NSIC 2024....Outlook..

[Matt Witwicki]

I realize we aren't yet to spring ball..actually, a few months yet....but how do you guys on the forum look at the league, assuming things aren't just simply the 2023 order of finish..

-Mankato - are they the tops given all they return?

-Bemidji - Alt is done..how's the offense look without him, and plenty of backers and such done

-Augie - tops in the NSIC in 2023, but with plenty of departures especially on offense. QB, RB, wideouts, etc.

-UMD - they seem kinda young offensively compared to the other top squads, Walljasper returns..he's their meal-ticket

-Wayne - Bohn has another year and returns plenty of weapons..haven't looked their 2 deep yet for returners across the board..

-Others?

[34blast]

My intuition tells me Sioux Falls and Winona climb back up and have better years. It's really hard to say until after Spring Ball.
Winona loses all everything linebacker Clay Schueffner to graduation. The top 3 RBs, top 2 WR, last years QB return as well as added competition return.
Sioux Falls first year coach, alot coming back. I think they will be better.

Augie made tremendous strides between 2022 and 2023, so the teams with alot coming back look to improve. So I think some continuity, working hard, will see some improvements to teams returning alot of players.

[Ironlinks]

This would be a great thread to list "your" school's losses and gains either to graduation or transfer or whatever. Database for who is coming back, who is coming in and what players are gone

[34blast]

This would be a great thread to list "your" school's losses and gains either to graduation or transfer or whatever. Database for who is coming back, who is coming in and what players are gone

Agree, I found in Division 2 it's a bit hard to tell though if you don't have a direct contact on the team. Without a direct contact, you can figure somethings out on Twitter, but not like big D1 schools. But if we posted in a thread of what we know, we might be able to cobble it together.

[MrMustang]

The Mustangs bring back some good players on defense.

If we can find a QB, we can get back up there some. I don't possibly see how the QB play can't be better.

[FB Player Coach & Fan]

I don't possibly see how the QB play can't be better.[/QUOTE]

Middle of the pack. Realize he threw most INTs—you can hope for better— but there was/is worst QB performance. Add to the analysis Martin was a true Soph and played in 10 games in the 2023 season.
2023 NSIC Individual Passing Stats:
Games. Comp. Att. PCT. AvgYD/G
1Strand,Jack (MSU Moorhead).——— 11. —370. —550. 67.3. 355.8
Alt,Brandon (Bemidji State). —————12. -226. —-376. 60.1. 249.0
Bohn,Nick (Wayne State College). ——-11. -178. —-293. 60.7. 243.4
Stenstrom ,Cole (Winona State). ———11. -183. —-323. 56.6. 222.9
Bauman,Casey (Augustana). ———— 13. 216. ——341. 63.3. 221.4
Ekern,Hayden (Minnesota State). —— 12. -202. ——347. 58.2. 221.2
Martin,Marcus (Southwest Minnesota State).10. 162. 281. 57.6. 198.4
Dean,Camden (Sioux Falls). —————11. 187. ——290. 64.4. 187.2
Cordts,Conner (Concordia-St. Paul).—- 11. 160. ——303. 52.8. 162.5
Hackel,Colton (Northern State).———— 9. -81. ——-152. 53.2. 145.1
Walljasper,Kyle (Minnesota Duluth). ——11. 118. ——202. 58.4. 143.6
Massoud,Sofian (UMary). ——————-11. 146. ——236. 61.8. 123.2
Forknell,Jesse (UMary). ———————-9. 86. ———137. 62.7. 89.7

[Stanger86]

I don't possibly see how the QB play can't be better.

Middle of the pack. Realize he threw most INTs—you can hope for better— but there was/is worst QB performance. Add to the analysis Martin was a true Soph and played in 10 games in the 2023 season.
2023 NSIC Individual Passing Stats:
Games. Comp. Att. PCT. AvgYD/G
1Strand,Jack (MSU Moorhead).——— 11. —370. —550. 67.3. 355.8
Alt,Brandon (Bemidji State). —————12. -226. —-376. 60.1. 249.0
Bohn,Nick (Wayne State College). ——-11. -178. —-293. 60.7. 243.4
Stenstrom ,Cole (Winona State). ———11. -183. —-323. 56.6. 222.9
Bauman,Casey (Augustana). ———— 13. 216. ——341. 63.3. 221.4
Ekern,Hayden (Minnesota State). —— 12. -202. ——347. 58.2. 221.2
Martin,Marcus (Southwest Minnesota State).10. 162. 281. 57.6. 198.4
Dean,Camden (Sioux Falls). —————11. 187. ——290. 64.4. 187.2
Cordts,Conner (Concordia-St. Paul).—- 11. 160. ——303. 52.8. 162.5
Hackel,Colton (Northern State).———— 9. -81. ——-152. 53.2. 145.1
Walljasper,Kyle (Minnesota Duluth). ——11. 118. ——202. 58.4. 143.6
Massoud,Sofian (UMary). ——————-11. 146. ——236. 61.8. 123.2
Forknell,Jesse (UMary). ———————-9. 86. ———137. 62.7. 89.7

Most INTs and one of the most-sacked QBs on the fourth-fewest attempts in the league. Yes he was a sophomore, yes he had potential, but there were far too many misses.

[laker]

When does the transfer portal close- or does it always stay open? We will still have the summer transfers but once the coaching carousel stops things may level out. I still see SDSU players saying they are going pro- that ripple effect should slow down soon.

I have high hopes for MSU especially after the disappointing way the season ended last year. I hope that they come back more hungry.

[FB Player Coach & Fan]

Most INTs and one of the most-sacked QBs on the fourth-fewest attempts in the league. Yes he was a sophomore, yes he had potential, but there were far too many misses.

Literally, middle of the pack with almost all, QBs above SMSU,being upper class men. Literally stated he had the most INTs. Sacks reflect on both the offensive line and the QB….but being right or wrong makes no difference because he gone and at NC Penbroke.

my point was that QB play can improve but it was middle of the pack and it could have been worse, as well.

[Stanger86]

Literally, middle of the pack with almost all, QBs above SMSU,being upper class men. Literally stated he had the most INTs. Sacks reflect on both the offensive line and the QB….but being right or wrong makes no difference because he gone and at NC Penbroke.

my point was that QB play can improve but it was middle of the pack and it could have been worse, as well.

I think the frustrations Mustangs fans had with Martin had less to do with how he stood in the NSIC hierarchy and more to do with a standard that was set at SMSU. Yes, most of that was under the tutelage of Cory Sauter who is now long gone, but I don't think it's a bad idea to have better expectations than what we had this year.

[34blast]

When does the transfer portal close- or does it always stay open? We will still have the summer transfers but once the coaching carousel stops things may level out. I still see SDSU players saying they are going pro- that ripple effect should slow down soon.

I have high hopes for MSU especially after the disappointing way the season ended last year. I hope that they come back more hungry.

My understanding is there are 2 transfer portal windows for football, one that starts in December and one in late April. Also the window opens up for all players on a team where the coach is fired or resigns. So in D1, after Saban resigned, the window opened up for Bama for 30 days I believe. I don't know if there are any unique rules for Division 2 versus Division 1.

The transfer portal has a time when it is closed for entry. So after a certain date or time frame, the athlete can no longer enter. However, I'm not aware of a timeframe that you are kicked out of the portal / removed.

So expect after spring ball as players see where they are in the pecking order, more enter the portal.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2023/10/04/ncaa-transfer-portal-window-adjusts-division-i/71059792007/

https://informedathlete.com/ncaa-div...tal-windows-2/


So even after Spring ball, the outlooks for Division 2 can change. New players can join up or leave. I think in Division 2, it's most likely to be a flow of improvements as guys in FCS or FBS aren't playing and want to play, so they come down. But it can be the other way, I've seen D3 and NAIA players enter the portal after Spring Ball and compete and win starting jobs in D2, but I think more rare than guys coming down.

[Matt Witwicki]

I don't possibly see how the QB play can't be better.

Middle of the pack. Realize he threw most INTs—you can hope for better— but there was/is worst QB performance. Add to the analysis Martin was a true Soph and played in 10 games in the 2023 season.
2023 NSIC Individual Passing Stats:
Games. Comp. Att. PCT. AvgYD/G
1Strand,Jack (MSU Moorhead).——— 11. —370. —550. 67.3. 355.8
Alt,Brandon (Bemidji State). —————12. -226. —-376. 60.1. 249.0
Bohn,Nick (Wayne State College). ——-11. -178. —-293. 60.7. 243.4
Stenstrom ,Cole (Winona State). ———11. -183. —-323. 56.6. 222.9
Bauman,Casey (Augustana). ———— 13. 216. ——341. 63.3. 221.4
Ekern,Hayden (Minnesota State). —— 12. -202. ——347. 58.2. 221.2
Martin,Marcus (Southwest Minnesota State).10. 162. 281. 57.6. 198.4
Dean,Camden (Sioux Falls). —————11. 187. ——290. 64.4. 187.2
Cordts,Conner (Concordia-St. Paul).—- 11. 160. ——303. 52.8. 162.5
Hackel,Colton (Northern State).———— 9. -81. ——-152. 53.2. 145.1
Walljasper,Kyle (Minnesota Duluth). ——11. 118. ——202. 58.4. 143.6
Massoud,Sofian (UMary). ——————-11. 146. ——236. 61.8. 123.2
Forknell,Jesse (UMary). ———————-9. 86. ———137. 62.7. 89.7
[/QUOTE]

Looking only at YPG..passing only..shows a small picture for a QB when comparing. There's plenty of times when guys get plenty of passing yards in garbage time when the other team is sitting in prevent. These days I think a focus on Passing Efficiency and also total yards (rushing and passing) will tell more of a picture. I mean, Walljasper and Dean are good examples of that being dual threats, etc. I realize Martin's interceptions were mentioned..but furthermore, he was 12th in efficiency..which is behind both Mary starters and so forth. His 13 picks with only 9 scores stands out, while being near the basement in completion percentage at 56%.

For SMSU folks, the Donald Austin departure feels like it'll be equally large..paired with what felt like a healthy amount of portal entries. Come Spring, it feels like SMSU will have a lot to figure out with who's going to get the rock and who's gonna throw it.

As for the portal....a year ago it was "always open" for D2 and didn't have the windows that D1 had. I haven't seen or heard anything about that changing.

[SW_Mustang]

Gonna miss DA in Marshall - huge loss, but I understand why he wanted to go (and have said to him as such).

The one thing we've been really good at is finding RBs, so I'm not too worried .

[Matt Witwicki]

Agree, I found in Division 2 it's a bit hard to tell though if you don't have a direct contact on the team. Without a direct contact, you can figure somethings out on Twitter, but not like big D1 schools. But if we posted in a thread of what we know, we might be able to cobble it together.

I agree that figuring out who/what your team looks like with the portal and not knowing if a SR has another year (COVID just finishing up) and such....makes it hard to easily assess a team in our world. I'd say the first thing would to maybe post the 2-deep from a squad (snap shot) from a game late in the year to see how is a SR and highlight who's coming back..what difference-makers are returning.

For those who haven't looked up the "2-deep"..it essentially a view of the starters for a team in a given week that's sent out early in the week to the opposing squad. The home team will publish "Game Notes" for each game and they'll be available by mid-to-late week and will be included with the game preview in a given week. If you went to a schools football website and went through the archived football news stories, you can find a game preview for a given week and find the "Game Notes" as a link normally just after the title of the news story.

I am posting Wayne at USF from W10 here..as USF had both 2-deeps for the contest, but depending on how soon the visiting team gets the info to the home team....the visiting team might be published, but the home team for sure. I'm not going to get into potential gamesmanship with the 2 deep process between coaches, but it's done with the intent that a guy who got dinged up might still play..as his status isn't known when the 2 deep is submitted.

So this would be a snapshot of the 2 deeps for USF and Wayne late in the season in 2023. Keep in mind, Wayne had their all american LB Alex Kowalczyk out for the year with a knee knjury..and he will return. The 2 deep wont have any of that kinda thing on it. It's just a baseline point to work from as player additions/departures occur and such.

[Matt Witwicki]

Wayne State College - 2023.