Cedar Rapids Washington star forward Brandon Besong has decided to play college soccer at Missouri State University. He picked the Bears over Western Illinois and several smaller schools in Iowa.

Warrior Coach J.P. Graham thinks Missouri State will be getting a great player.

“He is special because he is not only fast, but strong," Graham said Monday. “Usually you don’t get a combination of the two. And to be that big and strong but have that good of a touch makes him a triple threat.”

Although Besong is undeniably talented, he wasn’t always sure he would make it to a Division I school. He began to realize he had the talent to merit a scholarship in 2009 when he was selected to the regional Olympic Development Program comprised of 20 top players in the Midwest.

Besong was named first team all-state, all-conference and all-Metro his junior year in 2010 and began to attract the attention of colleges.

The first college that showed interest was Notre Dame, which invited him to its prestigious camp last summer. That exposed him to many Division I coaches, including Missouri State assistant coach Michael Seabolt.

“I ended up going to Missouri State because Coach Seabolt was the first coach to fully recruit me,” Besong said. “He believed that I had the special talent to come to their school and play. He pursued me from Notre Dame until now.”

Another reason Missouri State seemed to fit best for Besong is that they recruited him with a couple of different positions in mind. He will change position from forward next season.

“I can be a forward in high school but when it comes to college, I know I’m not the type of player that can just go and shoot,” he said. “I’m a passer. I like to pass, I like to play defense, I like to tackle people.”

Graham doesn’t anticipate that the change in position will have a negative effect on his play.

“I think he will be fine,” Graham said. “He is the kind of team player that will do anything for the team.”

Besong will need to make that change relatively quickly if he wants to avoid being redshirted next season.

“My goal is to play as a freshman,” he said. “I don’t want to redshirt, I want to play, and they said that is possible. I just have to put in the work.”

Besong plans to major in sports entertainment management and would like to become a college athletic director some day.