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.
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.
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