Here are nine more things to watch for from Minnesota’s Division II and III football programs this season:
• Minnesota Duluth, the top pick in the NSIC preseason poll and No. 17 in the AFCA Division II preseason poll, has 14 starters back from last year’s 9-2 team. The starters include QB Kyle Walljasper, who ran for 1,073 yards and 16 rushing touchdowns (NSIC-leading) and threw for 1,580 yards and 22 touchdowns.
• Returning players from Bemidji State, which has made three consecutive D-II playoff appearances, include defensive end Marcus Hansen, a junior from Waseca, Minn., who was the 2023 NSIC Defensive Player of the Year and second-team All-America. The Beavers will have a new starting quarterback after the graduation of three-year starter Brandon Alt, who finished his career with 11,648 passing yards, the second-best mark in NSIC history.
• Jack Strand, MSU Moorhead quarterback and last season’s NSIC Offensive Player of the Year, returns for his junior season. Last year, Strand set four school records and led D-II in completions (370). He also was second in passing yards and third in passing touchdowns.
• Quarterback Hayden Ekern returns for his fourth season as a starter for Minnesota State Mankato, which was ranked No. 3 in the NSIC preseason poll and No. 13 in the AFCA D-II preseason poll. Ekern threw for 2,654 yards and 23 touchdowns for the Mavericks, who were 9-3 last season and ranked as high as No. 3 in the D-II polls.
• This will be the fourth and final divisional season in MIAC football. Beginning in 2021, the MIAC will be split into two divisions of five teams each (Northwoods and Skyline). In 2025 and 2026, MIAC teams will play an eight-game schedule with the final game occurring as part of a championship week. Beginning in 2027, the MIAC will return to a nine-game conference schedule with one nonconference game.
