VALLEY CITY, ND  (NewsDakota.com)  As the Vikings take the field for their 2025 debut, head coach Dennis McCulloch will be watching for a couple of particular developments Thursday.

The Vikings are expected to be strong at linebacker and wide receiver, but they took damage in the running back department during the fall camp, and are looking for development in their offensive line unit, a unit that struggled a year ago.

“We have to be better there, at o-line,” McCulloch said.  “It’s not always a scheme thing.  At some point, you’re going to be one-on-one and we have to be better than their guy.”

The Vikings have been without their top two running backs during camp, but hope to get Devyne Pearson back at some point this year.  Laggarius Marshell, a top-level runner that was impressive in limited time last year has been lost for the season.  But Ka’ua Nishigaya and Marty Gohn, both with experience, return.

Familiar names return for Division II transfer quarterback Joey Cave to throw to.  Jake Deutsch, Dominic Sotomayor, and Exavian Westbrook all return in the three receiver spots.

“We’re as good in our top-seven as we’ve been for a long time, and we could go beyond the top seven,” says McCulloch.  “It still comes down to buying a little time and letting those guys get open, and they can do some special things.”

Dickinson State was not an ideal first opponent for the Vikings, according to McCulloch.  He says the game was more about “doing what is best for the conference” referring to the new affiliation with the Frontier Conference.  He says the Vikings would not have chosen to play Dickinson State twice, one a non-league game, in a perfect world, but it was “about getting Dickinson State all of their games.”

You can take in the entire pregame interview below.  KOVC will have coverage of the Vikings at Dickinson Stat tonight at 6:15 PM.