From the Minot Daily News

(Michael Linnell is the sports Editor at The Minot Daily News. He can be reached by e-mail at at mlinnell@minotdailynews.com )


Rudolph breaths life into program

What a difference a month makes.

It was late in September when the Minot State University football team was 0-3 and the grumbling was that the team wasn't much better and didn't play much different from last year's group. I can remember answering the questions about what had really changed since head coach Paul Rudolph took over in January.

“Everything,” was generally my answer.

While the product on the field took some baby steps early on and the change to a new offense and defense took time to develop, the off field aspect of the team showed a 180 degree turnaround. The team had a different attitude — and it wasn't just a slogan.

There were more smiles around the team, during the spring game and at practice. The guys on the team talked about how much more positive energy was injected into the program, not just from Rudolph, but from the entire coaching staff. There was just something different.

It isn't like the past coaching regime did a poor job or anything. But the way the program went about its day-to-day operation changed when Rudolph took over.

This season, everything isn't so regimented. Drills, while definitely having a purpose, are run in a way that there is interaction among coaches and other players. Sure, it isn't all fun and no work, but the guys seem to respond to the atmosphere.

Case in point: On Thursday, Rudolph suggested that I come a little before the end of practice because the team plays a game. This week it was an egg toss between the various units like the offensive line, defensive back, linebackers, etc. The groups started 10 yards away and in the end were nearly forty yards apart, tossing eggs at one another and getting a big laugh when teammates would end up with egg innards on them.

That scenario would never have happened over the past couple of years. The practices in the past were timed out to about the second, as was much of the week. That is not a knock on the old coaching staff. They had there way, but that way was definitely different from the present way.

This was the Thursday before a big game during a playoff run, taking up time that is otherwise devoted to scheming and drilling. But it was the perfect time, however, to interject a little life into the practice. Rudolph even said that the team wasn't sharp on Tuesday and Wednesday, but instead of taking it out on them, they were still having fun, tossing eggs. If you are wondering, the running backs, with freshman Lance Hollinger and red shirt freshman Tyson Schatz, won. The defensive backs won at dodge ball the week before and by all accounts, the offensive linemen are still looking for their first win, much to the chagrin of assistant coach Chris Harris.

This is a different approach to the game. Rudolph made mention of making the game fun again in a press conference during the interview process. Fellow Minot Daily News sports reporter Chris Bieri and I talked about how that seems a little corny at the college level where everything is Xs and Os and nobody talks about the fun of playing a game and the excitement of college football on a crisp Saturday afternoon.

But after seeing Rudolph bump chests with kicker Michael Fox as he comes off the field or congratulating the entire offensive line after a touchdown or high-fiving defensive back Travis Harmon after intercepting a pass and returning it for a touchdown in the spring game, no less, you get the idea.

It is hard to not like Rudolph.

He knows the game and how to run a program and understands how to deal with us meddling media types, and I think it is pretty obvious that he cares quite a bit about Minot State and the program.

Now, a month removed from the 0-3 start, the Beavers are all alone in the Dakota Athletic Conference with a 5-0 mark. There is plenty of work to be done over the next two weeks and then perhaps beyond, but the program has turned a big corner.

One of the first things he said to the media when he was hired was that he wanted the program to generate a buzz. On Saturday afternoons, Herb Parker Stadium would be the place to be for 3,000 or so area fans. If the Beavers can earn a win this weekend at Dakota State and set up a conference championship game with Jamestown College, they will be well on their way – thanks in part to a little chest bumping, high-fiving and egg tossing.