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NDSU looks to keep the quarterback tradition going strong.

North Dakota State has spring practice wrapped up, and Bison head coach Tim Polasek has time to keep building the program’s future beyond 2026.

“Hitting the road to find the next QB who wants to compete,” Polasek wrote via X on Monday.

He included a graphic by NDSU athletics social media that touted the five Bison quarterbacks who were drafted in the NFL during the past decade. Cole Payton became the latest on April 25 when the Philadelphia Eagles took him during the fifth round.

Polasek has been around for almost all five of those quarterbacks during his stints in Fargo on the Bison staff before he took the head coaching job in 2024. The trend started in 2016 when the Eagles took former Bison quarterback Carson Wentz with the No. 2 pick, and it continued from there.

Easton Stick continued the Bison dynasty as the all-time wins leader in FCS history, and the Los Angeles Chargers selected him in the fifth round of the 2019 draft. Trey Lance followed suit in 2021 when the San Francisco 49ers traded up and took him with the No. 3 pick.

Polasek didn’t get to coach on staff during Lance’s tenure amid stints on Iowa’s and Wyoming’s coaching staffs. When Polasek returned to Fargo in 2024, quarterback Cam Miller was in the middle of his run.

The Las Vegas Raiders took Miller with a sixth-round pick in 2025 before Payton’s lone year as a starter in Fargo. Bison senior quarterback Nathan Hayes now looks to do more of the same as the program kicks off its first-ever FBS season in August.

Nathan Hayes’ NFL Potential

Hayes will have his shot, and he has the size for it at 6-foot-3, 218 pounds.

He also holds an advantage that his predecessors didn’t hold with the toughest schedule in program history. Hayes will play in a Mountain West Conference that has produced NFL quarterbacks before, most notably Josh Allen from Wyoming and Derek Carr from Fresno State.

Defensively, the Mountain West had four teams in the top 70 of college football last year. Wyoming ranked the highest at No. 33 followed by New Mexico at No. 46 and Hawaii at No. 62. Northern Illinois ranked No. 64 and Jacksonville State, NDSU’s season-opening opponent, ranked No. 71.

Similar to Payton, Hayes is a strong runner, and he has shown the ability to throw it downfield. Hayes completed a 68-yard touchdown pass last season, and he has runs of 51 and 34 yards in his limited playing time since 2024.

Overall, Hayes has completed 58.7% of his passes for 595 yards and seven touchdowns versus an interception in 37 passing attempts between 2024 and 2025. The West Chicago native has 178 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 14 carries, too.

A Look at the Bison QB Room

After Hayes, the Bison have a young quarterback room.

That includes junior quarterback Trey Drake. He appeared in three games last year, and he played snaps in non-conference action against The Citadel, Tennessee State and St. Thomas.

A Jamestown, New York, native, Drake has been with the Bison since 2023. He first played in a game against Missouri State during the 2024 season.

Zander Smith is a redshirt freshman quarterback from Lakeland, Florida, and he awaits his first college snaps. He redshirted in 2025 with the Bison after a standout prep career, where he eclipsed 8,000 yards passing and 80 touchdowns.

Preston Brown, a sophomore, played in eight games last season on special teams. He returned kickoffs twice, and one went for 26 yards, so the Bison could have another running quarterback coming in the future.