2021 NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll Released

[wscsuperfan]

https://northernsun.org/news/2021/7/...ches-poll.aspx

Preseason Coaches Poll - Overall
1. Minnesota State-Mankato (12) - 168 pts
2. Minnesota-Duluth - 144
3. Augustana (1) - 140
4. Sioux Falls - 135
5. Winona State (1) - 126
6. Bemidji State - 117
7. Concordia-St. Paul - 96
8. Northern State - 75
9. Minnesota State-Moorhead - 74
10. Wayne State - 60
11. Southwest Minnesota State - 46
12. Minot State - 38
13. Mary - 28
14. Upper Iowa - 27

North Division
1. Minnesota-Duluth (6) - 36 pts
2. Bemidji State (1) - 31
3. Concordia-St. Paul - 26
4. Minnesota State-Moorhead - 16
5. Northern State - 15
6. Mary - 13
7. Minot State - 10

South Division
1. Minnesota State-Mankato (5) - 35 pts
2. Augustana (1) - 27
3t. Sioux Falls - 26
3t. Winona State (1) - 26
5. Wayne State - 15
6. Southwest Minnesota State - 10
7. Upper Iowa - 8

[wscsuperfan]

Preseason North Division Offensive Player of the Year
QB - John Larson, Minnesota-Duluth (SR)
Preseason North Division Defensive Player of the Year
LB - Gabe Ames, Bemidji State (SR)

• Named 2021 & 2019 NSIC North Division Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
• Three-time NSIC North Division All-Conference Defense selection
• Totaled 38 tackles, 5.0 tackles for a loss, 4.0 sacks and one interception in 2019
• Tallied 159 tackles, 22.0 tackles for a loss, 6.0 sacks and three interceptions in his career

Preseason South Division Offensive Player of the Year
QB - Kyle Saddler, Augustana (SR)

• Entering a season in which he will be a four-year starter at quarterback
• In 26 starts, has tallied nearly 7,000 yards throwing with 53 touchdowns
• Quarterbacked AU to an 8-2 record before injury to close the 2019 season
• Tallied a pair of 300-yard plus games through the air in 2019
• Named team captain

Preseason South Division Defensive Player of the Year
S - Cam Gavin, Winona State (SR)

[WhyNotMinot]

I think Minot will perform better than the polls show, but then again, I may be biased.

[WSUWarriorFan]

Insert generic comment about the team I cheer for is being overlooked and "slept on" as the kids would say,

[Purple Mav Man]

Insert generic comment about the team I cheer for is being overlooked and "slept on" as the kids would say,

[Tundra_Man]

It wouldn't at all surprise me if D2 football is down across the board this season. Missing an entire year of playing time is certain to develop lots of rust. We may even see an increase in injuries due to bodies not being used to the stress of playing.

[Purple Mav Man]

It wouldn't at all surprise me if D2 football is down across the board this season. Missing an entire year of playing time is certain to develop lots of rust. We may even see an increase in injuries due to bodies not being used to the stress of playing.

Concur completely. Hope not, but reality usually beats hope. Usually...

[Otis Day]

My first thought wasn't so much that the Coo (or insert your team here) is being slept on, but rather it's been two freaking years since we've last watched NSIC football so I honestly have no idea what to expect from USF or any other team for that matter. I'm just excited to watch some NSIC football once again and I think the lack of last year will make the conference race that much more interesting.

Right now I'm grateful for the Argus Leader's position group breakdowns (huge props to Matt Zimmer for tackling this) to give me at least a baseline of who is even still on the team so I don't have to compare 2019 rosters to 2021.

[vikingfaithful]

Am in agreement with you Otis Day. 2 years without NSIC football is a long time. The Argus leader articles daily on position groups about Sioux Falls two D2 teams have been interesting and informative to read. Bravo Matt Zimmer.

[SW_Mustang]

How is everyone's rosters looking this year? Ours was decimated by COVID. Any big transfers out of anyone's program to D1 schools? Gabe Watson is still on the roster at Texas as a grad student.

Quick observations on SMSU's roster

-SMSU retained 14 players who saw game action in 2019. Of them, I count eight who recorded starts. Of those, three started all 11 games, one started 9, one started 7, and three started 1.
-I count only four players who saw game action in 2018. Of those, one started 11 games, one started 1 game.
-One player saw game action in 2017 with two starts.
-In total, SMSU retains 15 players with game experience in the program (one player played in 2018 but did not play in 2019)

-SMSU has five QBs. Of those five, two have seen NCAA game action, and only one start.
-A third QB has a season of JUCO experience, playing 10 games and winning the MCAC championship for Central Lakes in 2019.
-Andrew Haidt is an FBS transfer from NIU.

-SMSU does not have a kicker listed on the roster. Our previous kicker graduated in 2019, so he wasn't eligible for the extension.
-Our 2019 starting punter departed after his true freshman season where he showed a lot of promise. Fortunately, we have a punter.

-SMSU has two FBS transfers for the 2021 season, Andrew Haidt (NIU - QB), and Ernest Moore (Hawaii - OL). Both saw game action in 2020.
-We also got two D2 transfers, Jordan Ellis (Colorado Mesa - S) and Jay Atherton (CSUP - OL). Ellis saw game action for the shortened 2020 fall season.
-DB Jake Geisbauer transferred in from University of the Redlands in DIII - to round out the new NCAA transfers post-2019 season.

Also, despite SMSU's legendary coaching turnover - not much has changed to the core of the coaching staff, surprisingly. Here's some notes on that:

-HC/QB, DC, LB, and DLine coaches all stay the same.
-TE, WR, and O-Line Assistant departs. No replacements for the latter two.
-Previous OL coach moves into the TE spot, OL duties split between two new hires. One gets the tackles, the other gets the center/guards.
-We added an RB coach (none listed in either 2019 or 2020)

The notable departure is 2020 WR coach Boyer Bouman, who is now with the University of South Dakota. It sucks losing coaches, especially ones who know the program so well, but I always enjoy seeing people move up the ranks (school wise). Best of luck to him.

There's probably more stuff that I'm not seeing. I'd also like to see where guys ended up at from the 2019 and 2020 rosters, but that would require a lot of work I'm just not going to do.

[SW_Mustang]

Also - I looked at MSU transfers, and holy FBS Batman.

Not all of these guys are new, but here's everyone listed as having come from a D1 program that I found:

Minnesota:
-Jack Leuis (Scott's son, neat!)
-True Thompson
-Royal Silver

FBS:
Somone Andersen - Mississippi State
Eli Thomas - UCONN
Micah Cooper - Oklahoma State
Boyd Draeger - Wyoming

FCS:
Terrell Jennings - UND
Terrell Hall - NDSU
Hayden Ekern - USD
Deyon Campbell - SDSU
Nic Vinson - Northern Colorado
Bedale Naba - Northern Iowa

[BIGvikingFan]

Also - I looked at MSU transfers, and holy FBS Batman.

Have programs had a lot of success with D1 Transfers? Augie has had some, but only one I know of that is a projected impact player for 2021 (Engel) whereas they have several on their roster.

[Tundra_Man]

Have programs had a lot of success with D1 Transfers? Augie has had some, but only one I know of that is a projected impact player for 2021 (Engel) whereas they have several on their roster.

Often, when players transfer from D1 there's a reason.

[SW_Mustang]

Have programs had a lot of success with D1 Transfers? Augie has had some, but only one I know of that is a projected impact player for 2021 (Engel) whereas they have several on their roster.

Some have, but overall I'd say no. It's really nothing more than a label on a roster sheet.

There are definitely exceptions, like Ricky Lloyd, for example - but most guys we get are coming off their redshirt season, or maybe rode the bench for a while. I can't see how practicing at an FBS for a year provides any advantages to a D2 program. The weights weigh the same in Tuscaloosa as they do in Minot.

That being said, it's unusual to see so many FBS (and even FCS) guys on a D2 roster, regardless of their history. I bet if we took the next 3-4 best teams in the conference, they might only have half that many combined. It still sorta speaks to the power of the program when so many guys want in, IMO. Lots of guys would rather ride the bench in FBS and wear a snazzy uniform than play D2. For whatever that's worth.

[Purple Mav Man]

Have programs had a lot of success with D1 Transfers? Augie has had some, but only one I know of that is a projected impact player for 2021 (Engel) whereas they have several on their roster.

Some transfers are definitely successful. Nate Gunn was at South Dakota. He turned out well. Some transfers never even see the field, even though they came in from big name schools. Some transfers were walk-ons at those big schools, so take that for what you will.

The key, IMO, is using transfers to supplement your roster, not to build it. The Mavs do a good job of that.