Minnesota 3-Star QB Caden Gutzmer Commits to North Dakota Over Power Programs

North Dakota's new coaching staff added its most significant 2027 commitment when Minnetonka quarterback Caden Gutzmer chose the Fighting Hawks over offers from Miami and Memphis.

Gutzmer, the No. 2-ranked quarterback in Minnesota's Class of 2027 per the Star Tribune, committed on April 7, turning down a six-offer list that also included Bowling Green, Sacramento State, and South Dakota. On3 ranks him No. 47 nationally among quarterbacks; 247Sports lists him No. 61 at the position with an 0.8700 composite score, placing him ninth overall in Minnesota.

The decision is a program-signal for first-year head coach Eric Schmidt, who took over in 2025 after Bubba Schweigert's 11-season tenure and arrived with deep roots in Grand Forks: Schmidt played linebacker at UND from 1998 to 2001. Gutzmer drew camp visits from Iowa State, Minnesota, North Carolina, Rutgers, and Wisconsin, none of which extended offers. Miami did, which frames exactly what the Fighting Hawks secured: a Power-evaluated prospect who chose developmental trajectory and MVFC competition over a larger brand.

Gutzmer's measurables explain why Power programs were paying close attention. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Minnetonka product ran a 4.59-second 40-yard dash, posted a 37-inch vertical leap, and recorded a 9-foot-10 broad jump. His accuracy in-game matches his athleticism on paper. In a September 2025 win over Moorhead, he completed 16 of 19 passes, an 84 percent completion rate that signals ball placement and processing ability rather than just arm strength.

Gutzmer plays for head coach Mark Esch at Minnetonka, a Class 6A school in the state's largest enrollment classification, competing in the Metro West Conference. The Skippers won their first state title in 2004 and appeared in the 6A Championship game as recently as 2017, situating Gutzmer as a product of a proven program rather than a prospect inflated by weak competition.

He becomes the second verbal commitment in UND's 2027 class, joining edge rusher Ethan Howey of Minot North, a 6-foot-4, 245-pound prospect who was the first to commit. The early class is being built on a regional foundation: a North Dakota edge rusher paired with a Minnesota quarterback, the exact cross-border talent corridor that UND has historically mined more aggressively than most MVFC programs.

Gutzmer won't arrive until 2027, giving Schmidt's staff time to develop him without forcing a start timeline. That runway, combined with the early commitment, gives UND leverage in future recruiting conversations: a nationally ranked quarterback already in the fold signals to every other 2027 prospect evaluating the program that Schmidt is building toward the top of the MVFC, not merely managing his way through it.

Schweigert's final 2024 season ended at 7-5, highlighted by a 49-24 upset of then-No. 6 North Dakota State. Schmidt inherits a program capable of beating its biggest rival. Landing Gutzmer is early evidence he intends to push that ceiling higher rather than simply maintain it.