Gurnee (Ill.) Warren Township senior three star ranked inside linebacker recruit Malachi McNeal (6-foot-0, 220 pounds) has wrapped up his recruiting process today and announced his verbal commitment to the University of North Dakota. McNeal discusses his decision to pledge to the Fighting Hawks here.

"Honestly it was everything that North Dakota offers that attracted me," McNeal said. "From the academics to the football, to the location, the conference, the big game atmosphere, the roster, everything just feels like a perfect fit for me. I'm just really happy and excited to be committed to North Dakota."

McNeal filled us in on some of the key factors which led him to pledge to North Dakota.

"I was able to build up a great relationship with the coaches at North Dakota. They didn't offer me a scholarship right away, but they explained that they like to get to know who they offer so when they extend that offer it really means something. North Dakota has been with me for a long time now and they always made me feel wanted. The coaches have been just very straight and honest with me during the entire process. I wasn't able to make a visit to North Dakota yet because of COVID but they sent me a ton of videos and online tours plus lots of Zoom calls and I feel that I had more than enough information to make my decision. Everything at North Dakota is impressive and looks great and I can't wait to eventually get up there and visit."

McNeal, who was recruited as an inside linebacker by the Fighting Hawks considered a handful of schools before deciding on North Dakota.

"I looked hard at schools like Fordham, Eastern Illinois and a few others. In the end it really came down to either North Dakota or Eastern Illinois for me. I took a drive down to EIU and I enjoyed it and I also liked the coaches at EIU. Just the overall fit for me at North Dakota is just too hard for me to pass up."

McNeal might be relocating to North Dakota for school but will also have plenty of opportunities to be seen across the State of Illinois and the upper Midwest playing in the Missouri Valley Conference.

"The conference is another big reason why I wanted to play for North Dakota. The Missouri Valley is an elite conference in FCS football plus they play a lot of teams from Illinois so my family and friends will be able to come and see me play. I'm also excited to be playing for a winning program at North Dakota. Playing in a winning program was another big draw for me in the end."

Malachi McNeal is verbally committed to North Dakota.