North Dakota State redshirt freshman quarterback Ryan Parsons completed two passes, including one for a touchdown, Thursday at the Fargodome in his first college football game, his first meaningful action in nearly two years.
He also threw two passes into the turf, neither in an attempt to stop the clock.
With the Bison up 45-0 before the offense took the field for the second half, playing time was not an issue and backups stepped to the forefront in a59-7 victory against Arkansas-Monticello.
NDSU is in its first year with the maximum 63 scholarships, meaning, based on logic and the comments of coaches, quality depth could be hard to come by in the short term.
Some No. 2s, like electrifier extraordinaire Shamen Washington, who accounted for 133 total yards and two touchdowns, were and will be virtually guaranteed snaps.
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Others will have to earn them from here on out as the Bison will play four teams ranked in the first NCAA Division I-AA poll, so getting game experience against the No. 1s from another team - albeit one hailing from Division II - was key.
"Just like what we thought," Bison defensive coordinator Casey Bradley said of the backups. "I think we did some things that were good and also we struggled at times. I'll give you an example. (Linebacker) Nick Compton went in there and played and struggled right away, but at the end he really came on and that's exactly what he needed. We knew there might be some ups and downs with him and some other seconds that were in there, but this experience is so valuable to them and I really think we'll see him grow as a football player this week."
A redshirt freshman from Rosemount, Minn., Compton wound up with a team-high 12 tackles. Redshirt freshman defensive end Joe Lardinois was second with six tackles, plus 2½ tackles for loss and a sack - one that he bagged using an incorrect technique.
Four true freshmen also saw action, with linebacker Ramon Humber faring the best with two tackles and one sack.
Stats aside, how did the newcomers assess their performances?
"College football's a lot faster than I thought," said the 6-foot-4, 226-pound Lardinois, who "could be a great one" according to Bradley. "The first few times you're out there your head is spinning; you don't have time to think about anything. Your head is going a million miles an hour. The first series I was in I was on my butt a few times. It was after the second series I started to feel like I knew what I was doing."
Apparently, the radiological science major fromNew Franken, Wis., is a quick learner.
Of course, seeing time for the green and gold while green doesn't guarantee a major impact.
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Derek Arndt of LaMoure, N.D., played at outside linebacker as a true freshman for an NDSU defensive unit decimated by injury. He switched to tight end the next season, but hadn't caught a pass, let alone reached the end zone, until the fourth quarter of Thursday's game.
"I was throwing so many in the dirt I wanted to put one up and it was too high," Parsons said of the 2-yard pass, "but he made a great grab and it wound up being six."
But will it be good for more time in more meaningful games?
"They certainly earned some more playing time just by some of the progress they showed," Bison head coach Craig Bohl said. "They have to do some consistent work in practice, and some of its going to come down to what kind of situations we have in games."
Readers can reach Forum reporter Terry Vandrovec at (701) 241-5548
