What a last few week it’s been! In addition to the UNDFootball360 twitter account being hacked, the Fighting Hawks received 5 commitments in a matter of days!
Using the last two years as a baseline, you can see a trend developing as to when these commits come in and it makes this an even more fun time of year!
The staff does their homework and offers a lot of these prospects after the New Year (if the kid hasn’t previously been offered). They pour into them, do school visits, watch them work out, have dozens of calls and zooms with each kid, and try to relay everything possible about the University of North Dakota. That timetable and hard work paid off the last 2 years at a similar time, with commitments coming in at a regular pace.
The Hawks now have 7 commitments for their Class of 2027. Let’s dig into the newest future Hawks:
S Brady Lee – 6-2 195 from La Crosse, WI and Aquinas HS
Other offers – North Dakota St, South Dakota St
Brady Lee is a highly sought after athlete from La Crosse, WI. Given that Coach Wilkerson is his recruiting coach, it’s safe to say that he’s projected as a safety. He’s a kid who has been to Grand Forks a number of times already, did a few gameday visits here last fall, and has visited a lot of different schools. Clearly did his homework in finding his best fit. Credit to the kid for being this diligent.
Tank did a great interview with him last week and you can listen to it here. Julio Gonzalez, Jr with SI did a story on Lee’s commitment, and you can read it here. Tom Miller of the Grand Forks Herald did a story on his commitment, and you can read it here. A lot of good content out there for a talented kid.
You can watch his Hudl Jr highlight tape here. A tall, athletic safety with ball skills is what every team covets. Let him sit back, read the offense, and make plays. Shows the ability to play downhill and in coverage. Is an FCS level WR also. Lee is a kid who you’d expect to contribute, at worst, on special teams as a true Fr. The new Fr clock rules make that all the more likely. You’re going to have your best athletes on the field more often regardless of class. That rule makes the game more exciting and for players like Lee to have a larger role early. Congrats to Mr Lee on his decision and looking forward to seeing him as a Hawk!
CB Jonah Cummings – 6-0 180 from Minnetonka, MN
Other offers – Northern Iowa and Cornell
Minnetonka HS QB Caden Gutzmer committed to UND a few weeks ago, and not long after his teammate, CB Jonah Cummings, did the same. As if the North Dakota pride isn’t high enough at Minnetonka HS already with the presence of the legendary baseball coach and pride of Hatton, Paul Twenge! The well got a little bit deeper there. Minnetonka has been producing a lot of talented kids.
You can watch his Hudl Jr highlight tape here. Good out of the backpedal and fluid, easy hips. Nice size for a CB at 6-0. Show some physicality. Also shows some at safety in his highlights which is a good thing to have. See things from a different perspective, different reads, and making things happen a different way. An exciting commitment and will be a good player as he learns and grows.
CB Carson Wilson – 5-11 175 from Garland, TX and Lakeview Centennial HS
Other offers – East Texas A&M, Texas Southern, Jackson St, UTEP, Arkansas St, Sacramento St, UTSA
Coach Schmidt made it known the team needs more speed, and last year the Hawks dipped into TX and FL for that reason. This year is no different, as CB Carson Wilson of Lakeview Centennial HS in Garland, TX has committed to the Hawks. Similar to Brady Lee, Wilson has made many visits in helping him find his best fit. He was at UND 2 weeks ago. For a lot of athletes, the step up in competition from the HS level to college is a huge jump. Wilson is a kid who has played with and against excellent competition, making his jump up in competition not as massive.
You can watch his Hudl Jr highlight tape here. Wilson’s physicality jumps out on film. Uses his hands and body well in coverage to disrupt. Within the rules of course! Shows he’s used near the line in blitz packages. Coming from a more competitive environment where football is king over everything, he’ll be ahead of the typical Fr from the North given his experience. Wouldn’t be a surprise to see Wilson on the field early for the Hawks. This is a fantastic early commitment for Coach Stepps and his CB room.
LB Andrew McGee – 6-3 225 from Shakopee, MN
Other offers – Central Michigan, North Dakota St, Northern Iowa, South Dakota
As we previously noted, this is expected to be a lighter year in recruiting linebackers for UND. They are adding 3 true Fr this fall, and going from a 3-4 to a 4-2 simply means the LB room will be nearly cut in half. Shakopee LB Andrew McGee visited again last weekend and jumped at the opportunity to fill one of those LB commitment spots. Shakopee has produced excellent talent the last few years and McGee can be added to that list. It just so happens he has a good connection at UND already, as his cousin is Jr edge Braden Mohr.
Julio Gonzales, Jr with SI did a great article on McGee the other day that you can read here. McGee notes that UND was his first offer and that holds weight with him. A credit, once again, to the UND staff in their early evaluation. On3 ranks Mcgee as a 3 star recruit and the #17 player in the MN class of ’27.
You can watch his Hudl Jr highlight tape here. A fun film to watch because he does such a great job getting downhill and/or reading the run game or in coverage. Good looking kid who is nearly maxed out physically right now. Similar to the Beaver twins, the DTs who will be at UND in a few months, in that he has the requisite size and strength already that he won’t be looking to add much more good weight. Intriguing thing about McGee is that if he does end up gaining more mass he can slide right in at edge. A great prospect to add to Coach Watkins growing, and very talented, LB room!
TE Marlowe Strain – 6-4 230 from Hastings, MN
Other offers – South Dakota
It’s been noted how improved the UND TE room is in such a relatively short period of time. Last summer, Hastings, MN TE Marlowe Strain attended camp at UND and the word is that he made a lot of noise. Strain earned an offer from the Hawks, and pulled the trigger on his commitment last weekend. Strain’s teammate, RB Zach Shatek, also earned a UND offer and has committed to South Dakota St.
You can watch his Hudl So highlight tape here. Strain had an ACL injury and missed majority of his Jr year. Hard to get a great eval on his So tape but there are some things that stick out. He’s known as a very physical player, who plays with an edge, and also brings plus speed to the table. He’ll be a weapon in both the running and passing game. For a kid to earn an offer despite his injury, that’s a tell-tale sign of his ability. Coach Haug has a great addition to his growing and improving TE room.
So what’s next for the Hawks and the Class of 2027? They still need their RB in this class. They will still be taking another edge, linebacker, tight end, and there are a handful of kids sitting on offers who are hopefully nearing a decision. Many who have been on campus very recently.
We haven’t gotten an offensive lineman commitment yet, and again and number of offers have been made. A lot of them have been on campus recently. Wouldn’t be surprising to learn of a few OL commitments soon.
Stil looking to add WRs to this class, and a few new offers have been made recently. Same thing can be said about DT.
With 7 commits thus far, in what will likely be a smaller class than last year, UND is off to a fantastic start. Need to keep the momentum going on the recruiting trail and keep pouring into these kids.
And that’s where we, as fans and alumni, come into play. NIL is everything in today’s college athletics landscape, and we all need to do our part. If it’s $5 per month, that’s fantastic! If it’s $100 per month, that’s great! If it’s $1000 per month, that’s awesome! The bottom line is the more, the better.
We urge all fans to get involved with 1883 Sports (formerly 1883 Collective) please! You can visit their website here. They do a fantastic job and you won’t be sorry.
Also, you can get involved with the 701 Award please! You can visit their website here.
Please get involved and help UND keep pushing the envelope, attracting new and better talent, and reaching levels within FCS we haven’t yet.
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Go Hawks!