A mix of newcomers and longtime studs stand to man the crew this fall.
The North Dakota State Fullbacks and Tight Ends group pictured here have a combined 146 games played at North Dakota State with marquee names Hunter Luepke and Noah Gindorff manning a room that is set to be a very important piece of the Bison’s plans for the season.
#87 Noah Gindorff
Senior, Crosby, MN
Position: TE
Height: 6’ 6’’
Weight: 268
High School: Crosby-Ironton HS
#49 Hunter Brozio
Junior, Lakeland, FL
Position: FB
Height: 6’ 1’
Weight: 230
High School: Lake Gibson HS
#44 Hunter Luepke
Senior, Spencer, WIS
Position: FB
Height: 6’ 1’’
Weight: 236
High School: Spencer HS
#82 Joe Stoffel
Junior, River Falls, WS
Position: TE
Height: 6’ 3’’
Weight: 245
High School: River Falls HS
33 Logan Hofstedt
Junior, Cannon Falls, MN
Position: FB
Height: 6’ 1’
Weight: 237
High School: Cannon Falls HS
Q&A With Noah Gindorff
How are things feeling after last season ended with an injury?
Things are feeling good. I’m definitely healthy and ready to go. A lot of the summer was spent just getting back to 100%.
It’s been talked about and, in my mind, you were probably on a path to the NFL after last season. What was that experience like, mentally, having that injury at the point that you did?
That was definitely tough. Having this extra year to fall back on was really key because if I didn’t have this all back, I think it’d be a really tough reality setting in… I’m definitely not going to take this extra year for granted.
It seems like some people, when they go through a major rehabilitation process, come back better in some ways because they’re working on all those little muscles that maybe have been neglected in the past. Have you experienced anything similar?
I’ve never had a major injury like this before. Through this, I’ve learned more about just taking care of your body and stuff like that. I hope that’s the case and that I can come back and be playing better than ever. I guess we’ll have to wait to see September 3, if that’s the case, but I mean, I’m feeling really good at this point. So, I definitely think my best football is still ahead of me.
What are some of those new habits you’ve picked up on?
I’ve started tracking my sleep and making sure I’m drinking a ton of water. Just little things that sometimes get taken for granted. I was just really trying to do anything that could help my recovery and I’m not going to abandon those habits either now that I’m back healthy.
While you were injured, you worked as a student assistant with the coaching staff during spring ball. What was that experience like?
It was really valuable just to be able to step back and kind of look at a different position and see why they’re playing the technique that they are and stuff like that, or just be able to see the defensive call and see how they’re playing it and see, okay, in this defense, the quarterback should go here.
It was also great to be able to help out these young tight ends and continue to show them good technique and how to practice the right way and how to play hard.
