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MOORHEAD — Moorhead Spuds rising senior Austin Schultz said he received an offer from North Dakota State head football coach Matt Entz on Monday morning and it didn't take Schultz long to make his decision.
“I committed on the spot," Schultz said.
Schultz verbally committed to NDSU and its the 18th known commitment for the 2023 recruiting class . The 6-foot-4, 290-pound Schultz had multiple NCAA Division I offers, including South Dakota State and St. Thomas.
“Going into the recruiting process, I didn’t know FCS, Group of Five, Power Five, I just knew NDSU was the closest team and they were D-I and they were very good," Schultz said. “It just kind of felt like home right from the get-go.”
Spoke with new #NDSU commit @AustinSchulttz today about the emotions of the day. Much more tonight on @WDAYSports at 6: @MHDspudFootball pic.twitter.com/S9xLvPrU81
— Dom Izzo (@DomIzzoWDAY) August 1, 2022
Schultz plays offensive tackle for the Spuds and is expected to be an interior offensive lineman for the Bison. NDSU has won nine of the past 11 FCS national championships and that program success also appealed to Schultz.
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“They’re a winning program and I’m going to be coming from a winning program in Moorhead," Schultz said. “I’ve seen a lot about NDSU and heard a lot about it and to finally be a part of that is amazing.”
Schultz said he was inspired by former Moorhead Spuds offensive lineman Seth Anderson, who also committed to NDSU before transferring to the University of North Dakota this offseason.
“It kind of made me want to do the same thing," Schultz said. “It’s a great feeling.”
Committed. #RollHerd🤟🏽🔰@Coach_Entz @FBCoachLarson pic.twitter.com/rYwA5f8AVZ
— Austin Schultz (@AustinSchulttz) August 1, 2022
Schultz is heading into his second year as a varsity starter for the Spuds in the fall.
“Austin’s got a great work ethic," Spuds head coach Kevin Feeney said. "He was blessed with some measurables, but he’s had to work really hard to get to this point. He made a decision a few years back that he really wanted to play college football and really committed to his offseason training."
Schultz is the second Moorhead player who has committed to a D-I program for the 2023 class. Spuds defensive lineman Elinneus Davis recently committed to the University of Washington, a Power Five program in the Pac-12 Conference.
The Spuds program currently has nine players either on Division I rosters or committed to D-I programs, including Schultz. Schultz received all three of his D-I offers since mid-July.
"He’s got a great temperament for an offensive lineman," Feeney said. "He’s kind of an old school, throwback type player.”
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Schultz also plays basketball and competes in track and field for the Spuds. He wanted to make his college decision prior to his final prep football season.
“I wanted to get it done 100% before the season," Schultz said. "I want to try to get another championship with the Spuds this year.”
