There’s a reason why North Dakota State’s two most memorable playoff victories stand out to fans. There was a heck of a lot of talent on the field in these games. This came to light this weekend during the NFL Draft, when a few more players either where drafted or signed free agent contracts. The two games I’m speaking of are the 2012 FCS Semifinal between Georgia Southern and NDSU and the 2015 FCS Championship Game between the Bison and Illinois State. For the sake of this blog, I looked at guys that played in the respective game and either signed a free agent contract with an NFL team, were drafted, or played in the Canadian Football League. It’s pretty staggering when you look at it.
2012 FCS Semi – NDSU vs Georgia Southern
GSU
- Jerick McKinnon, drafted in 2014 3rd round by the Vikings (ran for 168 yds, rush TD, pass TD)
- JJ Wilcox, drafted in 2013 3rd round by the Cowboys (rush TD)
- Lavelle Westbrooks, drafted in 2014 7th round by the Bengals (5 tackles)
- Darius Eubanks, undrafted, on the Cowboys roster (9 tackles, led team)
- Brent Russell, undrafted on the Bears roster (5 tackles, sack)
NDSU
- Carson Wentz, drafted 2nd overall in 2016 by the Eagles (1 run for 12 yards, look it up!)
- John Crockett, undrafted, signed by the Packers (60 yds, rush TD)
- Bryan Shepherd, undrafted, went to Washington’s camp (1 tackle)
- Andrew Bonnet, undrafted, on the Eagles practice squad
- Kyle Emanuel, drafted in the 5th round in 2015 by the Chargers (1 tackle)
- CJ Smith, undrafted on the Eagles practice squad
- Ryan Smith, played three years in the CFL
- Joe Haeg, drafted in the 5th round in 2016 by the Colts (started at RT)
- Brock Jensen, undrafted, plays for Ottawa in the CFL
- Billy Turner, drafted in the 3rd round in 2014 by the Dolphins (started at LT)
- Sam Ojuri, undrafted, played in the CFL briefly
- Carlton Littlejohn/Cole Jirik, undrafted, both had tryouts in the CFL
- Marcus Williams, undrafted, just finished his third year in the NFL with the Jets
- Andre Martin, undrafted, was in the Rams training camp
- Ben LeCompte, undrafted, invites to Bears minicamp.
2015 FCS Championship Game
Illinois State
- Cameron Meredith, undrafted, had 66 catches and four TDs with Bears (1 reception, 14 yards)
- James O’Shaugnessy, drafted in 5th round by Chiefs in 2015 (2 TDs in title game)
- Tre Roberson, undrafted, on the Vikings practice squad (157 pass yds, 3 TD, 161 rush yds, TD)
- Marshaun Coprich, undrafted, was on Giants practice squad (106 rush yds)
- Mark Spelman, undrafted, invited to Bears minicamp (started at center)
- Kyle Avaloy, undrafted, invited to Bucs minicamp (started at left guard)
- Anthony Warrum, undrafted, invited to Cowboys minicamp (no catches)
- Cameron Lee, undrafted, invited to Saints minicamp (played on offensive line)
NDSU
- Carson Wentz, drafted 2nd overall in 2016 by the Eagles (237 pass yds, TD, 87 rush yds, TD)
- John Crockett, undrafted, signed by the Packers (74 yds, TD)
- Andrew Bonnet, undrafted, on the Eagles practice squad (15 rush yds)
- Kyle Emanuel, drafted in the 5th round in 2015 by the Chargers (4 tackles)
- CJ Smith, undrafted on the Eagles practice squad (3 tackles)
- Joe Haeg, drafted in the 5th round in 2016 by the Colts (started at LT, 1 infamous lateral)
- Carlton Littlejohn, had tryout in the CFL (8 tackles, led team)
- Luke Albers, undrafted, went to Cardinals minicamp (6 yd TD)
- Ben LeCompte, undrafted, invited to Bears minicamp.
- Landon Lechler, undrafted, invited to Bengals minicamp. (Started at RT)
There’s my list. May have missed a guy or two, but it’s an impressive group of players. Which one is better to you?