Having already succeeded in making the move from tight end to right tackle two years earlier, Sebastian Gutierrez was confident flipping over to left tackle would have a similar result.
But then Minot State, a Division II school in northwest North Dakota, traveled to play at Augustana (S.D.) College in the 2021 season opener. All those practice reps during the 2020 season, when the Beavers’ season was cancelled by coronavirus? It didn’t compare.
“I’ll tell you what, the first game was definitely a struggle,” Gutierrez said in a phone interview talking about the 49-0 loss. “But after that, I think I was decent.