PALMER — Ben McGraw wanted to play football at Bemidji State.

Earlier in his high school career, the Colony High School senior set a goal to join Knights standout George Percak-Dennet on the Minnesota university’s football program. Somewhere during the recruiting process, a Bemidji State coach McGraw he might not fit into Bemidji State’s plans.

But there was another coach right up the road who thought he would.

(Use arrows above to view more photos)

On Thursday, surrounded by his friends, coaches and family, McGraw signed a National Letter of Intent to play football at the University of Minnesota-Crookston.

Although he won’t be able to play with Percak-Dennett as he hoped, McGraw said he’s excited to have earned the opportunity to compete at the Division II level.

“Especially when someone at that level says you can’t do it and another coach says, hey you could come in and challenge for a starting spot,” McGraw said. “That’s real exciting for me.”

McGraw, 5-11 and 210-pound senior, will play linebacker for the Golden Eagles, a squad that competes in the Division II Northern Sun Intercollegiate College, the same league as Bemidji State.

McGraw had considered NAIA programs such Jamestown College in North Dakota and Montana State University-Northern, but he felt Crookston was the right fit.

The university in Crookston, Minn., a town in northern Minnesota just west of the North Dakota border, has a criminal justice program that satisfies McGraw’s academic goals. The Crookston coaching staff also offered McGraw a scholarship.

Colony head coach Brian McIntosh said applauded McGraw’s work and choice of Crookston.

“What we’re proud about Ben is he did everything he needed to do,” McIntosh said. “He worked hard in the offseason. He worked hard on his grades. He’s just a great kid and a great leader. He showed all of the qualities of someone who should be successful in college.”

McGraw is expected to play outside linebacker on Crookston’s 3-5 defense, which is similar to the system used at Colony.

“It’s pretty much the exact thing I was doing here, so there won’t be a tremendous amount of change,” McGraw said.

McGraw was named first-team All-Railbelt Conference and first-team all-state as a senior. He was also a team captain and was named the defensive most valuable player of a Knights team which allowed a state-low 9.9 points per game.

“He’s the most fundamental football player I’ve seen in a long time,” McIntosh said of McGraw. “We’ve had some great athletes, but Ben is just a technician. He’s a real student of the game.”

Crookston includes one other Alaskan on the roster, freshman Ricky Nelson, and Eielson graduate.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.