Minnetonka (Minn.) quarterback Caden Gutzmer committed to North Dakota earlier this month.

Gutzmer, a higher three-star on Rivals and the Rivals Industry Ranking, is a significant addition for the Fighting Hawks and chose them over the presence of several other offers. Head coach Eric Schmidt and his staff had much to do with that.

“There are many reasons,” he said. “First being the entire coaching staff is very welcoming, and experienced. And with Coach Schmidt leading the way, the culture there is awesome. I have been to a lot of schools, but based on what I saw with UND, they are building a championship winning team in a strong Missouri Valley Conference. And lastly, the most important thing for me is having an opportunity to play. They really believe in developing players from high school. Could I possibly go to a bigger program, yes. But I don’t want to chase a logo to sit behind kids coming from the portal, you need to opportunity to prove it.”

Gutzmer knows that based on how UND recruits and develops though, that he will have healthy competition within his position group when he gets there.

“We went into depth about the quarterback room and plan,” he said. “Obviously I need to prove myself — everything is earned, and they have a strong quarterback room.”

With his recruitment now behind him, Gutzmer is working towards the ultimate goal for his senior season.

“The biggest focus for me this offseason is to continue to work on my speed and agility, and of course working with my QB coach on everything both physical and mental,” he said. “And get reps with my teammates. Two big goals for the season: stay healthy and win a 6A state championship.”

Gutzmer is ranked by Rivals as the No. 8 junior in Minnesota.

As a junior, he passed for 1,147 yards on 65-of-103 passing for ten touchdowns and zero interceptions.