(Stats Perfrom) – The more North Dakota State wins FCS national championships, the more it has players picked in the NFL Draft.
The numbers don’t necessarily add up enough, however.
Defensive end Derrek Tuszka’s selection by the Denver Broncos in the seventh round on Saturday – the second-to-last pick at No. 254 overall – was the Bison’s sixth since they started collecting FCS titles – eight in the last nine seasons. He was the 37th all-time for the former Division II-turned-FCS power.
NFL teams haven’t been let down by the recent draft picks from North Dakota State. Offensive tackles Billy Turner (2014, third round) and Joe Haeg (2016, fifth) and quarterbacks Carson Wentz (2016, first) and Easton Stick (2019, fifth) are still in the league, and linebacker Kyle Emanuel played four seasons, but has announced a return from a one-year retirement. Wentz is the highest FCS selection in draft history, taken No. 2 overall by the Philadelphia Eagles.
In Tuszka, the Broncos received a 2019 first-team Stats Perform FCS All-American and the defensive player of the year in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The 6-foot-4, 251-pounder ranks fifth in program history with 29½ sacks and is tied for sixth with 42 tackles for loss. He batted down five passes as a senior.
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