As an underrated high school recruit, Carson Wentz arrived at North Dakota State with little fanfare. Yet, when he finally took the field, Wentz captured the attention of the football world, carrying on the Bison Dynasty by winning more FCS national titles. Carson Wentz’s college success launched him to become the highest selected North Dakota State player in NFL draft history — No. 2 overall in 2016.
Here's everything you need to know about Carson Wentz’s college career.
The vitals on Carson Wentz
School: North Dakota State
Position: Quarterback
Height: 6-6
Weight: 235 pounds
Years active: 2012-2015
Here are Carson Wentz’s career stats in college. Scroll to the right to view the complete stats.
| Year | games | completions | attempts | comp. % | Yards | TD | Rush Yards | Rush TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 75.0 | 144 | 2 | 22 | 1 |
| 2013 | 11 | 22 | 30 | 73.3 | 209 | 1 | 70 | 0 |
| 2014 | 16 | 228 | 358 | 63.6 | 3,111 | 25 | 642 | 6 |
| 2015 | 8 | 130 | 208 | 62.5 | 1,651 | 17 | 294 | 6 |
| Career | 43 | 392 | 512 | 76.5 | 2,315 | 45 | 1,028 | 13 |
Where did Carson Wentz go to college?
Carson Wentz, a native of Bismarck, North Dakota, attended North Dakota State. Per Detroit Free Press, Wentz signed with North Dakota State over an offer from Central Michigan.
What kind of prospect was Carson Wentz in high school?
Wentz was a three-sport athlete in football, basketball and baseball at Century High School in Bismarck. In baseball, he was a three-year starter at first base, batting .421 with 41 RBI. In basketball, Wentz played forward and center for North Dakota’s top-ranked team. Wentz shined the most playing football, earning All-conference honors as a quarterback and defensive back while being named the 2010 North Dakota Class 3A Player of the Year. His senior year high school stats included 1,285 passing yards, 25 total touchdowns and 61 tackles.
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2017 NFL Draft: Patrick Mahomes | Deshaun Watson | Christian McCaffrey | Cooper Kupp |
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What was Carson Wentz’s record in college?
In the four seasons Wentz played in college, he went 20-3 as a starter. Wentz’s Bison won the FCS national championship in each of his collegiate seasons; Wentz started at quarterback and was a team captain for the 2014 and 2015 championship team.
Records set by Carson Wentz
Here are some of the notable records and statistical rankings set by Wentz in college:
- 1st in North Dakota State single-season passing attempts: 358 attempts (2014)
- 1st in North Dakota State single-season completions: 228 completions (2014)
- 1st in North Dakota State single-season passing yards: 3,111 yards (2014)
- 1st in North Dakota State single-season total offense: 3,769 yards (2014)
- 1st in North Dakota State single-game passing touchdowns: 5 touchdowns (2014)
- 1st in North Dakota State passing attempts without an interception: 143 attempts
What were some of Carson Wentz’s best games in college?
Here are some of Wentz’s most notable performances in college:
North Dakota State 37, Jacksonville State 10 | Jan. 9, 2016 — FCS National Championship
- 16-for-29 passing, 197 passing yards, one passing touchdown, 79 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns (first game after missing 12 games with an injury)
North Dakota State 31, Northern Iowa 28 | Oct. 10, 2015
- Completed passes to 11 different receivers, 335 passing yards, four passing touchdowns. (10-play, 79-yard game-winning drive)
North Dakota State 29, Illinois State 27 | Jan. 10, 2015 — FCS National Championship
- 237 passing yards, one passing touchdown, 87 rushing yards, one game-winning rushing touchdown
North Dakota State 27, South Dakota State 24 | Dec. 6, 2014 — FCS Playoffs second round
- 235 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, 70 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown (eight-play, 76-yard game-winning drive)
North Dakota State 38, Youngstown State 14 | Nov. 22, 2014
- 126 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, 120 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown
North Dakota State 45, Missouri State 10 | Nov. 15, 2014
- 247 passing yards, school-record five passing touchdowns
North Dakota State 34, (FBS) Iowa State 14 | Aug. 30, 2014
- 18/28 passing, 204 passing yards, FBS win
What awards did Carson Wentz win in college?
Here are the awards and honors Wentz won in college:
- 2x NCAA Division I Championship Game Most Outstanding Player (2015-16)
- College Sporting News Fab 50 All-America (2014)
- College Sporting News FCS Playoff MVP (2014)
- NCAA Elite 90 Award (2015)
- NCAA Elite 89 Award (2013-14)
- CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year (2015)
- CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team (2014-15)
- CoSIDA Academic All-District (2014-15)
- MVFC All-Academic First Team (2014-15)
- MVFC President's Council Academic Award (2015)
- MVFC Commissioner's Academic Excellence Award (2012-13, 2015)
- National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society (2016)
What did people say about Carson Wentz?
North Dakota State head coach Chris Klieman on Wentz: “His ability to process information is second to none.”
Former North Dakota State wide receiver Zach Vraa on his former quarterback: “He picked things up faster than anybody I’ve ever seen.”
Former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich on Wentz during the draft evaluation process: “When you evaluate Carson and the process, if there are five to seven key boxes that you are trying to check off for a guy to come in and be an elite quarterback, he checks off all of the boxes. If you are scoring all of those boxes on a 1 to 10 scale, he scores a 9 or 10 on a lot of those boxes.”
