GF Herald- Tom Miller 10-10-25

Grand Forks Herald Sports Editor, Tom Miller visits about upcoming key UND Football match up against visiting Youngstown St.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Friday morning. That means we are blessed to have the
sports editor of the Grand Forks hereld Tom Miller with us.
Morning Tom.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
I couldn't agree more. Jim, Good morning.

Speaker 3 (00:12):
Guys, Good morning Tom.

Speaker 1 (00:14):
Why not? Yeah?

Speaker 3 (00:15):
Yeah, well all good. I'll let Tim lead the way
this morning. Tim, what do you got for Tom to
start us off?

Speaker 1 (00:22):
Well? Who you got covering at one with Central and
Kindred tonight to one?

Speaker 2 (00:27):
Beaten's Yeah, I've got Alex Faber out there. We uh
kind of a sneaky busy weekend in Grand Forks. When
I come to sports last night, we had the we
had kind of the full operation until I went to
some rid over Central volleyball. Alex Favor was at Roso
East Grand Forks football and then Shaston covered North Kota

(00:48):
State High School boys tennis tournament and we had three
different photographers rolling two So busy weekend. We'll have Alex
Favor out at Central Kindred. That should be uh really
interesting to see how that one goes. It's it's kind
of funny how pollings work, right if if you haven't
really paid attention, you know, you think Kindred's ranked number
two in the state, but it doesn't take a whole

(01:11):
lot of score comparisons to see that Kindred very well
might be the best team in the state. Yeah, regardless
of division. Regardless of division. It's just the nature of polls.
And if the number one team hasn't lost yet, noting
nobody down their pole.

Speaker 3 (01:27):
I guess, well, they've got some some players that are
being recruited by some major Division one institutions down there
in Kindred. So, I mean they they are a loaded,
loaded squad.

Speaker 2 (01:39):
I mean, two Power five kids. How often does that
happen at a West Bargo Cheyenne let alone at Kindred? Yeah,
you know, the the younger Starsvic kid just got an
offer from Texas Tech and the uh gosh, I'm losing
the name of the other kid who's got an offer
from Kansas State? Is it? Is it Baco?

Speaker 3 (01:59):
Yeah, something like that. Yeah, but that's incredible. But you know,
that just goes to show you, like that Fargo West
Fargo Metroplex, I mean, Kindred is basically attached now. I mean,
you know, when we when we were a young Kindred,
it was just an outpost basically when we were young people,
And now it's just part of the metroplex and a
lot of people have moved in there and it is

(02:20):
a It has turned into a an athlete factory, as
we have seen announcements from you know, Abby Dickscher who
has gone to Alabama to play softball. And I mean
they they are, they are full of athletes down in
that in that neighborhood.

Speaker 2 (02:37):
Yeah, it's quite the have a bedroom community if you
want the quote unquote class B experience. You know a
lot of people are choosing that route. And it don't
look so class B anymore.

Speaker 3 (02:48):
No, they sure don't. Okay, I've been trying to tell people.
People are saying, well, you're just full of it. I said,
the eye test from what I've seen now, I've not
watched every game start to finish, mind you, between like
South Dakota and Youngstown State, but I've watched enough to say, like,
the eye test to me says Youngstown State is a
ranked team and a pretty good one if you ask me,

(03:08):
from my eye test. And I feel like they're probably
coming in saying we're disrespected, we are disrespected. And and
what do you think of of Youngstown State coming in tomorrow?

Speaker 2 (03:23):
Oh, I think they're hugely underrated. You know, to be
up to be up seventeen to seven at halftime to
South Dakota State, Like you're doing a lot of things right.
They lose that game by a very narrow margin, but
absolutely like that doesn't feel like the twenty sixth ranked
team in FCS. Like, I mean, I'd probably put them

(03:46):
on on par with a Montana, you know, will least
be a team as good as Montana probably here on Saturday.
I think that's pretty realistic.

Speaker 3 (03:54):
Well, and of course it you know, we we've got
a dose of brunt guard last year where he he
really put the screws to North Dakota uh and their
defense time and time again and literally brought him back
and then it went on to to.

Speaker 1 (04:09):
Win the game.

Speaker 3 (04:09):
And and you know, Tim asked me, like, why is
a guy like that still at Youngstown? I said, well,
he's six feet and that's generous, sure, yeap, And and
and uh, you know, maybe wasn't a great thrower of
the football early in his career. I think he looks
far better from what I've seen this year throwing the
football than he ever has and uh and and then
you his escapability is second to none, so I you know,

(04:34):
but yeah, I just think he's one of the tops
of of the Missouri Valley Football Conference that we have
that North Kota's facing here on Saturday afternoon.

Speaker 2 (04:44):
Yeah, I agree. You know, sometimes with quarterbacks, I think
I think it's kind of in Embouman too. At South Dakota.
It's it's far more dangerous at quarterback. You know, quarterbacks
can get plucked because it's such an important position. But
it's also very dangerous at quarterback to transfer if you
haven't starting job because there's not any starting jobs. Uh,
you go somewhere else and sit and all of a sudden,

(05:07):
you know, you you've ruined your opportunity, so to speak.
So I think I think it's it's a dangerous move
for quarterbacks to to transfer unless you're you really feel confident.
You know, if you're Mark Garnowski and you're pretty dang
confident you're gonna win that job at Iowa. You know,
maybe that makes sense. He's got a little more height
to him, like you said, But Bruguard is, it's pretty incredible.

(05:31):
You and d has to be very good with a
controlled pass rush and and try your best to, as
Eric Schmidt said, make him throw it out of the
bottom of a well and knock get outside, knock, get
outside the edges?

Speaker 3 (05:44):
Yeah, Tim, what do you got for time?

Speaker 1 (05:46):
I think he did say that they're going to spy him, right.

Speaker 2 (05:50):
Yeah, yeah, I heard. I heard an interview you know
that was kind of like likely. And then you you know,
you kind of play the risk reward game, uh, with
with when you want to do it, how you want
to do it, and uh, you know, you can only
ask defensive backs to cover for so long. And that's
what broun Guard is really good at. I don't think

(06:12):
he hits a lot of passing game from a natural
like a route tree perspective. I think he hits a
lot of the passing game in the old Brett far
backyard football when he when he's scrambling and Tom check
can't get open. Tom Zach obviously say it can't get opened,

(06:33):
and those two seem to be on the same page.

Speaker 3 (06:36):
That was that your John Madden imitation impression? I liked that.
I was pretty good.

Speaker 2 (06:43):
I think it was just old man football football.

Speaker 3 (06:46):
Okay, that's what you call it.

Speaker 1 (06:48):
You know.

Speaker 3 (06:49):
The one thing that I saw from last week too, Tom,
is that you know where I've thought that there's still
room in North Kota's running game a little bit to
continue to to have that meat be even more dominant
and more apparent. I was pleased as it got going
as the game war on. I mean they start as

(07:10):
the game war on. Last week against Northern Iowa, that
running game in that front started to really move some
people as the game war on. And maybe that's where
the that's that's where North Dakota's run game will be.
It may not be early in the game, maybe it
will be as it guys start to lean on you
as the game where war on, because that was certainly
apparent and evident last week.

Speaker 2 (07:33):
Yeah, you know, Eric Schmidt keeps using the phrase, you know,
body blows early that eventually kind of opens up into
you know, the those Gavin zee Bars three and four
yard runs in the first half seemed to be able
to turn into eight to twelve yard runs in the
second half when you can kind of establish some of

(07:53):
that physical toughness early.

Speaker 3 (07:55):
Jerry Kaminski, Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Player of the Week.
You know, when you complete passes to nine different players
and then another one to ten because you completed one
to yourself, is that going to be in his repertoire
every week where he starts completing passes, because that's just
how good he is. What are we doing there?

Speaker 2 (08:13):
Boy? I was sitting next to the stats crew at
Northern Iowa and they were they were panicking. The guy
literally said, I've never seen that before. I don't know
how to put that into the system. I should I thought,
I remembered Brad Johnson doing that with the Viking.

Speaker 3 (08:29):
Oh sure, I think exactly.

Speaker 2 (08:31):
Yeah, I want to say he even scored a touchdown?
Might you see it? From time to time? And they
had a few they had a few stats issues, you
know when Mitch Vig strip sack and they didn't have
a normal day in putting the stats in Northern Iowa.

Speaker 3 (08:48):
Well, you went to a hockey reference there, Mitch Vig.
It was Caden Vig did. Yeah, that's okay, which Mitch Big.

Speaker 2 (08:58):
Was a great hockey mind.

Speaker 3 (08:59):
You are Mitch Vig. By the way, I think his
son is at Where's where's the sun at? Tim? I
think I can't remember the Midgie state? Maybe is what
I was thinking.

Speaker 1 (09:09):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (09:10):
So anyway, okay, So big game tomorrow for North to
go to football. We touched on some things and challenges there.
I think it's going to be a great atmosphere at
the Alert Center tomorrow afternoon. We've got some U and
D soccer Sunday and Fargo with the rival reaction there
Sunday afternoon. Meanwhile, we can turn our attention you mentioned

(09:31):
already kind of the big the big time set up. Honestly,
Mattie Dash with his quarterback in ability here last week.
Uh you know, going to Wapton, which you know, Wapton
is where if you're playing good goes to die oftentimes. No,
it doesn't matter what the sport is. It's happened so
often to Central and Red River down there. Does red

(09:53):
River have a good chance? I know Wapton's looking for
a lot of stuff, but you know they're playing at home,
so I never roll them out. What do you think
about that red River squad coming up?

Speaker 2 (10:02):
Yeah? You know, I'm usually saying that, Like the Hulayrius
centers were seven points, you know me, you know, is
being home worth seven points? I feel like Wapton's worth
ten then, you know, maybe maybe even two touchdowns. You
you play, you playing Wampington and uh, you gotta you
gotta buckle up for some adversity. I feel like so.

(10:23):
But rid Rid River looked good. The other day Matty
Dosh had had the offense clicking, and they seem to
find some things that are working for them even though
they're they're a little beat up.

Speaker 3 (10:36):
What what do you What do you hear from Bran
Schlastman about you and d hockey going into the regular
season now as we're about to drop the puck starting
tonight and concluding the opening weekend in Saint Paul, What
do we what do we know?

Speaker 2 (10:49):
Yeah, I mean that's a good question. You know, there's
a kind of a lot of unknowns with that team,
but you know, they they certainly seem to be kind
of on a good path, have some have some program
momentum with a with a new head coach and a
new staff and kind of some new vibes around that program.
So I think everybody's curious to see how it all clicks.

(11:10):
I mean, you look at last night in college hockey.
Yeah what did one, one, two and five go down
or something like that?

Speaker 1 (11:16):
So, yeah, all road teams won football, Yeah, all road
teams won last night.

Speaker 2 (11:24):
Yeah, very fair state stolen right yeah?

Speaker 1 (11:26):
Yeah, Hoby head Quest, we used to have.

Speaker 2 (11:29):
Them, remember that name.

Speaker 1 (11:32):
Yeah, Well yeah, he had forty eight saves last night.

Speaker 3 (11:35):
That's the That's the crazy thing about today's world is
that we're we're like, oh, this guy used to play
here or this guy used to play over there, and
now he plays at a different place, and you're just like,
that's that. Everybody can do that now, hey, and just fyi, Tom,
just you and dy footbare you. Andy men's basketball will
play an exhibition game next Saturday.

Speaker 2 (11:54):
So just just the overlap, the overlap has begun.

Speaker 3 (11:58):
Yes, yeah, I mean I'm not ready for it either,
but you know, with the new opportunity to have exhibitions
against fellow division ones, and North Dicota is going to
take advantage of that the following week against Minnesota. But
you look at like Alabama, who's their first regular season
game down in Tuscaloosa. They Alabama is one of their

(12:19):
exhibition games against Florida State and men's basketball, so everybody's
everybody's starting earlier than you think. And so yeah, the
overlap is happening earlier and earlier. Might as well just
start everything in August then, hockey, basketball, football, just start
them all in August. And yeah, I mean, I mean
it's not like you you're given unlimited inches in the

(12:41):
sports pages, so you might have to find a few more.

Speaker 2 (12:45):
You might have to argue up the find some more
warm bodies to write some stories, right exactly, Well, we'll
see at the Alerta Center coming up tomorrow afternoon.

Speaker 3 (12:56):
I'm really looking forward to the game. I think it's
going to be a very interesting game how it sets up,
so I appreciate you taking some time to talk about it. Otherwise,
have a good Friday night with all your coverage there.
We'll talk to you tomorrow at the Alatre Center, and
we'll get ready for some Missouri Valley Football Conference football
tomorrow over there in the press box. Talk to you then.

Speaker 2 (13:18):
Sounds good. Good to shout with you guys.

Speaker 3 (13:20):
All right, there goes Tom Miller, Tom Sports editor of
the Grand Forks Herald.