FARGO-Growing up in the middle of lakes country in the state of Minnesota, Aaron Steidl knew all about the University of North Dakota's big rival. Keep in mind he's a University of Minnesota hockey fan.
So the Gopher-UND series on the ice always was a weekend to remember. This week, the North Dakota State redshirt freshman from Carlos, Minn., gets to experience the UND football rivalry first hand and if he needed a reminder, he got one on Sunday night when Brandon Strouth called him.
Strouth is a former UND running back who works with the Alexandria high school program.
"He said you better be ready for this week," Steidl said. "This is bigger than you think. So I read up on some of the history of the game and now it's burning inside me to play on Saturday just as much as the guys from (the state of) North Dakota."
It's not like Steidl needs to look for more fuel to burn his football engine. He spurned a couple of Division II scholarship offers to walk on to NDSU two years ago and he found the right guy for advice on his recruiting visit two years ago.
ADVERTISEMENT
That's when he ran into Bison offensive lineman Joe Haeg. Steidl knew a lot about Haeg going back to the days of the Alexandria and Brainerd high school rivalry and certainly Haeg, from Brainerd, has made a name for himself as one of the top lineman in Division I FCS.
What Steidl, whose hometown is nine miles north of Alexandria adjacent to Lake Carlos, didn't know is Haeg's recruiting status out of high school.
He was a walkon.
"I thought he was a scholarship guy the whole time until I got the back story," Steidl said. "After that, I said this was doable. Here is a guy from my area with the same kind of background as me and he's done it. Why can't I give it a shot?"
Haeg said he was straight forward with Steidl from the first conversation. He said Steidl asked questions about what it's like to be a walkon and if a walkon is treated any different than a scholarship player.
"We're darn sure not any different," said Haeg, who eventually earned a scholarship.
On the interior defensive line, it's becoming a baton-like situation for walkons perhaps starting with Danny Luecke from Fargo South in 2009. Brian Schaetz from Denmark, Wis., emerged in the last couple of seasons and Steidl is showing signs he could be the next guy. He didn't receive much in the line of post-season honors at Alexandria, but walkons never seem to anyway. But one year and one game after coming to NDSU, he was named his team's defensive lineman of the game for his performance against Weber, despite only playing 14 plays.
"That was kind of shocking but it's a big honor for me," Steidl said. "I didn't have any big plays but it's not always about big plays. It's about hustling to the ball, pursuing, cheering on teammates and all of that."
ADVERTISEMENT
Schaetz said he likes Steidl's determination. He likes the fact Steidl sidestepped financial help from another school to pursue his ultimate goal of playing at NDSU.
"Money isn't always the biggest object," Steidl said. "I'm not in it for the money. I mean, it's nice to help out because I'm not from a rich family but I'm not in it for that. I'm in it to try and be an All-American and I'm in it to try and help my teammates as best I can on and off the field whenever I can."
And this week, that's to help his team beat UND.
In football.
