NDSU lands top North Dakota tight end Drew Kessel for 2027 class

North Dakota State beat a heavy Power Four crowd for one of North Dakota’s biggest 2027 names, landing Fargo South tight end Drew Kessel as he prepares to finish his senior season at Moorhead High School. The 6-foot-7, 225-pound prospect announced his commitment on June 5, and the move put a top local recruit into the Bison pipeline before his final high school season even begins.

Kessel’s decision carried real weight because the offer sheet stretched far beyond the region. He had scholarship chances from Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Michigan, Minnesota, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Northwestern and Colorado State, a list that showed how widely his profile had spread. Minnesota was his first Power Four offer, NDSU followed soon after last summer, and Kansas recently hosted him for a visit before he chose the Bison.

The appeal for North Dakota State went beyond geography. Kessel is the younger brother of NDSU tight end Reis Kessel, which gives the commitment a family connection inside a program that has long turned in-state and regional talent into FCS production. That familiarity matters in Fargo, where the Bison have built a national-title machine by identifying players early, developing them, and making the region feel like the center of their football world.

Kessel arrives with production that matches the recruiting attention. 247Sports listed him as a high three-star prospect and the No. 4 player in North Dakota’s 2027 class. Last fall, he caught 38 passes for 635 yards and five touchdowns, after posting 48 receptions for 573 yards and eight touchdowns as a sophomore in 2024. He also plays basketball and track and field, adding to the length and versatility that made him such a difficult recruit to keep at home.

His move to Moorhead adds another layer to the story. KFGO reported that Kessel will join four Minnesota Golden Gopher commits there in Jett Feeney, David Mack, Taye Reich and Zak Walker, which turns his senior year into a cross-river backdrop with plenty of recruiting symbolism attached. For NDSU, though, the bigger point is simple: the Bison still won a local tug-of-war against major-conference competition for a player with real national traction.

247Sports said Kessel is becoming the 19th addition to NDSU’s 2027 class, another sign that the Bison continue to stockpile high-end talent while keeping key names in their own backyard. In an era when the portal can drain depth and attention from almost every roster, retaining a prospect of Kessel’s caliber remains a valuable edge.