Six Bison Named to Valley Football Scholar-Athlete Team

ST. LOUIS - North Dakota State had six players named to the Missouri Valley Football Conference Scholar-Athlete Team on Friday, Dec. 5, by a vote of the league's communications directors.

NDSU led the league with five honorees on the first team including senior defensive tackle and accounting graduate Jaxon Duttenhefer, senior linebacker and mechanical engineering major Logan Kopp, junior linebacker and finance major Nathaniel Staehling, senior wide receiver and marketing graduate Bryce Lance, and senior fullback and statistics graduate Truman Werremeyer.

Bison senior quarterback Cole Payton, a graduate of the sport management program, made the second team. Senior tight end and physical education major Carson Williams was an honorable mention along with sophomore wide receiver and return specialist Jackson Williams, a business administration major.

To qualify for the MVFC Scholar-Athlete Team, student-athletes must have sophomore academic and athletic standing, be starters or important reserves with participation in 66 percent of their team's games, and have at least a 3.50 cumulative grade-point average (on a 4.0 scale) as both an undergraduate student and graduate student, if applicable.

North Dakota State (12-0) is scheduled to host 17th-ranked Illinois State (9-4) in the second round of the NCAA Division I Football Championship at noon Saturday, Dec. 6. Tickets are on sale at GoBison.com/tickets.

2025 MVFC Scholar-Athlete Team

FIRST TEAM
TE Derek Anderson, Northern Iowa
QB Beau Brungard, Youngstown State
DL Kobe Clayborne, South Dakota State
DT Jaxon Duttenhefer, North Dakota State
OL Noah Fenske, Southern Illinois
LB Mason Kaplan, Illinois State
LB Logan Kopp, North Dakota State
WR Bryce Lance, North Dakota State
PK Andrew Lastovka, Youngstown State
DS David Neuberger, North Dakota
DB Dylan Rowsey, Murray State
LB Nathaniel Staehling, North Dakota State
FB Truman Werremeyer, North Dakota State

SECOND TEAM
LB Andrew Behm, Southern Illinois
OL Ben Buxa, North Dakota
LB Bryce Johnson, South Dakota State
DB Jy Martin, North Dakota
TE Alex McDonald, Youngstown State
LB Malachi McNeal, North Dakota
DS Kaydon Olivia, South Dakota State
QB Cole Payton, North Dakota State
WR Ayden Price, Northern Iowa
QB Tommy Rittenhouse, Illinois State
FB Mason South, North Dakota
TE Aidan Quinn, Southern Illinois

HONORABLE MENTION
WR Grahm Goering, South Dakota State
TE/FB Andrew Gustad, South Dakota State
QB Jerry Kaminski, North Dakota
OL Van Keen, Youngstown State
DE Camron Miller, Southern Illinois
TE Jesse Miller, South Dakota
LB Alex Rose, Indiana State
LB Braxton Sampson, Indiana State
TE Ryan Schwendeman, Southern Illinois
OL Joe Sferra, Youngstown State
OL Ben Wallace, Illinois State
TE Carson Williams, North Dakota State
WR/RS Jackson Williams, North Dakota State

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