NSU Wolves Football - 2024

[Matt Witwicki]

Just pencil in Laqua next week, the Mary coach the week after, etc.

We’ve already had Laqua on this year. I’m guessing you are making reference to NSU just beating SMSU..but that aspect was rather inconsequential honestly.

[Thunder]

Coach Schmidt joins us for NSIC Weekly. FYI. Drops tmrw night 7pm.

Really good interview with Coach Schmidt. I’ve never had the chance to talk to him in person, but he seems like a guy you’d like to have a beer with. No doubt, the beginning of the year was humbling for Schmidt, but I like the way he talks about the program. He acknowledges that maybe the way he built the team to win right away wasn’t the best long term philosophy. Building a program at the D2 level is going to be extremely difficult in today’s collegiate environment, but I still believe you have to try to recruit high schoolers and develop them, and supplement with transfers. Schmidt seems to have a clearer view of what he wants to do in Aberdeen. As Witt mentioned, the highs during Schmidt’s tenure have probably been higher than ever at NSU. There is always 1 really bad loss each year as well. Continuing to develop players and build consistency will be extremely important going forward for Coach Schmidt. I look forward to seeing what he builds.

As always, thank you Witt and Tom. Your coverage of D2 and the NSIC is much aprpteciated by those that follow. BUT….get out of here with that “rat poison”, I’m just worried about CSP this weekend. Coach Schmidt did a good job of relaying that message as well, I just hope everyone is on the same page with that.

[Matt Witwicki]

All good my friend. haha

The rat poison..that made me laugh. As you know, I don't have to worry about the mindset of his locker room..but its sure been a interesting bounce back to this point. This isn't the most skilled squad offensivelt..if we are being frank about things..and they've found a way to buckle down on D and find ways to beat some teams they haven't in a long time.

I've gotten to know and enjoy Coach Schmidt over the years. I think he's a good fella also.

[NSU4LIFE]

Didn't get to see much of the game, Van Landingham had two big catches on the crucial last drive, those i did "catch".

The boys are just gritty, five straight. Though this never serves a purpose, and we have had games that could have flipped the other way, can you imagine if they'd held on up in Minot? What a roller coaster of emotions this season has been.

Really hope the locals show up and The Bank is bumpin, as the kids say, next Saturday. Mankato is going to be hungry after today, but we have to view this as a winnable game. Really wish I could be there.

Adams with another day at the office with 16 tackles, unreal.

Go Wolves

[Thunder]

It's hard to be too disappointed overall with the game vs Mankato. Having zero points after the first two possessions was a killer. You can't control the ball like that against a good team like Mankato and still be tied 0-0 after 16 minutes. Also the Mavs TD to end the first half was a killer too. The Wolves finally got into the endzone and then give up a big return to give Mankato a short field and score before half. The Britt fumble also gave the Mavs a short field to score in the first half. Overall I thought the defense played pretty well. The last Mankato drive brought back memories of the Minot game. NSU was just unable to get the Mavs off the field and they continued to eat up the clock. They did get the goal line stop in the end, but Mankato ate up 7 minutes and pushed NSU back to its own 1.

Hopefully Britt has a good game this week in Wayne. He is a pretty good runner, but can be a little loose with the ball at times. He has been inconsistent throwing the ball, but has made some really good throws. On the second TD drive he made some great throws. But, he missed on what should have been a TD on the first drive. If the Wolves score there, it might change the complexion of the entire game. If he can become more consistent throwing the ball, and better protecting it when running, he could be one of the better QBs in the conference next season. I would expect there will be some offseason competition for the job, whether that is one of the freshman or a new addition I don't know.

[TJE_]

To win against Mankato we couldn’t afford many mistakes. Britt’s two turnovers and the terrible kickoff coverage really hurt. Other than I thought we played a pretty good game considering the opponent.

I still maintain Britt is not the guy. He has a lot of turnovers and it seems to me he misses the easy reads. If you listen to Schmidt’s post game his review of Britt’s play didn’t seem to encouraging.

[TJE_]

One more comment. I think it showed a lot character for the defense to get that stop late in the 4th on the goal line when the game was probably out of reach. The teams over that last few years I think would have phoned that in

[Thunder]

The more I have asked around lately, it seemed Schmidt and the AD knew this was going to a rebuilding year and they may have some rough spots. Don’t believe they thought we would start 0-4 with a loss to Minot however. Didn’t hear anyone say lately he should be canned.

Next year is huge for Schmidt. He CANNOT go backwards. I think they have good base of young players mixed with a few veterans coming back but they also have some big shoes to fill and some real needs especially on defense at DT, Safety and LB in my opinion.

I wanted to bring this conversation to the NSU thread. I actually had a conversation with someone last week that said even with a win in Wayne they thought Schmidt would be gone. That blew my mind. I told them no way that was true. I said before the season 5-6 wins would be the absolute ceiling for this year…and they almost exceeded that.

Job #1 will be recruiting the current roster. There are some really talented young guys on the roster, just need to keep them here and keep building.

Job #2 will be maintaining some continuity on the staff. There has been so much turnover offensively over the past 5 years. If we can maintain and build of this year that will be huge.

Job #3 is to continue stacking freshman recruiting classes. Keep signing players that may not contribute next year, but will be building blocks for the next 4-5 years.

Finally, Schmidt will need to find some transfers to fill the remaining holes in the starting lineup.

NSU needs to keep building on the success of that last 7 weeks. We’ve reached a point where being competitive with EVERYONE in the NSIC is an expectation not a surprise. There has also been 1 bad loss in each of Schmidt’s 4 seasons. It will be important to avoid that lapse next season as the expectations coming into the year will be MUCH higher than they were this season.

[TJE_]

I agree with everything you said.

I got this second hand about a month ago but was told by a local that a few of the largest boosters said Schmidt was done. Now that was after we had won only a game two. So maybe their feelings have changed.

I believe Schmidt has been a bit humbled over these years at Northern. Think he came in with a bit of an ego. He made a lot of mistakes with bringing in so many transfers early and not finding the right fit culturally for the team ie: Ian Marshall. Last year they signed 40+ freshman. I think he’s figured out the only way he win at Northern is to bring in high school kids, develop them and use the portal here and there to fill an immediate need.

[Thunder]

I agree with everything you said.

I got this second hand about a month ago but was told by a local that a few of the largest boosters said Schmidt was done. Now that was after we had won only a game two. So maybe their feelings have changed.

I believe Schmidt has been a bit humbled over these years at Northern. Think he came in with a bit of an ego. He made a lot of mistakes with bringing in so many transfers early and not finding the right fit culturally for the team ie: Ian Marshall. Last year they signed 40+ freshman. I think he’s figured out the only way he win at Northern is to bring in high school kids, develop them and use the portal here and there to fill an immediate need.

100% agree with both points. After the 0-4 start Schmidt was cooked as far as some of the big boosters were concerned. I think that is still the impression some others had held on to. Nobody expected the turn around we have seen. The 6-1 finish to the season was extremely impressive. That has to have changed some minds.

[TJE_]

100% agree with both points. After the 0-4 start Schmidt was cooked as far as some of the big boosters were concerned. I think that is still the impression some others had held on to. Nobody expected the turn around we have seen. The 6-1 finish to the season was extremely impressive. That has to have changed some minds.

I have probably been his biggest critic and I am still not convinced he’s the guy long term. What I did see this year which I think is a positive is his maturity as a coach and an emphasis on culture within the program. You could really see it this year. The way those guys sticked together and rally back. Fighting back to win games when they were down. The 4th and goal stop against Mankato when the game was basically out of reach. That’s culture. Would not have happened in the last the teams.

[NSU4LIFE]

Some day I will get into it much deeper, but I got a call from a buddy who called me out of the blue to say "did you realize Northern finished fifth in football?"

I told him it isn't done yet, but the point was, he isn't someone who watches closely. Like a lot of them, it's we're great or we're bad, with nothing in between.

To not quit on a season and compete like they did, does show something that i hope they, above all others, are proud of.

Continuity is huge, and hard to come by in the currect landscape. But, if you cant hang on to that, especially with a staff, that can be a big part of being a conference title competing team.

We can dig in deeper, always sad to see a season end, but fun finish.

[#WolvesNation]

And the wild part.. if we take care of Minot we’re probably sitting in the 7 spot of the regional rankings, watching some games closely this week while on bye for a spot in the playoffs.

Going to need to get a few playmakers at WR, and fill in the secondary on defense. I like the improvement Britt made throughout the year and think with his athleticism he is a dynamic option to carry into next year. I personally wouldn’t spend up any scholarships on transfer QBs this year and would like to see us go get him some weapons on the outside.

[CollegeFBGuy]

And the wild part.. if we take care of Minot we’re probably sitting in the 7 spot of the regional rankings, watching some games closely this week while on bye for a spot in the playoffs.

Going to need to get a few playmakers at WR, and fill in the secondary on defense. I like the improvement Britt made throughout the year and think with his athleticism he is a dynamic option to carry into next year. I personally wouldn’t spend up any scholarships on transfer QBs this year and would like to see us go get him some weapons on the outside.

While true, it’s a wild deal to only consider what happens with that close loss. Flip that one around, but wouldn’t be just as easy to slip one or more of the close wins? ( Winona-6, Bemidji-1, UMD-3, Concordia-1)

NSU has a great facility, it will be interesting to see how things shake out with transfers (in or out), recruiting, and player health, and coaching staff movement.

[Purple Mav Man]

While true, it’s a wild deal to only consider what happens with that close loss. Flip that one around, but wouldn’t be just as easy to slip one or more of the close wins? ( Winona-6, Bemidji-1, UMD-3, Concordia-1)

NSU has a great facility, it will be interesting to see how things shake out with transfers (in or out), recruiting, and player health, and coaching staff movement.

But that’s not how the “what-if” game works. It only goes in your favor.