North Dakota State Football can recruit high school football players as well as most FBS schools because of their brand, national exposure, and success on the field. The Bison also recruit kids from their backyard. I wondered what the process from high school to college was like. So I asked NDSU’s first North Dakota commit from this past year’s recruiting class and former Fargo Davies High School defensive end Brennan Palmer to tell me how that process worked and how his first fall camp went.
What was the recruiting process like for you?
“I’m not gonna lie. I did not like the recruitment process. It was probably my least favorite thing that I’ve ever done, to be honest. It was just constant, the process itself is just constant phone calls every night with different coaches. A lot of visits you had to sacrifice, you know, every weekend. The spring of your junior year is basically to go on these visits. A lot of driving a lot of travel. But with NDSU I didn’t really get recruited by them. It was more just came to the camp and played well and they offered me, it wasn’t so much like I was on their radar the entire time. So, yeah, so that’s sort of just how the process went for me. I mean, it lasted for about a year and, I mean like I said before, like, being able to just commit and get it done with is probably one of the best feelings as a recruit.”
What was NDSU’s recruiting pitch to you?
“You go on a junior day visit. They don’t really, you know, show off all their trophies or show off all their rings. They’re more just like you all know what we’re about here. And, yeah, you come here, you’re gonna win. So that’s, that’s the standard, that’s the expectation that they lay out for you even as a recruit.”
How would you describe your first fall camp at NDSU?
Man, my first fall camp. It’s a shocker and I feel like every other guy in my class can say the same thing. It’s not so much the physicality part, obviously. It takes a toll on your body practicing for two hours a day and lifting. But, you know the mental part is what’s big. You’re in meetings from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. you know, and then you have a practice in between. So it’s tough for everybody, I mean, just talking to my roommates and stuff and you know we get up at 5 a.m. and you can just tell like morale is pretty low and then once you’re finally done with the day, it’s like 10 at night and you’re like, oh man, I get to relax but then you wake up at 5 a.m. and do it all over again. So it’s, it’s definitely a shocker. It’s, tough for a lot of freshmen. But we all made it through it.”
What are strength and conditioning coach Jim Kramer’s workouts like?
“Honestly fall camp with Coach Kramer wasn’t as bad as summers because Coach Kramer gets us in the summer. But, you know, Coach Kramer, the guys, the vets are gonna tell you, the older guys on the team are gonna tell you like he’s like the heart and soul of the team. So, you know, whatever, he says or like whatever he’s talking about, you better listen, because that guy has been around for so long. He’s seen NFL players come and go, he’s molded NFL players and he knows what he’s talking about. So he’s gonna be hard on you, but just know it’s out of love.”
Brennan is one of four former Davies High School standouts on NDSU’s roster. The others are freshman Oliver Lucht, sophomore Truman Werremeyer, and junior Ty Satter.