Former North Dakota quarterback Danny Freund is heading into his 13th season on his alma mater’s coaching staff in 2023, entering his first year as the associate head coach and fifth season as the offensive coordinator.
Coach Freund has a wide range of experience, not only serving as the offensive coordinator but also spending time with the wide receivers (2014-18), quarterbacks (2013) and running backs (2011-12). During his time as the offensive coordinator, the Fighting Hawks have reached the FCS Playoffs three out of the last four seasons.
The 2022 season was a successful year for UND quarterbacks, with the group successfully completing 67.1 percent of their passes to rank No. 11 nationally and No. 2 in the MVFC in completion percentage. The Fighting Hawks were also efficient in the red zone, scoring 91.5 percent of the time, a mark which sat No. 6 in the country. UND also successfully chewed up the clock in 2022, averaging 33:23 minutes of offense per game to lead the MVFC and rank No. 8 in the FCS.
The success of the quarterbacks was highlighted by Tommy Schuster, who completed 68.8 percent of his passes to sit No. 2 in the conference and No. 8 in the nation. Schuster also averaged 20.92 completions per game and cemented his place in UND history as the all-time record holder for passing yards in a career, all-time completions and Division I touchdown passes thrown. At the end of the 2022 season, Schuster was 15 touchdown passes away from breaking the all-time record. In the year alone, Schuster went 251-for-365 passing for 2,730 yards and 20 touchdowns while only throwing five interceptions. He has averaged 20-or-more completions per game in each of the past two seasons.
Freund coached his first 1,000-yard rusher in a single season in 2022 with Tyler Hoosman, who piled up 1,023 yards to rank No. 3 in UND’s Division I history. The Northern Iowa transfer had six 100-yard rushing games, including a season-high 147 yards in the 48-31 win on Homecoming over No. 7 Missouri State.
In 2021, Freund’s offense leaned on his all-conference quarterback Schuster’s efficiency. The redshirt sophomore QB finished No. 9 in the nation and No. 1 in the MVFC with a completion percentage of 65.5, while throwing for nearly 2,500 passing yards and 13 touchdowns. Schuster wasn’t alone in throwing the ball; however, as Quincy Vaughn saw an elevated role in the passing attack.
Running the ball was also a focus for the Fighting Hawks, with Otis Weah, Isaiah Smith, Luke Skokna and Gaven Ziebarth leading a running-by-committee attack. The group combined to finish in the top-5 in the conference with 163 yards per game and saw three different backs record 100-yard rushing games.
With a new quarterback, running back and with only one wide receiver returning entering 2020-21, Freund once again saw improvements in scoring offense, total offense and a rushing attack that led UND to the FCS quarterfinals for the first time in program history.
Redshirt sophomore running back Weah was dynamic in his first season as the team's leading rusher, earning an All-America nod by five-different publications, finishing as the league's runner-up as offensive player of the year, and sixth in the Walter Payton Award for the nation's top offensive player.
Quarterback Schuster took over as the signal caller for the Fighting Hawks as a redshirt freshman and won his first four starts, three over ranked foes, and helped UND etch its first FCS playoff win in program history over No. 12 Missouri State. Schuster tossed for over 1,400 yards and 10 touchdowns in seven games, completing over 65 percent of his passes to earn a runner-up nod for both the league's freshman and newcomer of the year. The rookie hurler also finished tied for sixth for the Jerry Rice Award, presented to the nation's top freshman.
In his first season as an offensive coordinator, UND reached new heights in the passing game under Freund and his offense. The Fighting Hawks broke several program passing records at the Division I level, with Nate Ketteringham under center and standout wide receivers Noah Wanzek and Travis Toivonen.
2018 was a strong year for the UND wide receiving corps, as the Hawks topped the previous season’s best in catches (159), yards (1,846), and touchdowns (16). Wanzek continued to assert himself as one of the top wideouts in the FCS by leading the team in catches (52), yards (685), and TDs (6). Freshman Garett Maag also burst onto the scene with 18 grabs, 266 yards, and five scores.
In 2017, UND’s passing attack put up its best numbers during the Schweigert era with Freund’s top three wideouts combining for 118 catches, 1,564 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. Wanzek topped the team in catches (52), receiving yards (648) and touchdowns (5).
Freund’s 2016 “Jets” were an integral part of a 9-3 team that earned the program’s first FCS Playoff berth and earned a share of the Big Sky Championship. Toivonen provided an immediate impact and was the team’s top pass catcher, hauling in 39 receptions for 433 yards.
FBS transfer De’mun Mercer emerged as the team’s top deep threat, averaging 19.8 ypc and leading the team with 553 receiving yards and four touchdowns. He registered a pair of 100-yard receiving games to close out the season.
In 2015, the wideouts helped balance out an offense that increased its production remarkably from the previous season. Redshirt freshman Luke Stanley emerged as the team’s top pass-catching threat, sharing the team lead with 26 receptions, while leading the group in yardage (312) and touchdowns (5). Junior Josh Seibel was also productive for his second-straight season under Freund, equaling Stanley with 26 catches.
Junior Clive Georges provided the first 100-yard receiving game in two seasons when he capped the year with a six-catch, 150-yard performance in the win at Cal Poly.
In his first season working with the wide receivers, Freund turned Seibel, who is a former defensive back, into the team’s leading receiver in 2014. Seibel went catchless through the first six games of the season but finished the campaign with a team-high 25 receptions. Seibel filled in admirably for senior R.J. McGill, who was lost for the season after catching 23 passes through seven games.
As the quarterback's coach in 2013, Freund’s year was highlighted by the efforts of redshirt freshman Ryan Bartels, who broke UND freshman records for single-game completions (39), passing yards (367) and passing touchdowns (4) at Northern Arizona.
In 2012 as the running backs coach, senior Mitch Sutton was one of the top touchdown producers at running back in the Big Sky. His 11 touchdowns ranked fourth among league running backs. Sutton (467) shared the work load with sophomore Jake Miller (543) and the two combined to rush for more than 1,000 yards.
In 2011, sophomore Jake Miller earned All-Great West Conference first team honors and became the first player in league history to earn three consecutive GWC Offensive Player of the Week accolades. Miller finished the campaign with 942 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns, which both ranked second among GWC backs.
Freund’s rushers averaged nearly 150 yards per game on the ground, accounting for more than 1,500 yards. Miller and junior Sutton combined for five 100-yard rushing efforts and the ground attack churned out a season-high six rushing scores vs. Black Hills State.
Miller burst onto the scene at FBS foe Fresno State when he rushed for 145 yards and three scores, including a 70-yard touchdown run. He added a season-high 32 carries for 161 yards and two touchdowns in a GWC road win at Southern Utah.
As a player, Freund went 16-6 as a two-year starter for the Fighting Sioux, finishing his career as the program’s most accurate passer. His 68.9 career completion percentage still tops the charts and he also owns the top single-season completion mark of 71.9 that he set as a senior in 2008. He threw for 5,239 yards and 47 touchdowns, which both rank third on the all-time career lists at UND.
Freund returned to Grand Forks after spending the 2010 season as the quarterbacks coach at Carthage College in his hometown of Kenosha, Wis. At Carthage, Freund coached Red Men quarterback Evan Jones, who earned first team all-conference and CCIW Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2010.
In his first year out of college, Freund returned to his high school alma mater and served as the quarterbacks coach on his father’s staff at Kenosha St. Joseph.
As a prep athlete playing for his father, Bob, Freund earned Associated Press and Wisconsin Football Coaches’ Association first team all-state honors as a senior and holds the state’s single season record for touchdown passes (40).
Freund earned a banking and financial economics degree from UND in 2008 and completed his master’s degree in educational leadership in the spring of 2013. The summer of 2013, he worked as a camp instructor at the prestigious Manning Passing Academy. He was a two-time All-Academic honoree (2007, NCC; and 2008, Great West) during his college days and was named to the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Hampshire Honor Society as a senior.
Freund and his wife, Ann, have two daughters, Jossy and Jillian, and son, Tucker.
