Photo by Noah Clooten
Four Winds junior Marial Deng announced his commitment to University of North Dakota football on Tuesday.
Deng is set to join his older brother, Deng Deng, who just redshirted during his freshman year on the Fighting Hawks. Both Dengs are wide receivers.
On April 25, M. Deng announced that he had received an offer from first-year head coach Eric Schmidt and his staff. He officially committed just 11 days later. He revealed the news in an X post under the handle @Marial_D15.
Deng, like his older brother who won Mr. Basketball in 2024, is a strong basketball player as well. On the football field this past season, he averaged 60.3 yards per game and helped the Indians host a playoff game for the first time ever.
Four Winds football coach Travis Mertens, who’s coached Deng since he was in middle school, talked a lot during the fall about Deng starting to fully realize his potential. While M. Deng is skinnier and perhaps less explosive than his older brother, Mertens praised his pass-catching ability and athleticism.
Deng wasted little time committing to reunite with his brother. Both come from the tiny town of Tokio, North Dakota, on the Spirit Lake Reservation.
M. Deng is set to graduate from Four Winds in 2026. He’ll presumably join the Hawks the resulting fall while D. Deng is in his second year of eligibility.
UND went 5-7 this past fall, losing its last five games of the season. Schmidt, who was most recently coaching at San Diego State University, was hired in December to replace Bubba Schweigert.
