FRISCO, Texas — Quarterback Trey Lance, the third overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers, experienced a collegiate and NFL development path similar to that of an out-of-control roller coaster, but that’s set to get back on track in 2024 with the Dallas Cowboys.
How he became a Dallas Cowboy
Many major NCAA programs wanted him to become a full-time linebacker or safety after he played both sides of the football in high school, but he chose North Dakota State, an FCS school, because it provided him the chance to remain a quarterback. After redshirting as a freshman after throwing one pass in 2018, Lance dominated: he won the Jerry Rice award (top FCS freshman) and Walter Payton award (top offensive FCS player, first freshman to ever win award) and Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Player award (first freshman to ever win award) in 2019.
He set the NCAA record for the most pass attempts in a season (287) without throwing an interception. Lance racked up 28 passing touchdowns in addition to 2,786 passing yards on a 66.9% completion percentage to go along with 1,100 yards on the ground and 14 rushing touchdowns on 169 carries, averaging 6.5 yards a carry. He powered NDSU to a perfect 16-0 season, making them the first collegiate team to go 16-0 since 1894. Then, his development came to a screeching halt thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
The FCS opted to play out its season in the spring one game into the fall of 2020, putting Lance in a bind. He went off once again in the only fall game that year, throwing for 149 yards, two passing touchdowns and an interception — the only one of his career — on 15 of 30 passing while compiling 143 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns on 15 carries in a win against Central Arkansas.
Lance opted out of the spring season and based on 318 collegiate passes, the San Francisco 49ers and head coach Kyle Shanahan saw enough to trade up nine spots with the Miami Dolphins, from the 12th overall pick to the third overall pick, at the cost of three first-round picks and a 2022 third-round selection to select the dual-threat collegiate dynamo. How small was Lance’s body of work in college? Twenty-eight NFL quarterbacks threw more passes in 2023 than Lance did in three seasons of college football at North Dakota State (318) from 2018-2020.
After a redshirt year in the NFL behind Jimmy Garoppolo in…
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