The UND coaching staff continues to identify who they want, pour everything into them, and gain their commitment.
They aren’t batting 1.000 but this is by far the best recruiting class UND has had in the D1 era.
It’s no joke that the bar has been raised on the recruiting trail by Coach Schmidt and his staff. Area coaches at the HS level have taken notice. MVFC coaches have taken notice. In the last ten days UND has gained commitments from five more athletes.
We’ll touch on all of them below:
Brainerd K Sawyer Riffle was at UND for the first Flagship Camp on June 12. The 6-1 205 senior-to-be showed up with an offer from Wayne St (NE) and a PWO offer from Western Illinois. He left with an offer from UND. He is the #1 ranked kicker in MN and the #41 ranked kicker in the country by Kohls’s Kicking. Kohl’s is long considered to be the top kicking evaluation in the country.
Want to know what’s cool? Go here and watch his kicking tape from Iowa State camp. The kid is making 48 yarders that hit the net behind the goalpost 10+ feet above the top of the uprights. This is a big leg, and word is at UND camp when he was kicking off it sounded like a shotgun. Kickoffs were being hammered through the back of the end zone. The aptly named My Riffle is a weapon.
It’s said of long-snappers that if you don’t know their name, they’re doing a great job. UND Sr long-snapper David Neuberger fits that perfectly. He’s now started every game for three years and has done an awesome job. Clarinda (IA) senior-to-be Sam Kline visited June 20-22, also liked what he saw, and made his commitment to UND. The LS job should be wide open in ’26 and Kline, ranked as the #16 LS in the country, would seem to be good position to slide right in.
Kline is a good sized kid at 6-3 210. He also earned an offer from Western Illinois. Rubio long-snapping ranks him as a “4.5 start” on a scale to 5. Very lofty ranking. It also notes that he moves well, which makes him a weapon on the punt team in getting down field with his speed. It Kline can come in and do the job that Neuberger has done for UND, this in an excellent addition at a position of need.
Mason Beaver is a highly recruited 6-2 282 defensive tackle from Kearney, MO. He also took an official visit to UND June 20-22. If Kearney, MO sounds familiar it’s because two of Mason’s teammates, LB Theo Grace and S Grant Noland, are on campus right now as Fr on the squad. He chose to commit to UND after his visit. Mason held offers from Lindenwood, SEMO, WIU, MO St, IL St, SIU, SDSU, UNI, and UT-Martin. Gaining his commitment is massive.
Not many HS DTs are ready to play at the DI level straight out of high school, but Mason’s physically there right now. You can watch his hudl tape here. The speed, explosiveness, strength, and relentless nature with which he plays pops off the screen. His wingspan is a difference maker. This is a young man who knows how to work and train. Kudos to Coach Schmidt and staff for gaining this young man’s commitment. He’ll be on the field and making a difference early in his career.
Everything that was written about Mason applies to his twin brother Isaac. Isaac Beaver is a little bigger, at 6-2-285. Same work ethic, same traits, same attributes. He does play outside off the edge more in HS, but at the college level is seen as more of an inside guy. Isaac earned offers from all those exact same schools and also North Dakota St. Isaac committed to UND shortly after his official visit as well. And his commitment is absolutely huge as well.
Isaac, just like Mason, will be an early contributor in a Hawks uniform. He’s of the size and strength needed for a DT right now, plays his tail off and his motor never stops running. You can watch his hudl tape here. Relentless, explosive, strength, and speed from the DL. His wingspan makes him bigger than he is as well. Don’t mean to gush and have unrealistic expectations but the Beaver brothers are excellent additions to Coach Maeva’s DT room. If fans weren’t excited enough already, the Beaver twins move the needle even more!
Attending UND’s Second Flagship Camp on June 19 was Seward, NE ATH Jack Vyhnalek. He had been on UND’s radar since Day 1 and they were hoping to see more. And they did at camp, as the 6-3 215 star left with an offer. The young man committed a few days later. He’s listed as an athlete because he may be a LB or a TE. Jack earned pervious offers from Yale and Air Force. An intelligent young man who gets it done on and off the field.
You can watch his hudl tape here. There is also a tape of his defensive highlights on hudl. Jack earned 2nd Team All Super State in NE (all classifications) which is a great honor. Very impressive as a pass catcher and playmaker with the ball in his hands. Good precise routes and shows the requisite speed to be a difference makes on that side of the ball. Defensively he could kind of roam free and make plays with his apeed, athleticism, and intelligence. The only question is where he’ll play!
That’s 18 commitments to the Class of 2026 for UND and it’s only June 26! What an impressive group of young men. Going head-to-head with many regional schools and winning many, man, many of those battles. So much fun seeing the strides being made on the recruiting trail. A list of commitments is below. And the fun thing is they may not quite be done yet……..
Class of 2026 Commitments
- QB Brooks Hendrickson 6-3 210 Mount Horeb, WI
- TE George Rohl 6-7 230 Ellsworth, WI
- OL Jackson Stein 6-7 290 Lake Mills, WI/Lakeside Lutheran
- Edge Brody Woods 6-5 230 Cold Spring, MN/ROCORI
- OL Brady Goihl 6-7 270 Melrose, MN
- OL Aiden Wunderlich 6-7 270 Casselton, ND/Central Cass
- S Ethan Headings 6-2 190 Iowa City, IA/Iowa City West
- Edge Blake Buhr 6-5 220 Sheboygan, WI/Sheboygan North
- RB Tyler Zdon 5-9 195 Fox Lake, IL/Grant
- LB Nate Appleget 6-3 215 Lincoln, NE/Lincoln Southeast
- NI Tavian White 6-0 180 Waukee, IA
- WR Marial Deng 6-5 190 Tokio, ND/Four Winds
- WR Delvin Cook JR 6-0 175 Dallas, TX/South Oak Cliff HS
- K Sawyer Riffle 6-1 205 Brainerd, MN
- LS Sam Kline 6-2 210 Clarinda, IA
- DT Mason Beaver 6-2 282 Kearney, MO
- DT Isaac Beaver 6-2 285 Kearney, MO
- ATH Jack Vyhnalek 6-3 215 Seward, NE
If UND is out of scholarships, we as fans can give to the 1883 Collective, and in-turn the football program can get “walk-ons” through that financial means. Everyone is doing it. The NCAA has scholarship limits, and if the Hawks are already at the scholarship limit a player can receive NIL money in place of said scholarship. Kind of a “6 of 1, half dozen of the other” situation in terms of the athletic aid.
We urge all alumni, fans, family, supporters, North Dakota residents, Minnesota residents, and every single person in the Northern Red River Valley to get involved with the 1883 Collective! Go to their website and contribute to the cause please! Any amount is great. If you can afford to give $1, please consider doing so. If you can afford to give $1000 per month, please do so. It’s the new way of the college athletics world.
Jonathan Holth and Matt Bonzer do an amazing job donating their time and energy to the cause. And that cause it singular – Make the University of North Dakota Athletics Great! Please consider donating to the 1883 Collective today!