McFeely: Questions for Bison, yes, but embrace it

FARGO — Matt Entz was in a chipper mood Saturday after his North Dakota State football team wrapped up its final practice of the spring in the spectacular Nodak Insurance Football Performance Complex. The Bison head coach was bouncing around the turf from group to group, person to person. He was doing a football coach's version of retail politics: Shaking hands and kissing babies.

NDSU had about 200 potential recruits and their families in the building and Entz was meeting and greeting some of them, offering a pat on the back to the possible future Bison with a handshake to Dad and Mom. He was chatting up family members of current players. He was high-fiving and saying encouraging things to his players who'd just finished practice.

And when he'd done all that, Entz chatted at length with WDAY-TV's Dom Izzo and me. There was good-natured ribbing exchanged. There were smart-aleck comments exchanged. He offered a glowing assessment of the state of his team.

Take it from somebody who deals with the head coach on a regular basis and, by job description, is required to ask pointed questions following defeats and the occasions of bad news regarding the Bison: Entz isn't always so chipper.

But if Entz shares any of the concerns about the 2023 version of the NDSU football team that a good portion of the fan base, local media and those who follow the national landscape of the Football Championship Subdivision generally do ... he's not letting on publicly.

Disclaimer: No coach at any program is going to say, "We are going to suck at positions A, B and C." Publicly, anyway.

But Entz seems genuinely upbeat and perhaps a bit baffled by the narrative that the Bison are going to fall sharply back in the pack of the Missouri Valley Football Conference and FCS because of transfer portal departures and graduation.

Losing starters to graduation is unavoidable, but what has the masses skeptical about NDSU's prospects in 2023 are those who left through the portal. Potential starters like cornerbacks Marques Sigle and Courtney Eubanks, safety Dom Jones, running back Kobe Johnson, receiver D.J. Hart and defensive end Tony Pierce will be playing elsewhere (or not playing college football) this fall.

The Bison have always had more depth than other FCS teams, but at some point unexpectedly losing so many key pieces will catch up to you. There's a reason they were at or near the top of the depth chart.

And guess what? Now that spring ball is finished, there might be more players who transfer. Happens every spring.

NDSU is searching for two starting safeties and depth behind them after losing Jones and last year's excellent starters Dawson Weber and Michael Tutsie. So Bison coaches tested linebacker Cole Wisniewski at safety this spring. He and Sam Jung were playing with the top defensive unit on Saturday.

But asked after practice if he thought he'd remain at safety for the fall, Wisniewski said he didn't know.

Senior Jayden Price and Bowling Green transfer Marcus Sheppard appeared to be the starting cornerbacks, with converted safety Reggie King getting some corner reps with the top unit.

Middle linebacker might be a rotation again with Nick Kubitz and Luke Weerts, as it was a year ago. That's less than ideal. Outside linebackers running with the top unit were Logan Kopp and Oscar Benson.

Offensively, the Bison have just four returning running backs after Johnson's transfer. Despite having a stockpile of receivers, NDSU needs a consistent deep threat to emerge. Bryce Lance? Mekhi Collins? Carson Hegerle?

The No. 1 question for the Bison offense: Who is going to be the dude?

A program that's always had one or two players who absolutely, positively had to be accounted for (Carson Wentz, John Crockett, Christian Watson, Easton Stick, Darrius Shepherd, Trey Lance, Ben Ellefson, Hunter Luepke) is lacking that.

Who will be that guy?

The Bison have plenty of firepower on both sides of the ball. Their offensive line should be excellent again, their defensive line should be better than a year ago even with the loss of Pierce. They return a starting quarterback in Cam Miller who will be starting for a fourth year, has won a national title and had a strong spring.

But with archrival South Dakota State the defending national champion and clear favorite to repeat, and the Bison having far more questions heading into the fall than anytime in the last decade (or more), it is a markedly different vibe.

The Bison will be good. But how good? Not as good as SDSU, but better than everybody else in the Valley? Or not?

The schedule has one thinking a 10-1 season is not entirely out of the question if the Bison round into shape. Then again, 8-3 wouldn't be surprising if the holes aren't filled properly or quickly enough.

Could the mighty Bison drop to 7-4 if things go sideways? Seems unlikely, particularly with essentially seven home games and no FBS opponent. But it'd make a heckuva story.

The point is this: 2023 might be the most interesting season NDSU's football team has had in years (discounting the foolish spring season of 2021), if only because there is so little that is predetermined. There are far more questions on both sides of the ball than usual and that means the story of the Bison's season isn't pre-written.

There are a goodly number of folks in Fargo-Moorhead who say they are bored that NDSU seemingly wins most games by 40 points. There will be a number of those this fall for sure. There might also be several in which we don't quite know what we're going to get from the 2023 squad.

A piece of advice, fans.

Embrace it. The Jackrabbits are ahead of your team anyway, so enjoy the chase. The Bison have a chance to overachieve, for once. NDSU as underdogs in FCS? You've been begging for something different, and this would qualify.

How different remains to be seen. And that's kind of fun. It seems the head coach doesn't mind.