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Imagine the prospect of standing in front of a 250-pound human freight train moving at full speed looking to knock your block off so hard you can't get up the next play. Now, imagine that 250-pound human freight train followed by a 230-pound running back built like a tank, but who drives like a Porsche, and who's also looking to drop his shoulder square into your jaw, chest, or whatever else you might be foolish enough to put in front of him. Doesn't sound too appealing.
Now imagine standing on those tracks for 60 minutes while that terrible twosome hits you 20 to 30 times – smiling ear to ear each time they do it. Missouri Valley Football Conference, meet Tyler Jangula – the human freight train, and Tyler Roehl – the running back built like a tank, but who drives like a Porsche. Their attitude is simple. "I'm not trying to be friends with the person I'm up against," declared Jangula.
While the two Bison seniors hale from different ends of the state, Roehl from West Fargo and Jangula from Williston, they both embody the workmanlike blue-collar attitude that has come to characterize championship Bison teams. The two met while teammates in the Mon-Dak Bowl in 2004, the annual all-star contest that pits the best high school football players from North Dakota against the best from Montana, and became fast friends.
"The first time we met was the Mon-Dak game and we've been friends since," said Jangula. With hard hats and lunch pails in tote since arriving at North Dakota State in the fall of 2004, the two quickly found themselves competing directly against the other for a position when they stepped onto the construction site that was NDSU football.
"We're both very competitive people, both been since day one at NDSU."
echoed Roehl. "We competed for the same position right way, went against
each other right away. It made us stronger."
Moving The Chains: Bison Ground Dominance
It's no secret that the success of the Bison Offense depends on the extreme
physical nature of its ground attack, an attack that grounds teams into
the pavement come the second half. It's also no secret that each back likes
to drop the hammer into the opposition, as witnessed numerous teams last
season as each plowed over defenders instead of ducking out of bounds as
the play culminated, sending the Fargodome crowd into a frenzy.
"We both like to get after it a little bit; we like to dominate the game in a physical way. We try to pound the football and that intensity helps a lot," said Roehl, who's listed by USA Today as one of its "Ten Players to Watch" in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) this year.
"The best part (of a big hit) is the look on the other guy's face," said Jangula. "He knows he got his butt kicked and he won't come as hard next time. Then we want to hit him even harder the next time."
The blocking ability and hard-nosed style of Jangula, while not always in the spotlight, plays a large role in the success of the Bison ground game. The success of the vaunted Bison ground game has propelled them to the forefront of teams considered to contend for both a Missouri Valley Conference and a National Championship this season.
The Bison simply dominated on the ground last season, nearly doubling up the competition in rushing yards, finishing with 1,188 more yards on the ground than their opponents. They'll look to do the same in 2008.
"Especially in the third and fourth quarter, if we've been hitting them hard they start thinking twice about getting in the way and start trying techniques to avoid the hit. It's fun; they don't come as hard at the end of a game," chuckled Jangula, who doubles as a receiving threat out of the backfield, hauling in 19 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns last season. Roehl agrees, commenting, "I think it wears them down. By the end of each half you can tell – they don't want to come up and hit as hard as they did in the beginning."
High Oct ane Intensity:
Attitude Of Backfield Duo Ignites Spark
The high octane intensity that emanates from Roehl and Jangula not only
fires up the Fargodome faithful, but it also ignites a spark and gets their teammates
going.
"They are both really intense, which makes our job easier," according to
center Zach Harrington. "We feed off that energy – it's a group energy and
everyone feeds off it."
That energy has other
benefits as well, including
added intensity in
the weight room.
"We like to pound the ball as much as we can," says Roehl. "We have a physical offense, and the more physical we can be, the offense feeds off of that, on the field and in the weight room, too." The fruits of the running attack also include a passing game that opens up, lending itself to downfield play-action passing, and help keep the heat off first-year starting quarterback Nick Mertens. "It's a lot more 'go out and play and have fun' with those guys. There is a lot less thinking on the field when you have such capable guys in the backfield," said Mertens, who hopes to reap the benefits generated by the ground game in the form of an opened passing attack along with his veteran receiving corps.
While other teams may be hurting after getting drilled, the converse is true for the Herd, who feel pretty good about hanging their hats on their physical style of play led by the 250-pound human freight train followed by the 230-pound running back built like a tank, but who drives like a Porsche.
"Knowing that you dominated an opponent in a physical way, that feeling is good, and seeing other people make plays in a physical way gets the whole sideline going, as well," concluded Roehl.
Jangula agreed. "The physical style adds to the atmosphere in the Dome. I really can't explain, the adrenaline gets going, it's just an unbelievable feeling."
Don't say you weren't warned Missouri Valley – there's a new wrecking crew in town and their looking to inflict some damage.
August 2008 Cover Story
Bison Illustrated
