North Dakota cornerback Re’Aire Washington picks Bison rival over NDSU, SDSU

North Dakota State’s move toward the Mountain West has changed the conversation in the region, but it has not made the Bison automatic in recruiting. Omaha North cornerback Re’Aire Washington picked North Dakota over NDSU, South Dakota State and South Dakota, a notable win for the Fighting Hawks in a corridor where Fargo has long carried the most weight.

Washington brings a two-way profile that makes the decision more than a routine regional flip. The 2027 prospect is listed at 6-foot-0 and 180 pounds, and Prep Redzone credited him with 25 tackles, three interceptions, two of them returned for touchdowns, plus a tackle for loss in his junior season. He also contributed on offense with eight catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns, a reminder that his value has come from burst, ball skills and playmaking on both sides of the ball.

The offer sheet shows why the battle mattered. Washington’s list included North Dakota, NDSU, South Dakota State, South Dakota, Northwest Missouri State, Augustana and Wayne State. North Dakota offered him on Jan. 26, and the Hawks were able to turn that into a commitment even as NDSU sold the appeal of a bigger stage and a new league.

That is the larger recruiting point around this decision. North Dakota State announced on Feb. 9 that it had accepted an invitation to join the Mountain West as a football affiliate member, with membership effective July 1 and FBS play beginning in fall 2026. The Bison will play eight Mountain West games and four non-conference games this season, but they will not be eligible for the Mountain West title game, a bowl or the College Football Playoff until 2028. They also plan to add 22 football scholarships with additional fundraising, all of which should help in the long run, but none of it erased the fact that Washington still found reasons to go elsewhere.

The timing also fits a broader shift under UND coach Eric Schmidt, who took over after the 2024 season and has pushed harder in regional recruiting. On May 9, the Grand Forks Herald reported that four of UND’s nine 2027 commits held NDSU offers, evidence that the Hawks are landing in more of the same rooms as the Bison. For NDSU, that is the warning sign. The program signed 29 high school players and nine transfers for 2026, including one Nebraska signee, yet Omaha North still went to UND, just as it once sent Marques Sigle to Fargo in 2020.

Washington’s choice does not change NDSU’s trajectory, but it does show the new reality around it. The Bison are moving up, not beyond the reach of the programs that know this territory best.