2027 Recruiting

[UND Football Fan]

Looking at Isaiah Friese track (throwing) numbers (39-9 shot (Ethan Howie hit 58- and two time qualifier in disc)and 111- disc) he looks to be a project possibly a walk on. 

[UND1983]

Let’s remember that Fargo has 22 more scholarships now and more NIL money to give to a “walk-on”
 

I would certainly hope they could get some good recruits like they always have or they’re gonna be in trouble

[Hawkster]

40 minutes ago, UND1983 said:

Let’s remember that Fargo has 22 more scholarships now and more NIL money to give to a “walk-on”
 

I would certainly hope they could get some good recruits like they always have or they’re gonna be in trouble

With NDSU giving out 22 more scholarships shouldn't that be forcing them to settle for some lesser quality kids in order to fill the roster?  They seem to be getting all quality boys this time around which is most unfortunate.   

[jdub27]

1 hour ago, Hawkster said:

With NDSU giving out 22 more scholarships shouldn't that be forcing them to settle for some lesser quality kids in order to fill the roster?  They seem to be getting all quality boys this time around which is most unfortunate.   

Both teams have a scholarship and roster limit of 105 after opting into the house settlement.

Very few teams are giving out the entire 105, especially below the 4 level. Not sure what each team is actually giving. Have to imagine ndsu is giving out at least a few more though. 

One of those ones they got over UND, they called right after UND offered, asked the player to hold off on committing to UND and come to just one day of their three day camp. It is what it is.

[FSSD]

Can UND still offer partial and NDSU can only offer full or does that change with the opt in.

[Hawkster]

10 minutes ago, FSSD said:

Can UND still offer partial and NDSU can only offer full or does that change with the opt in.

[UND1983]

4 hours ago, Hawkster said:

With NDSU giving out 22 more scholarships shouldn't that be forcing them to settle for some lesser quality kids in order to fill the roster?  They seem to be getting all quality boys this time around which is most unfortunate.   

Look harder, that is not the case.  

[AJS]

16 hours ago, UND1983 said:

So now we all expect to get the high-end only?  The other schools have taken several average kids this class

True. Also, true that NDSU now has more scholarships, which does matter.

Let's bring SDSU back into this conversation, because they are still going toe to toe with NDSU with the same number of scholarships that UND has and you don't have to go back too far to when NDSU was also at 63 and had no problem out recruiting a lot of the G6. 

There are a lot of people that follow this closely as well, I would argue that both of the XDSU's also have more 10+ offer guys, 5+ offer guys. The guys that have 1 or 2 other FCS offers they do have but call it the average recruit ranking is definitely higher than UND. 

Goes without saying, any Schmidt class will be head and shoulders better than the best Bubba had to offer. Also thought last year's class was getting competitive with the XDSU's. NDSU just closes so well (for example). They'll have 6 spots left and fill it with 6 of the top players in the class. 

Let's talk 2027 class. I brought up my concerns with the O-Line for weeks. They needed to get the OV's started sooner and in a week essentially all of the original targets were off the board. SDSU and Western Michigan owned UND. You know you're in trouble when the original offers (all have highly competitive offers from other school) are off the board and they are replaced with UND only or a Pioneer, NSIC level competing offers. Prior to last Friday, you had an uptick in 1 v 1 commits. The 2027 class started hot and I would say outperforming 2026, but it's getting watered down. You need to stack classes and stack positional groups.

Let's see how they close. We could very well be having a different conversation in a couple of weeks. There are still 10+ high-end guys that have offers. Start to string a few of those together and things will start to trend in the right direction. 

 

 

[AJS]

Regarding Seil. I'm not sure NDSU is exactly throwing a parade for winning a recruiting battle with UND for an in-state kid whose first D1 offer was mid-June. Was this their Tabbert (Top 10 WI recruit who recently flipped to Wisconsin) replacement? 

 

Side note. I do appreciate how nobody anymore is pointing out individuals who were studs in college that were walk-ons or one offer guys out of high school. We've seen over the past decade how the XDSU's "average" recruit is and let's use that as the standard. The more recruits with more competitive offers the better. 

[AJS]

Last one from me for the day. The only positional group I feel the panic alarms have been sounded has been O-Line. I know they don't have an RB commit for example, but their original offers are all still uncommitted. Just went through the current offers. Budde would be the last of the "original" O-Line offers and would be huge. Hoping they are all-in for him. Reiersgaard who was just offered would be a solid #2 guy in the class. 

We'll see. Hope they can finish strong!

[jdub27]

I would be a little more concerned if they had not hit OL hard the last few years (and done very well in retention). Never a position you can have enough depth at, but there's currently 14 OL on the roster for next years roster before this signing day with 4 year seniors. Finding bodies to fill spots is fine to a degree, but if you miss out on top targets, refocus and get one or two extra next year.

[SiouxFan100]

I prefer good news 

 

[UNDBIZ]

1 hour ago, SiouxFan100 said:

I prefer good news 

 

3 more guys, who the coaches have seen in person, chose to join the team when their offers became committable.  Good news!

[UND-FB-FAN]

Most all of the guys who show up and perform at camp and commit to UND turn out to be very good players, whether it’s their first offer or 10th offer, don’t matter. 

The three commits UND got last week will be very good players for UND despite their offer status- they were under the radar but balled out in person at camp

this week on Thursday there will be some more top-tier guys that will join the squad and be key performers in the future for UND

its nice to have guys with several offers but the ones with minimal to no offers that come through the camps in-person are still very good 

[F'n Hawks]

5 minutes ago, UND-FB-FAN said:

Most all of the guys who show up and perform at camp and commit to UND turn out to be very good players, whether it’s their first offer or 10th offer, don’t matter. 

The three commits UND got last week will be very good players for UND despite their offer status- they were under the radar but balled out in person at camp

this week on Thursday there will be some more top-tier guys that will join the squad and be key performers in the future for UND

its nice to have guys with several offers but the ones with minimal to no offers that come through the camps in-person are still good 

Bo Belquist…

[forksandspoons]

 

[forksandspoons]

On 6/15/2026 at 9:14 AM, AJS said:

Last one from me for the day. The only positional group I feel the panic alarms have been sounded has been O-Line. I know they don't have an RB commit for example, but their original offers are all still uncommitted. Just went through the current offers. Budde would be the last of the "original" O-Line offers and would be huge. Hoping they are all-in for him. Reiersgaard who was just offered would be a solid #2 guy in the class. 

We'll see. Hope they can finish strong!

😈

 

[AJS]

There we go!

[F'n Hawks]

 

competing offers

[Sioux94]

Recruiting has been way better under Schmidt. Our facilities are great,  but you still have to win more on the field. NDSU and SDSU still have bigger name appeal than UND at this point. This takes a while, it's only Schmidt's 2nd year. Need start beating SDSU on the field and going deeper in the playoffs and that will come. Hoping this year we take another big step in the right direction!

[UND-FB-FAN]

7 hours ago, Sioux94 said:

Recruiting has been way better under Schmidt. Our facilities are great,  but you still have to win more on the field. NDSU and SDSU still have bigger name appeal than UND at this point. This takes a while, it's only Schmidt's 2nd year. Need start beating SDSU on the field and going deeper in the playoffs and that will come. Hoping this year we take another big step in the right direction!

The University of North Dakota has significantly better name recognition/appeal and programs than both ndsu and sdsu but those universities do in fact have better recent football success. It will all even out here quite soon. Everyone should have their tickets and travel plans set for 2026 UND football season, will be a very fun season.

[nd1sufan]

2 hours ago, UND-FB-FAN said:

The University of North Dakota has significantly better name recognition/appeal and programs than both ndsu and sdsu but those universities do in fact have better recent football success. It will all even out here quite soon. Everyone should have their tickets and travel plans set for 2026 UND football season, will be a very fun season.

If you think UND has better name recognition/appeal/brand than NDSU football I want what you are smoking. NDSU FB has a bigger brand than any FCS school by a mile and almost every G6 schools and several P4 schools. Ther is a reason Phil Steele put an NDSU player on his cover this year.

[siouxfan512]

55 minutes ago, nd1sufan said:

If you think UND has better name recognition/appeal/brand than NDSU football I want what you are smoking. NDSU FB has a bigger brand than any FCS school by a mile and almost every G6 schools and several P4 schools. Ther is a reason Phil Steele put an NDSU player on his cover this year.

Yeah, I can't disagree with this. NDSU is no Alabama or Georgia, but there is far more national recognition in the last 15 years than UND. Football Championships, Draft picks ... even March Madness appearances. UND will have its opportunity to make some noise, and I think Schmidt is doing far better paving that road than what we have seen in the past, but the next few seasons will tell the tale.

Of course, the hockey program gets its recognition within the hockey world, but it's not the same thing.

All that being said, there aren't many FCS programs that can or will ever compete with the success rate and recognition level the Bison had. It is a bit of an anomaly ... even SDSU for as good as they have been, does not have the same level of recognition. Still makes me wonder how things may have changed had UND gone D1 at the same time as NDSU. Would that have changed the entire landscape? Absolutely no way of knowing.

 

[siouxfan512]

11 hours ago, Sioux94 said:

Recruiting has been way better under Schmidt. Our facilities are great,  but you still have to win more on the field. NDSU and SDSU still have bigger name appeal than UND at this point. This takes a while, it's only Schmidt's 2nd year. Need start beating SDSU on the field and going deeper in the playoffs and that will come. Hoping this year we take another big step in the right direction!

Said well, and I don't think it can be oversold how much of a different the facilities make. I was talking to a guy who played safety for the Bison and said he was also recruited to UND .... UND spent more time giving a tour of the Ralph and this guy was like .... "I'm here to play football, not hockey", but this was back in like 2012 and any football facilities weren't going to exactly win people over.

[UND1983]

2 hours ago, nd1sufan said:

If you think UND has better name recognition/appeal/brand than NDSU football I want what you are smoking. NDSU FB has a bigger brand than any FCS school by a mile and almost every G6 schools and several P4 schools. Ther is a reason Phil Steele put an NDSU player on his cover this year.

NO WAY!!