It’s an exciting time for North Dakota State football and its Minnesota recruits after the program announced the move to a bigger conference and a higher level of competition starting in the fall.

The Bison on Feb. 9 accepted an invitation to join the Mountain West Conference and compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision beginning with the 2026 season.

That means the 11 players from Minnesota signed to North Dakota State’s incoming recruiting class will be playing college football at the Division I FBS level, including Strib Varsity All-Minnesota kicker Jayden Onuonga from Forest Lake and defensive backs Deron Russell from Waseca and Brayden Dozier from Maple Grove.

“It’s a great feeling,” said Russell, who helped to lead Waseca to a Class 3A runner-up finish at the Prep Bowl in November. “FBS is the highest level. It definitely makes it a lot better for sure. It surprised me that it was put into play this year.”

NDSU won 10 national titles in the Football Championship Subdivision since 2011. That was a big deal for players who were joining the program. The opportunity to play at the highest level of D-I football was also a dream come true for Russell and others.

“I knew they had been talking about it,” Mounds View running back Godson Rufus-Okomhanru said. “I had it in the back of my mind, but I didn’t really expect it. It was a little surprising. I think it’s huge. Obviously the program has great tradition and great history. That led to their movement upward. I think more competition is better.”

College football programs have a two-year transition period when moving to the FBS. NDSU isn’t eligible for the Mountain West title game or the College Football Playoff until 2028, but the Bison could be selected to a bowl game next season if there aren’t enough teams.

With an eight-game conference schedule, there was a buzz among Minnesota recruits about NDSU traveling to play Mountain West teams in different parts of the country like Hawaii, San Jose State in Northern California and UNLV in Nevada.

The Bison possibly playing Power 4 conference opponents in nonconference play seemed to be the talk at Forest Lake High this week, especially among Gophers recruit Howie Johnson and NDSU-bound Onuonga.

“It’s really exciting to be competing with the big dogs,” Onuonga said. “We have some jokes flying around, you know. It would be pretty exciting to play each other. I think we would personally win.”

Apple Valley cornerback Quieris Barnslater expects more exposure for NDSU and himself, given the chances to play in larger — and louder — stadiums.

“It’s a great opportunity for the program with more TV time,” Barnslater said. “I feel like that will enhance my ability to make it to the [NFL] draft even more and being around the atmosphere of the FBS level.”

Barnslater was recruited by Iowa State, Kansas State and the Gophers, but he didn’t receive any FBS scholarship offers in high school.

The Bison have 32 players from Minnesota on the current spring roster, including Pillager offensive lineman Earl Brown, who graduated early from high school.

For years, NDSU relied on developing underrated talent from the border state to become a perennial FCS title contender. That trend seems likely to continue with the recent move.

“It’s great,” Barnslater said. “I know some of the guys already and grew up with some of them. It’s cool to see us go from being kids playing on the little youth fields together to now going to college and playing together.”

Russell’s older brother, Damarius, who also played at Waseca, played at Washington State before transferring to Iowa State.

During his standout career with the Bluejays, Deron Russell saw himself as an FBS-level player like his brother. Now he can prove he belongs there.

After the Bison lost cornerback depth to the transfer portal, Russell expects to compete for immediate playing time as a true freshman in the upcoming season.

“The corner room is kind of open,” Russell said. “I’m hoping to get there and make an impact right away. They’re telling me I can do that, so I just have to get there and work to show them I can play.”