After capturing its 27th conference crown and becoming the first team in the Missouri Valley Football Conference to do so in its first year in the league, nine North Dakota student-athletes were named to the conference’s all-league teams on Thursday. The voting was conducted by the MVFC and featured coaches, sports information directors and select media from each school.
The Fighting Hawks, who played as an FCS Independent during the 2018 and 2019 seasons, saw two players earn All-MVFC First Team selections for the first time in their careers.
Running back Otis Weah led the conference in nearly every rushing category, pacing the league in yards per game (114.0), yards per carry (7.50) and total touchdowns (7). The redshirt sophomore found pay dirt in every game this season, including a pair of two-score games in the wins over South Dakota State and South Dakota.
Offensive lineman Nathan Nguon paved the way for his running back by helping the UND offense rank second in total offense (413.6), scoring offense (28.8), rushing offense (206.4) and fourth in passing offense (207.2). Nguon also serves as a team captain.
The duo become the first teammates to earn first team honors since four Fighting Hawks were selected in 2016, the last time UND won a conference title.
UND also had four players earn All-MVFC Second Team honors, with two on each side of the ball.
Quarterback Tommy Schuster showed no signs of freshman jitters in his first season at the helm, finishing inside the top-4 in every passing category and leading the league with eight touchdown passes. His pair of 300-yard games helped the Fighting Hawks start the season 4-0 and his three passing scores in the win at Western Illinois earned him MVFC Offensive Player of the Week honors in March.
Offensive lineman Matt Waletzko battled back from an injury that sidelined him for a majority of 2019 to help anchor one of the top offensive lines in the nation at left tackle. The junior and his unit allowed just one sack on the season, a number ranking third in the nation and tops in the league. He also helped in the running game, with the Fighting Hawks leading the FCS with only 16 negative plays allowed all season.
Linebacker Devon Krzanowski made a name for himself in his first year at UND after transferring from St. Cloud State. The junior led the team in total tackles (31), tackles for loss (4.0) and fumble recoveries (2). His pair of fumble recoveries led the conference and was second in the nation, with his first recovery going for a touchdown in the season opener vs. Southern Illinois.
Defensive back Evan Holm, the lone UND player on the roster to play in the last home playoff game in 2016, racked up 15 tackles on the season, including 10 solo stops, while hauling in an interception in the win over SIU. His 1.6 passes defended per game were third in the league and 13th in the country while his 10 overall breakups led the team.
Three players also earned honorable mention selections, with offense and special teams represented.
Offensive lineman Ryan Tobin becomes the third member of the unit to earn postseason distinction, joining teammates Nguon and Waletzko with honors. The senior has started a team-best 37 games over his career for the Hawks, including 11 straight.
Wide receiver Garett Maag made a knack for having his catches turn into big plays this season, pacing the Hawks in receiving yards (373) and yards per game (74.6) to sit fifth and third in the conference, respectively. His 23.31 yards per catch were fifth in the nation and second in the MVFC, trailing only Austin Nagel from Illinois State.
Return specialist and running back Luke Skokna earned the final spot on the honorable mention list, after sitting 11th nationally and first in the league with 26.6 yards per kick return. He finished with three of his eight kick returns going at least 39 yards and was second in the league with 117.2 all-purpose yards.
North Dakota had multiple players up for major awards in the league as well, with Weah (offensive), Krzanowski (defensive) and Schuster (freshman/newcomer) all finishing as runners-up while Head Coach Bubba Schweigert placed third for the league’s coach of the year.
(UND Athletics)
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