Fertile-Beltrami all-state running back chooses UND football
Apr. 30—GRAND FORKS — One of the top players in Minnesota 9-man high school football has decided to play his college football at UND.
Fertile-Beltrami standout Isaiah Wright announced Tuesday his commitment to play for the Fighting Hawks.
Wright said the UND coaching staff projects him to start his college career as a defensive back, with the possibility of moving to running back in the future.
"The coaching staff there is amazing," Wright said. "They're all welcoming. I can see myself working with them for the next four, five years. The faciltiies ... they're doing a bunch of changes. The facilities were good how it was, and they're going to be even better coming up."
UND is in the final stages of adding a new football locker room, strength and conditioning room, coaches offices and more in the area around the Pollard Center and old Memorial Stadium.
Wright, at 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds, was a Minnesota 9-man all-state pick last year after running for 1,655 yards and 27 touchdowns. He also caught 20 balls for 405 yards and four touchdowns. For a career, Wright has more than 3,500 rushing yards, which is a school record.
Wright and Fertile-Beltrami have lost just three games across the last three seasons, advancing to the state championship game once and the state semifinals twice.
In Fertile-Beltrami's 36-28 loss to Kingsland in the Minnesota 9-man state semifinals at U.S. Bank in Minneapolis, Wright ran for 184 yards and four touchdowns.
On defense, Wright had a fumble returned for a touchdown and three interceptions including one returned for a score.
Wright was also a state qualifier in the 100 meters for the Minnesota state track and field meet in 2023.
Wright becomes UND's second commitment of the 2025 recruiting class, joining
Thompson (N.D.) tight end Karter Peterson
.
Wright said playing defensive back will be an adjustment.
"I played both sides of the ball in high school," said Wright, who has lived in Fertile since his family moved from North Carolina when he was 3. "I was playing corner but not as advanced as the college level. That's something to adjust to. We don't do much for defensive back drills (in 9-man football). That'll definitely be a change but something I can definitely adjust to."
