North Dakota State is giving their promising quarterback prospect one game to show off for NFL scouts this season.
The Bison announced Monday that they will play a single game this fall, an October 3rd date with Central Arkansas:
🚨 Bison Football is Coming Back! 🚨
NDSU will host Central Arkansas on October 3 at the Fargodome. Ticket availability will be limited. Season ticket holders have until 4:00 next Friday, Sept. 4, to request tickets. Details: https://t.co/pOnxdLc7WX pic.twitter.com/TlCiv9nFGX
— NDSU Football (@NDSUfootball) August 24, 2020
The Missouri Valley Conference in which NDSU plays has cancelled their 2020 schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Bison appear to be making their own plans for a one-night-only showcase for quarterback Trey Lance.
Lance is widely regarded as a potential first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, coming off a redshirt freshman season in which he threw for 28 touchdowns and no interceptions. Bison offensive tackle Dillon Radunz is also a potential first-round prospect in this year’s class, and this game will give him a similar opportunity to show off for pro scouts just one more time before the predraft process begins.
Speaking of those scouts, it appears NDSU is planning to let them attend, per NFL.com’s Chase Goodbread:
For the moment, anyway, NFL scouts at the NDSU-Central Arkansas game Oct. 3 are a green light from NDSU's perspective. "Willing and open to accommodate," said AD Matt Larsen. NFL restriction on scout travel still a hurdle.
— Chase Goodbread (@ChaseGoodbread) August 24, 2020
From a draft perspective, it’s unlikely Lance will show scouts anything in this game that they haven’t already seen in his film from last season. They already know he can carve up FCS competition, but the real question will be what happens when he goes up against a defense full of NFL-caliber prospects.
As a redshirt sophomore, Lance won’t get the same opportunity former Bison star Carson Wentz got at the Senior Bowl before becoming the No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.
