Two of the UND football program's most dynamic wide receivers have spent a lot of time watching practice this fall as the Fighting Hawks open fall camp at Memorial Stadium.
Slowly but surely, though, both Bo Belquist and Brock Boltmann are taking on more and more of the action.
Belquist and Boltmann have dressed every day for fall camp but only the past couple of practices have the two taken part in skelly drills, which are non-contact and don't include the offensive and defensive lines.
Belquist, a second-year player out of New Rockford, N.D., and Boltmann, a veteran from Edina, have yet to take part in full 11-on-11 practice situations. Boltmann has also started to take a few repetitions at quarterback when the position groups break down. Boltmann was used as a wildcat quarterback in 2019 before missing the entire spring of 2021.
On Monday morning, Belquist caught one of his first deep balls of practice when he broke free down the sideline during skelly work and caught a pass a little caught up in the wind from rookie quarterback Trey Feeney.
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Both Belquist and Boltmann are being targeted for a Week 1 return Sept. 4 at Idaho State, but neither player is a lock to be ready to go at that point.
Here are the details from Day 9
The scene: After taking Sunday off from practice, UND returned to go from 8:45 a.m. to 10:30. The temperature was a warm 73 degrees but breezy with 20 miles-per-hour winds. After taking off Saturday's practice to attend his mother's funeral in south-central North Dakota, head coach Bubba Schweigert was back at practice Monday. One NFL scout was in attendance (New York Giants). The team practiced in just shorts and helmets but will return to full pads Tuesday.
Play of the day: With the wind throwing off quite a few deep balls, quarterback Tommy Schuster and wide receiver Garett Maag made it look easy anyway when Schuster hit Maag on a perfect back-shoulder fade for about a 25-yard pickup near the goalline.
Looking good: Wide receiver Jacob Odom, in a deep mix of receivers pushing to see the field, probably had his most productive day catching passes during team work.
Day 9 notes
- Second-year running back Isaiah Smith, who's entered fall camp slimmer than a year ago, saw the most action in the backfield of any of the backs. He was also targeted numerous times in the passing game.
- The team practiced catching punts in a high-pressure situation. The punts were purposefully short and the punt coverage came down hard in the face of the receivers. About a dozen players took turns trying to make catches. One of the more impressive grabs was from wide receiver Chrysten Cochran, who went over-the-shoulder to catch one wind-aided punt. Per usual, UND sent out a rookie offensive lineman to try to field a punt and Park River tackle Sam Hagen saw his attempt springboard off his jersey between the '7' and the '5'.
- Schuster and Feeney handled the wind well during a late-practice team setting. Both players marched drives down the field, with Schuster hitting Creighton Mitchell, Cochran, Odom and Smith. Feeney connected with Billy Riviere and Jack Wright.
- Schweigert ended practice just before 10:30 a.m. and gave a lengthy speech in which he didn't appear too pleased with the day.
Past coverage
Day 2: Quarterback Trey Feeney makes strong first impression
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Day 3: Jack Wright starts to carve a role following injury
Day 4: Jake Richter using his size to make plays
Day 5: Rookie corners show promise
Day 6: Chrysten Cochran makes most of increased reps
Day 7: Grand Forks' Ben Christian working into top rotation
Day 8: Adam Zavalney showcases pass-catching ability
Day 9: Belquist, Boltmann slowly becoming more involved