Bison head coach says disciplinary decision was “crystal clear” – InForum

FARGO — North Dakota State head coach Tim Polasek said Tuesday his program is policy-based and disciplining former backup linebacker Jaiden Pickett was an easy decision, albeit under difficult circumstances. Pickett was dismissed from the team Monday after being accused of three serious crimes at a party in North Fargo early Sunday morning.

These included stealing a gun and shooting at a house.

“This has not been easy, it has been a very, very tough couple of days,” Polasek said. “But our staff is busy with football right now and I'm taking the burden of distracting myself. I'm going to catch up. I thought that was pretty clear given the facts that were presented to us. If there's a firearm involved, we should look at the facts and move on.”

Polasek said the first thing he did when faced with disciplinary action was to adhere to a code of conduct established by the university.

Other NDSU student-athletes were also involved in the incident, but Polasek said there was no indication that anyone else would face charges.

“I'm trying to get in touch with our young people and some people to educate them,” he said. “That's what our team meeting was about yesterday. That's what happened and so we're going to use it as an educational platform for our young people so they know what not to do. I'm open to listening to that and hearing about it, but I'd rather move on sooner rather than later, but we'll be diligently gathering more information.”

Polasek opened his weekly press conference in NDSU's team room at the Fargodome by explaining the situation before talking about East Tennessee State, an away game Saturday in Johnson City, Tennessee.

“The only yardstick I can use to determine whether this thing becomes a distraction or not is our preparation and training,” he said.

That started with a practice Monday night, where Polasek said he and the other coaches tried to connect with the players during pre-practice stretches.

“We have soccer practice here, we have to lock ourselves in during meetings and we have to lock ourselves in on the soccer field and last night was an A-plus,” he said. “So far, so good.”

It was a change of heart after his first win as head coach, a 52-3 loss to Tennessee State on Saturday at the Fargodome. Polasek thanked the Fargo Police Department for their communication and diligence in the case.

“The young man made a huge, huge mistake. He's got to lean on his faith and the people he's built relationships with to be able to recover from this,” he said. “It was really sad at first. On the other hand, I'm really thankful – I've been praying – that no one else in this great community was hurt. You struggle with the emotions, but I have to lead this football team and that's what I'm focused on right now.”

The Bison will travel to an East Tennessee State team that is 1-1 but has not played an opponent at the FCS level. The Buccaneers lost 38-10 to FBS Appalachian State and defeated Division II Virginia Wise 61-0 last Saturday.

Three Bison players are questionable or likely to recover from injuries. Starting linebacker Logan Kopp was back at practice on Monday and middle linebacker Nick Kubitz will likely play for East Tennessee.

Receiver RaJa Nelson's status has improved. Previously, there were fears that he would be out for an extended period of time due to a sports hernia, but the fact that his participation is now questionable is a sign of progress.

“He's feeling better,” Polasek said. “It's good news for him that he's not out for the season yet.”

Jeff would like to dispel the notion that he was around when Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, but he has been a reporter for Forum Communications for three decades. The son of a reporter and an English teacher, and brother of a reporter, Jeff has worked for the Jamestown Sun, Bismarck Tribune and, since 1990, The Forum, where he has covered North Dakota State athletics since 1995.
Jeff has covered all nine of NDSU's Division I FCS national football titles and has written three books: “Horns Up,” “North Dakota Tough” and “Covid Kids.” He is the radio host of “The Golf Show with Jeff Kolpack” from April through August.