Bison Media Zone

Tyler Roehl talks about landing the Detroit Lions job 

NDSU USD Preview 

Eric Peterson and Dom Izzo talk about NDSU football potentially going FBS 

Dom Izzo and Mike McFeely chat NDSU vs UND game

North Dakota State will attempt to win a 26th consecutive home opener Saturday when Tennessee State makes its debut at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome. The second ranked Bison will enter relatively healthy after a 31-26 loss to Colorado last Thursday night. Quarterback Cam Miller is coming off a Missouri Valley Offensive Player of the Week game, combining for three touchdowns and throwing for 277 yards. The NDSU defense will have to contend with former Ohio Valley Conference rookie of the year Draylen Ellis. The TSU quarterback threw for 356 yards and three touchdowns in the Tigers season-opening win over Mississippi Valley State. TSU is led by former Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George, who is in his fourth year of leading the Tigers. George had high praise for Miller earlier this week, calling him, "the best quarterback we've seen in our time here." Jalal Dean is a talented wide receiver, the former Tennessee Tech Eagle transferred to Tennessee State and had a big debut, going for 144 yards and a touchdown last week. The Forum's Mike McFeely and WDAY's Dom Izzo preview the matchup and look ahead to other spotlight games in the FCS this weekend.  

In this week's episode of the Bison Media Zone, we take a look at recent recruiting activity for the Bison and highlight an NDSU standout making waves in the NBA.

North Dakota State's 2024 offensive gameplans took a hit last week when standout receiver Eli Green entered the transfer portal.   Green emerged as a downfield threat over the final six games of 2023, making several acrobatic catches and scoring three touchdowns, two of them in the playoffs.   With Green's departure, that leaves NDSU without its top two receivers from a year ago after Zach Mathis graduated.   Sixth-year senior Braylon Henderson and fifth-year senior Raja Nelson return for the Bison. Nelson emerged as both a deep threat and a running back over the final few games of 2023, while Henderson had his best year as a Bison. Between the two of them, they have a combined 119 receptions.   After that, though, it's a big dropoff in the wide receiver room. Senior Tyler Terhark has the most receptions with four, with Chris Harris, Mehki Collins and Bryce Lance each with just one catch. Collins and Lance earned rave reviews during the spring and each had solid performances during the Green and Gold Showcase.   Redshirt sophomore Carson Hegerle had his spring football end early with a broken ankle and his return is up in the air for fall camp. Cedric Wall has grabbed the coaches attention during practice, but has yet to see the field yet.   NDSU has an incoming freshman in Omaha native Jackson Williams, but there are questions entering the 2024 season.   WDAY's Dom Izzo and The Forum's Mike McFeely discuss the wide receivers and what's ahead for this year.

North Dakota State women's basketball head coach Jory Collins has had a busy month. The Bison season ended at the end of March in the third round of the Women's NIT. Less than a week later, star player Elle Evans entered the transfer portal. Evans announced this week that she is transferring to Kansas to spend her final two years of basketball. Collins has been busy, adding three players to his team for next season. Australian guard Amelia Hobson will join the team, along with transfers Molly Lenz from Illinois State and Sacia Vanderpool from Wisconsin. They will join incoming freshmen Claire Stern and Marisa Frost on next year's roster, rounding it out with 13 players. Collins also discusses the challenges of trying to keep a player like Evans and how he handles the emotions of that decision. Bison Media Zone airs each Wednesday at 10:30 on WDAY Xtra. 

North Dakota State has had an offensive lineman selected in the NFL Draft each of the three years and potentially could have a fourth in a couple of weeks. That level of talent means that is extra attention that comes to that position group and its coach, Dan Larson. The Bison offensive line has some decisions to make over the coming months with three starters graduating, left tackle Jalen Sundell, right guard Jake Kubas and center Brandon Westberg. The Bison received some welcome news in late December when senior Grey Zabel announced he was going to return to NDSU and turn down significant NIL money to transfer. Zabel started the final ten games of 2023 at right tackle. He will be joined by Ada's Mason Miller, who also is a fifth-year senior that has started 26 career games. That experience will be huge for a group that beyond those two players has two career starts, each belonging to sixth-year player Jake Rock. Rock and fellow sixth-year lineman Hunter Poncius are in the mix to fill those open spots, according to Larson. Larson also has his eyes on some young players that could make an immediate impact. Redshirt freshmen Beau Johnson, Jack Liwienski and Griffin Empey all have earned rave reviews during spring football. Bison Media Zone airs each Wednesday at 10:30 on WDAY Xtra.

North Dakota State is in week three of spring football and as the practices continue, it's not just for the players to get up to speed, but for the coaches as well. The Bison have four new staff members, including Devin Klieman, who was hired as the new safeties coach. It's a return to Fargo for Klieman, who's dad Chris, was the head coach at NDSU from 2014-18, winning four national championships during that span. Devin has been a graudate assistant at Kansas State the last three years, he discusses about interviewing for the job and what it meant to be hired at NDSU. Klieman also talks about the Bison safety position, which returns starters Cole Wisniewski and Sam Jung and highlights a couple of young players. The Bison Media Zone airs Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. on WDAY Xtra.