small school conference in farm country.

It's obviously a small sample size compared to the FBS conferences, and very much statistically insignificant - but it's cool nonetheless.

I think Thielen was the big catalyst - did we produce many NFL players before 2013? That's when I started watching.

[zimmy21]

Seems to me that NSIC guys who make active roster have had a lot of staying power over the years. Leonhardt and Moore had relatively short careers, but Thielen is ~9 years, Reed is ~8 years, Ham is something like 6 years... etc, etc. We also boast 3 Pro Bowlers. Not bad a for a small school conference in farm country.

It's obviously a small sample size compared to the FBS conferences, and very much statistically insignificant - but it's cool nonetheless.

I think Thielen was the big catalyst - did we produce many NFL players before 2013? That's when I started watching.

There were kids that would get a shot here and there, but never any guys that could hang on to a spot for more than a couple years. The old NCC had some guys stick around quite awhile but even that was pretty unlikely. Kleinsasser, and Vinatieri come to mind

[SW_Mustang]

There were kids that would get a shot here and there, but never any guys that could hang on to a spot for more than a couple years. The old NCC had some guys stick around quite awhile but even that was pretty unlikely. Kleinsasser, and Vinatieri come to mind

Todd Bouman as well, now that I think of it.

I just did a quick blanket search of all of the current NSIC schools with NFL alumni, and maybe 8-10 guys from 1920-2010 had careers of any length, maybe 3+ seasons, across all 16 teams (including UMC/SCSU). Of course, that's a collection of time spent at DII, DIII, NAIA, and JUCO - as the schools and football programs adapted and shifted over the years too.

I genuinely feel like Thielen helped bridge the gap - he came at the right time, went to the right school, and had the right story. I wish that translated into attendance numbers, but such is life.

[zimmy21]

Todd Bouman as well, now that I think of it.

I just did a quick blanket search of all of the current NSIC schools with NFL alumni, and maybe 8-10 guys from 1920-2010 had careers of any length, maybe 3+ seasons, across all 16 teams (including UMC/SCSU). Of course, that's a collection of time spent at DII, DIII, NAIA, and JUCO - as the schools and football programs adapted and shifted over the years too.

I genuinely feel like Thielen helped bridge the gap - he came at the right time, went to the right school, and had the right story. I wish that translated into attendance numbers, but such is life.

Often forget about Mouman, thanks!

[vikingfaithful]

Augustana has a couple from the NCC days, including 2nd round pick byran schwartz

Kevin Kaesviharn - Wikipedia Bryan Schwartz - Wikipedia

[SW_Mustang]

Actually - I'm bored. Here's a list of players from current NSIC schools that have had 3+ year careers* in the NFL up until 2013 when Thielen was signed:

*Just going by PFR's data, they don't count every year if they didn't see game action.

Augustana University

-Karl Mecklenburg, 1983-1994 (12)
(Drafted out of the University of Minnesota)
-Corbin Lacina, 1993-2003 (11)
-Les Josephson, 1964-1974 (10)
-Kevin Kaesviharn , 2001-2009 (9)
-Bryan Schwartz, 1995-1999 (5)

Minnesota State University - Mankato

-Bob Bruer, 1979-1983 (5)

Minot State University

-Terry Falcon, 1978-1980 (3)
(Drafted out of the University of Montana)

Northern State University

-Ronnie Cruz, 2004-2008 (5)
(Spent 2004 on the Chiefs' practice squad)

St. Cloud State University

-Todd Bouman, 1997-2010 (14)
-Mick Luckhurst, 1981-1987 (7)
-Keith Nord, 1979-1985 (6)
-Doc Williams, 1923-1926 (4)
-Mike Lambrecht, 1987-1989 (3)

University of Minnesota-Crookston

-Ed Widseth, 1937-1940 (4)**
(Drafted out of the University of Minnesota)

University of Minnesota-Duluth

-Ted McKnight, 1977-1982 (6)
-Dick Pesonen, 1960-1964 (5)
-Vern Emerson, 1969-1971 (3)
-David Viaene, 1989-1992 (3)

University of Sioux Falls

-Brian Hansen, 1984-1999 (15)
-Rick Danmeier, 1977-1982 (6)

Wayne State College

-Byron Chamberlain, 1995-2003 (9)
-Brad Ottis, 1994-2000 (6)
-Ron Berger, 1969-1972 (4)
-Bob Kruse, 1967-1969 (3)
-Kevin Swayne, 2001-2003 (3)

Upper Iowa University

-Mike Eischeid, 1966-1974 (9)

**Can't tell if Widseth played for NSA as a high schooler or college, but he did technically play for UMC either way.