Portal Movement in the NSIC

[Matt Witwicki]

There's no question that the Dakotas will have a limited amount of players coming out of HS that are truly D2 or higher football players..meaning, guys who could legit start. I hear it from coaches often. That said, the state of Minnesota (especially), Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Iowa, are all within reasonable enough driving distance for the schools to recruit from to find more D2-ready bodies. The bigger challenge is schools like Minot or Mary are all the further from those markets and those players would literally drive past a fair amount of other NSIC schools to get to the middle of ND. UJ will experience this same thing as they will adjust from recruiting a kid who would be playing in the North Star Conference in the NAIA..to a NSIC kid..which is something measurably different.

Certainly the areas like CA and FL are both areas that a staff like Minot would have connections (based on where their staff has been in the past)..and they'll get some pretty athletic kids from that area and some that don't pan out or just aren't comfortable being a world away from CA/FL. But yes, keeping guys around (in the day of the portal) from those states will be all the more difficult..after they've been through a ND winter and such.

When looking at recruits in the NSIC..take a look at which clubs are getting kids who have the right frame and are from the bigger markets..or the athletic marks and have played against better competition....that's a good starting point. Of course there a plenty of high achieving kids from smaller markets..but look at their speed/strength/size to measure them up against others.

As a quick sample....here is a list of the top NSIC players this past year..per the All-Conference release. Most of the players are from WI and MN. There's less from IL than in the past..and a few more from NV than expected..but Minot has hit that area fairly hard in recent times. Not as much FL or CA as some might've figured. The Sioux Falls area has 10 on this list..as the level of football has gotten better over the years.

Interesting breakdown though.

[SW_Mustang]

UW-LaCrosse is in the transfer portal for a new chancellor.

Anyone in the NSIC up for the job? Lol

[Stanger86]

There's no question that the Dakotas will have a limited amount of players coming out of HS that are truly D2 or higher football players..meaning, guys who could legit start. I hear it from coaches often. That said, the state of Minnesota (especially), Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Iowa, are all within reasonable enough driving distance for the schools to recruit from to find more D2-ready bodies. The bigger challenge is schools like Minot or Mary are all the further from those markets and those players would literally drive past a fair amount of other NSIC schools to get to the middle of ND. UJ will experience this same thing as they will adjust from recruiting a kid who would be playing in the North Star Conference in the NAIA..to a NSIC kid..which is something measurably different.

I do think the driving distance is a valid point. However, I do think Jamestown has it a little better in that it's only 90 minutes into ND, as opposed to Bismarck being three hours from Fargo and Minot is 4 hours from Fargo. Just for example, an interstate drive under 5 hours from the Twin Cities is a lot more manageable than 7.5 hours. But I don't know if the Twin Cities will be the primary recruiting zone....not right away at least. Because as a small private institution new to D2, I think the last place I'd start a recruiting war is the metro area.

Football is a different beast of course, but I think about how SMSU built up it's basketball program from being the worst NCAA program. They didn't do most of their recruiting in big metro areas. I think only one player on the 2001 team came from the Twin Cities. They found the Koenens in Clara City. They recruited Jacob Fahl from Benson. Every year, there are these kinds of kids available in every sport in smaller towns. It takes time to build up these kids in the weight room, but it can be done.

[WPHB]

Football is a different beast of course, but I think about how SMSU built up it's basketball program from being the worst NCAA program. They didn't do most of their recruiting in big metro areas. I think only one player on the 2001 team came from the Twin Cities. They found the Koenens in Clara City. They recruited Jacob Fahl from Benson. Every year, there are these kinds of kids available in every sport in smaller towns. It takes time to build up these kids in the weight room, but it can be done.

2 part rant follows:

I do not disagree about building up kids in the weight room, training table, and instruction. Where it may be harder to change is the level of competition that young men and women face. You are right, football IS an entirely different beast. You may be the best 6-man, 8-man, 9-man player in the state, but the competition that you are facing may not even equal the mediocre 2A or 3A squads in the state (sorry not sure how NSIC land classifies high school ball, so I revert to Texas examples). No disrespect to 2A and 3A teams, or even 6-man, 8-man, or 9-man systems. However, it is a different caliber of animal than playing against the studs of Big School 5A or Big School 6A. That competition is likely the thing that separates the non-recruited kids from the recruited kids. I know there are exceptions to every rule, but as a general position, I believe the kids who play against the hardest competition and have success are the ones who play most frequently at the college level. And that sucks for kids who may be supremely talented, but have a geographic/population impediment.

Every offer my kid had (minus two or three) was due to a connection between one of his HS coaches and a coach on that college's staff. So add this to the list of coaching responsibilities...First, you gotta teach young people to be good adults. Second, you gotta coach your sport. Third, you have to recruit your kids year-round to ensure that they don't transfer, which means you have wasted your time with them for x number of years just for them to go somewhere else. Fourth, you have to build relationships with coaches not only in your area but nationwide just to get the scoop on high school kids. Oh, you also gotta be accountable for all the equipment, budget, other coaches, admin staff, scheduling, nutrition, and whatever else I have forgotten.

Rant concluded.

[NSU4LIFE]

It's just the reality. I don't make the rules.

To most people, Minneapolis is the middle of nowhere.

Definitely not a reality. It's an opinion. The same as me saying the upper midwest is absolutely God's country. As well as my opinion that people who worry more about wants than needs are never going to be satisfied or happy.

[laker]

UW-LaCrosse is in the transfer portal for a new chancellor.

Anyone in the NSIC up for the job? Lol

I applied. I told them I have experience in corn sites- I misread that it was actually about porn sites. So much for getting that job.

[FB Player Coach & Fan]

[QUOTE=Stanger86;n807770]

I do think the driving distance is a valid point. However, I do think Jamestown has it a little better in that it's only 90 minutes into ND, as opposed to Bismarck being three hours from Fargo and Minot is 4 hours from Fargo. Just for example, an interstate drive under 5 hours from the Twin Cities is a lot more manageable than 7.5 hours. But I don't know if the Twin Cities will be the primary recruiting zone....not right away at least.

Lacking first hand information/experience for some that think Minot has recruiting issues—they have winning issues not recruiting issues. Wayne—- no major airport (90 minutes); Marshall—no airport (90 minute drive). I’ve been to Mankato but don’t know the airport details. And I could go on.
Minot has a new airport (8 gates)—with direct flights to Phoenix, Las Vegas, plus United and Delta access to Denver & Minneapolis. Add a city of 40k-and facilities that are probably top 5 or 6 (bubble allows year round facility training). Minot has many things other NSIC communities do not have to offer. My point is that recruiting to Minot- is not as difficult as some on here suggest—as other NSIC schools face——retention for just about everyone is getting to be a bit of a challenge and of course the lack of a winning program. Add, most likely fully funded. Recruiting to Minot is not as difficult as some on here make it out to be. Not sure when the winning program will arrive.

[SW_Mustang]

Former SMSU WR Eric Lira signed with Rocky Mountain College in the NAIA.

[SW_Mustang]

Definitely not a reality. It's an opinion. The same as me saying the upper midwest is absolutely God's country. As well as my opinion that people who worry more about wants than needs are never going to be satisfied or happy.

I didn't use "feelings" to draw up my opinions, that's the difference between us - clearly.

Gainful employment and quality of life is not a "want" by any means.

[SW_Mustang]

I applied. I told them I have experience in corn sites- I misread that it was actually about porn sites. So much for getting that job.

Well, corn is vegan - if you can run a youtube channel with umm... "guests," you may still be qualified

[SW_Mustang]

[QUOTE=FB Player Coach & Fan;n807800]

I do think the driving distance is a valid point. However, I do think Jamestown has it a little better in that it's only 90 minutes into ND, as opposed to Bismarck being three hours from Fargo and Minot is 4 hours from Fargo. Just for example, an interstate drive under 5 hours from the Twin Cities is a lot more manageable than 7.5 hours. But I don't know if the Twin Cities will be the primary recruiting zone....not right away at least.

Lacking first hand information/experience for some that think Minot has recruiting issues—they have winning issues not recruiting issues. Wayne—- no major airport (90 minutes); Marshall—no airport (90 minute drive). I’ve been to Mankato but don’t know the airport details. And I could go on.
Minot has a new airport (8 gates)—with direct flights to Phoenix, Las Vegas, plus United and Delta access to Denver & Minneapolis. Add a city of 40k-and facilities that are probably top 5 or 6 (bubble allows year round facility training). Minot has many things other NSIC communities do not have to offer. My point is that recruiting to Minot- is not as difficult as some on here suggest—as other NSIC schools face——retention for just about everyone is getting to be a bit of a challenge and of course the lack of a winning program. Add, most likely fully funded. Recruiting to Minot is not as difficult as some on here make it out to be. Not sure when the winning program will arrive.

Minot might be a town with some amenities, but the location is not great. It's far more seculded than Marshall, Mankato, and Wayne (IMO). Airplanes don't really mean much in the NSIC.

Minot actually has decent facilities - but convincing recruits to spend time in the frozen tundra is going to hold them back. That's just their reality.

[NSU4LIFE]

I didn't use "feelings" to draw up my opinions, that's the difference between us - clearly.

Gainful employment and quality of life is not a "want" by any means.

Feelings? You can't find a decent job in this region to provide a decent life than you aren't trying...also, why are you still here exactly?

Plenty of us have a "quality of life" some just don't know what they want or would rather complain than go after whatever it is they are searching, I guess

[FB Player Coach & Fan]

Former SMSU WR Eric Lira signed with Rocky Mountain College in the NAIA.

Wow; from a D2 program in the NSIC to a middle of the pack or lower end NAIA. That one will have you scratching your head as you try to figure out the transfer portal.
only upgrade is that you are in Billings, larger city—— but facilities, level of competition are downgrades, at least from this point of view.

[SW_Mustang]

Wow; from a D2 program in the NSIC to a middle of the pack or lower end NAIA. That one will have you scratching your head as you try to figure out the transfer portal.
only upgrade is that you are in Billings, larger city—— but facilities, level of competition are downgrades, at least from this point of view.

He had offers from better programs - would have been a decent NSIC WR had he stayed.

A headscratcher for sure - but I genuinely hope he finds what he's looking for out there.

[FB Player Coach & Fan]

Minot might be a town with some amenities, but the location is not great. It's far more seculded than Marshall, Mankato, and Wayne (IMO). Airplanes don't really mean much in the NSIC.

Here I am going to very strongly disagree. Maybe you took airplanes to mean travel as a team. Not at all—it’s having an airport to get recruits from California, Arizona, Florida, Texas, Colorado and Las Vegas easily and quickly—-so that the recruit feels that it is easy to get from home to that remote location. Much easier for recruits and families, who want to attend games, to fly into Minot and be 3 minutes from the stadium. Instead of picking the recruit up at the airport and driving down some remote 2 lane highway for 90 minutes—-where the highlight maybe the 2 Casey’s in Pipestone—-while the recruit wonders what backwoods location are they headed for.. Airplanes mean a great deal in the recruiting process, in getting recruits and their families comfortable with being long distances from home. And help in the signing of some of these out of area kids.