FARGO-The decision of whether to wrestle or play football in college got to be a conflict that was practically unsolvable for West Fargo's Brandon Metz. So he did something unusual in the arena of Division I athletics: he's going to give both sports a shot at North Dakota State.

Metz, who will be a senior this fall with the Packers, gave a verbal to both programs, although it appears wrestling will take a priority.

"First and foremost, I committed to NDSU for wrestling," he said. "I'm going to walk on for football and try to make it work."

The scheduling of each season still needs to be worked out, he said. At 6-foot-1 and 270 pounds, he's projected to be a noseguard or interior defensive lineman in football and a heavyweight in wrestling.

listen live watch live

He went 48-0 last year and won the Class A state individual title. He's a former USA Wrestling Cadet Greco-Roman national champion and is scheduled to compete in the Junior freestyle and Greco-Roman divisions in July at the Fargodome.

In football, he was a Class 3A all-state first team pick for the Packers.

"The two teams have been close to my heart my whole life," Metz said of both sports. "Never have I had a time in my life where I didn't have one without the other. I was definitely keeping an open mind and weighing all options. Eventually I came to the conclusion NDSU was the best fit for me and why not try football and wrestling?"

He's been a fan of both sports at NDSU for as long as he can remember. He said he wanted to get the decision done before Junior nationals wrestling cranks up.

"There was a lot of pressure coming from all sorts of directions," Metz said. "I wanted to get it out of the way as soon as possible. After the decision, I just felt 20 times better."

In football, he's the eighth player to commit to the Bison, joining defensive end Tanner Sundt from Farmington, Minn.; safety Phazione McClurge from Chicago; running back Lincoln Gibbs from Langford, S.D.; defensive end Luke Chuol from Centennial High (Minn.); defensive end Spencer Waege from Watertown, S.D.; offensive guard Nash Jensen from Osseo, Minn. and defensive end Logan McCormick from Kimberly, Wis.

Although four are currently listed at defensive ends, it's likely defensive tackle, tight end or fullback could be a possibility for at least half of those players.