Photos by Mojo Hill
Marial Deng with family.
Deng with football and assistant basketball coach Travis Mertens.
Deng with basketball coach Rick Smith.
Deng with football teammates and friends.
Deng with his immediate family.
Deng with his mom.
FORT TOTTEN — Marial Deng is officially a Fighting Hawk.
The Four Winds senior, a native of Tokio, N.D., finalized his signing with the UND football program Wednesday. He posed for pictures alongside friends, family and coaches in his home gym.
“It’s very exciting,” Deng said. “I’ve always wanted to play Division I, and now that I’m officially signed, it’s exciting.”
Dec. 3 was the start of college football’s early signing period for the 2026 recruiting class. Deng was one of 27 commits expected to sign with UND in an unofficial list compiled by Tom Miller of the Grand Forks Herald. Deng is one of only two in-state commits on the list, with the other being Central Cass’s Aiden Wunderlich.
“When you finally get to that day where you get to sign that paper, it’s always exciting,” Four Winds co-head football coach Travis Mertens said. “Your friends, your family, people that have helped you are all around. Obviously, Marial has got pretty good support here, so that’s kind of fun to see.”
It was a particularly proud moment for Mertens, a former UND athlete himself. He played basketball for UND from 2008 to 2010.
“Your name comes across that, whether it’s Twitter or X feed, or on the website, and you see one of your players sign to play — especially at my alma mater like it is, it’s always exciting,” Mertens said. “Proud of him. He’s got a lot of work ahead of him still, but he’s the type of kid where I think once he gets in that program and starts getting in that weight room and around those football guys, it’s going to be kind of scary to see what he can turn into.”
Deng announced his verbal commitment back on May 6. The wide receiver went on to lead Four Winds to its most single-season victories in program history. He was named an All-State First Team selection after collecting more than 600 yards of offense.
Many of Deng’s fans sported UND gear on Wednesday, including one teacher wearing a fresh green “Deng” No. 2 jersey. Marial’s older brother, Deng Deng, is currently a redshirt freshman wide receiver for the Fighting Hawks. Staff members quipped about how special it is that two Division I football players have walked the halls of their school.
Just this past Saturday, Deng led UND in receiving yards to help win a playoff game. Marial was watching from home with his family.
“It’s pretty awesome seeing him on TV,” Marial said. “Hoping the best for him out there. Hoping he gets a couple catches. … Seeing him out there performing, knowing he’s my brother so he came from the same place. So I feel like if he did it, I could do the same.”
Marial said he was able to attend a few UND home games this season.
Mertens has been a UND season ticket holder for nine years. He said he sends Deng “good luck” texts before games and congratulates him afterward.
“It chokes you up,” Mertens said. “Just because you know everything that he’s been through, and you know all the work he’s put in. And it’s just gratifying to see it finally pay off when he gets those opportunities.”
Now, there will be two Dengs on the Hawks. Marial has emerged as a relatively scrawnier, but taller and arguably even more athletic player than his brother.
“He was always kind of in the shadow of his brother,” Mertens said of Marial. “And you’re just kind of waiting for him to come out of that shadow. Be his own man that he’s turning into. And you saw that this year a lot, especially the leadership role. He was more vocal. He was passionate about the game. He was always working on it — his catching and routes and everything like that.”
Deng said his priorities are getting faster and stronger before joining the college ranks.
Mertens is looking forward to seeing what the brother duo can accomplish — and how their skillsets can complement each other.
“I’m excited to get [Marial] back with Deng and see what happens when he gets under Deng’s wing there at UND, and what he can turn into,” Mertens said. “With Marial, I’ve always said he’s kind of been more, probably, talented. Deng’s always had the mental aspect of the game and just the determination. Obviously talented as well. But Marial is just — I think there’s a lot of untapped potential that’s still in there.”
A nice perk for Marial is that he gets personalized tips from a current UND football player before he ever steps foot on campus.
“Every once in a while when [Deng] comes home, we’ll just be talking about football and what he’s doing over there,” Marial said.
Before going to UND — where his life will largely revolve around football — Marial gets one last ride on the basketball court. Practice just started on Monday. The 6-foot-5 Deng is still hoping to lead Four Winds/Minnewaukan to a Class A state tournament.
“He’ll attack the basketball season just like he’s attacked everything else this season,” said Mertens, who’s also an assistant coach on the basketball team. “He’s a special type of athlete. A lot of people know him, and he’s an exciting player around the state. The way he’s attacked this season, he should have a very good basketball season to maybe cap off his senior year and hopefully do some special things on the court with us.”
