Cole Payton is a quarterback and 2026 NFL Draft prospect who played his entire collegiate career with the North Dakota State Bison. A native of Omaha, Nebraska, Payton attended Omaha Westside and was named Nebraska's Gatorade Player of the Year before committing to North Dakota State as a two-star recruit in the 2021 class, turning down later interest from Nebraska and Iowa State to play in Fargo. A two-sport athlete who also received a scholarship offer from Nebraska-Omaha to play baseball, Payton spent his first three seasons at NDSU primarily as a designed rushing option and backup quarterback behind Cam Miller, accumulating impressive carry totals but limited passing opportunities. He took over as the full-time starting quarterback in 2025 and immediately delivered one of the most productive seasons in program history, completing 161 of 224 passes at a 71.9 percent rate for 2,719 yards and 16 touchdowns against four interceptions while also rushing 136 times for 777 yards and 13 touchdowns, averaging 5.7 yards per carry. He led the Bison to a 12-1 record and an 8-0 conference mark, set NDSU single-season records in pass efficiency, yards per attempt, and total offense per game, finished third in Walter Payton Award voting, earned multiple FCS All-American honors, and graduated as the program's all-time leader in completion percentage, pass efficiency, and yards per pass attempt. He was invited to both the Senior Bowl and the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine.
Standing 6-foot-3 and approximately 230 pounds, Payton is a left-handed dual-threat quarterback known for excellent size for the position, genuine rushing threat ability with the contact balance and vision to run gap concepts effectively at any level, a natural touch passer who demonstrated the ability to layer the ball over defenders and drop passes over the shoulder on vertical routes, and an advanced football intellect and competitive toughness praised by coaches throughout his career. NFL evaluators project him as a developmental backup quarterback with positional change upside at the next level, acknowledging that his limited passing sample size at the FCS level and his unconventional throwing mechanics represent legitimate developmental concerns while recognizing that his physical tools, rushing creativity, and franchise-quarterback lineage at NDSU make him an intriguing Day 3 investment with Taysom Hill-type versatility if a position conversion is pursued.
