Cole Payton

Cole Payton

No. 9 – North Dakota State Bison
Position	Quarterback
Class	Redshirt Senior
Personal information
Born	(2002-10-26) October 26, 2002 (age 23)
Listed height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight	232 lb (105 kg)
Career information
High school	Westside (Omaha, Nebraska)
College	North Dakota State (2021–2025)
Awards and highlights
2× FCS national champion (2021, 2024) Second-team All-MVFC (2025)
Stats at ESPN

Cole Payton (born October 26, 2002) is an American college football quarterback for the North Dakota State Bison.

Early life

Payton grew up in Omaha, Nebraska and attended Westside High School. ^[1] He was named the Nebraska Gatorade Player of the Year after passing for 1,704 yards and 22 touchdowns while also rushing for 1,029 yards and 17 touchdowns. ^[2] Payton committed to play college football at North Dakota State. ^[3] He maintained his commitment despite late recruiting pushes from Iowa State and Nebraska to be a walk on. ^[4] He is a left-handed thrower.

College career

Payton played in three games during his true freshman while maintaining a redshirt on the season. ^[5] Payton was used in various play packages as a redshirt sophomore and rushed for 615 yards and 13 touchdowns while also completing 18 of 27 passes for 289 yards and three touchdowns. ^[6] Payton completed 10 of 16 passes for 123 yards with two touchdowns and one interception and rushed for 164 yards and one touchdown as a redshirt junior before suffering a season-ending injury. ^[7] Payton was named the starting quarterback going into his redshirt senior season. ^[8]

College statistics

North Dakota State Bison
Season	Games		Passing								Rushing				Receiving
	GP	GS	Cmp	Att	Pct	Yds	Avg	TD	Int	Rtg	Att	Yds	Avg	TD	Rec	Yds	Avg	TD
2021	3	0	1	3	33.3	6	2.0	0	0	50.1	8	78	9.8	2	0	0	0.0	0
2022	13	0	8	12	66.7	51	4.3	0	1	85.7	38	284	7.5	2	0	0	0.0	0
2023	15	0	18	27	66.7	289	10.7	3	0	193.2	84	615	7.3	13	1	14	14.0	0
2024	8	0	10	16	62.5	125	7.8	2	1	156.9	21	165	7.9	1	2	5	2.5	0
2025	13	13	162	225	72.0	2,719	12.1	16	4	193.4	136	777	5.7	13	0	0	0.0	0
Career	52	13	199	283	70.3	3,190	11.3	21	6	185.3	287	1,919	6.7	31	3	19	6.3	0

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables

Height	Weight	Arm length	Hand span	Wingspan	40-yard dash	10-yard split	20-yard split	20-yard shuttle	Three-cone drill	Vertical jump	Broad jump
6 ft 2+5⁄8 in (1.90 m)	232 lb (105 kg)	31+5⁄8 in (0.80 m)	10+1⁄4 in (0.26 m)	6 ft 6+3⁄4 in (2.00 m)	4.56 s	1.57 s	2.64 s	4.36 s	7.12 s	40.0 in (1.02 m)	10 ft 10 in (3.30 m)
All values from NFL Combine [9] [10]

References

1. Pospisil, Stu (May 13, 2021). "Omaha Westside's Cole Payton named Nebraska's Gatorade football player of the year". Omaha World-Herald . Retrieved September 10, 2025.
2. Sherman, Mitch (December 14, 2020). "Why Nebraska may regret missing out on Omaha QB Cole Payton: Upon Further Review". The Athletic . Retrieved September 10, 2025.
3. "Westside's Payton commits to NDSU". KETV.com . May 5, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
4. Kolpack, Jeff (December 15, 2020). "Omaha star QB says no to Nebraska, Iowa State; will say yes to Bison on Wednesday". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead . Retrieved September 10, 2025.
5. McFeely, Mike (September 7, 2023). "McFeely: 'Yeah, I can throw,' Bison backup QB Cole Payton says". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead . Retrieved September 10, 2025.
6. Peterson, Eric (April 14, 2025). "Bison quarterback Cole Payton ready to display his dual-threat ability". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead . Retrieved September 10, 2025.
7. McCarty, James (October 22, 2024). "Bison lose Jung, Payton for the season after suffering injuries in win over Jackrabbits". am1100theflag.com. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
8. Kolpack, Jeff (July 30, 2025). "After four years, Bison quarterback is finally Payton's place". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead . Retrieved September 10, 2025.
9. "Cole Payton Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
10. "Cole Payton College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved March 14, 2026.

External links

• North Dakota State Bison bio