The Minot State football team enjoys rallying around a Word of the Day while going through the grind of the preseason fall camp.

Unofficially, that buzz word on Friday was “experience.” The 10-letter word was continuously repeated during the team’s Media Day interviews inside the Minot State Dome.

“The things that we do schematically aren’t drastically any different than what we have done in the past,” MSU third-year head coach Mike Aldrich said. “It’s just a matter of the guys doing it are getting more mature. We got a lot of experience coming back, especially up front. That’s really good. I think that’s the most important place that we can be mature.”

The Beavers only graduated four players last season: Kiante Goudeau, Chris Rivers, Kywan Owens and Tristen Burnett.

That allowed MSU to nearly keep its entire two-deep depth chart for this upcoming season, something that’s relatively unheard of in the landscape of college football.

That’s a byproduct of what happened the past two seasons. The Beavers were forced to use undeveloped underclassmen due to a lack of veteran experience.

Everything comes full circle. Minot State will have a cast of 10 seniors and 10 juniors to make up the leadership core this season.

“For the offense, having that experience and throwing to the same guys for two years straight now is big for us,” returning junior quarterback Ben Bolinske said. “We aren’t robots on the field. We can find open spaces when maybe we aren’t supposed to go to that spot in the playbook. Maybe we get to three yards depth, throw them the ball and they fall down for a first down, instead of getting that five-yard depth.

“It’s just that chemistry you have with the guys. You have to have it. All good teams have good chemistry.”

The entire offensive line is returning, led by seniors Parker Franzen and Eric Besalda who have combined to play in 52 games already in their collegiate careers.

The entire defensive line is returning as well, led by junior Jordan Will and senior Ellis Parr. The linebackers are fully intact too.

“You get some chemistry by having that experience working with the same guys,” Will said. “We brought in eight freshmen for the D-line unit. We like what we have been seeing from those guys so far. It’s nice to know we have the depth there when last year we didn’t have as much of it.”

Aldrich added: “When you have eight guys coming back that have that experience, then you aren’t skipping a beat when we start shuffling who is in and who is out. Nobody is wide-eyed, nervous or timid because now they’re playing college football. Everyone has that experience.”

For the community of Minot

After eight straight losing seasons and a 1-10 overall record last season, it hasn’t been easy for MSU football supporters.

The Beavers are longing to give the Minot community something to cheer about.

“I think fans are ready to get up on Saturday and come see a college football team from Minot win a couple of games,” said Bolinske, a Minot native. “I think the fans deserve it. The guys that have been with us for all these struggling years, I think we owe them wins.”

There are plenty of homegrown players on the roster who have fond memories of watching MSU football games while growing up. Now, the next generation is watching them play on Saturday.

“I remember sitting in those stands as a little kid,” said Will, a former Bishop Ryan standout. “Now, I’m living the dream of actually doing that. It would be amazing to take a step forward this year for the city of Minot.”

As Aldrich enters his third season at the helm, the support from the community doesn’t go unnoticed.

“One thing that I’ve been able to find, being a resident of Minot now, is that the community truly thinks of Minot State as its university,” he said. “So, they embrace what we are doing. And the public is very concerned with us, that we do well and we represent the community very well.”

Expanding the

RPO offense

When describing Bolinske, Aldrich’s go-to description is “dynamic.”

The junior dual-threat quarterback, who transferred in from the University of North Dakota as a freshman and eventually won the starting job early into last season, can beat defenses with his arm or legs.

The Beavers look to keep defenses guessing with its evolving run-pass-option (RPO) plays in the playbook.

“It’s a new concept for some of the guys, so we are bringing it in piece by piece,” sophomore tight end Jaxon Lundeen said. “Hopefully we piece it all together at the end of the season.”

Having a reliable every-down tailback in the backfield with junior transfer Isaiah Hall, instead of converted wide receiver Lane Torgerson, should be a boost to the offense as well.

“Have Lane (Torgerson) back at wide receiver as huge,” Bolinske said. “Maybe we had to play some young guys (last year) who weren’t ready yet. With that, though, they now have experience. Now, Lane is back in his normal position, and I think at running back we are going to be really solid.”

Not to be skimmed over, there is also senior playmaker Lavante Bushnell. He led the team last season in catches (47), receiving yards (578) and receiving touchdowns (8).

Tough opening test

The Beavers open the season Thursday, Sept. 5, at Minnesota Duluth. The Bulldogs posted an 11-1 overall record last season and were ranked second in the NSIC Preseason Coaches’ Poll.

Minot State lost its season opener to Duluth, 49-3, last season. Going up against the Bulldogs, the Beavers remain the underdogs.

The last time MSU won a season opener was in 2002.

Alex Eisen covers Minot State athletics, the Minot Minotauros and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @AEisen13.