UND football doubles 2022 recruiting class with four weekend additions
Jul. 19—The UND football program entered last weekend with four verbal commitments for the 2022 recruiting class.
But following the weekend's Elite Camp at Memorial Stadium and the High Performance Center, that number doubled quickly on Saturday evening.
The Fighting Hawks picked up four new verbals over the weekend to bring the program's total to eight as the recruit camp season begins to wind down.
The four new additions include Moorhead (Minn.) cornerback Jamal Dixon, the brother of UND running back Otis Weah, as well as DeForest (Wis.) safety Deven Magli, Sioux Falls defensive end Kendis Ledbetter and Iowa City tackle Liam Becher.
Dixon held scholarship offers from North Dakota State and Northern Iowa, while Becher was offered by Illinois State. Ledbetter held quite a few NCAA Division II offers and Magli was offered as a recruited walk-on at Wisconsin.
Becher, 6-foot-6 and 305 pounds, was an all-state pick in Iowa last year as West High went 6-1, averaging more than 37 points and 385 yards per game.
Magli was first-team all-state in Wisconsin, racking up 25 tackles, two interceptions and scoring two defensive touchdowns to go along with his seven offensive touchdowns and 421 all-purpose yards.
"Meeting the coaches and seeing the town and campus was everything for me," Magli said. "It blew my expectations out of the water. I'm really excited to come there. I'm friends with all of the defensive back commits, and we're excited to join a great team."
Ledbetter is a 6-4, 240-pound defensive end.
"The coaching staff was wonderful," Ledbetter said. "They all knew my name and were aware of what I was capable of coming in. It felt like a huge family. It was great hospitality."
Ledbetter, who runs the 100 during the track season, said his speed sets him up. He said he runs the 40-yard dash in 4.7 or 4.8 seconds.
UND was Ledbetter's first Division I offer.
"I thought I'd have a Division I offer June 1," Ledbetter said. "(The South Dakota coaching staff) said they'd offer, but they didn't pull the trigger. Honestly, I thought I'd have (a DI offer) earlier, but I'm glad it worked out in the end."
When Ledbetter started high school, closer to 200 pounds, basketball was the only thing on his mind.
As a sophomore, Ledbetter attended Sand Creek High School in Colorado Springs, Colo., where he tried football for the first time and went from 200 pounds to 230 in one season.
After the fall season as a sophomore, Ledbetter moved back to South Dakota and attended Sioux Falls Washington, where he was teammates with UND's 2021 recruit Jaden Feterl.
