With reality setting in that most all of college football will be shut down for the fall, it’s natural to turn the focus to recruiting.  We all need some good news and commitments provide just that.

Thunder Lake Lodge

The Hawks got their third commitment to the defensive side of the ball when Casey Schultz of Caledonia, MN gave his pledge last week.  Schultz is the 10th overall commit to the 2021 class and the fourth from Minnesota.

Schultz, 6’4″-230, comes to UND from the same high school as former Hawks DE Zeke Ott.  Interestingly, Schultz plays very much in the same way as Ott, which Hawks fans should be excited about.

The Caledonia Warriors are a Minnesota football powerhouse, having won five straight state championships. Last season Schultz notched 46 tackles and two sacks but per a recent Lacrosse Tribune story, head coach Carl Fruechte believes his best days are ahead of him.

Casey Schultz saw double-team after double-team last year as a junior on the Caledonia High School football team, but the 6-foot-4, 230-pound defensive end still created havoc in opposing backfields.

That’s one reason Warriors coach Carl Fruechte is excited to see what Schultz can accomplish at the University of North Dakota.

“To me, it’s going to be pretty neat to see him in college,” Fruechte said. “He’s going to be given a lot of one-on-one opportunities.

“… His best days of football are ahead of him. I think he’s going to be a dynamic college football player.”

Schultz is a natural fit at defensive end in the Hawks 3-4 scheme.  He has an explosive get-off at snap and changes directions well.  Appears to use his hands and arm length well to keep blockers at length and be able to adjust to the ball carrier.  Schultz played defensive end and outside linebacker for the Warriors, showing his athleticism.  Speaking of which, Schultz was also a starter on Caledonia’s 28-1 basketball team.

As I have said previously, I expect a few more commitments to be coming down the pike now that football has been cancelled at the high school and college level.  There really isn’t much to sit around and wait for it a player cannot show anything with new game tape.

 

Cover Photo courtesy of Dugan Thomas. http://duganthomas.com/