A MARRIAGE OF NDSU FOOTBALL AND MOVIE SCRIPT
Bison football in 1980s made for perfect location for Bob Angelo’s fictional character
BY JEFF KOLPACK
The Forum FARGO
The resume of Bob Angelo is extensive, highlighted with being a multiple Emmy Award winning producer, director, writer, editor and cinematopher in his career at NFL Films. He’s hoping to add one more title: screenplay writer.
And if his latest project comes to fruition, North Dakota State football from the 1980s will play a significant role in it.
The movie script, called “Scheme Dreamer: The Last Line of Defense,” follows a fictitious character, Jake Baron, going through life based on true events. A high school star in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, Jake always wanted to play football at Penn State, but the Nittany Lions weren’t offering.
So he packed his bags and headed for college at NDSU and a career with the Bison. When it came to researching NDSU football, Angelo left no detail untouched.
He had lengthy conversations with former Bison head coaches Don Morton and Rocky Hager. He talked to former defensive coordinator Mike Daly. He talked with former NDSU safety Tom Shockman.
He called the NDSU sports information department and also called local media. He read books on Bison football.
“The impressive thing to me was the research he had done prior to our conversation,” Hager said. “The details were pretty close to being spot on. I gave him as much as I could remember.”
Memories like dealing with Gus Bradley as the Bison free safety. Jake Baron in the movie script is a safety. Angelo even worked the proper pronunciation of the Bison nickname into the script, with the following conversation between Jake Baron and an early meeting with his girlfriend at NDSU:
Jake: “That’s the second time I’ve heard somebody say Bye-Zin.”
Sarah: “That’s how it’s pronounced around here. You’ll get used to it.”
It’s the ninth attempt at a screenplay for Angelo, although the other eight were not related to his extensive football experience. But after 43 years with NFL Films and in retirement, he decided to take another stab at it.
“I just said I’m going to try this again but this time I’m going into my wheelhouse,” Angelo said. “I know a lot about football.”
What probably jump started this project was an association with Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott. They met in 1999 when Angelo was doing a project with then Philadelphia Eagles rookie head coach Andy Reid. Angelo looked at McDermott and asked
one question: How did he get here? McDermott was an all-conference safety at William & Mary in 1997 who took the fast track in the coaching ranks, being hired by the Eagles in 2001 as assistant to the head coach.
Angelo tucked that memory away, which in a way resurfaces in the screenplay as traits of Jake Baron. The connection to McDermott came last year when Angelo was thumbing through the San Francisco 49ers coaching staff and read the bio of Nick Sorensen, a former NFL safety who was the team’s defensive pass game specialist and nickels coach.
“I thought, holy crap, it’s really getting to the point that there are people who just can’t give up football,” Angelo said. “They just want to stay a part of it. And that was my motivation.”
The thought hit him: How about a movie about a western Pennsylvania prep phenom who along with his girlfriend go to Penn State together?
Only she went to Penn State. She went one way, and Jake Baron went the other — all the way to NDSU to major in football.
“I married him to a school far enough away from Pittsburgh where he couldn’t drive home on weekends and that school happened to be North Dakota State,” Angelo said.
The timeline of the movie, set in the 1980s, and the NDSU success was a victory in serendipity. The more Angelo looked into Bison football, the more it became natural for his character to go there.
In the script, Baron plays for NDSU’s first national championship won on the field (1983). The Bison won titles in 1965, ‘68 and ‘69 that were voted on in polls. Baron befriends Mike Stratton, one of NDSU’s defensive line standouts in the ‘80s.
“He’s going to stay there because he loves football,” Angelo said. “He can’t give it up. All of a sudden he’s 17 and has a new life in Fargo, North Dakota. He later marries a local girl and he wants to turn the game into a career. He knows how much he knows about football. “ Jake Baron eventually becomes part of five Bison national championships as a player, graduate assistant and a young defensive coordinator. Other details include the team leaving the locker room under the stands at Dacotah Field and gathering in the northeast corner of the end zone, with the head coach leading them out.
“All I wanted to do was retrofit him into North Dakota State’s proud history,” Angelo said. “I like that whole idea. I loved it in ‘Forrest Gump’ and I said I’m going to try it here.”
It was important for him to get every detail right, since those players and coaches that
were part of those Bison teams would know if they weren’t. Angelo got so involved that he asked about what defensive coverages NDSU played in those days.
“I thought, Gus Bradley likes it so much he takes it to the Seahawks,” Angelo said.
“I checked with Rocky Hager and asked if it would be OK with you if (Jake Baron) was part of this discovery? He said absolutely. It’s embedded in true events.”
A lot more happens to Baron with football and life after he leaves NDSU, with one
departing scene of Jake and Rocky both wiping away tears (Hager was known as a coach not shy about his emotions).
After Fargo and later in the NFL, with his job with the Eagles, he comes across former Bison quarterback Carson Wentz and the
team’s preparation for Super Bowl LII.
The next step with the project is to get approval from the NFL, which Angelo is confident that will happen. The league has to OK the names of eight teams Angelo uses in the story and the use of selected players and coaches.
“These deals happen all the time in feature film production,” Angelo said. “If they are willing to endorse, then I have some leverage.”
He’s hoping his connections with the NFL will entice a producer to take notice.
“The odds are long,” he said.
Meanwhile, Angelo has a potential director who is currently reading and evaluating the script. If successful, it would be the first extensive film depiction of NDSU football. There have been a few documentaries over the years, like “Fire & Ice” of the old Division II days vs. North Dakota, in which Hager played a starring role.
On that note, Rocky was asked if the movie comes to reality which actor would best play his role? He laughed.
“He was readily engaged on how he could piece things together,” Hager said of Angelo.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Jeff Kolpack at jkolpack@forumcomm.com. Twitter@KolpackInForum
Submitted photo
Bob Angelo is an award-winning producer, director and cinematographer with over 40 years working in the NFL.
Submitted photo
Bob Angelo from NFL Films shooting from the sideline on Stefon Diggs’ “Minnesota Miracle” catch in 2018 that beat New Orleans.
Submitted photo
Bob Angelo, upper right with camera, gets front row view of coin toss for Super Bowl LII.
Submitted photo
Bob Angelo spent 43 years with NFL Films, and wrote a book about it called “The NFL Off-Camera.”
TIGERS
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Bryce Lance • WR
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Draylen Ellis • QB
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Home Turf. Home Team.
Bison putting emphasis on breaking tackles
NDSU coaches looking for better yards after contact with stable of running backs
BY JEFF KOLPACK AND ERIC PETERSON The Forum
FARGO — Tim Polas-
ek’s first press conference during a college football season as the North Dakota State head coach was about 17 minutes old when the former college football quarterback sounded like he wanted to play running back. Like right now.
He was asked about the running back rotation on Saturday in the home opener against Tennessee State at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome, specifically about Barika Kpeenu. The junior returned from an injury that saddled him a good chunk of August.
“I hope he goes out there and competes this week to be a guy that carries it 25 times,” Polasek said. “Him, Marty, TK, game on.” Those three backs — Kpeenu, Marty Brown and TK Marshall — are the top three on the depth chart. It appears whoever makes a stride in breaking tackles might get a leg up as the non-conference season ensues.
“I can tell you this, one thing that’s going to get valued at a real high leavel is yards after we get touched,” Polasek said, “because I’m not real interested in the yards that the O-line blocks for. It really comes down to what playmakers make plays when somebody touches them. It’s yards
after contact that we value. And that’s being charted.”
Brown had nine carries for 33 yards in the season-opening 31-26 loss at Colorado, an average of 3.7 yards per attempt. Kpeenu had 32 yards on nine carries and Marshall five yards on just three attempts. As a team, NDSU averaged 3.7 yards a carry against a defense that at least last season was susceptible to big plays.
When Polasek first started the evaluation of the CU game, he wanted to know how many plays of at least 20 yards the Bison had. The answer: five.
“Just kick up on one tackle,” he said. “I think Marty was close. His first game action. He seemed to find yards where there wasn’t yards and ran tough.”
George impressed with Bison QB Cam Miller
Tennessee State head coach Eddie George is concerned about the dual-threat ability of Bison quarterback Cam Miller, who is coming off a strong performance against Colorado in the season-opening game.
The 6-foot-1, 212-pound senior completed 18 of 22 passes for 277 yards and a touchdown in a 31-26 road loss against the Buffaloes. He also rushed for 81 yards and two touchdowns on 16 attempts.
“It’s going to be a lot on
our defense,” George said. “He’s going to put a strain on us to really be disciplined in terms of our eye discipline, keeping our eyes on our work. ... When we get a chance to get him down, we have to get him down. It’s going to be fundamental football.” Tigers quarterback Draylen Ellis also played well in Week 1, completing 21 of 33 passes for 356 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-21 home victory against Mississippi Valley State. Ellis transferred to Tennessee State from Austin Peay in 2022 after being named Ohio Valley Conference
co-Freshman of the Year. He’s played in 21 games with the Tigers the last two seasons, but started only six of those.
“Draylen has played a lot of football, been through a lot, a lot of adversity,” George said. “I believe he’s going to have a really great year for us.”
Deion Sanders gives Bison D props
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders gave the Bison defense prop in a social media post shared by Christian Dudzik, NDSU’s director of creative content. The 45-second clip on X (formerly known as Twitter)
captures Sanders talking about the Bison defense and getting all 11 players to the ball.
“This is a thing of beauty, this is why this school has won so many darn championships,” Sanders said, with his players gathered in a team room watching film. “It’s hereditary. They pass it down.” Sanders then challenged his players to pass something down to other players.
“This is passed down,” he said, pointing to the screen. “This is the standard. That’s unbelievable, 11 guys on two different plays. I could put
up many more but I wanted to show you those two different plays. Everybody on the team get to the ball.” Etc. etc. etc.
• NDSU is 19-0 after regular season defeats since 2010 and has not lost back-to-back regular season games since the middle of the 2009 season, a year in which the Bison finished 3-8. Counting last year’s FCS semifinal defeat at the University of Montana, the Bison have lost consecutive games for the first time since that ‘09 season.
• The Bison have won 25 straight home openers since a 23-21 loss to Emporia State in 1998, back in the Division II days.
• NDSU senior kicker Griffin Crosa needs two field goals to tie Cam Pedersen (44 from 2019-23) for third place on the school career field goal list. Adam Keller leads with 56 from 2011-14.
• Bison quarterback Cam Miller will be making his 40th straight career start, a streak that started in the middle of the 2021 season when he replaced Quincy Patterson. Miller is on the Walter Payton Award “Watch List” that goes to the best offensive player in the FCS.
• For the record: the Bison are 189-29 all-time at the Fargodome and have won 82 of their last 84 home games over nonconference opponents.
David Samson/The Forum
North Dakota State’s TK Marshall carries against Colorado’s DJ McKinney on a 48yard reception at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado, on Thursday, August 29, 2024.