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Oct. 15—GRAND FORKS — Grady Kentch’s path to UND was winding.
The first-year defensive lineman for the Fighting Hawks spent a year away from football after his senior year of high school in Washington, then enrolled at NCAA Division III Linfield College in Oregon.
After two years at Linfield, Kentch entered the transfer portal, where UND defensive line coach Austin Flyger wasted little time reaching out.
“I had never heard of North Dakota, to be honest,” Kentch said. “I went online and started looking, and I really like Coach Flyger and coach (Joel) Schwenzfeier.”
The move from Linfield to UND was mutually beneficial. Kentch wanted to prove himself at the Division I level and the Hawks needed to overhaul the position group after a large senior class left following the 2023 season.
“He was looking for an opportunity to level-up,” Flyger said. “He was playing at a high level in Division III with good numbers. We got him out on a visit, and he wanted to prove himself at a higher level.”
In nine games in 2023 at Linfield, Kentch had 27 tackles, 9.0 tackles for loss, nine quarterback hurries and 5.0 sacks.
At UND, Kentch has played in every game and is tied for the team lead in quarterback hurries with five. He had two quarterback hurries as UND’s defensive pressure played a large role in a win earlier this season over then-No. 4 Montana.
“He does everything the way you want it done,” Flyger said. “He’s real serious about his approach and his day-to-day with the meeting room and walk-throughs and practice habits. He’s been a great addition to our room and works his butt off.”
Kentch said he took the year off after high school to stick closer with his family, but he missed the game.
“I wanted to give it another shot,” Kentch said.
Kentch, who has another season of eligibility available for 2025, is fitting in well in Grand…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/defensive-lineman-grady-kentch-finding-003100617.html
Author : Grand Forks Herald
Publish date : 2024-10-16 00:31:00
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