Ketteringham Returns to UND Football Poised for Senior Season

The Fighting Hawks quarterback is entering his second year as the team's starter

GRAND FORKS, N.D. –Heading into last year’s football season, Nate Ketteringham was unclear about whether or not he would be UND’s starting quarterback.

After a successful 2018 campaign at the helm of the Fighting Hawks offense, Ketteringham returns with a much better idea of where he stands.

“This year he is the clear cut, number one guy,” offensive coordinator, Danny Freund, said. “He is a senior and the seniors always kind of run your team, especially if you are a senior quarterback – you are, by default, the leader of the team.”

It’s those leadership skills where the gunslinger has made some of the biggest improvements to his game.

“I’m definitely a lot more vocal,” Ketteringham reveals. “When I was a freshman starting, back at sac state, I really didn’t talk that much and I kind of let the older guys guide that, but as I have gotten older, I feel like I have gotten a little more vocal.”

“[He] Just has a different presence in the huddle. I think he gained some confidence from a year ago,” head coach, Bubba Schweigert, added. “Leading those throwing sessions and taking charge of the offense is something that we really need him to step up and do and I think he has really made progress in that area.”

With a new offensive coordinator taking over, there will still be some adjustments for Ketteringham in his senior season, but he has earned enough respect with this team to find himself in a system that will work to suit his playing style.

“We’re going to give him some reads. He is going to have the option sometimes to run the ball, hand it off or throw it off to the perimeter depending on how the defense plays it,” Freund explained.

“I’m really excited about his progression but I think the big thing is just running plays that he is comfortable with and I think we have that. That trust is building and we are going to take input from him on what he likes to run. I think that is key – when you are calling plays – to call plays that the guy who is touching the ball every play likes.”