North Dakota State QB Trey Lance opts out of spring season to prepare for NFL Draft

Lance tallied two throwing touchdowns and a pair of rushing scores in last weekend's 39-28 win over Central Arkansas, the only fall game North Dakota State will play because the Missouri Valley Football Conference postponed the campaign due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

As Mark Schlabach noted for ESPN, Lance set a record for most pass attempts without an interception (287) in a single season last year and also completed 66.9% of his throws. He accumulated 28 passing touchdowns, 2,786 passing yards, 1,100 rushing yards, and 14 additional scores on the ground. 

Per the program's official website, he earned handfuls of honors for his first season as a starter. 

Ryan Wilson, Chris Trapasso, and Josh Edwards of CBS Sports, as well as Walter Football, all project Lance among first-round selections in next year's NFL Draft. Charlie Campbell of Walter Football has Lance as the third-best QB in the 2021 draft class behind Clemson's Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields of Ohio State. 

Campbell added: 

"Lance has a strong arm capable of making all the throws for the pros. He shows the ability to fire fastballs to the sideline and has no problem airing out deep balls. Overall, Lance has good accuracy, and his deep-ball precision is very impressive. One of Lance's impressive traits from 2019, especially for such a young player, was his poise. Lance looked very calm in the pocket, and when the rush was closing around him, it seemed to be a non-factor for him.

"In speaking to some team sources who saw Lance in person while scouting North Dakota State, they feel the potential is there for Lance, but they also need to see more before feeling he is worthy of being a high first-round pick."