Oct. 17—GRAND FORKS — At Monday's practice, UND head coach Eric Schmidt and offensive coordinator Danny Freund checked in on the players recovering from injuries.
Senior quarterback Jerry Kaminski had hurt his ankle in the second half of the Fighting Hawks' loss to Northern Iowa, spending the fourth quarter on crutches and in a boot.
Two days later, the injury still didn't look great.
"Javance (Tupou'ata-Johnson) needs to be ready to go here," Schmidt told Freund after he saw Kaminski's foot.
Tupou'ata-Johnson took snaps as the presumptive starter at practice.
Kaminski, however, had other plans.
He spent more than 20 hours in the training room throughout the week, working to reduce swelling and improve mobility. Before Saturday's home game against No. 1 South Dakota State, Kaminski was told he and the coaching staff would decide after warmups whether he could play.
"These are the games that you dream about playing," Kaminski said. "I was going to do everything I could to get out there, just do everything I could. ... I knew once I got out there, there was no chance they were going to hold me back, unless something happened in the game. I was going to give it my all."
Tupou'ata-Johnson played a handful of snaps, but it was Kaminski who started and played a majority of the game.
"Jerry is a soldier," junior running back Matt Lawson said. "Ever since I got here, I just saw it in his eyes. He's down to do whatever for the team. So when he came back, I'm like, yeah, that's that QB grit, that's our quarterback, man, let's go. We're gonna ride for you, you're riding for us."
Kaminski completed 10 of 16 passes for 116 yards and two touchdowns against the Jackrabbits to help complete a 21-10 upset at the Alerus Center.
"What Jerry Kaminski did this week — I remember Keaton Studsrud did it way back in maybe '16," Schmidt said, "maybe a guy or two at Washington. ... That kid just went to work all week long and just refused to believe that he wasn't going to be playing.
"I give a lot of credit to Jeremy (Glaser) and David (Allard) and Brandon (Tetrault) and all of our (athletic trainers), they got after it Sunday. Chiropractors are in there, nutrition people, everybody trying to figure out a way to get in there. I just feel like with him suiting up today, and (Lance) Rucker being out there, it brought some relief and confidence to the rest of the guys out there as well. It was just incredible, honestly, to be able to see how he fought through what he had and found a way to get on the field and help our football team win. I absolutely love that kid, man. He's awesome."
Kaminski was instrumental in building UND's early 21-0 lead. Late in the first quarter, he found sophomore wide receiver Cameron Weir down the seam for a 35-yard touchdown.
After sophomore running back Charles Langama's 49-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, Kaminski finished the Hawks' next drive. He connected with junior wide receiver Deng Deng for a 12-yard touchdown, extending UND's lead to 21-0.
"It was typical Jerry," Schmidt said. "Jerry is one of the most competitive guys on our team. When I go back to talking about the pressure I think that our guys felt, it wasn't him. He was not that. He's out there, like, 'Just give me the ball and I'll take care of it and I'll drive us down the field.' He did. There's certain guys that I've been around that are special, and what he did this week to get himself ready to play, it's up there as far as watching a guy just beat the odds, and to go out there and lead a football team, it's pretty cool, and it's pretty special."
Despite his limited mobility, Kaminski was sacked just once.
"Throughout the week, preparing if I am able to go, things are probably going to be a little different," Kaminski said. "But when you get out there, and it's like, yeah, you're not thinking about your ankles. What can I do to pick up the first down or move the sticks? What can I do to help the team? So I got out there and felt pretty good, and just was trying to do everything I could to put them in a spot to win."