North Dakota Fighting Hawks 2026 Season Preview

Schmidt Building Something Steady

Eric Schmidt closed 2025 at 8-6 with a 5-3 mark in the MVFC, and the No. 3 power rating says this program is built for more than a one-year bump. That combination of league success and national standing points to a Fighting Hawks team that expects to contend again in 2026, not one just hoping to replicate a good year. The floor here looks high heading into the fall.

Kaminski, Ground Game Set

Jerry Kaminski threw for 2,570 yards and 26 touchdowns last fall, and North Dakota returns him to run an offense built on a rushing attack that ranked 14th nationally in yards per game. The passing game still lagged at 81st, so the path to matching 2025's 32.9 points per game runs through the run-pass balance Kaminski already showed, not a sudden vertical upgrade. With a defense that held opponents to 311 yards a game and forced a +7 turnover margin, Kaminski does not need to force the issue for the Fighting Hawks to stay ahead of the chains.

Jerry Kaminski is the settled answer under center, and the ground game he hands off to did the heavy lifting last season, with North Dakota running for 195 yards per game while the passing attack sat at 192. That gap is the actual story here: Kaminski does not need to become a different kind of quarterback to keep this offense at 32.9 points per game, he needs to keep managing it while the rushing attack carries the load. Simon Romfo's departure barely registers since he threw for just 73 yards, and Mount Horeb signee Brooks Hendrickson arrives as depth behind Kaminski rather than competition for the job.

Sawyer Seidl's 897 yards and 13 touchdowns walk out the door, along with Gaven Ziebarth's 432 and Xavier Leigh's 260, gutting a rushing attack that ranked 14th nationally in yards per game. Colton Brunell, who managed just 209 yards and 2 scores in a complementary role, now becomes the clear lead back, with Charles Langama (86 yards, 1 TD) as his primary backup. Griffin Broderick and Randle Parker carry no production on file, so Eric Schmidt is banking on Brunell to scale up into a workload nothing in his profile has yet proven he can handle.

North Dakota's ground game did the heavy lifting in 2025 (195 rushing yards per game, 14th nationally) while the passing attack lagged at 81st, and the leading returning receivers, Korey Tai (23 catches, 245 yards) and Deng Deng (16 catches, 208 yards, 5 TD), combined for fewer yards than departed Nate DeMontagnac's 462 alone. Replacing that vertical piece falls partly to transfer Cameron Weir out of Washington State, who arrives with no stat history but a Power Four pedigree that Eric Schmidt needs if this offense wants to stop leaning so hard on the run. Given the modest passing numbers a year ago, the more realistic path is Tai and Deng absorbing bigger target shares rather than an unproven newcomer instantly fixing the air attack.

Nathan Hromadka's 8 catches for 84 yards and 3 touchdowns anchor a tight end group that already splits targets six ways, with Haydn Stay adding a touchdown of his own and Watson Hafer chipping in 10 grabs. That depth matters more than any single number given how North Dakota built its offense, running for 195 yards a game (14th nationally) while ranking just 81st in passing yards per game, so these tight ends are blocking as much as catching. Grant Romfo's 34 receiving yards are gone, but with the rest of the room back and Noah Milburn arriving as a high school signee out of Decorah, Eric Schmidt is not starting over at the position, just adding to it.

North Dakota ran the ball for 195 yards per game last season, good for 14th nationally, on a line that now has to replace Seth Anderson up front. Eric Schmidt brought in three offensive tackles, Brady Goihl, Aiden Wunderlich and Jackson Stein, plus interior lineman Jordan Ellis, to restock the group, and high school signee Ethan Beckman adds another interior body to the room. The bigger question than the ground game is pass protection tied to a passing attack that ranked just 81st nationally, and whether this retooled front can push that number forward while keeping the rushing identity intact.

North Dakota's front held up its end last season, ranking 5th in rushing yards allowed per game and 8th in yards per play allowed, but none of the edge rushers who produced those numbers are back, with Kyjuan Vengrowsky, Grady Kentch and Myles Terry all gone alongside interior departures Emmanuel Olagbaju and Montre Samuels-Parker. Eric Schmidt turned to the portal to restock the edge, adding Kylyn Macklin from Albany, and paired him with high school signee Blake Buhr and Braden Minta up front, while Isaac Beaver and Brody Woods arrive to shore up the interior. The pass defense already had work to do at 46th in passing yards allowed, and with so much proven line production gone, the incoming edge trio has to generate pressure fast for that number to hold.

Paine Parks and Ethan Boll are the modest tackle totals North Dakota has to build from at linebacker, with Pierre Allen Jr., Jack Ames, Gabe Anderson and Michael Devereaux all back without a stat line to their name yet. Malachi McNeal's 6 tackles are the most notable production walking out the door, and Eric Schmidt fills the room with Nate Appleget, a high school addition out of Lincoln Southeast rather than a portal arrival. This group played behind a front that ranked just 39th in sacks and 63rd in tackles for loss last season, so the bigger swing for 2026 is whether these linebackers can generate more disruption on their own rather than leaning on a stout run defense that already held opponents to 104 yards a game on the ground.

A defense that ranked 9th nationally in yards allowed and 5th against the run loses seven defensive backs, including Jy Martin and Jonnie Wiltshire, the two most productive tacklers in that departed group. North Dakota didn't fix its passing defense last year (46th in passing yards allowed) even while stuffing the run, so the arrivals of corners Christian Davis and Toris Rudd Jr. along with safety Ethan Headings matter most on the back end where receivers got loose. Eric Schmidt inherits an experienced secondary around those newcomers, and how quickly Davis and Rudd Jr. can hold up on the outside will decide whether that yards-per-play number holds or the pass defense drags it down.

North Dakota has two kickers who can actually swing games. Kenten Laughman made 7 of 11 field goals with a 40-yard long, while C.J. Elrichs was sharper, hitting 4 of 5 with a 43-point season, giving Eric Schmidt a real choice rather than a hole to fill. Luke Silvernale is the steadier leg in the punting mix, having boomed 53 punts at a 44.4-yard average, a number that dwarfs Sam Klestinski's single-punt sample and should make him the clear incumbent there.

Colton Brunell's ground game

Sawyer Seidl and his 897 yards and 13 scores are gone, and Colton Brunell, who managed just 209 yards a year ago, is the only returning back with any track record to fill that void. Jerry Kaminski threw 26 touchdowns but also 12 interceptions in 2025, so North Dakota needs Brunell to give him a real run game rather than lean on a passer who already turns it over plenty.

Eric Schmidt's Road Cover Edge

North Dakota bettors made money chasing them out of Grand Forks, not backing them at home. Eric Schmidt's team went 5-2 against the spread on the road, including a perfect 2-0 mark as a road underdog, while home favorite spots produced a losing 2-3 record against the number. The number that should reset expectations for 2026 is the 5-1 mark against the spread versus ranked teams, a group this program covered against far more than it beat outright at 3-3, suggesting the bite comes in the big spots, not the routine home dates.