Kolpack and Izzo Podcast: Eastern Washington game preview

Dom Izzo — Fri, 01 Sep 2023 11:30:00 GMT

The 2023 college football season has arrived for North Dakota State as the Bison open the new year in Minneapolis to take on Eastern Washington.

The questions about the defense and new look players on offense will get answered Saturday afternoon against an Eagles team that struggled to a 3-8 record last season.

Jeff and Dom discuss the setting at U.S. Bank Stadium and the lack of fan interest on NDSU's part for this game Saturday.

They also discuss some players to click for the game, ranging from Mehki Collins to Sam Jung.

Quarterback Cam Miller is in the spotlight this season to have a consistent year, along with the wide receivers to make plays down the field.

You can listen to the episode here or wherever you get your podcasts, at Apple Itunes or Google Play.

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Former Bison player James Hendricks back on the sideline

Jeff Kolpack — Thu, 31 Aug 2023 16:38:16 GMT

FARGO — 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.

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.

“I love staying involved because the game is fun,” he said. “I 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.”

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.

“I love it because No. 1, I still like hanging out with the coaches and the players,” he said. “I love road games. I would actually prefer road games over home games now just because of all that goes into it.”

He’s 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’s not the first foray into radio for Hendricks, who had a regular bit one day a week last year on 1660’s 11 a.m.-1 p.m. weekday show. He worked one game as the sideline guy.

“I’ve been out for a decent amount of time now but I’m still very aware of game plans and strategies these coaches are using,” Hendricks said. “I’m still very aware of NDSU’s playbook and I think I can provide some unique insight there.”

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.

“I respect the emotions that go into a game and I don’t want to ruffle any feathers but I also feel like I can ask questions that are going to be intriguing,” Hendricks said. “One of my goals is to be able to ask the questions that aren’t always easy but also ask questions that aren’t unfair.”

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.

“I knew I always wanted to be involved with football,” he said. “My dad was a coach and we’ve 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.”

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FCS FOOTBALL

Kolpack and Izzo Podcast: Eastern Washington game preview

Former Bison player James Hendricks back on the sideline