UMD football talks discovering young talents in dominant season start

Last Thursday the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) football team kicked off their season in dominant fashion, defeating Northern Michigan University 47-10 in front of a home crowd.

The Bulldogs saw three players earn their first collegiate points, including freshman Nick Ojile. His participation is thanks to a new rule allowing Division II redshirt freshmen to play in three games without losing eligibility.

“Having all of our young guys be able to get in the game at the end of the game and be able to execute and play hard was a carrot we’ve never been able to give those guys before, so that was a lot of fun,” head coach Curt Wiese said.

“We have some position groups where we’re a little lighter, so we might need some of those younger guys. It’s really nice to see them take a step forward and be game ready when time comes,” redshirt sophomore Kyle Walljasper added.

Sophomores Dashaun Ames and Jaylen McKnight were the other two new scorers.

Not new to the endzone was quarterback Kyle Walljasper. In the opener he threw for three touchdowns and ran in two more, but his job has only just started.

“Everybody knows coming out of that game there’s a lot to work on. Obviously, we’re happy getting a win over that squad. But all the little mistakes that we made, you want to fix that, iron them out before we play Northern State this week,” Walljasper said.

Now UMD preps for their road opener at Northern State University on Saturday. The Wolves are coming off a 49-13 season opening loss to Bemidji State University last week.

Kickoff in Aberdeen, South Dakota is set for 6 p.m.