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Grand Forks Herald
UND's quarterback-coordinator bond holds a key to 2026 season
- Story byGrand Forks Herald
- UND's quarterback-coordinator bond holds a key to 2026 season
Aug. 25—GRAND FORKS — In 2022, Danny Freund's years of recruiting quarterback Jerry Kaminski of Sun Prairie, Wis., paid off when the Wisconsin Offensive Player of the Year signed with the Fighting Hawks.
In the winter of 2026, Kaminski and Freund had the tables turned on the recruiting relationship.
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Quickly after last New Year, UND 2025 offensive coordinator Isaac Fruechte left Grand Forks to take an assistant coaching job at his alma mater, the University of Minnesota.
Eric Schmidt, who had recently finished his first season as head coach at UND, called his returning starting quarterback and talked about Freund, who had left Grand Forks two years prior and spent one year each at South Dakota State and Washington State.
"I got the news, and I was disappointed because I had a great relationship with Coach Fruechte," Kaminski said. "Then I got on the phone with Coach Schmidt, and he talked a little bit about how would I feel if we brought Coach Freund back. I mean, right away, we were both like: 'Let's do it. That's our guy.'"
As the 2026 season opens at 7 p.m. Thursday against Long Island University at the Alerus Center, the Fighting Hawks' success rides heavily on the long-time relationship of Kaminski and Freund.
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"I think that was a big reason for Jerry and his family as far as having comfort as to: my next season is going to be important," Schmidt said. "They're all important, but when you're starting to hear about the last two years of eligibility, I think you find out that time is not your friend, and you want to make sure that you're going to put yourself in the most advantageous position possible in order to be successful."
Freund left UND as Kaminski was just getting his feet wet as a college football player. He returns with Kaminski coming off a strong Year 1 debut, entering the 2026 season with high expectations. Kaminski's offseason was highlighted by winning the skills competition at the prestigious Manning Passing Academy.
"I think the biggest jump guys can make at quarterback is Year 1 to Year 2," Freund said. "When you know you're the guy and you have confidence that, hey, I'm the leader of this team."
Kaminski and Freund have dove into the film from last season, searching for more answers to Kaminski's strong start but subpar finish. In 2025, Kaminski completed 223-of-382 passes for 2,570 yards and 26 touchdowns while adding 607 rushing yards and eight scores on 133 carries. He accounted for 34 total touchdowns on the season and his 25 regular-season passing touchdowns established a program record.
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Kaminski started the year with 18 touchdowns to one interception but sputtered down the stretch with four touchdowns to 10 interceptions in the final six games of the season — a stretch that was also impacted by a pair of injuries to Kaminski.
"There's just so much stuff on film from last year that we've talked about and studied, and it's situational football," Freund said. "It's knowing, hey, when can I use my feet here or how do I make a cut ... just kind of putting him in the mindset of how I call plays and what I'm thinking here."
Kaminski and Freund can relate to one another. Freund, too, was a play-making quarterback out of Wisconsin who starred at UND. Kaminski's single-season touchdown record at UND was previously held by Freund, who led UND in the final stages of the program's Division II era in the mid 2000's.
"I think there's definitely a comfort level in those guys understanding that Coach Freund has played that position, and you know he's not going to ask you to do anything that he wouldn't ask himself to do," Schmidt said. "He's going to try to find enough simple things — easy buttons, so to speak — to try to get you involved in the game, try to get you started in the game, so that you can get into a rhythm. I think that's really crucial to our offense growing here."
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The Kaminski-Freund relationship snapped right back to its origins — but with both parties carrying over a more seasoned background.
"It's interesting because he came back, and I mean we're still the same people," Kaminski said. "I mean we've both changed and grown over the last couple of years, but I think for the better. It was fun to get together, catch up and then talk a little bit of ball, see how much we really have grown over the past couple of years. We were pretty much right back to normal. We had a great relationship off the rip."
Schmidt and Freund have spent the offseason talking about the need to make the offense more explosive. That vision starts at quarterback and Freund believes Kaminski has the tools to excel.
"The great players want to be coached hard ... they want the details and want the why," Freund said. "His ceiling is high, and I don't even think he's close to where he could be as a quarterback. I think there's some things athletically that he can do outside the pocket better. I think there are some things with his mechanics and footwork that we're cleaning up, and then I just think it's the confidence and belief in the plays we're calling and the players that are out there with him that are going to lead us to where we want to go."
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Kaminski said players are drawn to Freund's infectious energy.
"I think it's just his confidence and swag," Kaminski said. "He's not afraid to push the ball down the field, take shots, give us freedom at the line of scrimmage to check plays. It's really been fun this spring and fall throwing the ball down the field, then we're going to be hard-nosed, too, get the ball downhill."
