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2023 Football Roster

Zachary Lucy
Jacob Reiner
Tim Sanger
Zachary Lucy
Ric Kruszynski
Tim Sanger

31 Cole Wisniewski

  • Position Safety
  • Height 6-4
  • Weight 217
  • Class Senior
  • Hometown Sparta, Wis.
  • High School Sparta HS

Biography

* 2023 FCS ADA All-America Team
* 2023 AFCA FCS All-America First Team
* 2023 Stats Perform FCS All-America First Team
* 2023 AP FCS All-America First Team
* 2023 Phil Steele FCS All-America First Team
* 2023 Walter Camp FCS All-America Team
* 2023 FCS Football Central All-America First Team

* 2023 All-MVFC First Team
* 2023 MVFC Defensive Player of the Week (2)
* 2022, 2023 NCAA Elite 90 Award
* 2023 CSC Academic All-America First Team
* 2023 CSC Academic All-District
* 2023 FCS ADA Academic All-Star
* 2023 MVFC Scholar-Athlete of the Year
* 2023 MVFC Scholar-Athlete First Team
* 2021 MVFC All-Academic Honorable Mention
* 2021, 2022 MVFC Commissioner's Academic Excellence Award
* 2020-21, 2021, 2022 MVFC Honor Roll

2024 SEASON (REDSHIRT):
Returned to North Dakota State for an additional year of eligibility due to the impact of COVID-19 on the 2020 season...Member of the Bison football team through the end of the regular season...Missed all 12 games due to injury.

2023 SEASON (SENIOR): Consensus first team FCS All-American in his first year playing safety after three seasons at linebacker...Started 14 games, missing one home game against Western Illinois due to injury...Led all Division I players with eight interceptions, tying the Missouri Valley Football Conference and NDSU single-season records...Also led NDSU with 92 total tackles and five pass breakups...Credited with 2.0 tackles for loss and one forced fumble...Had a career-high 11 tackles and his first career interception in the season-opener against Eastern Washington at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis to earn MVFC Defensive Player of the Week...Also had 11 tackles in road losses to top-ranked South Dakota State and No. 2 Montana in the national semifinals...Made 10 tackles and had a 75-yard interception return for touchdown in a key road win over Northern Iowa in the regular-season finale to earn his second MVFC Defensive Player of the Week honor...Voted MVFC Scholar-Athlete of the Year...Finalist for the Doris Robinson Award, presented annually to the FCS Scholar-Athlete of the Year...Selected to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America® Division I football first team...Named to the FCS Athletic Directors Association Academic All-Star Team...Finalist for one of two FCS ADA postgraduate scholarships.

2022 SEASON (JUNIOR): Missed the first seven games of the season due to injury before playing in the final eight straight including his only start of the year in the national championship against South Dakota State...Credited with 27 total tackles...Recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown in the NCAA second round playoff win over Montana...Made a season-high eight tackles against the Griz...NCAA Elite 90 award winner for the second straight year with the highest GPA at the 2023 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game...Also named to the MVFC Commissioner's Academic Excellence Award list and MVFC Honor Roll.

2021 SEASON (SOPHOMORE): Played all 15 games including two starts at linebacker against Valparaiso and in the second round of the NCAA playoffs against Southern Illinois...Fourth on the team with 53 total tackles including 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.0 sack...Had two forced fumbles and two pass breakups...Tied for second on the Bison with six special teams tackles...Season-high eight tackles with six solo stops in the home win over Missouri State...NCAA Elite 90 award winner with the highest GPA at the 2022 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game...MVFC All-Academic honorable mention...Second straight year on the MVFC Honor Roll...Earned the MVFC Commissioner's Academic Excellence Award.

2020-21 SEASON (FRESHMAN): Played in all 10 games as a true freshman...Started both NCAA playoff games against Eastern Washington and Sam Houston in place of injured teammate James Kaczor...Made a career-high nine tackles in the win over EWU...Followed that performance with six tackles in the quarterfinal loss at SHSU...Finished the year with 22 total tackles including one tackle for loss...Led NDSU with seven special teams tackles, including five stops on kickoff coverage...Named to the Missouri Valley Football Conference Honor Roll.

HIGH SCHOOL: 2020 graduate of Sparta High School...Three-year starter...Team captain his senior year...Played quarterback and safety for coach Adam Dow...Conference defensive player of the year and honorable mention all-state defensive back as a senior with 75 total tackles, two sacks, two interceptions and a pair of forced fumbles and recoveries...Three-time all-conference quarterback including first team honors his final two seasons...Accounted for 68 total touchdowns and 5,400 all-purpose yards in his career...Set school records for rushing yards and touchdowns, single-season and career touchdowns, and single-season completion percentage...Led the Spartans to their first playoff win in school history...Also a captain on the basketball team and competed in track.

PERSONAL: Graduated from NDSU in December 2024 with a degree in business administration...Son of Tom Wisniewski and Corina Koch...Older brother, Ryan, was a wide receiver at Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Statistics

Season Statistics

Season Statistics

No statistics available for this season.

Career Statistics

There are no statistics available for this player.

Historical Player Information

  • 31

    2020Freshman

    Linebacker
    6'3" 218 lbs
    31
  • 31

    2021Sophomore

    Linebacker
    6'4" 221 lbs
    31
  • 31

    2022Junior

    Linebacker
    6'4" 225 lbs
    31
  • 31

    2023Senior

    Safety
    6'4" 217 lbs
    31