Bohl, Walker receive high honors from Great West
Craig Bohl and Steve Walker both entered the NDSU football program in 2003.
Four years later, the two have definitely made their mark.
Walker, a junior quarterback, and head coach Bohl were each honored by the Great West Football Conference for guiding the Bison to a 10-1 record, with the only loss coming to Big Ten Conference member University of Minnesota by one point.
Bohl was named GWFC Coach of the Year, leading the Bison to a 4-0 record and the first conference title since 1994, when NDSU competed in Division II.
The GWFC was very competitive this season and was rated the top conference in Division I-AA.
The league named Walker Offensive Player of the Year.
Walker completed 64 percent of his passes en route to throwing for 2,220 yards.
The most remarkable aspect of Walker’s season was his ability to convert on third downs.
Walker converted 54 percent of third downs, good enough to be ranked fourth nationally.
Despite many big games throughout the season, Walker’s defining moment came in NDSU’s win over Ball State.
Walker torched the Ball State defense with 451 yards passing and led NDSU to the win over the Division I-A team.
In the contest, Walker topped school records in completions, pass attempts and passing yards.
In NDSU’s only loss, Walker impressed Minnesota coach Glen Mason so much that the coach spent the majority of the postgame press conference praising the quarterback.
“ They have a really good quarterback,” Mason said. “He is tough, he makes plays and he runs that offense. He is the glue that keeps them together and it was fun competing against him.”
NDSU also had eight players named to the All-GWFC team. Joining Walker on the First Team Offense was offensive lineman Nate Safe and running back Kyle Steffes.
After shutting down opponents rushing offense the entire season, defensive lineman Justin Frick, linebacker Joe Mays and defensive back Craig Dahl were all named to the First Team Defense.
Bison punter Mike Dragosavich was also a First Team selection and wide receiver Travis White was an honorable mention.