Bison safety Dom Jones playing ‘all over the place’ for NDSU defense

By Jeff Kolpack and Eric Peterson The Forum Fargo

North Dakota State junior Dom Jones is listed as a safety on the Bison football roster, but that only accounts for part of his job description this season.

He has played free safety, outside linebacker and slot corner for NDSU. The 6-foot-3, 197-pound Jones is on board with the variety.

“It’s different from what I’m definitely used to, but I feel that I could make any play on the field, with my athletic ability, my speed, my length, that is why I have to make any play,” said Jones, who is from Duluth, Ga. “That just puts me that much closer to the ball and that helps the defense out a lot.”

Jones could be a key defensive piece against South Dakota State at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, at Gate City Bank Field. The Missouri Valley Football Conference clash features the top two teams in NCAA Division I FCS football.

“He is all over the place,” Bison head coach Matt Entz said. “He’s too good to stand on the sideline so we’re trying to utilize him as a little bit of a slot area defender in some nickel situations. He’s still playing safety at different times.”

Jones has 15 tackles, including four in each of the past two games. He also had a fumble recovery against the University of South Dakota three games ago.

Jones said he’s getting more comfortable playing as a slot defender or outside linebacker, compared to his more familiar position at safety.

“I know as far as the secondary and the second level, the second level the plays get up on you that much more quickly and you’ve got to register and digest plays that much faster,” Jones said.

“The game is starting to slow down for me. I want to get on the field, it doesn’t matter where I’m at. It was just another opportunity for me to make plays.”

The Bison defense is allowing 17.5 points and 148.7 rushing yards per game through six games. SDSU running back Isaiah Davis is averaging more than 100 rushing yards per game with 626 yards and five touchdowns on 116 attempts.

“I feel like we’re in a good space as far as knowing what we can do and knowing how we can affect the offense. I feel like we can always tackle better, we can take the ball away a little bit more,” Jones said.

Jones said he’s ready for the Fargodome atmosphere for a rivalry game that is being played for the Dakota Marker.

“I feel at the end of the day, we’re all playing football,” Jones said. “We’re just playing a kids sport. That’s how I simplify things. …I trust the guys around me.”

Fond du Lac, Wis. In his 52nd year as the head coach, Hyland took the St. Mary’s Springs job right out of college in 1971 and is the second active winningest high school coach in the country.

“Just not only in the number of games he’s won — 14 state championships — but in the thousands and thousands of young men and women he’s positively influenced over his career,” Entz said.

NDSU sent Hyland, whose grandson Isaac Hyland is a freshman defensive back for the Bison, a video lauding the accomplishment after Springs defeated Lomira 35-7 to improve to 8-0. Isaac’s father is former Bison quarterback Rob Hyland.

“I just think anytime we can acknowledge success like that we need to,” Entz said. “Congrats to him and congrats to his family because as you know it takes a village to operate a team at times.”

SDSU coach: Jacks vs. Bison best rivalry in FCS

Dakota Marker was born.

The Bison have a 10-8 lead in Marker games. Postseason games do not count toward possession of the trophy, a replica of the original quartzite monuments that were placed at half-mile intervals along the state border beginning in 1891. Some are still there.

“Yes the trophy, yes the location of where we’re at and the type of schools we both are, our identities,” Stiegelmeier said. “But in terms of its evolution, we took a contingency of people up to the border, we went to a farm, we looked at a real marker that was still in the ground and we symbolically said, hey, we’re in this together.” NDSU won eight of its 17 national championships in the pre-Division I days. The Bison routinely owned the Jacks in their matchups. But the rivalry was born not only by the marker, but the fact SDSU has risen the profile of its program to FCS national standards.

“No matter how much we dislike each other or how strong the rivalry was at that point,” the veteran Jacks coach said, “we needed each other and it’s evolved. How many times has it been two teams in the top 10? It’s been unbelievable and our program has benefited from it and I think theirs has also. It’s a fun, fun rivalry.” Etc, etc, etc

► SDSU has won the past two meetings in the series, including a 27-19 victory in Brookings last September. The Bison have a 10-8 series edge in game played for the Dakota Marker since 2004. NDSU has a 63-44-5 edge in the overall series that dates back to 1903.

► Will Mostaert was named Missouri Valley Football Conference special teams player of the week after blocking a 30-yard field goal attempt against Indiana State last weekend.

► SDSU has the most Division I wins at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome with three in 2008, 2016 and the spring of 2021. Youngstown State (2009, ‘11) and Western Illinois (2008, ‘10) are the only other FCS teams with more than one win in the dome.

► NDSU and SDSU joined the Missouri Valley in 2008. Since that time, the Jacks are the only team to not have a losing season in conference play.

Gives Shout Out For Milestone Win

Entz

Entz began his weekly press conference this week with a congratulatory message to former NDSU player Bob Hyland, who recorded his 500th career win at St. Mary’s Springs High School in

Maybe it’s because John Stiegelmeier has a vested interest in SDSU vs. NDSU, a game that was not much of a contest in the Division II days but has become a heated rivalry since the day both made the transition to a Division I schedule starting in 2004. That’s when the