Shawn Kostich is coming into his 12th season with UND football in 2025 as the special teams coordinator. As part of Coach Schmidt's staff, Kostich will be moving to the defensive side of the ball and coach the nickels, after previously serving as a coach for the tight ends and fullbacks.
In 2024, kicker C.J. Elrichs gained honorable mention All-MVFC accolades and led the conference in field goals made per game (1.2). Return specialist Sawyer Seidl earned MVFC All-Newcomer status and ranked No. 6 nationally and led the league in yards per kick return (28.5), while also ranking No. 4 in the conference in combined kick return yardage (484).
Fullback/tight end Jaden Norby also received Second Team All-MVFC honors and his blocking helped the Fighting Hawks rank No. 13 in the FCS in red-zone scoring (89.6 percent). His blocking also helped NoDak put up over 400 yards of offense three times, highlighted by 601 yards in the 72-35 win over Murray State.
The Fighting Hawks had stellar season returning the ball in 2023, ending the season ranked No. 1 in the FCS in kick return yardage and averaging 27.83 yards per kickoff return. North Dakota’s outstanding return average was highlighted by Luke Skokna’s 100-yard opening kickoff return for touchdown in the 49-24 win over No. 6 North Dakota State and Red Wilson’s 99-yard opening kickoff return for a score at No. 6 South Dakota. The kick return combination of Skokna, Wilson and C.J. Siegel averaged 31.40 yards per return as a group in 2023.
UND’s tight ends and fullbacks were also instrumental in North Dakota’s success in 2023, with their blocking helping the Hawks rank No. 2 in the MVFC and No. 3 nationally in completion percentage (70.3). Fighting Hawk quarterbacks also recorded the No. 14 passing efficiency rating (153.02) in the country and NoDak had the No. 17 red zone scoring offense in the nation, finding the end zone 87.8 percent of the time when reaching the red zone.
North Dakota flipped the field with special teams in 2022, ranking No. 3 nationally in punt returns (20.20 yards) and No. 7 in kickoff return yardage (20.20 yards). The Hawks were also spectacular when going after specialists, recording four blocked punts and a total of six blocked kicks to rank No. 3 and No. 5 in the nation, respectfully.
Siegel played a key role in the phenomenal field position, averaging 29.1 yards per kickoff return to sit No. 7 in the FCS in that category. He also tied for No. 12 nationally in blocked kicks with teammate Malachi McNeal, with both Hawks blocking two kicks on the season. Cole Davis and Marcus Vaughn-Jones each scored a touchdown off a blocked punt to finish the season tied for No. 12 in the FCS in punt return touchdowns.
UND specialists also stepped up in 2022, led by fifth-year punter Cade Peterson averaging 39.86 yards per punt and tallying 37 punts for 1,475 yards. He pinned teams inside their own 20 on 13 occasions and had six punts of over 50 yards, allowing just three returns on the season. At the end of the year, Peterson was a Campbell Trophy Semifinalist. Senior kicker Brady Stevens went a perfect 45-for-45 on extra point attempts, made 13 field goals and averaged 6.0 points per game to tie as the No. 8 point scorer in the MVFC. True freshman long snapper David Neuberger appeared in all 12 games and helped the Hawks successfully get off 39 punts for 1,550 yards and average 39.74 yards per punt.
North Dakota brought back its entire battery in 2021, with Adam Stage (kicker), Peterson (punter) and Ross Hinders (long snapper) all set to return for the season. An injury to Stage forced Stevens into the kicking duties, and the walk-on shined by hitting 5-of-7 field goals and averaging over 62 yards per kick-off and 35 touchbacks. Peterson put together his best season in a UND uniform with 40.4 yards per punt, only three touchbacks and 19 going inside the 20. He booted six punts over 50 yards, including a 57-yarder.
Tight end Adam Zavalney emerged as an elite receiving threat for the Fighting Hawks in 2021, hauling in 20 catches for 303 yards and four touchdowns. Those four scores were tied for second on the team and finished third among tight ends in the Missouri Valley.
Some shuffling occurred for the Fighting Hawks in 2020-21, as transfer Adam Stage took over the kicking duties. The senior nailed three of his four field goals on the season and converted 26-of-29 extra points. He split the kickoff duties with Stevens, teaming up to not allow a single touchdown return on the campaign. Kostich's coverage team once again provided some big moments on the season, blocking a pair of punts in wins over No. 3 South Dakota State and No. 12 Missouri State, with the block against the Bears going for a touchdown in the FCS playoffs. Peterson also converted a fake punt that led to a scoring drive in that upset win over the Jackrabbits.
Fullback Brett Finke and tight ends Adam Zavalney and Derek Paulson also made big plays in the passing game, as Finke hauled in the first score of the season in a win over No. 24 Southern Illinois and Paulson grabbing three of his six catches for first downs. Zavalney made his catches count as a redshirt freshman, matching the lead in touchdowns with three.
With his entire battery returned for the 2019 season, Kostich and his special teams unit saw a lot of improvement. Sophomore kicker Brady Leach nailed 12 field goals on the season, including a game-winner against No. 12 UC Davis, while also averaging over 60 yards per kickoff. The coverage team also had its moments, blocking a pair of punts for touchdowns, and not allowing a single TD return all season. Alex Cloyd came up with both blocked kicks, including the go-ahead score to defeat No. 9 Montana State.
Cloyd was also big in the passing game for the Hawks, hauling in 10 passes for 67 yards and three scores. The senior grabbed a pair of touchdowns, including the game-winner, in a road win at Cal Poly.
The 2018 campaign was one of the biggest challenges for Kostich, as he welcomed an entirely new battery to his special teams unit. Redshirt freshman kicker Brady Leach, true freshman punter Peterson, and true freshman long snapper Ross Hinders anchored the squad in 2018.
UND once again provided offense in the return game, accounting for a pair of scores in a near-upset over No. 4 Weber State. Evan Holm had a 90-yard kick return for a touchdown and the Hawks returned a blocked field goal the distance in the contest. The tight ends and fullbacks accounted for nearly 200 yards receiving and a pair of scores.
In 2017, senior Reid Taubenheim connected on 15 field goals and ended his UND career with 59 regular-season field goals, which are the second most in program history, and 60 for his career, which are the third most. Taubenheim earned the third All-Big Sky accolade of his career as well. Austin Dussold finished his two-year run as the team’s starting punter with the third-best overall average of 41.1 ypp in program history.
John Santiago combined for 970 return yards in 2017 en route to collecting All-America accolades as an all-purpose player. He averaged 18.5 yards per punt return and had four returns of 30-plus yards, including a 64-yarder for a touchdown in the road win at Portland State. Three of Kostich’s tight ends all scored a receiving touchdown on the season and accounted for 16 catches and 235 receiving yards.
Kostich’s special teams units served a major role during UND’s historic output in 2016 that saw the Fighting Hawks win a share of the Big Sky Championship and earn the program’s first FCS Playoff berth. Santiago tied the school-record with a 100-yard kickoff return in the win over Weber State and went on to earn numerous All-America honors as a return specialist.
Taubenheim returned to his all-conference form in 2016, earning All-Big Sky second team accolades. He matched his make total from his freshman season with 16 and his 45 career makes are tied for the fifth most field goals in UND history. Dussold’s punting average of 42.1 ypp was the sixth-best, single-season effort in program history.
His fullbacks and tight ends helped UND produce its second-straight season with more than 2,500 rushing yards.
The same was true in 2015 when his position groups contributed a great deal to that team’s success. UND won seven games for the first time since the 2011 season. Senior fullback Zach Adler was named to the All-Big Sky second team after catching 18 passes for 179 yards and three touchdowns and helping pave the way for a record-breaking ground game that amassed 2,645 yards.
Sophomore punter Mitch Meindel also earned second team All-Big Sky accolades after breaking a UND single-season record by averaging 44.5 ypp in 2015.
In his first season at UND, Kostich coached three of his players to All-Big Sky honors, including Taubenheim, who earned third-team honors after leading all FCS rookies with those 16 made field goals.
Taubenheim connected on 11 of his final 12 attempts during the season and hit a game-winner from 35 yards out with four seconds remaining to upset No. 22 Northern Arizona. Adler also had a productive season en route to honorable mention All-Big Sky honors as a tight end. He finished second on the team with 24 receptions and led the team with 265 receiving yards.
Adler and fullback Dwayne Pecosky, who also collected honorable mention honors, were key blockers for a run game that found its footing late in the season, averaging 170.0 ypg in the final five contests.
Kostich arrived in Grand Forks after a five-year stint that spanned two coaching staffs at Minnesota. In his first role as an offensive intern on head coach Tim Brewster’s staff, Kostich worked with the tight ends and broke down opponent’s defensive film from 2009-10.
When Jerry Kill took over as head coach, Kostich rejoined the staff as a defensive graduate assistant and worked primarily with the safeties for the past three seasons (2011-13). He was also the lead coach for the kickoff unit and coached individual positions on punt units, punt return units and kickoff return units.
His first coaching job after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology (2008) from Minnesota was at Breck High School where he worked with the wide receivers and defensive backs. Kostich also holds master’s degrees from Minnesota in applied kinesiology (2009) and exercise physiology (2015).
Kostich and his wife, Emily, were married in 2020.
