North Dakota State’s Head-Turning QB Fact Amid Draft Dominance

Much is being made of North Dakota State soon tying Ohio State, along with Alabama, for the most quarterbacks drafted since 2016.

NDSU will have five after the upcoming NFL Draft with Cole Payton poised for late-round selection. Alabama will have a fifth with Ty Simpson going sometime early in the draft. Ohio State won’t have a quarterback going this year since Julian Sayin is playing another year in Columbus.

Among those three schools, only NDSU has produced a quarterback who played a major role with a Super Bowl-winning team and contended for MVP. That’s former Bison quarterback Carson Wentz, who went No. 2 in the 2016 draft. He helped the Philadelphia Eagles earn the No. 1 seed amid 13 starts as a serious MVP candidate in 2017 before an ACL tear. The Eagles eventually won the Super Bowl that season with backup Nick Foles.

Only former Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe has been with a Super Bowl winner but as a backup with the Seattle Seahawks in 2025. No other quarterback drafted from those three schools has played for a Super Bowl winner. The only playoff quarterbacks include former Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud and former Alabama quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa, Bryce Young, and Mac Jones.

Why NDSU is Producing NFL Quarterbacks Frequently

GettyCarson Wentz hoisted the Lombardi Trophy in 2018.

Every primary Bison starter from Wentz to Cam Miller has made it to the NFL, and Payton is next in line.

NDSU was an FCS program from 2004 to 2025 before the Bison moved up to the FBS. Smaller schools seldom produce one NFL quarterback. Past exceptions have included late Alcorn State star Steve McNair, former Northern Iowa star Kurt Warner, and former Eastern Illinois star Tony Romo.

The Bison were already a dominant Division II team when moving up to the FCS, but the Herd never produced an NFL quarterback before that move. Things took off with former Bison quarterback Brock Jensen, who led the team to three-consecutive FCS national championships between 2011 and 2013.

Jensen participated in the Miami Dolphins‘ training camp in 2014, but he didn’t make the team and opted for a career in the CFL. Wentz waited behind him for three seasons before he became the starter and ascended to a highly-touted draft prospect.

Behind the scenes, former NFL quarterback and Bison quarterbacks coach Randy Hedberg helped develop Wentz and the NFL-bound signal callers who came after him. NDSU also runs a pro-style offense, which has quarterbacks more ready for the next level versus other college offensive systems.

There likely could be more to come with NDSU playing the FBS. Current Bison quarterback Nathan Hayes will get his lone shot as the starter this fall in hopes to continue the draft lineage.

Top QB-Producing Schools Haven’t Produced Top QBs

GettyCarson Wentz became a career backup after failed attempts as a starter.

While the three aforementioned schools can claim the most quarterbacks drafted, they can’t claim the most successful ones.

Only Stroud and former Alabama quarterback Bryce Young are starters among quarterbacks from those schools. Former Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields didn’t pan out as a starter in his first three stops. Jones didn’t last in New England, Tagovailoa didn’t work out in Miami, and Wentz became a backup after three failed stints.

Former Bison quarterback Trey Lance also fell short with the San Francisco 49ers and has been a backup since. Fellow former Bison, Miller and Easton Stick, have only been backups, and Payton is projected to be a backup.

Former Ohio State quarterback Will Howard is a backup, Cardale Jones was a backup, and the late Dwayne Haskins Jr. was briefly a starter for the Washington Commanders before his untimely death.

Matthew Davis covers the NFL, WNBA and college sports for Heavy.com. As a contributing writer to the StarTribune, he has also covered Minnesota prep sports since 2016. More about Matthew Davis