DII Report: Former DII football players on NFL rosters as the preseason opens
There are more than 80 DII football alum reporting to camps across the nation, so yeah, there's plenty of NFL talent to be found.
(Austin Ekeler at Western Colorado)
Last season, West Alabama alum Tyreek Hill was a First-Team NFL All-Pro for the Miami Dolphins. Austin Ekeler, out of Western Colorado, led the NFL in total touchdowns for a second-straight season. Grand Valley State’s Matthew Judon was named a Pro Bowler for a fourth-straight season after recording back-to-back double-digit sack campaigns for the New England Patriots. Minnesota State’s Adam Thielen, CSU Pueblo’s Ryan Jensen, and Missouri Western’s Greg Zuerlein are just a few more DII alum that have a Pro Bowl or two under their belts in the past few seasons.
I need your help to keep the DII Report Free: PLEASE consider supporting the DII Report financially by clicking HERE!
There is talent aplenty to be found in DII, and now that training camps are open, let’s try and track them.
Please note, you are reading this beginning Wednesday, July 26. I compiled these lists according to NFL.com rosters over the past weekend. If you know anything about NFL training camps, it’s that things change quickly with both injuries and cuts.
This should be seen as a work in progress, and please reach out if you know of changes. Keep an eye out at NCAA.com the weekend before the season opens for my official article breaking down the rosters and players that make the cut for the 2023 NFL season.
CLICK ME: PRESEASON NEWSLETTER SUPPORT HERE.
DII football players heading to NFL 2023 training camps
(As of 7/23/23 per NFL.com; * indicates although school is now FCS or DI, the player played while the program was still DII; # indicates school no longer has a football program)
Team | Player | School | Position
Arizona Cardinals Dennis Gardeck Sioux Falls LB
Arizona Cardinals Christian Matthew Valdosta State DB
Atlanta Falcons Dee Alford Tusculum DB
Atlanta Falcons Keilahn Harris Oklahoma Baptist WR
Atlanta Falcons Kyle Hinton Washburn OL
Atlanta Falcons Xavier Malone Henderson State WR
Baltimore Ravens Trey Botts CSU Pueblo DT
Baltimore Ravens Shemar Bridges Fort Valley State WR
Buffalo Bills Deonte Harty Assumption WR
Carolina Panthers Adam Thielen Minnesota State WR
Carolina Panthers BJ Wilson Quincy OL
Cincinnati Bengals Alex Cappa Humboldt State# OL
Cincinnati Bengals Domenique Davis UNC Pembroke DL
Cincinnati Bengals Tanner Hudson Southern Arkansas TE
Chicago Bears Tyson Bagent Shepherd QB
Cleveland Browns D'Anthony Bell West Florida DB
Cleveland Browns Nate McCrary Saginaw Valley State RB
Dallas Cowboys David Durden West Florida WR
Dallas Cowboys C.J. Goodwin Cal (PA) DB
Denver Broncos Jonathan Harris Lindenwood* DL
Detroit Lions Trinity Benson East Central WR
Detroit Lions John Cominsky Charleston (WV) DL
Detroit Lions Trevor Nowaske Saginaw Valley State LB
Detroit Lions Anthony Pittman Wayne State (MI) LB
Detroit Lions Craig Reynolds Kutztown RB
Detroit Lions Shane Zylstra Minnesota State TE
Green Bay Packers Corey Ballentine Washburn DB
Green Bay Packers Matt Orzech Azusa Pacific# LS
Green Bay Packers Jonathan Owens Missouri Western DB
Green Bay Packers Emanuel Wilson Fort Valley State RB
Houston Texans Tavierre Thomas Ferris State DB
Indianapolis Colts Ashton Dulin Malone# WR
Indianapolis Colts Dallis Flowers Pittsburg State DB
Indianapolis Colts Kenny Moore II Valdosta State DB
Indianapolis Colts Vyncint Smith Limestone WR
Indianapolis Colts E.J. Speed Tarleton State* LB
Indianapolis Colts Grover Stewart Albany State (GA) DT
Indianapolis Colts Mike Strachan Charleston (WV) WR
Indianapolis Colts Jake Witt Northern Michigan OL
Jacksonville Jaguars Gregory Junior Ouachita Baptist DB
Kansas City Chiefs Jody Fortson Valdosta State TE
Kansas City Chiefs Sebastian Gutierrez Minot State OL
Kansas City Chiefs Joshua Williams Fayetteville State DB
Kansas City Chiefs Tershawn Wharton Missouri S&T DL
Las Vegas Raiders Keelan Cole Sr. Kentucky Wesleyan WR
Las Vegas Raiders Sam Webb Missouri Western DB
Los Angeles Chargers Austin Ekeler Western Colorado RB
Los Angeles Chargers Andrew Farmer Lane LB
Los Angeles Chargers Morgan Fox CSU Pueblo DL
Los Angeles Chargers Nic Melsop Delta State OL
Los Angeles Chargers Trey Pipkins III Sioux Falls OL
Los Angeles Rams Ethan Evans Wingate P
Miami Dolphins Tyreek Hill West Alabama WR
Miami Dolphins Kader Kohou TAMU-Commerce* DB
Miami Dolphins Zach Sieler Ferris State DL
Miami Dolphins Kion Smith Fayetteville State OL
Minnesota Vikings Jacky Chen Pace OL
Minnesota Vikings C.J. Ham Augustana (SD) RB
Minnesota Vikings Zach Ojile Minnesota Duluth RB
Minnesota Vikings Chris Reed Minnesota State OL
New England Patriots Kyle Dugger Lenoir-Rhyne DB
New England Patriots Matthew Judon Grand Valley State LB
New England Patriots Sam Roberts Northwest Missouri State DL
New Orleans Saints Nathan Shepherd Fort Hays State DL
New York Jets Irvin Charles Indiana (PA) WR
New York Jets Maalik Hall Southeastern Oklahoma State LB
New York Jets Jerome Kapp Kutztown WR
New York Jets Brent Laing Minnesota Duluth OL
New York Jets Malik Taylor Ferris State WR
New York Jets Greg Zuerlein Missouri Western K
Pittsburgh Steelers Gunner Olszewski Bemidji State WR
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Ronnie Brown Shepherd RB
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Matt Feiler Bloomsburg OL
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Ryan Jensen CSU Pueblo OL
Tampa Bay Buccaneers David Moore East Central WR
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Zach Triner Assumption LS
Tennessee Titans Caleb Murphy Ferris State LB
Seattle Seahawks Benjie Franklin Tarleton State* DB
Seattle Seahawks John Hall Northwood WR
Seattle Seahawks Dareke Young Lenoir-Rhyne WR
San Francisco 49ers Joey Fisher Shepherd OL
Washington Commanders Alex Armah West Georgia RB
Washington Commanders Joshua Pryor Bowie State DL
Washington Commanders Jalen Sample Minnesota State WR
Washington Commanders D.J. Stirgus Missouri Western DB
Washington Commanders Nick Whiteside II Saginaw Valley State DB