FARGO 鈥� The last time James Hendricks was a regular part of the North Dakota State football sideline he did a victory slide at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. His interception sealed a Division I FCS national title victory over James Madison to cap the 2019 season.
Jimmy Football is back.
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Hendricks will be part of the radio broadcast team this season as the sideline reporter for 1660-AM, a job that returns him to a program where he made an invaluable mark as a defensive back.
鈥淚 love staying involved because the game is fun,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 obviously want the program to succeed. I love seeing how a team can progress throughout the season and this is going to be an interesting year.鈥�
Interesting in that a team, particularly untested on defense, reminds Hendricks of the 2015 team that had a mix of inexperienced and veteran players. The Bison open their season Saturday afternoon against Eastern Washington at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
It will also be the debut of play-by-play announcer Sam Neidermann, with Bison Hall of Famer Phil Hansen returning as the analyst. As part of the radio crew, Hendricks will travel with the team to all out of town games, something that was appealing to him in taking the job.
鈥淚 love it because No. 1, I still like hanging out with the coaches and the players,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 love road games. I would actually prefer road games over home games now just because of all that goes into it.鈥�
He鈥檚 also gotten to know NDSU administrators and fans that are part of the Bison road party since he finished his career in 2019 and people involved with an NDSU game day outside of the team.
It鈥檚 not the first foray into radio for Hendricks, who had a regular bit one day a week last year on 1660鈥檚 11 a.m.-1 p.m. weekday show. He worked one game as the sideline guy.
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鈥淚鈥檝e been out for a decent amount of time now but I鈥檓 still very aware of game plans and strategies these coaches are using,鈥� Hendricks said. 鈥淚鈥檓 still very aware of NDSU鈥檚 playbook and I think I can provide some unique insight there.鈥�
He takes over for Cole Jirik, who gave up his Saturday duties to concentrate on a new property management, development and real estate venture called Optima. Like Hendricks, Jirik was a former player who did postgame interviews in good times and after losses.
鈥淚 respect the emotions that go into a game and I don鈥檛 want to ruffle any feathers but I also feel like I can ask questions that are going to be intriguing,鈥� Hendricks said. 鈥淥ne of my goals is to be able to ask the questions that aren鈥檛 always easy but also ask questions that aren鈥檛 unfair.鈥�
Hendricks is a financial planner and runs his own firm called Prism Financial in Fargo. He came to NDSU from Bemidji, Minnesota, in 2015 as a quarterback before moving to safety prior to the 2017 season. Known for his high level football IQ, he led the Bison the following year with five interceptions and was a first-team all-Missouri Valley Football Conference selection as a senior.
NDSU won the last 37 games in which he played.
鈥淚 knew I always wanted to be involved with football,鈥� he said. 鈥淢y dad was a coach and we鈥檝e always been a football family. I never imagined it would be radio. I was actually surprised how much I enjoyed it. I love talking about football. What I realize now is I probably liked the Xs and Os more than I liked playing and this will allow me to do that.鈥�
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