2021 NFL Draft: Trey Lance, Dillon Radunz stuck after NDSU cans season

Trey Lance and Dillon Radunz are in limbo with the 2021 NFL Draft up next

Following the Missouri Valley Football Conference’s decision to postpone its 2020 season to the Spring, two NFL prospects for North Dakota State are faced with difficult decisions ahead. With the 2021 NFL Draft on the horizon, quarterback Trey Lance and left tackle Dillon Radunz are now stuck in limbo.

The North Dakota State Bison announced Friday they will follow the Missouri Valley Football Conference into the Spring in hopes of playing a full conference schedule and vie for a National Championship. The MVFC did leave the door open for its teams to play an incomplete non-conference schedule against participating schools in the 2020 Fall season.

However, naturally, teams would be under the league’s guidelines for player safety under the pandemic and would be unable to compete for a championship. The basis of the Bison’s decision is in line with the traditions of the FCS powerhouse, at least on the surface.

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The Bison have won the MVFC every single year since 2011 and have won every FCS National Championship in that time period with the exception of 2016. No doubt this team is in the business of winning championships. As such, NDSU has sent a handful of players to the NFL, most notably Carson Wentz, who was drafted second overall by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2016.

Heading into the 2020 season and the 2021 NFL Draft, the Bison have two prospects with first round aspirations: QB Trey Lance and OT Dillon Radunz.

For Radunz, he enters the 2020 campaign as a redshirt senior with 31 starts under his belt. He’s been a dominating force, racking up All-American honors both years. He could declare for the 2020 Draft and allow his film to speak for itself, risking little in stock as many of the top tackle prospects are in conferences that have cancelled the Fall season.

That’s easy to say from here, but this is the senior season of a player looking to win a third straight championship.

For Trey Lance, he faces a different hurdle. Following a historic freshman season culminating in an undefeated championship season for the Bison while becoming the first freshman to ever win the Walter Payton Award. All while scoring 42 touchdowns total with no interceptions.

Needless to say, Lance has captivated the scouting community with his mobility and footwork. However he has only finished two seasons and isn’t eligible for the 2021 NFL Draft without playing this Fall or Spring. He must either transfer to a school participating this Fall or hold out until the Spring to return to action with his Bison teammates.

We did everything we could and handled everything the right way. It’s not fair, but we are unbelievably thankful for our coaches, staff, and administration for putting us in a position to have a chance to safely play this fall. https://t.co/K7AUHsfYec
— Trey Lance (@treylance09) August 14, 2020

The later seems the most likely for him. Transferring brings a laundry list of problems, most notably learning a new team and playbook in a month’s time. However, playing in the Spring brings on a problem of inevitably skipping the Combine, finishing the season at or after the NFL Draft, and playing in two seasons in one calendar year.

Truth be told, Lance may be a prospect we have to wait until 2022 to see in the NFL officially. He needs that third season to improve on accuracy concerns and to polish himself overall and that third season being disrupted as it has been, waiting patiently may be the best option for him. Either way, Lance, Radunz and a whole host of 2021 prospects have serious career decisions to make. And fast.