Bryce Lance could have cited plenty of reasons had he chosen to leave North Dakota State for a Bowl Subdivision program for his senior season.
Lance decided he had more a compelling case to stick around.
After helping North Dakota State win a national title while catching 17 touchdown passes to lead all Championship Subdivision players, Lance believed he still had more to offer at the FCS level. He heads our list of players to watch from outside the FBS programs.
“Honestly, the thing that kept me here
was my teammates,” said Lance, the younger brother of Los Angeles Chargers quarterback and former North Dakota State star Trey Lance. “I always say you’ve got your whole life to make money. There’s no amount of money that would make me not want to finish my senior year with my brothers. That was the big thing – my teammates.”
Lance redshirted in 2021 and totaled one catch from 2022-23 before breaking out in a big way last year. The 6-foot-3 wideout caught 75 passes for 1,071 yards. His 17 touchdown receptions tied a Missouri Valley Conference record, and seven of them came in four playoff games.
He caught six passes for 125 yards and three touchdowns in a 28-21 semifinal victory over South Dakota State. He followed that up by compiling nine receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown as North Dakota State beat Montana State 35-32 in the final, giving the Bison their 10th title in 14 years.
The chance to be part of a second straight championship helped bring Lance back to North Dakota State.
“Last year I got finally an opportunity to get on the field, and I had a blast,” Lance said. “Doing it again would be priceless.”
Although North Dakota State will have a new quarterback this season after Cam Miller went to the Las Vegas Raiders in the sixth round of the draft, Lance should have a smooth adjustment. Miller’s likely successor is Cole Payton, who arrived at North Dakota State with Lance in 2021 and has thrown him countless passes in practice.
Lance also will spend this final season trying to polish his route running and gain more yards after the catch, two areas he believes he needs to improve as he prepares for next year’s draft. His experience has taught him that he could gain the attention of NFL teams without leaving North Dakota State.
His older brother was drafted third overall by the San Francisco 49ers in 2021. Lance began his college career playing alongside North Dakota State receiver Christian Watson, who went to the Green Bay Packers in the second round of the 2022 draft.
“NDSU has shown time and time again how good their players really are and the production they have can translate to the next level,” Lance said. “For sure, it’s good to know that, in the back of my mind, but like I said the biggest reason (to stay) was definitely my teammates.”
Dickens only started four games as a redshirt freshman last season after taking over for the injured Cole Gonzales, but his spectacular performance during that stretch makes it enticing to wonder what’s next. He finished the season having completed 73.8% of his passes for 1,428 yards with 12 touchdowns and three interceptions. He threw for over 400 yards in two of his four starts – a 38-34 victory over Chattanooga and a 47-42 triumph at Samford.
Givens had an FCS-leading 27 ½ tackles for loss last season to go along with 12 sacks and three forced fumbles. He tied for sixth place in voting for the Buck Buchanan Award given to the top FCS defensive player. Givens had 21 tackles for loss, seven sacks and four forced fumbles in 2023.
This 6-foot defensive back had 22 passes defended, 1.8 passes defended per game and 20 pass breakups last year to lead the FCS in all three categories. He was an Associated Press All-America first-team selection.
Pena had 82 overall tackles, 22 ½ tackles for loss and 12 ½ sacks last season to earn AP All-America first-team honors. Pena finished 13th in the voting for the Buck Buchanan Award. He has totaled 44 ½ tackles for loss and 27 sacks over his three-year career.
Robertson led FCS players in total yards passing (3,937) and yards passing per game (328.1) last season. He finished sixth in the voting for the Walter Payton Award, given annually to the top FCS offensive player. Robertson completed 65% of his attempts and threw 31 touchdown passes with only six interceptions. He had thrown for 2,897 yards and 25 touchdowns with Maine in 2023.
Walthall caught 85 passes for 1,290 yards and 14 touchdowns last season as an AP All-America first-team selection. He ranked third among all FCS players in yards receiving. The 6-2 receiver was at Hawaii from 2021-23 before transferring to Incarnate Word.
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
