UND football 2024 roster outlook 1.0
Dec. 11—GRAND FORKS — With the offseason officially underway for the 2024 UND football season, let's start taking a look position-by-position where the Fighting Hawks stand with their roster.
The NCAA transfer portal will take and give, so this outlook will fluctuate with the movement. Here's version 1.0 of UND's 2024 offseason outlook.
The No. 1 question to be answered this offseason has already been answered, and it means the Fighting Hawks are searching for the next starting quarterback.
Tommy Schuster, who has been UND's go-to quarterback for more than four years, has entered the transfer portal.
The Hawks have been grooming the next two quarterbacks, and it's going to be a great battle at spring ball that very well could carry over into fall camp.
Former Minnesota Player of the Year Trey Feeney of Moorhead and former Wisconsin Offensive Player of the Year Jerry Kaminski wait in the wings.
Feeney was able to get his feet wet in 2023, while Kaminski has been tagged as the future since his commitment.
The question will be whether Feeney can throw it accurately enough and handle the rush well enough to offset Kaminski's greater escapability. On the other side, can Kaminski hit his spots consistently enough to jump Feeney?
The running back position should be the most stable offensive group barring any surprises.
Gaven Ziebarth, Isaiah Smith and Sawyer Seidl can return, and that would give the Hawks a stellar group at running back in 2024.
UND would lose senior Luke Skokna, who was electric in moments in 2023 but injuries added up as the year went along.
The Hawks also expect to sign Wisconsin's career high school rushing leader in Colton Brunell, who has good size in high school at 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds.
If Schuster's choice to stay or go wasn't the most important decision for the Hawks, it's Bo Belquist, who told the Herald he's coming back in 2024.
Wesley Eliodor and Red Wilson are out of eligibility and Jack Wright entered the transfer portal.
That leaves Elijah Klein, Nick Kupfer, Nate Demontagnac and Caden Dennis as experienced wideouts, with Demontagnac coming off an injury in 2023.
Especially with Wilson and Wright heading out, Korey Tai is an obvious candidate to jump into a relevant role. He played a little as a true freshman, and we saw some of his skill set at Murray State. He can make defenders miss and UND lacks that trait.
UND needs to be more dangerous at wide receiver.
Does Vuciri Hakim of Fargo Shanley, a raw but physically gifted prospect, step up at spring ball? Either way, UND may be interested in adding an older wide receiver with some elusiveness next season.
Jaden Norby and Quincy Vaughn coming back make this a solid group, especially if Vaughn can continue to make strides in a position foreign to him a year ago.
Max Gunderson, Mason South, Jack Ihry and Haydn Stay could return with some experience with South and Ihry more in the fullback role.
Redshirt freshmen Noah Gehin and Zack Schusted have nice young frames and might also be ready to join the mix.
Although fans seem to think UND under-utilizes its tight ends, part of the issue is personnel. The Hawks need to find that dominant tight end in the passing game other teams in the upper echelon of the FCS seem to find. It's not as simple as increasing targets.
Losing senior Donny Ventrelli, then Easton Kilty to the transfer portal puts a dent in UND's strong offensive line.
Sam Hagen, Cade Borud and Seth Anderson should give the Hawks a decent core to build off in 2024, though. Hagen also has the versatility to play inside or out.
Ben Buxa and Trace Thaden will be the two to watch at spring ball, as both are likely to be initial thoughts to be new starters in 2024. Thaden started his UND career at tight end before transitioning to tackle. The belief is 15 more pounds and Thaden could be a high-end option.
It's a good thing UND doesn't badly need offensive line help as the portal shows everyone is looking for big guys. Backup Brayden Bryant entered the portal after four games and has now committed to San Diego State.
Looking for starting help in the portal is a scary place to be.
UND's defensive line will see an overhaul, losing seniors Barty Ogbu, Jeff Griffin Jr., Jaelen Johnson and now Ben McNaboe to the portal.
McNaboe might've been the biggest loss so far in terms of a surprise exit. He was easily UND's most dynamic pass rusher the past two seasons and the Hawks don't have a wealth of options there.
Casey Schultz returned from an injury late in 2023 and will play some defensive end, as will Jack Teiken and true freshman Braden Mohr.
At nose guard, Craig Orlando and Elijah Beach have indicated to the staff they plan to return and provide solid depth.
UND's initial efforts in the transfer portal have targeted the defensive line including a scholarship offer out to Gophers transfer Colton Gregersen, a young Minnesota in-state walk-on and a bit of an undersized defensive end.
UND will lose Ted Mullin and Matt Koshiol at this position, while Josh Navratil has indicated to coaches he's coming back.
True freshman Lance Rucker has the makings of a standout. He'll be important to retain and develop. UND needs to find a Jaxson Turner-type at outside linebacker and Rucker is going to be the closest immediate option.
Dylan Boecker returns after emerging a bit as a junior.
UND needs players like Hayden Stec, a redshirt freshman from Elkhorn, Neb., Kellen Kinzer, a redshirt freshman from St. Cloud, and Logan Doell, a redshirt freshman from Luxemburg, Wis., to show signs of promise during spring ball at this thin position.
UND wasn't good enough at outside linebacker the last two years, and the Hawks should really be searching for portal help at this position.
This position has the most depth defensively. Wyatt Pedigo, Malachi McNeal and Kason Kelley are all expected back, while the staff has been happy with the development of redshirt freshman Jack Baretz.
There's also upside in young Paine Parks, as well as three true freshmen — Ethan Boll, Owen McCloud and Jace Boswell — who have all reportedly been strong on scout team in 2023.
This has been a problem spot for UND for years. UND loses senior starters Kadon Kauppinen and Malachi Buckner.
One-time starter Sammy Fort isn't officially in the portal but Youtube has a video of his highlights and it indicates an intent to transfer.
Ethan Ball, Cole Davis and Jett Sutton were able to get in the mix at times in 2023.
Davis and Sutton are young players with upside, although their smaller size might be seen as limitations on their ceiling.
UND traveled Tyler Erkman on some road trips and there has been some buzz about his potential. The Hawks badly need Erkman, who's 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds, to pan out at this position.
Safety is a pressing need for UND. The Hawks have to get in help at this spot early, too, because a safety is going to want spring ball to learn the scheme.
UND loses C.J. Siegel to graduation and Edmund Ocansey to the transfer portal. Those were the two 2023 starting corners.
The good news, however, is whether Ocansey came back or not, UND's 2024 starting cornerbacks were likely to be Antonio Blueitt and Devin Hembry, who became perhaps UND's best corner at times in 2023.
We've yet to see much of Jamal Dixon, the Moorhead product who has been considered a player with a high ceiling. He has the physical tools to be a factor in 2024.
Ocansey's loss, although not detrimental from a starting perspective, becomes challenging with depth as the current roster unfolds for 2024.
UND returns kicker CJ Elrichs and punter Luke Silvernagle.
In his first season, Silvernagle's yardage wasn't in the top half of the league at 39.8 yards but the Hawks didn't surrender much for returns, either.
Silvernagle forced 23 fair catches, well above the other punters in the league with a larger average distance.
UND loses kickoff specialist Brady Stevens, who saved UND some wear and tear with more touchbacks this season than the past few years.
UND needs to test new returners after leading the country in kick return yards last year behind Luke Skokna, Red Wilson, Wesley Eliodor and C.J. Siegel.
