The pieces are there on both sides of the ball for the Northern State football team. Now, it’s a matter of keeping them healthy and on the field.
Last year the Wolves were in the middle of a solid season when injuries started piling up, mainly on defense, and the wheels started coming off.
“The top end of what we have is as good as there is in this league,” said Northern coach Mike Schmidt. “I feel so snake-bitten from last year, that it’s hard to be overly optimistic, and you’re just so focused on your depth. Because those guys were here last year playing at a high level, and you lose them all in a three-week span, and it just changes the complexion of your defense.”
While there is plenty of room for optimism this fall, last year showed why it is so crucial to have as much depth as possible at every position on the field.
“The reality is, no one can replace players like that when you lose premium players. There’s no one that has depth to replace them,” Schmidt said. “I just think our focus has really been on making sure that we have the depth to withstand injuries to guys like that.”
Schmidt said that in today’s game with all of the scouting and analytics, it is tough to mask weak areas, no matter which position it is or what team is involved.
“You’re going to be as good as you worst player on the field at all times,” Schmidt said. “Football’s just such a game of analytics that eventually the other team is going to find your worst player. So how do you get the whole group to kind of rise up or how to do put those guys in better positions around them?”
On paper, Northern’s defense has the potential to the best in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
Led by the likes of All-American Jake Adams and Kegan Mountain (both of whom had season-ending injuries a year ago), the Wolves have the ability to take over a game on defense.
Schmidt likes what he has seen from the unit in fall camp.
“It was so much fun, because you had such a veteran group out there,” Schmidt said. “You could see them on my wave length.”
Northern’s defense features a variety of proven players.
“They’ve played a lot of snaps,” Schmidt said. “I don’t know if we have the most starters coming back, but my guess is we probably have the most snaps-played coming back.”
Not that the offense is void of talent. Far from it, with major weapon Hank Kraft returning to his running back position. The biggest question mark may be at quarterback after veteran Daniel Britt was lost to a season-ending injury this past spring.
“Early on, we’re going to have to figure out the quarterback situation,” Schmidt said. “It’s crazy to think that there’s not going to be a learning curve to everything that’s involved with those guys, but this is the returning offense that led the NSIC in total offense last year. Boy, we sure like where we’re at with those guys, too.”
Kraft will be a key piece to that high-powered NSU offense.
“You’ve got three-year starters all over up front. You have Hank Kraft, who I think is the most explosive player in the NSIC, along with a really deep receiving core and a really deep tight end room,” Schmidt said. “I think the offense is probably going to be our engine, much like it was last year. If we stay healthy, we feel like we’ve got a great defense that can withstand anything. I just feel that combination puts as a team to be reckoned with in the NSIC.”
And the other coaches in the conference agree with that assessment choosing the Wolves sixth overall and second in the North Division in the preseason rankings, the highest overall ranking that Schmidt can recall.
While those rankings don’t count for any victories on the field, they do account for a measure of respect, according to Schmidt.
“I actually put a lot of stock in preseason rankings, not for the year that you’ve had,” Schmidt said. “But it’s motivation for the guys for the next year. … We want to be picked to win the league or finish in the top part of the league because of our reputation, because that’s what preseason rankings are. It’s your reputation. It’s what you’ve done.”
The Wolves have been in the playoff conversation late in the season the last couple of years only to have a hiccup or two that have derailed that momentum. Winning the 50-50 games has not been the issue for Northern.
“We’re 9-2 in our last 11 one-score games. We’ve done a really good job in the tight games and end of game scenarios, in finding ways to win at the end of these things,” Schmidt said. “We’ve been really good in the margins. Can we keep that? I think so much of that has come down to the quarterback.”
And in particular one quarterback who is no longer available this fall.
“Britt has won so many games here in the past couple years. … He’s been such a big part of those victories. … Can we find that kind of clutch gene out of our quarterback now that it’s not Daniel Britt?” Schmidt said.
Schmidt noted that the Wolves have faced stellar opponents to open the season in recent years, resulting in just one season-opening victory during his tenure at NSU. This year won’t get any easier.
The Wolves open the season against 21st rated Chadron State at 6 p.m. Thursday at Dacotah Bank Stadium, a squad that led a playoff game heading the fourth quarter last season before succumbing to Pittsburg State.
“It’s a great program. It’s a great team. They have a lot of guys back,” Schmidt said of Chadron. “They return a lot of starters. …This is a really, really good football team that’s coming in.”
A win against the Eagles could provide a noteworthy mark on NSU’s football resume this season.
“It’s a really challenging opponent, but it’s great for our strength of schedule,” Schmidt said. “Great that we’re stepping out of the conference in that way to open it up. … I’m thrilled about this matchup. It’s really forced us to be ready to go earlier.”
