Bemidji State Football Looks to Fill Key Positions This Spring

It may be the offseason, but the boys of fall are in full practice mode for spring, as Bemidji State football prepares for their scrimmage against Minnesota Duluth in three weeks.

The Beavers are coming off their third straight season reaching the second round of the NCAA playoffs, but many players that contributed to that success have graduated, vacating key positions. This year’s spring practice has served as an opportunity for BSU players to compete for those open spots, as well as prove their leadership skills both on and off the field.

“It’s been interesting, you know, some different faces, but it’s exciting, I think, when you have a chapter end with such a, you know, historic run that those seniors were on,” said head coach Brent Bolte. “These guys that are under underclassmen that have been waiting in the wings, are pretty hungry to have an opportunity to get out there and get after it.”

“There’s some growing pains, but there’s a lot of guys that are stepping up, like a lot of guys, even like young guys too,” explained senior DB Jamel Stone. “Coach Bolte preaches that this is a player led team. And I feel like everybody is doing their part. I say for me, I’ve definitely stepped up as a leader, being more vocal, you know, I’m trying to work on that.”

“We lost a lot of experience and leadership, but I think because of that, guys are realizing we have to step up,” added senior WR Bubba Peters. “And I love the way that people are responding to taking over those roles, and I just love the direction everybody’s going in. We can’t become complacent, so we have to keep building every day and not become stationary to what we want to achieve.”

The Beavers will hold their Green & White game on April 6, and then the scrimmage versus the Bulldogs will be on April 17. This will be the first year the NCAA has allowed teams to scrimmage someone other than themselves in the spring.