Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
At seven thirty eight, It's Friday morning. Let's check in
with the Grand Fork Herald and the sports editor Tom Miller.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Morning, Tom, Good morning, guys. We uh we survived the
Great Storm of August here.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
Proud of us, right, you.
Speaker 4 (00:14):
Know, I just branch little branches here at iron Twigs
and uh some places may have bigger branches. But yeah,
we I'm sure you're surviving. Is it's always nice when
you have kids that are up at four thirty in
the morning and at that point your day has begun.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Yeah, I mean that. Uh, I don't know if you
guys have those iPhone alerts.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Oh yeah, well you're probably up.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
That early anyway. But boy, my phone blasted at four
thirty am. That's that's no great way to wake up, right.
Speaker 4 (00:44):
You know, Speaking for speaking of waking up, we're what
seven practices in you've been following and giving us a
daily observations on each practice for University of North Dakota football,
and uh, I guess my big takeaway, Tom, and I've
went to a couple just here and there to see
(01:05):
but it has been you know, usually see light in camp,
temperaments getting short because they've been going up against one
another but maybe the short tempers have maybe flared up
in reading your column and observations a little bit more
recently and a little sooner than everything than I anticipated
(01:27):
this year. So some guys are getting irritated with one
another from both sides of the ball.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Correct.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Yeah, I think it's a different approach from a coaching staff,
you know. I think Bubba Schweigert squashed those kind of
things really fast, and I think I think this new
staff is going to almost I wouldn't quite say encourage,
but they're okay with guys expressing themselves and not being
(01:57):
fun to play against. I think I think that's what
they want to bring to another team. You know, the
question will be at what point do you need to
rain that in? So you're not Missouri State or Sam
Houston State, you know, those kind of teams that seemingly
uh had had a discipline penalty or to a game
that cost them in an outcome. So you're let you
(02:19):
want to let, you want to let guys. Probably to
some extent, I can understand let letting guys get frustrated
with one another and and not jumping in right away.
At the same point, I think they're walking a fine line,
and as a first year staff there might be some
lessons being learned as well.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Yeah, the thing is you don't want to get anybody hurt.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Yeah, and that's uh, you know, and and it I
think even more than that, Uh, for sure, you don't
want to get anybody hurt. For sure. I also think
that you know, at some point you need to set
a boundary so that when the game comes, second nature
isn't drown a fifteen yard penalty. You know, So maybe
(03:09):
that comes it's early in fall camp. You know that
they want to be tough to play against, they want
to be nasty, so to speak. I just think, you know,
they're probably at a point here where they got to
walk some of that back.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
So I was gonna say that.
Speaker 4 (03:26):
You know, it's interesting to me because you know, there's
always been that offensive and defense model that.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
You know, but you're still one team, and you.
Speaker 4 (03:39):
Know, if guys are getting so upset with one another
that they're starting tussles because obviously, you know, if you're
on the offensive side of the ball, you're gonna step
in for your offensive guys. If you're a defensive guy
on the defensive side of the ball, and you know,
if you go back and watch the documentary thirty for
thirty on the eighty five Bears or whatever it was,
(03:59):
and how Buddy Ryan and the defense just loaded they
load the Bears off. They really didn't even talk to
one another basically on the sideline. Is that what we're
gonna be dealing with here a little bit? I guess
there was literally a team that one side of the
ball did not like one another, and yet they were
very successful. Is that the formula is that what we're
(04:20):
going for is eighty five Bears?
Speaker 2 (04:23):
I I would assume that that's not what you what
you what you're going for. I you know, I think
for the most part, guys can joke about it real
fast afterwards. Uh you know, but I think I don't know.
I think there's also a point where, you know, you
(04:44):
just you need to rain it back in and you
need to hit that message home again that that, like
you said, your team and uh, you don't want to
get what he insured and you don't want fifteen yeard penalties.
So it's a it's a fine line. You want you
want some nasty, Yeah, you want to be physical, but
you want to you also want to be disciplined and smart.
Speaker 4 (05:06):
You know the player I enjoyed visiting with during media day,
Tom just from the way his approach and his willingness
to convey kind of making a move in the portal
and understanding kind of how it, you know, works, and
what he's got to do in order to kind of
make it work for him, not taking things for granted.
(05:27):
I was really impressed in my conversation with the senior
transfer defensive back Bennett Walker. And he's made some place
here in the early going of the of this preseason
fall camp. I mean, so far, I think he's been
a nice addition. Hopefully it translates to game day.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Yeah, he's he's a well traveled guy. I think this
is his fourth different program, so you know he's he's
got that experience, he's got a background with Eric Schmidt.
He knows what he knows what he's looking for. And
I think what Eric Schmid likes is that's a kid
who's who's risen a depth chart before. Sometimes you get
an FBS transfer and if they haven't risen a depth
(06:08):
chart at their previous stop, there's there's not It should
be no assumption that transferring to the SCS means they're
going to climb a depth chart here. So you know
Bennett Walker, it sounds like he was at San Diego
State last year he was their third corner. That's not
how he saw his last year of college football playing out.
He shut it down and red shirted and then wanted
(06:31):
to get some game time. And I would say through
seven practices of Faul camp, he's been the best defender.
Now it's easier for the skill positions to pop at
practices that aren't always tackle, mostly not tackle. But I've
been probably most impressed with with Bennett Walker and his
ability to to blanket guys. And he's been a super
(06:54):
important addition because I you know, there's questions on on
on who else is going to fill out that corner
of depth though he's Uh, he's been a really nice addition.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
No, don't tim get what do he got got?
Speaker 1 (07:07):
Nothing? Come to that? Yeah, that's for sure. Is there
What kind of concerns are the tom about guys like
you said, he's in his fourth place, What are the
concerns they go along with that?
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Yeah? I mean you you certainly I think it's less
over time now because everybody does it. You know, there
was certainly a time where it was Okay, you're bringing
in a transfer. If he was a mal content at
his previous stop, he's probably a malcontent at his new stop.
And so you have to waste some of that. And
you know a lot of times I would I would
see it in junior college kids, especially that you know,
(07:44):
sometimes University of North Dakota had to you know, beat
the junior college out of them a little bit, you know,
whether it was body language or attitude or kind of
a me first type of vibe. I think there's less
concern with that and a kid with Bennett Walker and
the same could be said for the Old Dominion linebacker
who came from where John Anderson was at Old Dominion
(08:06):
that transferred here is if you have a good, reliable
system in place to kind of check, uh check your sources,
you know, is is this a kid we want to
bring on? And that's that's kind of the beauty with
with Bennett Walker, and the same for Javans at quarterback
coming from San Diego State, Eric Schmid and a couple
(08:28):
of his guys are going to know exactly what they're
getting there, so you're at least not going to bring
in a in a lemon. But I think that the
the the concern there is, like I said, with with
Walker and Lewis Zach Lewis from northern Arizona. The two
kids you brought in who have played at least they've
proven that they can climb a depth chart. There's there's
(08:48):
sometimes the way you're you'll catch a drop down who
who maybe couldn't quite get it done at that next level.
And uh, it's it's no shoe in that that they
can get it at this level. And so those are
kind of some of the things that I look forward
to see, you know, kind of what you're catching. You know,
(09:08):
like the Sacramento State defensive tackle, is there a little
bit less of a background there knowing what you're gonna get?
You know, that could probably be true. So so those
are some of the things you you sort through. Do
you have a do you have a really good connection
at his previous stop to say, yeah, hey you're getting
(09:29):
a good kid. It just here's why it didn't work this,
this or that.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (09:34):
I was able to talk to a number of wide
receivers on Football Media Day and I dropped in some
clips yesterday and you know, certainly a guy like Kyden Dennis.
I asked him, you know, are you at the stage
of your career like, can we just get done with
this fall camp. I've been through enough of him and
he's like, no, I feel that way some days being
an old guy. But he's like, I realized that this
is an important camp, but not only for me but
(09:56):
for our entire position group because with you know, Bowl vacating,
there's not going to be another Bowl, but we all
feel like we can step in and maybe make a
difference here and take a step up in our games.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
And I look at the from the sheer.
Speaker 4 (10:12):
Numbers and that there is not It's not like you
got a bowl and two or another bowl. So you
have two bowls out there, but you got enough to
pick from. I looking at that wide receiver group, they're
gonna have some tough decisions to make to see who
travels at times out of that group.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
If you ask me, Yeah, I think that's a that's
a good vibe from Kaden Dennis. You know, I think
I think back to a few years ago and you
had Faul camp where like Jordan Kennedy and Evan Holm
had kind of proven themselves as younger players and it
was kind of like, Okay, let's just get through this thing.
If there's any sort of you know, Jeff justin Jefferson hamstring,
(10:48):
he's gonna sit out the rest of training camp, right,
you know, if you if you're gonna come across something
like that. But this roster doesn't have a ton of that,
and especially at wide receiver. You're right, kayten Dennis has
had a nice fall camp. I thought that other than
BJ Fleming, b J Fleming has had a really good
fall camp. I would say those those two are probably
your leading receivers. After that, I'm a little bit I
(11:11):
would be a little bit concerned if I'm you and
D's offensive coaching staff, who like, obviously nobody's gonna be
Bobail christ and it's gonna have to be by committee.
But I would probably like to see somebody turn up
and say I'm your number two, I'm your number three.
I think right now they got a lot of number fours,
(11:31):
and you know, I'd like to see somebody emerge from
that group. Is that is that Dang dang, Cory Tie,
Christian Hoskins, Jamal Young, you know Sam strand out when
he's healthy. You know, there's uh, there's a bunch of
guys Nate Demontenac is another one who's kind of up
and down sometimes but has some has some real potential.
(11:52):
A bunch of those guys that that could be fourth
receivers right now, I'd like to see one or two
of them take that next step and say I'm need
to take on a bigger role.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (12:02):
Well, I mean, what a great in depth the look
here of the first seven practices, real quick, Tom, are
they going today? Are they going this weekend? Are we
looking for some more like a full contact or or
or some contact day with pads? What are we looking
at here in the days to come?
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Yeah? So Saturday's off today is gonna be a closed scrimmage. Okay,
So I'm gonna I'm gonna go home and put on
my uh my camel and see if I can army
army crawl in the facility. Okay, okay, but supposedly it's
a closed down scrimmage, and so you know they'll get
(12:42):
some hitting in, see some guys how they tackle, how
they handle trying to not get tackled. And then Sunday
they're back at the regular schedule programming.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
Why do you close the scrimmage?
Speaker 2 (12:58):
That's that's a pretty good question. Are you trying to
have a few less eyeballs on your formations? Do you
want a few less eyeballs on who you think is
healthy enough to participate. That's a very good question. I'm
not sure I was prepared for the answer. The things
(13:19):
that come to mind is, you know, one of the
one of the big things that Eric Schmid is big
on Ish TV cameras are down when they're eleven on eleven,
and you know, even our photographer knows. You know, you're
zooming in on faces in those settings and not not
giving any given away personnel.
Speaker 4 (13:43):
Oh yeah, interesting, Yeah, I mean I guess everything is
available now and if you don't monitor that, you know
teams will use it for scouting.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
There's no doubt about that.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
So all right, my devil. My devil's advocate to that,
by the way, is you know you practice next an
apartment complex, right.
Speaker 4 (14:02):
Yeah, I mean that's true. Tom, You just you just
cleared there. Why worry about it? You never know who's
up there in the apartments doing the scout up there?
So excellent point at you saw cat watching, of course,
watch out that cat might be passing along information. Tom,
Thanks for this appreciated A very U and D Centric
(14:22):
or you and D Football Centric visit today as they
are continuing with Paul Camp. We rely on you and
your observations. They're very good and your entire team as
they continue to cover sports action throughout our region. So
appreciate all that and look forward to our visit next week.
Have a good day out there and we'll we'll talk
to you next week.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
Sounds good. Don't bother looking for me out there. You
won't see me. Have a good weekend, guys.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
All right, blend in. Thanks there, Tom.
Speaker 4 (14:49):
All right, there goes Tom Miller of the Grand Fork
CHERYLD sports editor, bringing us the latest information on U
n D football