5 Best North Dakota State NFL Players
No FCS program has done what North Dakota State has done. Nine national titles in eleven years, a habit of beating FBS teams on the road, and a steady pipeline to Sunday. These five Bison are ranked on their college careers in Fargo, not their pro stats.
1. Carson Wentz
Quarterback · 2012 to 2015
Wentz went 20 and 3 as a starter and won two national titles, including one where he came back from a broken wrist to win the championship game MVP. He threw for over 5,100 yards in two seasons as the starter and ran for 1,028 more. He became the highest drafted FCS player ever when Philadelphia took him second overall in 2016.
2. Trey Lance
Quarterback · 2018 to 2019
Lance's 2019 season is one of the strangest stat lines in college football history: 28 touchdown passes, zero interceptions, and 1,100 rushing yards on the way to a perfect 16 and 0 record. He won the Walter Payton Award as the best offensive player in FCS. San Francisco traded up to take him third overall after he played one more game.
3. Easton Stick
Quarterback · 2015 to 2018
Stick won four national championships and finished 49 and 3 as a starter, the most wins by a quarterback in Division I history at the time. He ran for 41 career touchdowns and rarely turned the ball over. He was the steady hand who kept the dynasty rolling between two first round arms.
4. Christian Watson
Wide Receiver · 2018 to 2021
Watson was a matchup problem at 6 foot 4 with track speed, averaging over 20 yards a catch for his career. He scored on receptions, jet sweeps, and kick returns, and the Bison manufactured touches just to get him in space. Green Bay took him in the second round in 2022.
5. Phil Hansen
Defensive End · 1987 to 1990
Before the modern dynasty, Hansen was the standard for Bison defense. He was a Division II All American who piled up sacks and tackles for loss and helped anchor a national title team. Buffalo drafted him in 1991 and he started for a decade, proving Fargo could produce pro defenders.
Who Just Missed the Cut
Marcus Williams, Billy Turner, Joe Haeg, Cody Mauch, and Dillon Radunz all have real cases, and Radunz in particular dominated at left tackle. The five above got the nod for national awards, title runs, and draft position coming out of Fargo.
Why NDSU Keeps Sending Players to the NFL
The Bison run a pro style offense with heavy personnel and ask their quarterbacks to make full field reads. Their offensive line technique gets copied by FBS staffs. Scouts show up in Fargo every fall because the tape holds up, and because these players have been through January football every single year.
Test Yourself on North Dakota State Players
Reading about them is one thing. Naming them on sight is another. CollegeGuessr shows you an NFL player and asks which college he came from. Build a streak, post your score on the Big Board, and see how your football knowledge holds up.