NOTE: 2026 rosters are nearly complete but not final. Only players with stats or recruiting/portal ratings are listed. Def Snap % are best estimates. DE/LB are mixed depending on the team.
Quarterbacks
| Player | H/W | Passing | Rushing | Pass | Run | PPA | Snaps | Rating | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #12 Nathan Hayes SR | 6'3"/219 | 25/44 (57%), 381 Yds, 4 TD / 1 INT | 7 Car, 88 Yds, (12.6 YPC), 1 TD, 0 FUM | A- | B | 125 (15%) | NA | ||
| #10 Trey Drake JR | 6'3"/206 | 1/1 (100%), 4 Yds, 0 TD / 0 INT | 2 Car, 5 Yds, (2.5 YPC), 0 TD, 1 FUM | B- | F | 24 (3%) | NA | ||
| #13 Zander Smith SO | 6'3"/222 | 3* HS ('25) | |||||||
| #14 Preston Brown SO | 6'1"/198 | NA |
Running Backs
| Player | H/W | Rushing | Receiving | Run | Rec | PPA | Snaps | Rating | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #7 DJ Scott JR | 5'11"/206 | 95 Car, 502 Yds, (5.3 YPC), 6 TD, 0 FUM | 4 Rec, 44 Yds, (11 YPR), 0 TD | A | F | 190 (23%) | NA | ||
| #28 Cortez LeGrant JR | 5'10"/189 | 25 Car, 131 Yds, (5.2 YPC), 0 TD, 1 FUM | 0 Rec, 0 Yds, (0 YPR), 0 TD | B | C | 38 (5%) | NA | ||
| #25 Myles Mitchell SO | 5'9"/195 | 18 Car, 78 Yds, (4.3 YPC), 1 TD, 0 FUM | 0 Rec, 0 Yds, (0 YPR), 0 TD | B+ | B- | 24 (3%) | NA | ||
| #26 Brady Wavrunek JR | 5'11"/206 | 4 Car, 16 Yds, (4 YPC), 0 TD, 0 FUM | 0 Rec, 0 Yds, (0 YPR), 0 TD | B- | B- | 5 (1%) | NA | ||
| #47 Barry Kpeenu JR | 5'10"/199 | 0 Car, 0 Yds, (0 YPC), 0 TD, 0 FUM | 0 Rec, 0 Yds, (0 YPR), 0 TD | D | 4 (0%) | NA | |||
| #34 Jonathan Harvey SR | 5'10"/195 | 0 Car, 0 Yds, (0 YPC), 0 TD, 0 FUM | 0 Rec, 0 Yds, (0 YPR), 0 TD | 3 (0%) | NA | ||||
| #22 Charles Ross III SO | 5'9"/191 | 1 Car, 3 Yds, (3 YPC), 0 TD, 0 FUM | 0 Rec, 0 Yds, (0 YPR), 0 TD | D+ | 1 (0%) | NA | |||
| #00 Braylon Toliver FR | 5'11"/184 | 3* HS ('26) |
Running Backs
| Player | H/W | Rushing | Receiving | Run | Rec | PPA | Snaps | Rating | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #36 McClain Miller SO | 6'1"/230 | 0 Car, 0 Yds, (0 YPC), 0 TD, 0 FUM | 0 Rec, 0 Yds, (0 YPR), 0 TD | C- | 9 (1%) | NA |
Wide Receivers
| Player | H/W | Receiving | Rushing | Rec | Block | PPA | Snaps | Rating | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #18 Jackson Williams JR | 5'11"/183 | 17 Rec, 293 Yds, (17.2 YPR), 1 TD, 1 FUM | 4 Car, 16 Yds, 1 TD | A- | F | 284 (30%) | NA | ||
| #15 Mekhi Collins SR | 6'4"/214 | 6 Rec, 159 Yds, (26.5 YPR), 2 TD, 0 FUM | 0 Car, 0 Yds, 0 TD | A- | A- | 167 (18%) | 3* HS ('22) | ||
| #84 Logan Conklin SO | 6'4"/202 | 5 Rec, 49 Yds, (9.8 YPR), 0 TD, 0 FUM | 0 Car, 0 Yds, 0 TD | B+ | A | 157 (16%) | NA | ||
| #17 Isiah St. Romain SO | 6'0"/195 | 4 Rec, 50 Yds, (12.5 YPR), 1 TD, 0 FUM | 0 Car, 0 Yds, 0 TD | B+ | C+ | 64 (7%) | NA | ||
| #83 Cade Osterman JR | 6'1"/197 | 1 Rec, 24 Yds, (24 YPR), 1 TD, 0 FUM | 0 Car, 0 Yds, 0 TD | A | C | 25 (3%) | NA | ||
| #80 John Gores SR | 5'6"/170 | 1 Rec, 8 Yds, (8 YPR), 0 TD, 0 FUM | 0 Car, 0 Yds, 0 TD | B+ | A | 24 (3%) | NA | ||
| #2 Kellen Entz SR | 6'3"/206 | 0 Rec, 0 Yds, (0 YPR), 0 TD, 0 FUM | 0 Car, 0 Yds, 0 TD | B- | 11 (1%) | NA | |||
| #82 SJ Green SO | 5'10"/176 | 0 Rec, 0 Yds, (0 YPR), 0 TD, 0 FUM | 0 Car, 0 Yds, 0 TD | B- | C+ | 11 (1%) | 3* HS ('25) | ||
| #86 Dylan Vokal SO | 6'2"/195 | 0 Rec, 0 Yds, (0 YPR), 0 TD, 0 FUM | 0 Car, 0 Yds, 0 TD | B- | 6 (1%) | NA | |||
| #30 Kelly Watson JR | 5'11"/195 | 0 Rec, 0 Yds, (0 YPR), 0 TD, 0 FUM | 0 Car, 0 Yds, 0 TD | C+ | 3 (0%) | NA | |||
| #16 Silas Evans III JR | 6'1"/193 | 3* HS ('23) | |||||||
| #21 Chris Kiel SO | 5'11"/198 | NA | |||||||
| #11 Jacob Kilzer SO | 6'3"/199 | AFA ('24) |
Tight Ends
| Player | H/W | Receiving | Rec | Run Blk | Pass Blk | Snaps | Rating | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #81 Reis Kessel SO | 6'5"/239 | 15 Rec, 335 Yds, (22.3 YPR), 1 TD, 0 FUM | A+ | B | B | 257 (19%) | NA | |
| #40 Kaden Zenzen SR | 6'4"/244 | 1 Rec, 9 Yds, (9 YPR), 0 TD, 0 FUM | C- | D+ | C- | 182 (13%) | NA | |
| #44 Luke Kokat SR | 6'3"/238 | 0 Rec, 0 Yds, (0 YPR), 0 TD, 0 FUM | F | B+ | B- | 108 (8%) | NA | |
| #85 Jett Zabel SO | 6'3"/226 | 1 Rec, 4 Yds, (4 YPR), 0 TD, 0 FUM | C+ | C | 29 (2%) | NA | ||
| #87 Noah Nelson SO | 6'5"/238 | 0 Rec, 0 Yds, (0 YPR), 0 TD, 0 FUM | C+ | 5 (0%) | NA |
Offensive Line
| Player | H/W | Grade | Run Blk | Pass Blk | Snaps | Rating | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #75 Josh Magin (T) SR | 6'6"/304 | D+ | D+ | C | 594 (73%) | NA | |
| #76 Ryan Babatz (T) SO | 6'5"/308 | C | C- | B- | 260 (32%) | 3* HS ('25) | |
| #78 Noah Stommes (T) SO | 6'6"/261 | A- | B+ | B | 96 (12%) | NA | |
| #00 Tucker Thieneman (OT) FR | 6'5"/290 | 3* HS ('26) | |||||
| #73 Alex Warden (OT) SO | 6'6"/257 | 3* HS ('25) | |||||
| #62 Griffin Empey (G) JR | 6'3"/298 | A | A+ | A+ | 699 (85%) | NA | |
| #71 Nate Tastad (G) SO | 6'5"/285 | D+ | C- | D+ | 580 (71%) | 3* HS ('24) | |
| #72 Nate Schneckloth (G) JR | 6'5"/300 | D | D+ | F | 201 (25%) | NA | |
| #66 Jack Liwienski (G) JR | 6'3"/300 | B | C+ | A+ | 125 (15%) | NA | |
| #69 Devin Lockerby (G) SR | 6'5"/310 | F | D | B- | 11 (1%) | NA | |
| #55 Kene Anene (G) JR | 6'5"/315 | A | A+ | 4 (0%) | KU ('26) | ||
| #67 Kaden Chadwick (G) SR | 6'6"/285 | NA | |||||
| #68 Coy Okeson (G) SO | 6'5"/294 | 3* HS ('24) | |||||
| #74 Brett Tastad (G) SO | 6'5"/265 | 3* HS ('24) | |||||
| #61 Gage Schmidt (C) SO | 6'3"/298 | B | B | A | 94 (11%) | NA |
Defensive Line
| Player | H/W | Stats | Pass D | Run D | Rush | Cov | Snaps | Rating | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #92 Kelton McCaslin (DE) SR | 6'5"/245 | A+ | C- | D | 406 (72%) | NA | |||
| #49 Matthew Stenbroten (DE) SO | 6'4"/242 | B+ | C | C+ | 205 (36%) | 3* HS ('24) | |||
| #98 Jack Iuliano (DE) GR | 6'3"/257 | A- | B+ | C- | 205 (36%) | NA | |||
| #97 Victor Isele (DE) JR | 6'2"/235 | B+ | B- | C | 192 (34%) | NA | |||
| #11 Chance Symons (DE) SR | 6'2"/236 | A- | C- | C+ | 64 (11%) | NA | |||
| #56 Allante Burley (DE) SR | 6'3"/229 | A- | A- | 35 (6%) | NA | ||||
| #90 Wyatt Osterbauer (DE) SO | 6'4"/234 | B+ | B- | 20 (4%) | NA | ||||
| #91 Ethan Wood (DE) SO | 6'4"/247 | D+ | 8 (1%) | NA | |||||
| #58 Keenan Wilson (DT) JR | 6'1"/283 | A+ | A | B+ | 429 (54%) | NA | |||
| #94 Logan Larson (DT) SR | 6'3"/283 | A- | A+ | C+ | 309 (39%) | NA | |||
| #95 Zach Vanderpool (DT) SO | 6'5"/268 | A- | B- | C+ | 236 (30%) | NA | |||
| #54 Alijah Wayne (DT) SO | 6'4"/273 | B+ | C | B- | 196 (25%) | NA | |||
| #99 Obald Niyonkuru (DT) JR | 5'11"/288 | C+ | C | C+ | 51 (6%) | NA | |||
| #53 Chase Evink (DT) SO | 6'5"/256 | D+ | B | 25 (3%) | NA | ||||
| #65 Brody Clubb (DT) SO | 6'3"/273 | 3* HS ('25) |
Linebackers
| Player | H/W | Stats | Pass D | Run D | Rush | Cov | Snaps | Rating | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 Donovan Woolen JR | 6'4"/219 | A+ | A- | A+ | 636 (197%) | 3* HS ('24) | |||
| #55 Oliver Lucht JR | 6'1"/223 | C- | B | A | 106 (33%) | NA | |||
| #41 Peder Haugo SO | 6'1"/222 | B- | B+ | B | 104 (32%) | NA | |||
| #25 Ray James Jr. SO | 6'2"/220 | A | B+ | B+ | 80 (25%) | NA | |||
| #32 Austin Altepeter SR | 6'2"/228 | A- | D | B- | 74 (23%) | NA | |||
| #21 Noah Taylor JR | 6'0"/224 | C- | C- | B+ | 56 (17%) | NA | |||
| #45 Gavin Sell SO | 6'2"/221 | A | C+ | C- | 48 (15%) | NA | |||
| #50 Damian Devine SO | 6'3"/222 | D | C+ | C+ | 20 (6%) | NA | |||
| #40 Chase Brixius SO | 6'2"/216 | B | D+ | 16 (5%) | NA | ||||
| #35 Ryland Satter SO | 6'1"/230 | C+ | C+ | B- | 11 (3%) | NA | |||
| #42 Alex Elliott JR | 6'2"/219 | C | 5 (2%) | MINN ('25) | |||||
| #00 Jack Wilson FR | 6'2"/225 | 3* HS ('26) |
Secondary
| Player | H/W | Stats | Pass D | Run D | Rush | Cov | Snaps | Rating | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #10 Antoine Booth (CB) GR | 5'11"/170 | B | C- | B | 108 (32%) | JMU ('25) | |||
| #13 Najee Nelson (CB) JR | 5'11"/191 | B | C | C+ | 49 (14%) | 2* HS ('20) | |||
| #23 Kegan Huber (CB) SR | 6'0"/184 | D+ | C+ | B+ | 32 (9%) | NA | |||
| #34 Marion Moore (CB) SO | 5'11"/186 | B | C+ | B+ | 28 (8%) | NA | |||
| #28 Kendrick Carter (CB) SO | 5'10"/151 | B- | B+ | 28 (8%) | NA | ||||
| #19 Will Rosenmeyer (CB) SO | 6'0"/188 | B- | D+ | 10 (3%) | NA | ||||
| #00 Kobe Russell (CB) FR | 6'1"/189 | 3* HS ('26) | |||||||
| #29 Darius Givance (S) SR | 6'2"/208 | B | D+ | B+ | 481 (40%) | NA | |||
| #14 Taylen Eady (S) SO | 6'0"/198 | A+ | B- | A- | 378 (32%) | NA | |||
| #6 Jaylin Crumby (S) JR | 5'11"/196 | D+ | A- | A- | 286 (24%) | NA | |||
| #20 Will Steil (S) SO | 6'2"/202 | B+ | C- | A+ | 74 (6%) | NA | |||
| #31 Mikhale Ford (S) SO | 5'11"/181 | D+ | A | 34 (3%) | NA | ||||
| #22 Hudson Artz (S) SR | 6'0"/203 | D+ | C+ | A- | 28 (2%) | NA | |||
| #30 Jaylen Archibald (S) SO | 6'1"/195 | B | A+ | 23 (2%) | NA | ||||
| #33 Walker Braaten (S) SO | 6'3"/183 | D+ | D+ | 14 (1%) | NA | ||||
| #39 Landon Meier (S) SO | 5'11"/199 | D+ | B- | 7 (1%) | NA | ||||
| #00 Brayden Dozier (S) FR | 5'11"/170 | 3* HS ('26) | |||||||
| #2 Jalon Peoples (DB) SR | 5'11"/190 | TTU ('25) |
Kickers
| Player | H/W | FG | XP | Pts | FG G | KO G | Rating | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #37 Drew Klein SR | 5'9"/175 | 1/1 (100%), Long 46 Yds | 3/3 | 6 Pts | C+ | C+ | NA |
Punters
| Player | H/W | Punts | Acc | Grade | Rank | Rating | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #39 Aaron Bickerton SR | 6'3"/201 | 34, 1480 YDS (43.5 YPP), Long 64 YDS | 12 In 20, 3 TB | A- | C | NA | |
| #95 Caleb McGrath SR | 6'3"/195 | MINN ('26) |
FR ATH - No Position Yet
| Player | H/W | Rating | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| #00 Brandon Walton FR | 6'2"/165 | 3* HS ('26) |
Roster & Program Overview
HC Tim Polasek returnsOC Dan Larson returnsDC Grant Olson returns
Players with Starting experience2710 off • 17 def
Team Talent204#135 in CFB
Avg Talent / Player0.83Blue-chip 0%
Roster Size956 portal (5.3%)
Talent Off: 92.38 (46)
Talent Def: 65.24 (45)
Talent ST: 6.56 (3)
New Portal In: 3 (2.7%)
Portal Losses: 7
Unrated/No Stats: 18
Total Team Snaps: 12385
Elite: 0
Top 100: 0
Top 250: 0
Top 100 Pos: 4
JAG: 20
Low JAG: 0
JAG-: 1
FR Snaps: 0 (0%)
SO Snaps: 4301 (35%)
JR Snaps: 4010 (32%)
SR Snaps: 3674 (30%)
GR Snaps: 400 (3%)
65% Snaps by Upperclassmen
18 players on roster have not played, have no stats and no recruiting/portal ratings.
Class Breakdown
| Category | GR | SR | JR | SO | FR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starters Returning | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Portal Starters 2026 portal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Experienced Depth | 2 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
| Off Starters Returning | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Off Depth Returning | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Def Starters Returning | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Def Depth Returning | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
Positions Summary
Unit
Returning
(starters/exp'd depth)
(starters/exp'd depth)
Portal Adds
(starters/exp'd depth)
(starters/exp'd depth)
Snaps
(total/portal/return%)
(total/portal/return%)
Outlook
Experience - Production - Notes
Experience - Production - Notes
QBQB
0 (0)
0 (0)
149(0)100% returning
Exp 18% • Prod 12% — North Dakota State lost their starting QB from last year. '25 backup QB Nathan Hayes looks to be the leader to start.
RBHB
0 (1)
0 (0)
274(0)100% returning
Exp 33% • Prod 30% — Top RB in '25 is gone, as is #2 rush threat at QB
WR/TEWR + TE
1 (3)
0 (0)
1333(0)100% returning
Exp 40% • Prod 31% — North Dakota State lost their top 2 WR's from last year.
OLT + G + C
3 (2)
0 (0)
2665(4)100% returning
T 59% • G 99% • C 11% — North Dakota State OL: 3 starters back, 2 with multi game experience, 3 more with some game experience. Portal OL: 0 potential starters from '26 Portal, 0 more portals have experience.
DLDE + DT
4 (4)
0 (0)
2381(0)100% returning
DE 100% • DT 79% — DL experience and continuity summary.
LBLB
1 (4)
0 (0)
1156(0)100% returning
LB 100% — LB experience and continuity summary.
SecondaryCB + S
1 (3)
0 (0)
1580(0)100% returning
CB 37% • S 56% — Secondary experience and continuity summary.
Team Snaps: Offense 4421 (4 portal) 100% returning, (0% via Portal) • Defense 5117 (0 portal) 100% returning, (0% via Portal)
Note: The units rarely add up to a full team of starters/depth in preseason, as inexperienced depth/portals will need to emerge
Note: The units rarely add up to a full team of starters/depth in preseason, as inexperienced depth/portals will need to emerge