Moorhead's Walthall twins commit to UND for football, joining QB Feeney

MOORHEAD — Two more Moorhead Spuds are headed to the University of North Dakota football program.

Wide receivers Blake and Brady Walthall both committed to the Fighting Hawks on Friday, June 11, following Spuds quarterback Trey Feeney, who signed with UND last December. Feeney was recently named Minnesota's Gatorade football player of the year.

The Walthall twins were Feeney's favorite targets last fall as the Spuds posted a 7-0 record and earned a mythical Minnesota Class 5A state championship after being voted No. 1 in multiple season-ending polls. The Minnesota playoffs were cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic. Both Walthalls are preferred walk-ons.

"Their ball skills are off-the-charts good," said Spuds head football coach Kevin Feeney. "Their numbers in their last two seasons show that. The ball in the air in their vicinity, they're as good as any I've coached."

Brady Walthall had 55 catches for 799 yards and 14 touchdowns in seven games last fall to cap his prep career. Blake added 37 receptions for 582 yards and 11 TDs in a Spuds offense that averaged 44.7 points per game.

"The program is going in the right direction and with Trey going up there, it just made sense to us," Brady said of UND. "We figured it was the right spot for us."

The 6-foot, 165-pound receivers also said having former Spuds running back Otis Weah on the UND roster helped in their decision to choose UND. The Walthalls said they also had Division I Football Championship Subdivision walk-on offers from Western Illinois.

"I really loved the coaching staff," Blake said of UND's staff, led by head coach Bubba Schweigert. "They really fit well with me and Brady. I think we got along very well. We kind of thought it all fit in well. We are excited to get up there and get going."

Brady said he remembers being the water boy at Spuds football games when Weah was in high school. This past spring, Weah, a redshirt sophomore, led the UND ground game, rushing for 730 yards and nine touchdowns on 102 attempts in seven games.

The Walthalls, who also had Division II football offers, said it was important to get an opportunity in an FCS program.

"It's awesome to be competing at one of the highest levels," Blake said. "College football in general, it's really hard to play. It's an exciting day."

Brady added: "We knew we had the potential to play at the FCS level so we kind of waited it out."

UND averaged 210.3 passing yards last spring behind redshirt freshman quarterback Tommy Schuster. Schuster completed 129 of 197 passes for 10 touchdowns and five interceptions in seven games. The Fighting Hawks finished with a 5-2 record, losing in the FCS quarterfinals.

"I think UND is getting two guys with a pretty high potential ceiling," Kevin Feeney said of the Walthalls. "They feel like UND is a perfect fit for them schematically. ... They've got great football speed. They are guys who know how to get open, and then when they got the ball they were great after the catch."