ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Northern State University Wolves football squad, under the direction of new head coach Tom Dosch, was picked to finish fifth in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference North Division and 11th overall in the Preseason NSIC Coaches Poll, which was released Tuesday.
NSU garnered 45 points in the overall poll, four points ahead of 12th place Upper Iowa. Defending conference champions and NCAA play-off contender Minnesota-Duluth picked up 13 first place votes and finished in the top spot. Voting was conducted by the league’s 14 head coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own teams or players.
Minnesota State picked up the remaining first place vote and finished second overall. Augustana and St. Cloud State each had 125 points to tie for the third place spot, while Bemidji State (122 points) rounds out the top five.
The Wolves also picked up 17 points in the North Division tabulation, good for fifth place in the seven-team division. Those 17 points are just three shy of fourth place U-Mary. UMD again claimed the top spot in the division poll with 36 points, followed by SCSU (29) and BSU (28).
UMD’s Isaac Odim and Robbie Aurich swept the North Division Offensive and Defensive Preseason Player of the Year honors.
NSU seniors Montrel Richardson and Chris Hurd were tabbed as the Wolves’ Preseason Players to Watch. Richardson led the Wolves in both rushing and kick returns and was second on the team in receiving in 2009. The speedy Tracy, Calif. native carried the ball 162 times for 900 yards and six touchdowns, averaging 5.6 yards per carry in the process. He also caught 39 passes for 339 yards and another touchdown, and tallied an eighth TD on Sept. 12 on a kick-off return at Upper Iowa. Richardson tallied back-to-back 150-yard rushing games on the road on Sept. 12 (UIU) and Sept. 19 (SCSU). For his efforts, Richardson was tabbed to the First Team All-North Division at the running back slot and to the second team as a return specialist.
Hurd came on strong in the second half of the 2009 season, finishing the year with 75 tackles (second on the team), including 49 solo stops. He also led the team with 5.0 sacks for a grand total of 40 yards and was credited with three interceptions (72 yards) and a forced fumble. The Rapid City, S.D. native registered a career-high 12 tackles on Oct. 10 against nationally ranked and NCAA playoff contender UMD, including a sack and a pass breakup. For his efforts, he was named to the Honorable Mention All-North Division squad.
NSU players begin reporting for fall camp on Wednesday and will officially kick off the 2010 campaign on Sept. 2 with a non-conference game at Southwest Minnesota State. The Mustangs were picked ninth in the overall preseason poll and fifth in the south division.
Related: Complete NSIC Poll