- LOUIS, Mo. –After becoming the first team to win the conference title in its first year as a member of the league, North Dakota football was selected third in the annual preseason poll conducted by league coaches, media and sports information directors of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Fighting Hawks also placed eight players on the conference’s preseason team.
SDSU received 24 first-place votes and 454 total points to edge North Dakota State, which earned 435 points and had 18 first-place tallies. North Dakota and Southern Illinois were third and fourth with 357 and 345 total points, respectively. UNI, which received the remaining first-place vote, had 311 points to finish fifth, and defending tri-champ Missouri State was picked sixth with 256 points. Illinois State (196), South Dakota (163), Youngstown State (126), Indiana State (112) and Western Illinois (83) rounded out the voting.
The offensive side of the ball highlighted the preseason selections for the Fighting Hawks, with sophomore quarterback Tommy Schuster, junior running back Otis Weah and senior offensive lineman Matt Waletzko all earning first team honors. Schuster was dynamic in his first year as a starter, leading the Fighting Hawks to the FCS quarterfinals for the first time in program history and earning runner-up for the league’s top newcomer and freshman last season. Weah took the FCS by storm, earning All-America status by five publications and finishing tied for sixth for the Walter Payton Award presented to the top offensive player in the FCS. Waletzko returned from an ACL team in 2019 to help the Hawks lead the nation in fewest negative plays allowed and only two sacks. This marks the highest number of first team preseason selections since 2017 when UND was a member of the Big Sky Conference.
A pair of veteran defenders make the second team, as senior linebacker Devon Krzanowski and fifth year defensive back Evan Holm were selected. Krzanowski finished last season as a runner-up for the league’s top defender after leading UND in tackles and turnovers forced while Holm returned from an injury-plagued 2019 campaign season to lead the Fighting Hawks in pass breakups.
Two more defenders and a special teamer rounded out the honorable mention group, with Jaxson Turner and Jordan Canady earning the selection for the second straight season while Luke Skokna made the team as a return specialist. Turner led the Fighting Hawks in sacks with five and sixth on the squad with 29 tackles. Canady was limited to just four games with an injury, but topped the defense with a pair of interceptions. Skokna finished second in the league in all-purpose yardage and averaged over 26 yards per kick return, including a season-high 44 yards.
The 2021 season will mark the seventh in an agreement with ESPN to distribute all 44 league games on ESPN3 (or ESPN+), while the league has implemented other initiatives to promote its institutions, student-athletes and coaches, including a weekly podcast series (“First and Goal”), and video segments that review (“Two-Minute Drill”) and preview (“The Extra Point”) each week’s contests throughout the season. The MVFC and other FCS leagues have partnered in the production of a weekly “FCS ALL IN” special which will air 15 times on Saturdays throughout the season on a dedicated YouTube channel, beginning Aug. 21.
For more news on UND football, visit FightingHawks.com. Follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @UNDfootball.
Missouri Valley Football 2021 Preseason Poll
Team Points
- South Dakota State (24)……………………..454
- North Dakota State (18) ……………………..435
- North Dakota …………………………………….357
- Southern Illinois…………………………………345
- UNI (1)……………………………………………..311
- Missouri State……………………………………256
- Illinois State………………………………………196
- South Dakota…………………………………….163
- Youngstown State………………………………126
- Indiana State …………………………………….112
- Western Illinois ……………………………………83
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