RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Aug. 4—GRAND FORKS — The UND football program put on full pads and brought in local officials Tuesday morning for the first day in full pads.
Here are five observations from Day 6 of fall camp.
UND defensive back Avery Scott, who's seeking an additional season of eligibility, practiced for the first time on Tuesday.
Scott was in an unnumbered jersey. On Media Day on Monday, coaches said Scott was waiting on enrolling in school in order to participate.
Scott joins nickel Jonnie Wiltshire, who started practice late last week. Wiltshire is also seeking an additional year of eligibility.
Both Scott and Wiltshire have court dates later in August seeking a preliminary injunction. UND is also monitoring separate court battles that could address eligibility.
Those separate cases could open the door to others in a similar position to Wiltshire and Scott. Head coach Eric Schmidt indicated he had been in contact with a couple of other players interested in a return.
UND's practice featured a small window of live tackling, but it was enough to showcase the power of running back Griffin Broderick, a redshirt freshman from Minot.
The powerful back kept his legs churning in what became a rugby scrum of defenders unable to bring the back to the turf for what appeared to be about 15 yards.
The play was the end of practice and brought a big celebration from the offense, cheering on Broderick's efforts.
Broderick entered the program as a raw talent and a bit of a mystery. He's starting to gain steam as an option in short yardage.
Evan Kludt, a 6-foot-3 sophomore cornerback from Alexandria, made the defensive highlight of the day when he jumped a Javance Tupou'ata-Johnson quick out pass.
Kludt made the diving catch with UND's offense backed up near its own end zone.
Kludt has established himself as a likely member of UND's two-deep depth chart, perhaps the No. 3 cornerback in the program.
UND has started Akron transfer Ben Kamara and 2025 breakout freshman Grant Noland as the starting corners during fall camp.
Aside from Broderick's run to end practice, the offensive highlight of the day belonged to Grand Forks native Sam Strandell, who's working his way back in the mix after an injury derailed his 2025 season.
Strandell was shaken up on a play early in practice, which drew the concern of coaches and players, considering the injury history.
But Strandell later made a touchdown catch from Tupou'ata-Johnson in which the backup quarterback threaded a perfect ball up the sideline and Strandell dove into the end zone at the perfect time to reel it in.
Strandell isn't expected to be among UND's top three wide receivers in 2026 but he clearly brings unmatched energy to the offensive sideline. It's likely the Hawks find a role for Strandell, even beyond his special teams value he flashed late in 2025.
The semi-live setting Tuesday provided a look at physicality for the first time at fall camp.
Some of the highlights include:
— Noland and Deng Deng continue to daily battle for 50-50 battles. Both players have made impressive plays throughout camp, as Deng attracts a high volume of targets and Noland appears to often draw that assignment. In the first play of a full-tackle setting, Noland was flagged by officials for pulling down Deng on a deep ball.
— Wiltshire, Michael Devereaux and Jake Starcevic each had disruptive plays in the backfield for the defense.
— Jerry Kaminski hit fullback Mason South for a short touchdown pass, which South then punted the ball high in the air in a rare practice touchdown celebration.
— Matt Lawson, a first-year Illinois State transfer, was active in the passing game, catching swing passes and screens for big gains out of the backfield.
— UND's offensive line had a strong day, making considerable holes for the running backs. The addition of pads to practice brought a much-needed jolt of energy to fall camp and the offensive line seemed to thrive off it.
— UND's scout team running back will be an interesting situation if availability doesn't change. Both true freshmen backs Tyler Zdon and Owen Reynoso were sidelined Tuesday.
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