FARGO — The baton from one left tackle to another at North Dakota State has been passed like a badge of offensive line honor over the years. More recently, Dillon Radunz was a staple for three seasons before being taken in the second round in the 2021
NFL Draft. Cody Mauch took it from there, starting 38 games beginning in the spring 2021 season. Mauch got drafted in the second round, handing the reins to Jalen Sundell last season. Sundell is currently hot in training for his NFL shot. Enter Grey Zabel. Will 2024 be his year at the coveted left tackle position? “Whatever fits best on the offensive line,” Zabel said. “The coaches are going to put us in the best place to win and wherever that is I’m happy with it. All offensive line is, is what hand you put down in the dirt and what type of sets you take on pass (protection). Other than that, we still preach running off the ball and playing physical here.” ADVERTISEMENT Zabel was a guard for most of his career including the first three games of last season. He was switched to right tackle for the rest of the season and with the departure of Sundell, obvious speculation is Zabel will switch sides. NDSU head coach Tim Polasek said he’ll leave it up to offensive line coach Dan Larson as to where the 6-foot-6, 301-pound Zabel fits best. “You’d like Grey to be a left tackle, there’s no doubt about that,” Polasek said, “but even going through the process back at Iowa and talking to some general managers about Tristan Wirfs. It’s like, what’s the big deal if you get hit in the face or if you get hit in the back. It will be more of how the pieces come around him. He’s so versatile. He is sharp. He cares. He’s worked hard this offseason at studying his game so I have all the confidence in the world that we have plenty of time to make that decision.” Zabel, who never redshirted coming out of Riggs High School in Pierre, S.D., may be in his fifth year of playing because of the pandemic, but Polasek made note he was one of the hardest workers in winter workouts. “It was an awesome offseason,” Zabel said. “I got back in the weight room, got my body right and gained a few pounds and then just worked together with everyone else.” As for everyone else up front, the biggest question marks are probably the two guards and center. Who fits best and where? Where will veteran seniors Hunter Ponscious and Jake Rock play? Is senior Mason Miller best at guard or tackle? Will Marshall transfer Trent Fraley be a factor? How about the younger players who redshirted or were down on the depth chart last year? Polasek said it’s too early to get into the specifics of where players fit. “I do think we have a chance to be pretty good, it’s just not right now,” he said. “We have a lot of room for improvement and we have to find out what the best combination of five is.” ADVERTISEMENT Read more from Jeff Kolpack Subscribers Only College College Insider: Fargo Shanley's Busek helps Jimmies
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basketball Sweet 16. 5h ago · By Eric Peterson Subscribers Only Men's Sports After first practice, Polasek appreciative of Bison players sticking with him North Dakota State opened spring
Football with 103 players on the roster and plenty of room for competition 1d ago · By Jeff Kolpack Subscribers Only Women's Sports Bison women receive first-round bye in WNIT event Indications are NDSU will host a second-round game on Saturday 1d ago · By Jeff Kolpack Subscribers Only Sports Kolpack: Grant Nelson has the notoriety, his brother has a state title Devils Lake defeats Kindred giving Joel Nelson something Grant never had 3d ago · By Jeff Kolpack Share Share this article News reporting News reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? Tags Tags SUBSCRIBERS ONLY BISON MEDIA ZONE BISON FOOTBALL INFORUM BISMARCK FARGO TIM POLASEK Former NDSU Bison Cody Mauch By Jeff Kolpack Jeff would like to dispel the notion he was around when Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, but he is on his third decade of reporting with Forum Communications. The son of a reporter and an English teacher, and the brother of a reporter, Jeff has worked at the Jamestown Sun, Bismarck Tribune and since 1990 The Forum, where he's covered North Dakota State athletics since 1995. Jeff has covered all nine of NDSU's Division I FCS national football titles and has written three books: "Horns Up," "North Dakota Tough" and "Covid Kids." He is the radio host of "The
golf Show with Jeff Kolpack" April through August. Twitter