Southern Utah wide receiver Tysson Poots torched the UND defense for three seasons, including last year's 210-yard, one-touchdown performance in a win over the Sioux at the Alerus Center.
Poots has graduated, but the Thunderbirds' passing game is just as worrisome.
That's because Brad Sorensen might be the best Division I Football Championship Subdivision quarterback the Sioux see all season when UND visits Cedar City, Utah, on Saturday for a 2 p.m. Great West Conference game against Southern Utah.
"Offensively, everything revolves around their quarterback," UND coach Chris Mussman said. "He does a good job of distributing the ball. He's tough to get to. He's very smart. He understands when to get rid of it, when to go down and when to throw it away."
Sorensen, a junior, transferred to Southern Utah from Brigham Young. As a sophomore, the 6-foot-5 quarterback passed for a school-record 3,163 yards and 21 touchdowns. He also finished with 413 yards against the Sioux a season ago.
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"We have to keep Sorensen off the field," Mussman said. "He'll make plays. He'll have his yards. We just have to limit the big plays and the ones that kill you -- like the ones that happened last year."
After falling behind 14-0 to UND last year, Sorensen picked apart UND's secondary in a 31-21 victory. Sorensen's favorite targets Poots and Fesi Sitake both graduated.
"Their two receivers aren't back, and those two are tough to replace," Mussman said. "But they still have a talented receiving corps. They want to throw the ball, so that's what we're up against."
Sorensen, who is on the Payton Award watch list, has thrown for 1,076 yards through four games. He's completing 66.9 percent of his passes. Sorensen's top target this year is Jared Ursua, who has 25 receptions for 341 yards and four touchdowns.
Sioux sophomore defensive back Chavon Mackey said UND is better equipped to deal with Sorensen this go around.
"This year we'll be a lot more experienced on defense," Mackey said. "We had lots of young guys playing last year. It was one of our early games. It helps this year that we've gotten that experience. I hope the result is different; that's for sure."
Unpredictability is the key to countering Sorensen, Mackey said.
"You have to try to play games with the quarterback," Mackey said. "You have to walk up or walk away ... show different disguises. That's something we have to prep for in film study."
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But Mackey knows the Sioux will have their hands full.
"He's accurate, and he steps up in the pocket real well," Mackey said. "He knows his checks, and he knows how to get his guys the ball."
Miller reports on sports. Reach him at (701) 780-1121; (800) 477-6572, ext. 121; or send e-mail to tmiller@gfherald.com .
Up next
Who: UND at Southern Utah.
When: 2 p.m., Saturday.
Radio: The Fox (96.1 FM).
Records: UND 2-2; Southern Utah 3-1.
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Of note: UND has never won a Great West Conference opener.
