Dec. 22—GRAND FORKS — Three young UND football players have been honored by the Phil Steele publication.
Ben Buxa, Tyler Erkman and Sawyer Seidl were selected to the Phil Steele FCS Freshman All-American Teams.
Buxa was named to the first team, while Erkman and Seidl were both named to the fourth team.
Buxa, a redshirt freshman from Lake Mills, Wis., started all 12 games at center.
Buxa, who slid in to a role vacated by 2023 freshman starting center Cade Borud and his transfer to Iowa, helped UND’s offense produce more than 400 yards three times, highlighted by 601 yards in a blowout win over Murray State.
Buxa helped UND rank No. 13 in the FCS in red-zone scoring (89.6 percent), No. 20 in time of possession (31:32), No. 21 in third down conversion percentage (45.6 percent) and No. 25 in rushing offense (186.9 yards per game).
Earlier this offseason, Buxa was named to the Missouri Valley Football Conference All-Newcomer Team.
Erkman, a redshirt freshman from Lake Zurich, Ill., started 11 games at safety. Erkman had two fumble recoveries, an interception and three pass breakups.
Erkman was sixth on the team in solo tackles (23) and eighth in total tackles (31.0).
Erkman was also MVFC Special Teams Player of the Week after blocking a punt against Murray State in late September.
Seidl, a redshirt freshman from Hugo, Minn., made the Phil Steele list is an all-purpose performer.
Seidl ranked No. 7 nationally and No. 2 in the MVFC in yards per kick return at 28.5.
Seidl ranked No. 9 in the MVFC in all-purpose yards per game with 92.7. He was No. 16 in rushing yards per game at 44.9 and led UND with 17 plays of 20-plus yards.
Seidl finished the season with 91 carries for 494 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 5.4 yards per carry.
Like Buxa, Seidl was also named to the all-MVFC Newcomer Team earlier this offseason.
The Fighting Hawks finished the season 5-7 in 2024, dropping five straight games to close the year.
After the season, veteran head coach Bubba Schweigert announced his intent to step down and transition into an athletics department role.
Earlier this month, UND announced former linebacker and defensive coordinator Eric Schmidt would be the next head coach in Grand Forks.
Schmidt has since announced he will be retaining offensive coordinator Isaac Fruechte, along with assistants Shawn Kostich, Trevor Olson, Travis Stepps and Donnell Kirkwood.
As the transfer portal portion of the college football calendar is underway, UND has seemingly done well.
The Hawks have four portal entries with no starters among them.
UND has also received two verbal commitments from the portal in defensive lineman Emmanuel Olagbaju of St. Thomas and B.J. Fleming, a wide receiver from Northern Arizona.
