NFL Draft Scout
Featured In/On:
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Name: Cole Payton
College: North Dakota State
Number: 9
School Bio/Stats Link: HERE
Height: 6-2 Weight: 233
Position: Pos2: FB/ATH
Class/Draft Year: rSr/2026
40 Low: 4.52 40 Time: 4.62 40 High: 4.68
> Projected Round: Stock: 
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Data Scout Notes: X-HPFA-is QB1 on team Now/Used like RPO Tebow/Thick ATH Dual Threat/66%-3-0 in 23 2024: NAC...2023: NAC...2022: NAC
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Height: 6021
Weight: 233
Zybek PD3X AKA "Official"
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Height: 6021
Weight: 233
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Cole Payton, North Dakota State, Player News
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Cole Payton and Barika Kpeenu combined for five touchdowns and North Dakota State moved to within one win of a perfect regular season, defeating Northern Iowa 48-16 on Saturday. The FCS top-ranked Bison (10-0, 8-0 Missouri Valley Football Conference) str etched their homefield winning streak to 18 games and they have won 15 straight overall. They finish the regular season on Saturday with a non-conference home game against St. Thomas of Minnesota. Payton completed 15 of 17 passes for 212 yards with one t ouchdown. He had a 5-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and his 64-yard touchdown run in the third gave NDSU a 38-2 lead. Kpeenu had two touchdowns and 54 yards rushing. He has 15 touchdown runs this season.Bryce Lance had 131 yards receiving and caught Payton's touchdown pass, a 14-yarder in the second quarter. They also connected on a 51-yard pass play. Northern Iowa managed only 201 yards of total offense and became the 10th NDSU opponent to score 17 points or less. The Panthers' defense came through with a safety and a blocked punt for a touchdown. NDSU is 52-11 in regular-season November games since 2004, including 38-6 since 2011. The game was North Dakota State's traditional Harvest Bowl, a game in which they are 46-2-2 since 1974. - AP College Football
(DS#10 QB) rSr/2026  QB Cole Payton, North Dakota State
News Source: AP College Football
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Cole Payton threw for 125 yards and his 8-yard touchdown run with 2:02 left helped top-ranked FCS North Dakota State beat North Dakota 15-10 on Saturday to claim the Missouri Valley Conference title. It was the Bison's lone touchdown of the day and first lead of the game against their 18th-ranked, in-state foe (6-4, 4-2). Both teams exchanged punts after Payton's touchdown on what proved to be North Dakota's final drive lasting nine plays and covering 43 yards. The Bison (10-0, 7-0) ended the Fighting H awks' upset bid when Anthony Chideme-Alfaro intercepted Jerry Kaminski at the goal line with 11 seconds left.Sawyer Seidl's 2-yard touchdown run with 2:52 left in the first quarter put North Dakota ahead 7-0. The Bison got field goals of 24 and 38 yards from Eli Ozick to get within 7-6 at the end of the first half. In the third, Kenton Laughman extended North Dakota's margin with a 32-yard field goal for a 10-6 lead before Ozick kicked a 33-yarder to make it 10-9 with 1:09 left in the third. Kami nksi threw for 170 yards and the North Dakota State defense recorded three interceptions. - AP College Football
(DS#10 QB) rSr/2026 QB Cole Payton, North Dakota State
News Source: AP College Football
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Cole Payton threw for 194 yards, Barika Kpeenu ran for three touchdowns and North Dakota State won its 13th straight game by beating Youngstown State 38-30 on Saturday. Youngstown State posted early leads of 3-0 and 10-7, with the Penguins' first touchdo wn coming on 10-yard run by quarterback Beau Brungard. The last five minutes of the first half generated an explosion of points for both teams. DJ Scott gave the FCS top-ranked Bison (9-0, 6-0 Missouri Valley Football Conference) the lead for good with a 3-yard scoring run with 4:52 before intermission. On the ensuing kickoff, Ky Wilson fumbled at his own 9 and Kegan Huber recovered for the Bison. Two plays later, Kpeenu ran it in from the 4 for a 21-10 lead.Wilson recovered and ran the following kickoff back 52 yards. The Penguins drove 46 yards and scored when Brungard threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Alex McDonald to reduce the deficit to 21-17. North Dakota State wasted no time when on the ensuing kickoff Jackson Williams took it back 100 y ards for a touchdown and a 28-17 lead with 1:32 left before halftime. Andrew Lastovka kicked field goals of 49 and 42 yards just before and after halftime to reduce the Penguins' deficit to 28-23. Youngstown State drew within 35-30 when Brungard ran it i n from the 2 in the fourth quarter but never got closer. Brungard threw for 203 yards, a touchdown and interception and ran for 50 yards on 15 carries with two touchdowns for the 19th-ranked Penguins (5-4, 2-3). - AP College Football
(DS#10 QB) rSr/2026 QB Cole Payton, North Dakota State
News Source: AP College Football
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Cole Payton accounted for 380 yards and four touchdown runs to lead undefeated North Dakota State to a 38-7 victory over previously-unbeaten South Dakota State on Saturday night for its second straight Dakota Marker trophy. The FCS defending national cha mpion and top-ranked Bison (8-0, 5-0 Missouri Valley Football Conference) snapped a two-game skid at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium for its first win there since 2019. The Bison have also won three straight against second-ranked South Dakota State (7-1, 3-1), including a 28-21 win at home in last season's NCAA semifinal matchup.It was just the 10th matchup of No. 1 vs. 2 in FCS history, but only the fourth time it has happened in the regular season. Payton scored twice from short yardage and had a 57-y ard TD run as the Bison built a 31-7 halftime lead. The Bison scored on five of six possessions and had 345 yards of offense in the first half. They finished with 500 yards overall and held South Dakota State to just 166. Payton's 47-yard touchdown run m ade it 38-7 early in the fourth quarter. He was 18-of-23 passing for 243 yards with an interception and ran 17 times for 137 yards. Luke Marble threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Lofton O'Groske in the second quarter for the Jackrabbits. North Dakota Stat e leads the overall series 66-47-5, including an 12-10 advantage in Dakota Marker games. - AP College Football
(DS#10 QB) rSr/2026 QB Cole Payton, North Dakota State
News Source: AP College Football
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WEEK 7 MISSOURI VALLEY OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: QB Cole Payton, North Dakota State, 6-3, 233, Sr., Omaha, Neb.,...Payton accounted for 291 yards of total offense and three touchdowns in North Dakota State's 45-17 win over eighth-ranked Southern Illi nois. He picked up eight first downs on 13 of 16 passing for 243 yards and one TD, and he rushed eight times for 48 yards and two scores including a 41-yard scramble in the third quarter to extend NDSU's lead to 31-10. Payton connected with Bryce Lance f or 48 yards and a 9-yard TD on back-to-back plays late in the second quarter to take a 17-10 lead before halftime, and his 50-yard strike to tight end Reis Kessel on third-and-7 extended the opening drive of the second half as NDSU built a 24-10 lead. - Missouri Valley Football
(DS#10 QB) rSr/2026 QB Cole Payton, North Dakota State
News Source: Missouri Valley Football
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Cole Payton threw a touchdown pass and ran for two of North Dakota State's five rushing touchdowns in the Bison's 45-17 victory over Southern Illinois on Saturday. After the Salukis opened the scoring, wide receiver Bryce Lance ran 75 yards for a score t o give FCS top-ranked North Dakota State (6-0, 3-0 MVFC) a 7-3 lead. Southern Illinois went back ahead, 10-7, on a 5-yard run by Chandler Chapman to open the second quarter but the Salukis did not score again until the middle of the fourth quarter. After Chapman's TD for the Salukis, North Dakota State tied it with a field goal then added touchdowns on five consecutive possessions for a 45-10 lead.Payton, who entered as the FCS leader in passing efficiency (221.1), completion percentage (.747), p assing yards per completion (18.05) and passing yards per attempt (13.48), completed 13 of 16 passes for 243 yards. His efficiency rating was 229.5, completion percentage 81.2, yards per completion 18.7 and yards per attempt 15.2. He broke numerous tackl es on his 41-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Lance led NDSU with 75 yards rushing and 79 yards receiving. DJ Willilams had 190 yards passing for the FCS No. 9 Salukis (4-2, 1-1) and led them with 41 yards rushing. - AP College Football
(DS#10 QB) rSr/2026 QB Cole Payton, North Dakota State
News Source: AP College Football
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WEEK 5 MISSOURI VALLEY OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: QB Cole Payton, North Dakota State, 6-3, 233, Sr., Omaha, Neb. (Westside HS),...Payton accounted for 375 yards of total offense and three touchdowns as top-ranked North Dakota State opened conference p lay with a 51-13 homecoming victory over 17th-ranked South Dakota. Payton went 14 of 18 passing for 273 yards and two TDs while rushing 11 times for 102 yards and one TD. He picked up six first downs in the run game including one fourth-and-short convers ion of 11 yards and three third-down conversions running for 15 yards with seven to go, 7 with six to go, and a 21-yard scramble on third-and-17 to keep a two-minute drive alive late in the second quarter as NDSU built a 34-0 lead. - Missouri Valley Foot ball
(DS#10 QB) rSr/2026 QB Cole Payton, North Dakota State
News Source: Missouri Valley Football
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Cole Payton accounted for three touchdowns and North Dakota State rolled over South Dakota 51-13 to celebrate homecoming on Saturday. The Bison scored touchdowns on each of their five first-half possessions and led 34-3 at halftime. Nathaniel Staehling r eturned an interception 43 yards for a touchdown to make it 41-3 early in the third quarter. North Dakota State's only punt came with 5 1/2 minutes remaining in the game. The FCS top-ranked Bison (4-0, 1-0 Missouri Valley Football Conference) had touchdo wn drives of 77 and 90 yards on their first two possessions and led 13-0. They had a shorter field on their third possession and Barry Kpeenu's 6-yard run made it 20-0 barely a minute into the second quarter. At that point in the game, NDSU had a 213-38 advantage in total yards. At game's end the advantage was 547-296. North Dakota State drove 95 yards for a touchdown on the next possession, with Payton throwing to Bryce Lance for a 2-yard touchdown that made it 27-0.Coming into the game, Payton led the FCS in passing yards per completion (18.10) and per attempt (12.84) and ranked second in passing efficiency (214.7) through his first three starts. Payton was 14-for-18 passing for 273 yards with two touchdowns and ran for 102 yards on 11 carries , with one touchdown. His passing efficiency was 241.8. The North Dakota State defense ranks first in passing defense and total defense and second in scoring defense. South Dakota (FCS No. 18, 2-3, 0-1) got a 31-yard field goal from Will Leyland on the f inal play of the first half and a 51-yarder from Zeke Mata in the fourth quarter. Carson Fletcher scored on a 4-yard run with about a minute remaining. - AP College Football
(DS#10 QB) rSr/2026 QB Cole Payton, North Dakota State
News Source: AP College Football
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Barry Kpeenu ran for three touchdowns and defending FCS champion North Dakota State beat Tennessee State 59-3 on Saturday. The FCS top-ranked Bison (2-0) rolled up 433 yards of offense and 24 first downs while holding the Tigers (1-1) to 131 yards and fo ur first downs. Kpeenu gained 57 yards on 10 carries and scored three of the game's first four touchdowns on runs of 10, 4 and 6 yards. The score was 45-0 at halftime after a 28-point second quarter.Cole Payton was 13 of 16 for 166 yards passing i ncluding a 3-yard score to RaJa Nelson for the final points of the first half. Nathan Hayes connected with Mekhi Collins for a 68-yard score. DJ Scott had a rushing TD. Donovan Woolen made a one-handed grab for an interception he returned 34 yards for a TD. The Tigers avoided a shutout with Freddy Perez's 45-yard field goal with four minutes remaining. The Bison have outscored their first two opponents 97-3. Three Tigers quarterbacks combined to complete 8 of 18 passes for 61 yards with an interception. Kendric Rhymes rushed for 43 yards on 12 carries. - AP College Football
(DS#10 QB) rSr/2026 QB Cole Payton, North Dakota State
News Source: AP College Football
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Barika Kpeenu ran for a pair of short touchdowns, Cole Payton passed and ran his way to 293 yards offense and defending FCS national champion North Dakota State opened its season with a 38-0 win over The Citadel on Saturday. Kpeenu scored from 2 yards ou t to complete a 90-yard drive and Cole passed 34 yards to RaJa Nelson for a 17-0 halftime lead. Payton passed for 192 yards and a score and rushed for 101 more for the top-ranked Bison, winners of 10 FCS national championships. Nathan Hayes also passed f or a touchdown. DJ Scott rushed for a score and Isiah St. Romain had a TD catch.The Bulldogs reached Bison territory once before turning the ball over on downs at the NDSU 3 in the fourth quarter. The Bison posted their first shutout since blankin g two opponents in 2021. The Bulldogs were last shut out by Georgia Southern, 34-0, to open the 2023 season. The Bison outgained the Bulldogs 520-122. This was the first meeting between the schools. The Bison are now 11-0 versus the Southern Conference. - AP College Football
(DS#10 QB) rSr/2026 QB Cole Payton, North Dakota State
News Source: AP College Football
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SEPT 12 MISSOURI VALLEY PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINEE: QB Cole Payton, North Dakota State - One of 10 ball carriers used in the game, Payton rushed for a team-high 41 yards on four carries with one touchdown in North Dakota State's 43-3 win over North Carol ina A&T. Payton averaged 10.2 yards per carry with a long of 26 yards. He scored on a 6-yard run and added a 2-point conversion on the ground to give NDSU an early 15-3 lead. Payton also went 4 of 4 passing for 22 yards in a backup role. - Missouri Valle y Football
(DS#10 QB) rSr/2026 QB Cole Payton, North Dakota State
News Source: Missouri Valley Football
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