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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #9 Cole Payton SR | 6'3"/233 | 162/225 (72%), 2719 Yds, 16 TD / 4 INT | 136 Car, 777 Yds, (5.7 YPC), 13 TD, 3 FUM | A+ | A+ | #28 | 670 (82%) | NA | |
| #12 Nathan Hayes JR | 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 | #188 | 125 (15%) | NA | |
| #10 Trey Drake SO | 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 FR | 6'3"/222 | 3* HS ('25) | |||||||
| #14 Preston Brown FR | 6'1"/198 | NA |
Running Backs
| Player | H/W | Rushing | Receiving | Run | Rec | PPA | Snaps | Rating | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #8 Barika Kpeenu SR | 5'10"/213 | 191 Car, 1005 Yds, (5.3 YPC), 20 TD, 1 FUM | 19 Rec, 211 Yds, (11.1 YPR), 1 TD | A | A- | #25 | 462 (56%) | NA | |
| #7 DJ Scott SO | 5'11"/206 | 95 Car, 502 Yds, (5.3 YPC), 6 TD, 0 FUM | 4 Rec, 44 Yds, (11 YPR), 0 TD | A | F | #95 | 190 (23%) | NA | |
| #4 Owen Johnson SR | 5'11"/212 | 21 Car, 47 Yds, (2.2 YPC), 0 TD, 0 FUM | 3 Rec, 39 Yds, (13 YPR), 0 TD | C | B | #525 | 85 (10%) | NA | |
| #28 Cortez LeGrant SO | 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 FR | 5'9"/195 | 18 Car, 78 Yds, (4.3 YPC), 1 TD, 0 FUM | 0 Rec, 0 Yds, (0 YPR), 0 TD | B+ | B- | #398 | 24 (3%) | NA | |
| #26 Brady Wavrunek SO | 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 SO | 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 JR | 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 FR | 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 |
Running Backs
| Player | H/W | Rushing | Receiving | Run | Rec | PPA | Snaps | Rating | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #46 Truman Werremeyer SR | 6'2"/248 | 0 Car, 0 Yds, (0 YPC), 0 TD, 0 FUM | 3 Rec, 18 Yds, (6 YPR), 1 TD | B- | 257 (31%) | NA | |||
| #36 McClain Miller FR | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #5 Bryce Lance SR | 6'3"/209 | 51 Rec, 1079 Yds, (21.2 YPR), 8 TD, 0 FUM | 4 Car, 92 Yds, 1 TD | A+ | B | #82 | 574 (60%) | 3* HS ('18) | |
| #3 RaJa Nelson SR | 5'9"/196 | 29 Rec, 440 Yds, (15.2 YPR), 4 TD, 0 FUM | 7 Car, 14 Yds, 0 TD | A- | C | #148 | 376 (39%) | 2* HS ('20) | |
| #18 Jackson Williams SO | 5'11"/183 | 17 Rec, 293 Yds, (17.2 YPR), 1 TD, 1 FUM | 4 Car, 16 Yds, 1 TD | A- | F | #307 | 284 (30%) | NA | |
| #19 Chris Harris SR | 6'3"/210 | 12 Rec, 157 Yds, (13.1 YPR), 0 TD, 0 FUM | 0 Car, 0 Yds, 0 TD | B+ | A- | #491 | 209 (22%) | NA | |
| #15 Mekhi Collins JR | 6'4"/214 | 6 Rec, 159 Yds, (26.5 YPR), 2 TD, 0 FUM | 0 Car, 0 Yds, 0 TD | A- | A- | #563 | 167 (18%) | 3* HS ('22) | |
| #84 Logan Conklin FR | 6'4"/202 | 5 Rec, 49 Yds, (9.8 YPR), 0 TD, 0 FUM | 0 Car, 0 Yds, 0 TD | B+ | A | #791 | 157 (16%) | NA | |
| #17 Isiah St. Romain FR | 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 SO | 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 JR | 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 JR | 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 FR | 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 FR | 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 SO | 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 SO | 6'1"/193 | 3* HS ('23) | |||||||
| #21 Chris Kiel FR | 5'11"/198 | NA | |||||||
| #11 Jacob Kilzer FR | 6'3"/199 | AFA ('24) |
Tight Ends
| Player | H/W | Receiving | Rec | Run Blk | Pass Blk | Snaps | Rating | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #88 Carson Williams SR | 6'4"/247 | 8 Rec, 96 Yds, (12 YPR), 0 TD, 0 FUM | C- | C- | A- | 329 (24%) | 3* HS ('21) | |
| #81 Reis Kessel FR | 6'5"/239 | 15 Rec, 335 Yds, (22.3 YPR), 1 TD, 0 FUM | A+ | B | B | 257 (19%) | NA | |
| #89 Finn Diggins SR | 6'4"/246 | 8 Rec, 89 Yds, (11.1 YPR), 0 TD, 0 FUM | B+ | A- | B- | 188 (14%) | NA | |
| #40 Kaden Zenzen JR | 6'4"/244 | 1 Rec, 9 Yds, (9 YPR), 0 TD, 0 FUM | C- | D+ | C- | 182 (13%) | NA | |
| #44 Luke Kokat JR | 6'3"/238 | 0 Rec, 0 Yds, (0 YPR), 0 TD, 0 FUM | F | B+ | B- | 108 (8%) | NA | |
| #85 Jett Zabel FR | 6'3"/226 | 1 Rec, 4 Yds, (4 YPR), 0 TD, 0 FUM | C+ | C | 29 (2%) | NA | ||
| #87 Noah Nelson FR | 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) JR | 6'6"/304 | D+ | D+ | C | 594 (73%) | NA | |
| #76 Ryan Babatz (T) FR | 6'5"/308 | C | C- | B- | 260 (32%) | 3* HS ('25) | |
| #78 Noah Stommes (T) FR | 6'6"/261 | A- | B+ | B | 96 (12%) | NA | |
| #73 Alex Warden (OT) FR | 6'6"/257 | 3* HS ('25) | |||||
| #62 Griffin Empey (G) SO | 6'3"/298 | A | A+ | A+ | 699 (85%) | NA | |
| #71 Nate Tastad (G) FR | 6'5"/285 | D+ | C- | D+ | 580 (71%) | 3* HS ('24) | |
| #72 Nate Schneckloth (G) SO | 6'5"/300 | D | D+ | F | 201 (25%) | NA | |
| #66 Jack Liwienski (G) SO | 6'3"/300 | B | C+ | A+ | 125 (15%) | NA | |
| #69 Devin Lockerby (G) JR | 6'5"/310 | F | D | B- | 11 (1%) | NA | |
| #67 Kaden Chadwick (G) JR | 6'6"/285 | NA | |||||
| #68 Coy Okeson (G) FR | 6'5"/294 | 3* HS ('24) | |||||
| #74 Brett Tastad (G) FR | 6'5"/265 | 3* HS ('24) | |||||
| #61 Gage Schmidt (C) FR | 6'3"/298 | B | B | A | 94 (11%) | NA | |
| #63 Trent Fraley (C) JR | 6'1"/303 | MRSH ('24) |
Defensive Line
| Player | H/W | Stats | Pass D | Run D | Rush | Cov | Snaps | Rating | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #92 Kelton McCaslin (DE) JR | 6'5"/245 | A+ | C- | D | 406 (72%) | NA | |||
| #49 Matthew Stenbroten (DE) FR | 6'4"/242 | B+ | C | C+ | 205 (36%) | 3* HS ('24) | |||
| #98 Jack Iuliano (DE) SR | 6'3"/257 | A- | B+ | C- | 205 (36%) | NA | |||
| #97 Victor Isele (DE) SO | 6'2"/235 | B+ | B- | C | 192 (34%) | NA | |||
| #11 Chance Symons (DE) JR | 6'2"/236 | A- | C- | C+ | 64 (11%) | NA | |||
| #56 Allante Burley (DE) JR | 6'3"/229 | A- | A- | 35 (6%) | NA | ||||
| #90 Wyatt Osterbauer (DE) FR | 6'4"/234 | B+ | B- | 20 (4%) | NA | ||||
| #91 Ethan Wood (DE) FR | 6'4"/247 | D+ | 8 (1%) | NA | |||||
| #93 Toby Anene (DE) JR | 6'4"/259 | NA | |||||||
| #58 Keenan Wilson (DT) SO | 6'1"/283 | A+ | A | B+ | 429 (54%) | NA | |||
| #64 Jaxon Duttenhefer (DT) SR | 6'2"/289 | A | B | B- | 353 (44%) | NA | |||
| #94 Logan Larson (DT) JR | 6'3"/283 | A- | A+ | C+ | 309 (39%) | NA | |||
| #95 Zach Vanderpool (DT) FR | 6'5"/268 | A- | B- | C+ | 236 (30%) | NA | |||
| #54 Alijah Wayne (DT) FR | 6'4"/273 | B+ | C | B- | 196 (25%) | NA | |||
| #99 Obald Niyonkuru (DT) SO | 5'11"/288 | C+ | C | C+ | 51 (6%) | NA | |||
| #53 Chase Evink (DT) FR | 6'5"/256 | D+ | B | 25 (3%) | NA | ||||
| #65 Brody Clubb (DT) FR | 6'3"/273 | 3* HS ('25) |
Linebackers
| Player | H/W | Stats | Pass D | Run D | Rush | Cov | Snaps | Rating | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 Donovan Woolen SO | 6'4"/219 | A+ | A- | A+ | 636 (197%) | 3* HS ('24) | |||
| #43 Logan Kopp SR | 6'1"/221 | B- | D+ | A | 608 (189%) | NA | |||
| #55 Oliver Lucht SO | 6'1"/223 | C- | B | A | 106 (33%) | NA | |||
| #41 Peder Haugo FR | 6'1"/222 | B- | B+ | B | 104 (32%) | NA | |||
| #25 Ray James Jr. FR | 6'2"/220 | A | B+ | B+ | 80 (25%) | NA | |||
| #32 Austin Altepeter JR | 6'2"/228 | A- | D | B- | 74 (23%) | NA | |||
| #21 Noah Taylor SO | 6'0"/224 | C- | C- | B+ | 56 (17%) | NA | |||
| #45 Gavin Sell FR | 6'2"/221 | A | C+ | C- | 48 (15%) | NA | |||
| #50 Damian Devine FR | 6'3"/222 | D | C+ | C+ | 20 (6%) | NA | |||
| #40 Chase Brixius FR | 6'2"/216 | B | D+ | 16 (5%) | NA | ||||
| #35 Ryland Satter FR | 6'1"/230 | C+ | C+ | B- | 11 (3%) | NA | |||
| #42 Alex Elliott SO | 6'2"/219 | C | 5 (2%) | MINN ('25) | |||||
| #52 Nathaniel Staehling JR | 6'2"/238 | NA |
Secondary
| Player | H/W | Stats | Pass D | Run D | Rush | Cov | Snaps | Rating | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #24 A. Chideme-Alfaro (CB) SR | 6'2"/206 | A+ | C- | A- | 403 (118%) | NA | |||
| #10 Antoine Booth (CB) SR | 5'11"/170 | B | C- | B | 108 (32%) | JMU ('25) | |||
| #13 Najee Nelson (CB) SO | 5'11"/191 | B | C | C+ | 49 (14%) | 2* HS ('20) | |||
| #23 Kegan Huber (CB) JR | 6'0"/184 | D+ | C+ | B+ | 32 (9%) | NA | |||
| #34 Marion Moore (CB) FR | 5'11"/186 | B | C+ | B+ | 28 (8%) | NA | |||
| #28 Kendrick Carter (CB) FR | 5'10"/151 | B- | B+ | 28 (8%) | NA | ||||
| #19 Will Rosenmeyer (CB) FR | 6'0"/188 | B- | D+ | 10 (3%) | NA | ||||
| #00 Jaquise Alexander (CB) JR | 5'10"/178 | 3* HS ('22) | |||||||
| #2 Jailen Duffie (CB) SO | 5'11"/172 | 3* HS ('23) | |||||||
| #29 Darius Givance (S) JR | 6'2"/208 | B | D+ | B+ | 481 (40%) | NA | |||
| #14 Taylen Eady (S) FR | 6'0"/198 | A+ | B- | A- | 378 (32%) | NA | |||
| #27 Ryan Jones (S) SR | 6'3"/204 | C+ | B | A- | 291 (24%) | NA | |||
| #6 Jaylin Crumby (S) SO | 5'11"/196 | D+ | A- | A- | 286 (24%) | NA | |||
| #20 Will Steil (S) FR | 6'2"/202 | B+ | C- | A+ | 74 (6%) | NA | |||
| #31 Mikhale Ford (S) FR | 5'11"/181 | D+ | A | 34 (3%) | NA | ||||
| #22 Hudson Artz (S) JR | 6'0"/203 | D+ | C+ | A- | 28 (2%) | NA | |||
| #30 Jaylen Archibald (S) FR | 6'1"/195 | B | A+ | 23 (2%) | NA | ||||
| #33 Walker Braaten (S) FR | 6'3"/183 | D+ | D+ | 14 (1%) | NA | ||||
| #39 Landon Meier (S) FR | 5'11"/199 | D+ | B- | 7 (1%) | NA | ||||
| #2 Jalon Peoples (DB) JR | 5'11"/190 | TTU ('25) |
Kickers
| Player | H/W | FG | XP | Pts | FG G | KO G | Rating | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #38 Eli Ozick SO | 5'11"/191 | 16/18 (88.9%), Long 54 Yds | 62/63 | 110 Pts | NA | |||
| #37 Drew Klein JR | 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 JR | 6'3"/201 | 34, 1480 YDS (43.5 YPP), Long 64 YDS | 12 In 20, 3 TB | A- | C | NA |
Roster & Program Overview
HC Tim Polasek returnsOC Dan Larson new hireDC Grant Olson returns
Players with Starting experience3817 off • 21 def
Team Talent182# in CFB
Avg Talent / Player0.82Blue-chip 0%
Roster Size1065 portal (4%)
Talent Off: 90.64 (53)
Talent Def: 60.32 (50)
Talent ST: 0 (3)
New Portal In: 3 (2.4%)
Portal Losses: 5
Unrated/No Stats: 19
Total Team Snaps: 17710
Elite: 0
Top 100: 0
Top 250: 0
Top 100 Pos: 3
JAG: 18
Low JAG: 0
JAG-: 2
FR Snaps: 4301 (24%)
SO Snaps: 4001 (23%)
JR Snaps: 3674 (21%)
SR Snaps: 5734 (32%)
GR Snaps: 0 (0%)
53% Snaps by Upperclassmen
19 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 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Portal Starters 2025 portal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Experienced Depth | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 5 |
| Off Starters Returning | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Off Depth Returning | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Def Starters Returning | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Def Depth Returning | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
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
1 (0)
0 (0)
819(0)100% returning
Exp 100% • Prod 100% — Cole Payton returns, who started multiple games in '25.
RBHB
1 (1)
0 (0)
1078(0)100% returning
Exp 100% • Prod 100% — lost their lead Rusher, but returns their #2 Barika Kpeenu, from last year.
WR/TEWR + TE
3 (5)
0 (0)
3009(0)100% returning
Exp 101% • Prod 100% — North Dakota State returns Bryce Lance & Chris Harris, their top two WRs from last year.
OLT + G + C
3 (2)
0 (0)
2661(0)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 '25 Portal, 0 more portals have experience.
DLDE + DT
4 (5)
0 (0)
2734(0)100% returning
DE 100% • DT 101% — DL experience and continuity summary.
LBLB
2 (4)
0 (0)
1764(0)100% returning
LB 182% — LB experience and continuity summary.
SecondaryCB + S
2 (3)
0 (1)
2274(0)100% returning
CB 96% • S 68% — Secondary experience and continuity summary.
Team Snaps: Offense 7567 (0 portal) 100% returning, (0% via Portal) • Defense 6772 (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