Nathan Hayes

#2 · QB · 5th-year · North Dakota State6′3″ · 228 lb · West Chicago, IL · St. Charles East

ZPR5547th of 119 QBs Last gameW 31–7vs UTEP · Oct 31

Nextat Hawai'iSat Nov 14 · 11:59 pm ET

North Dakota State is 7-2 in the nine games played. A gunslinger.

Strongest: sacked on 4% of dropbacks, 38th lowest of 158 starters. Weakest: an interception on 3.8% of throws, 19th highest of 158 starters.

Plays most like Raynor, Iowa State.

Passing yards

1,710

145 of 228, 64%

TD–INT

13–8

7.5 per throw

NCAA rating

138.4

67th of 119

ZPR

47th of 119

How ZPR works

Solid or better in 8 of 9 graded games.

Best by our grade: at Air Force. Lowest: UTEP, with 1 interception. Costliest play: Interception, at UNLV, Q4 1:23. Win chance 29% to 4%.

Tap a game for its plays

Q1Q2Q3Q4

Jacksonville State

W 33–7·Unranked

Solid

160 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT · Rush 7 for 14 · The interception cost about 9 points of win chance · Sacked 2

Biggest swing: a Q2 completion added 13 points of win chance. Win chance: 74% to 87%.

Full game page

Fordham

W 38–0·FCS

Solid

210 yds, 2 TD, 0 INT · Rush 6 for -2 · Sacked 2

Biggest swing: a Q2 completion added 8 points of win chance. Win chance: 87% to 95%.

Full game page

at Air Force

W 38–32·Unranked

Great

228 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT · Rush 3 for 17, 1 TD · The interception cost about 17 points of win chance · Sacked 0

Nathan Hayes, Quarterback, North Dakota State University
North Dakota State fan

Biggest swing: a Q2 interception cost the team 17 points of win chance. Win chance: 89% to 72%.

Full game page

at Sacramento State

W 31–10·Unranked

Solid

210 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT · Rush 1 for 14 · Sacked 0

Never forget: The Athletic ranked Nathan Hayes as the 125th best FBS QB (out of 138).
North Dakota State fan

Biggest swing: a Q1 completion added 22 points of win chance. It flipped the game for the team: 50% to 72%.

Full game page

Wyoming

W 28–0·Unranked

Solid

Passing grade only · 187 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT · Rush 10 for 79, 2 TD · Sacked 1

I think Nathan Hayes gets drafted on Day 3. He has an NFL arm. Even his misses are generally on target. He is gritty and willing to sling it.
North Dakota State fan

Biggest swing: a Q1 run added 12 points of win chance. Win chance: 67% to 79%.

Full game page

at UNLV

L 7–13·Unranked

Solid

124 yds, 1 TD, 3 INT · Rush 6 for 33 · A fourth-quarter interception took the team's chance of winning from 26% to 3% · Sacked 1

Biggest swing: a Q4 interception cost the team 23 points of win chance. Win chance: 26% to 3%.

Full game page

Nevada

W 31–17·Unranked

Solid

153 yds, 2 TD, 0 INT · Rush 8 for 42, 1 TD · Sacked 1

Nathan hayes is so ass from 5 but so amazing from 40
North Dakota State fan

Biggest swing: a Q2 completion added 32 points of win chance. It flipped the game for the team: 47% to 79%.

Full game page

at New Mexico

L 16–21·Unranked

Solid

198 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT · Rush 4 for 10 · A fourth-quarter interception took the team's chance of winning from 33% to 7% · Sacked 1

Biggest swing: a Q4 completion added 32 points of win chance. Win chance: 7% to 39%.

Full game page

UTEP

W 31–7·Unranked

Shaky

240 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT · Rush 5 for 21, 1 TD · Sacked 0

Biggest swing: a Q3 completion added 12 points of win chance. Win chance: 81% to 94%.

Full game page

Season

Steady through the game

How to read this

Each column is a quarter. Blue and up is a good stretch for the quarterback, red and down a bad one, hatched means the game was already decided. A red cross is a turnover and a black dot a touchdown. The word on the right grades the whole game; on games with a lot of running it grades the passing only. A gold line means the r/CFB game thread kept naming the quarterback. Tap a game to open its plays: each bar is one of the quarterback’s plays, up helped the team’s chance of winning and down hurt it, and the grey line is that chance.

The word grades the game against every FBS quarterback start, from Rough to Great, using the same throws as the season Zeitgeist Passer Rating and adjusting for the defense faced. Bars are points added per throw in that quarter. The Season row leaves out quarters after a game was decided.

Style of play

Gunslinger

Also: explosive runner

Why this word

Runs4.2 a gameRarelyA lot

Throws10.2 yards past the lineShortDeep

Completes64%FewerMore

Takes sacks4% of dropbacksRarelyOften

The dot is this quarterback, among this season’s starters; the tick is the middle.

Throws at a middling depth and runs some. 4.2 carries a game. Closest matches: Raynor, Wilson, Curtis, Nelson.

Where the throws go

Behind the line15%typical 17%

Short46%typical 47%

Middle19%typical 22%

Deep19%typical 14%

Runs 4.2 times a game; 52% of starters run more.

Closest in style

Nearer the middle means more alike.

Raynor Iowa State · Mobile passer
1,416 yards, 10 TD, 5 INT so far. Both score a lot and rarely throw behind the line.
Wilson Colorado · Mobile passer
1,164 yards, 7 TD, 7 INT so far. Both throw interceptions and throw deep.
Curtis Vanderbilt · Mobile passer
1,489 yards, 8 TD, 8 INT so far. Both throw interceptions.
Nelson Syracuse · Balanced
532 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT so far. Both throw deep and throw interceptions.

Compared with the 158 FBS starters this season for throws and running, and with 219 quarterbacks across 2 seasons for the matches, on how they play and how they have done.

This week

RecordNorth Dakota State is 7-2.
Last gameOct. 31 · a win over UTEP, 240 passing yards.
Fans after UTEP
Nathan Hayes is simply not consistent.
North Dakota State fan
Next gameat Hawai'i · Sat Nov 14

What’s being said

6 stories in the last 30 days, from 3 outlets.

Stories per day. W and L: the team’s results.

NDSU’s Nathan Hayes Injury in Spotlight After UNLV Loss With Nevada Looming

Heavy +1 Oct 14

All 8 stories this season

Worth knowing

Nathan Hayes has 30.8 rushing yards a game at home, 18.5 on the road.

His most important play this season

Q2, 14:08 · North Dakota State up 7Nathan Hayes runs 17 yards for a touchdownNorth Dakota State at Air Force, week 2Q2, 14:08 · North Dakota State 14, Air Force 0▼18%North Dakota State’s chance to win, 79% to 61%▼18%North Dakota State’s chance to win, 79% to 61%N.Hayes rush middle for 17 yards gain to the AF00 touchdown, 1ST DOWN, kick goodWatch from this play

All 5 of his plays on video

Nathan Hayes

QB · North Dakota State · Fr · #2

One game to point at: 240 passing yards and 21 rushing yards against UTEP — Week 9, 2026.

1,710 passing yards · 13 passing TD · 228 rushing yards

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2026	North Dakota State	145	228	63.6%	1,710	7.5	13	8	138.4	55
Career		145	228	63.6%	1,710	7.5	13	8	138.4	55

Season	Team
2026	North Dakota State	50	228	4.6	5	28
Career		50	228	4.6	5	28

Last game (Wk 9): 240 passing yards, 1 passing TD, 1 interception.

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2026 season · 9 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	Grade	CMP/ATT	YDS	TD	INT	YPA	QBR	SK	RUSH	Note
Wk 1	W 33-7vs Jacksonville State	Solid	14/22	160	2	1	7.3	61.5	2	14
Wk 1	W 38-0vs Fordham	Solid	18/22	210	2	0	9.5	—	2	-2
Wk 2	W 38-32@ Air Force	Great	15/23	228	2	1	9.9	—	0	17
Wk 3	W 31-10@ Sacramento State	Solid	14/24	210	1	0	8.8	75.1	0	14
Wk 5	W 28-0vs Wyoming	Solid	14/25	187	0	0	7.5	80.5	1	79
Wk 6	L 7-13@ UNLV	Solid	12/22	124	1	3	5.6	26.3	1	33	3 INTs — rough day
Wk 7	W 31-17vs Nevada	Solid	19/25	153	2	0	6.1	68.2	1	42
Wk 8	L 16-21@ New Mexico	Solid	17/33	198	2	2	6.0	46.8	1	10
Wk 9	W 31-7vs UTEP	Shaky	22/32	240	1	1	7.5	55.7	0	21	Season-high 240 yds
Total			145/228	1710	13	8	7.5	—	8	228

The latest game

Oct. 31 · W 31-7 vs UTEP

22 of 32 for 240 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

His season, game by game

The season, game by game

W 31-7 vs UTEPOct. 31240 yds22 of 32, 1 TD, 1 INTPlay by play just above

L 16-21 at New MexicoOct. 24198 yds17 of 33, 2 TD, 2 INT

Play by playOn the field

17 of 33 for 198 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He was 4 of 11 on third and fourth down.

3 of 11 of his drives scored
4 of 11 on 3rd and 4th down
sacked once
3 runs for 14 yds

First quarterbegan tied 0-0
Int0 of 1, 0 yds1
FG2 of 4, 45 yds2
Second quarterbegan down 7-3
Punt0 of 2, 0 yds
Punt—
Punt1 of 1, 3 yds
Third quarterbegan down 14-3
Punt0 of 2, 0 yds
TD4 of 5, 45 yds
Punt2 of 6, 27 yds
Fourth quarterbegan down 14-9
Int1 of 2, 5 yds3
TD5 of 7, 64 yds
Downs2 of 3, 9 yds4
FinalL 16-21

a drive that ended in a touchdown or a field goala drive he didn’t playa completion, by its yardshis runincompleteinterceptedsacked, by the yards lost

completea touchdownincompleteinterceptedhis runsacked

1
Intercepted on 3rd and 11. First quarter, down 7-0. Picked off by New Mexico’s CJ McBean.
2
41-yard completion to Jackson Williams on 3rd and 4. First quarter, down 7-0. Converted.
3
Intercepted on 3rd and 5. Fourth quarter, down 14-9. Picked off by New Mexico’s Austin Brawley.
4
Incomplete to Mekhi Collins on 4th and 7. Fourth quarter, down 21-16. Turnover on downs.

102030405041

leftmiddlerightno spot

a completionincompleteinterceptedsacked, below the line

Each pass sits where it was caught or thrown to, in yards past the line. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.

7 more games, with the play by play

W 31-17 vs NevadaOct. 17153 yds19 of 25, 2 TDBox score only

19 of 25 for 153 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Not drawn: the play-by-play doesn’t add up to the box score.

L 7-13 at UNLVOct. 10124 yds12 of 22, 1 TD, 3 INTBox score only

12 of 22 for 124 yards, a touchdown and 3 interceptions.

Not drawn: the play-by-play doesn’t add up to the box score.

W 28-0 vs WyomingOct. 3187 yds14 of 25

Play by playOn the field

14 of 25 for 187 yards. He ran 8 times for 91 yards, after 32 runs in his other 8 games combined.

5 of 10 of his drives scored
4 of 9 on 3rd and 4th down
sacked twice
8 runs for 91 yds

First quarterbegan tied 0-0
TD1 of 2, 8 yds1
Punt0 of 2, 0 yds2
Downs1 of 1, 25 yds
Second quarterbegan up 7-0
TD2 of 2, 40 yds3
Punt1 of 2, 6 yds
FG2 of 6, 17 yds
Third quarterbegan up 17-0
FG5 of 7, 52 yds
Fourth quarterbegan up 20-0
Punt—
TD2 of 2, 39 yds
Punt0 of 1, 0 yds
FinalW 28-0

a drive that ended in a touchdown or a field goala drive he didn’t playa completion, by its yardshis runincompleteinterceptedsacked, by the yards lost

completea touchdownincompleteinterceptedhis runsacked

1
8-yard touchdown run on 3rd and 8. First quarter, made it 7-0.
2
Sacked for a 9-yard loss on 3rd and 10. First quarter, up 7-0.
3
35-yard completion to Jackson Williams. Second quarter, up 7-0.

10203040503035

leftmiddlerightno spot

a completionincompleteinterceptedsacked, below the line

Each pass sits where it was caught or thrown to, in yards past the line. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.

W 31-10 at Sacramento StateSept. 19210 yds14 of 24, 1 TDBox score only

14 of 24 for 210 yards and a touchdown.

Not drawn: the play-by-play doesn’t add up to the box score.

W 38-32 at Air ForceSept. 12228 yds15 of 23, 2 TD, 1 INT

Play by playOn the field

15 of 23 for 228 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception. He was 5 of 12 on third and fourth down.

6 of 10 of his drives scored
5 of 12 on 3rd and 4th down
3 runs for 17 yds

First quarterbegan tied 0-0
TD2 of 3, 10 yds1
TD4 of 6, 40 yds2
Second quarterbegan up 7-0
Punt0 of 1, 0 yds
TD3 of 3, 72 yds
Int1 of 2, 2 yds3
TD3 of 4, 63 yds4
Third quarterbegan up 28-13
TD1 of 1, 41 yds
Punt0 of 1, 0 yds
Fourth quarterbegan up 35-13
Punt0 of 1, 0 yds
FG1 of 1, 0 yds
FinalW 38-32

a drive that ended in a touchdown or a field goala drive he didn’t playa completion, by its yardshis runincompleteinterceptedsacked, by the yards lost

completea touchdownincompleteinterceptedhis runsacked

1
8-yard completion to DJ Scott on 3rd and 6. First quarter, tied 0-0. Converted.
2
16-yard completion to Logan Conklin on 3rd and 4. First quarter, up 7-0. Converted.
3
Intercepted on 3rd and 1. Second quarter, up 21-7. Picked off by Air Force’s Blake Fletcher.
4
51-yard completion to Jackson Williams on 3rd and 9. Second quarter, up 21-13. Converted.

1020304050415144

leftmiddlerightno spot

a completionincompleteinterceptedsacked, below the line

Each pass sits where it was caught or thrown to, in yards past the line. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.

W 38-0 vs FordhamSept. 5210 yds18 of 22, 2 TD

Play by playOn the field

18 of 22 for 210 yards and 2 touchdowns. North Dakota State scored touchdowns on 3 of the 5 drives he played.

4 of 5 of his drives scored
4 of 8 on 3rd and 4th down
sacked twice
4 runs for 10 yds

First quarterbegan tied 0-0
FG4 of 5, 33 yds12
TD1 of 1, 35 yds3
Second quarterbegan up 3-0
Downs4 of 6, 42 yds4
TD6 of 6, 61 yds
Third quarterbegan up 17-0
TD3 of 4, 39 yds
FinalW 38-0

a drive that ended in a touchdown or a field goala drive he didn’t playa completion, by its yardshis runincompleteinterceptedsacked, by the yards lost

completea touchdownincompleteinterceptedhis runsacked

1
No gain on 3rd and 1. First quarter, tied 0-0.
2
12-yard completion to Mekhi Collins on 3rd and 6. First quarter, tied 0-0. Converted.
3
35-yard completion to Jordan McCants. First quarter, up 3-0.
4
Incomplete to Reis Kessel on 4th and 4. Second quarter, up 10-0. Turnover on downs.

102030405035

leftmiddlerightno spot

a completionincompleteinterceptedsacked, below the line

Each pass sits where it was caught or thrown to, in yards past the line. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.

W 33-7 vs Jacksonville StateAug. 29160 yds14 of 22, 2 TD, 1 INT

Highs and lows

Only games with 20 or more plays count for best and lowest.
Best by our grade	at Air Force	W 38-32 · Graded great · 228 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT · Rush 3 for 17, 1 TD · The interception cost about 17 points of win chance · Sacked 0
Lowest by our grade	UTEP	W 31-7 · Graded shaky · 240 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT · Rush 5 for 21, 1 TD · Sacked 0
Costliest play	at UNLV	Interception, Q4 1:23 · Win chance 29% to 4%

Where he ranks

Tied for 1st among Mountain West quarterbacks in touchdown passes. 2nd among Mountain West quarterbacks in passer rating.

Stat	His	Nation	Mountain West
Passing yards	1,710	52nd of 370	3rd of 26
Yards an attempt	7.5	T-73rd of 152	T-3rd of 8
Touchdown passes	13	T-40th of 370	T-1st of 26
Passer rating	138.4	75th of 152	2nd of 8
Completion percentage	63.6	T-71st of 152	T-2nd of 8
Rushing yards	228	51st of 370	6th of 26
Rushing touchdowns	5	T-25th of 370	T-5th of 26

Counting stats rank all FBS quarterbacks with a pass attempt; the rates rank those with at least 10 attempts a game.

All Mountain West quarterbacks

Rk	Quarterback	Yards	TD	INT	Att	Y/A
1	Micah Alejado	2,186	9	6	337	6.5
2	Luke Weaver	1,810	11	8	242	7.5
3	Nathan Hayes	1,710	13	8	228	7.5
4	Jackson Arnold	1,660	13	4	212	7.8
5	Taron Dickens	1,617	8	6	247	6.5
6	Toa Faavae	888	5	7	101	8.8
7	EJ Colson	687	7	5	99	6.9
8	Carter Jones	654	3	2	89	7.3
9	AJ Bianco	397	2	3	71	5.6
10	Liam Szarka	296	1	4	38	7.8
11	Luke Duncan	265	2	5	55	4.8
12	Luke Moga	248	3	0	38	6.5
13	Daniel Rolovich	193	1	0	26	7.4
14	Evan Medders	92	2	0	14	6.6
15	Robert McDaniel	48	0	0	13	3.7
16	Trey Drake	35	0	0	4	8.8
17	Brady Davidson	27	0	0	6	4.5
18	Braesen Leon	22	0	0	1	22.0
19	Jalen Macon	20	0	1	13	1.5
20	Josh Johnson	20	0	0	4	5.0
21	Bjorn Jurgensen	13	0	0	8	1.6
22	Alex Orji	9	0	1	5	1.8
23	Preston Brown	4	0	0	4	1.0
24	Reeve Slone	4	0	2	4	1.0
25	James Laubstein	0	0	0	1	0.0
26	Kemper Hodges	0	0	0	2	0.0

Sorted by passing yards. Gray: under 10 attempts a game, so not ranked on yards an attempt.

Passing yards1,7103rd in the Mountain West this season.

Touchdown passes13tied for 1st in the Mountain West this season.

Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.

Opponents faced, by strength

Ratings of the games shown run from -29 to +9 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).

Pass targets

Williams and Kessel saw 97 of the 228 charted throws.

Receiver	Targets	Catches	Yards	Throw depth	After catch
Jackson Williams	61	42	614	13.4	4.7
Reis Kessel	36	27	345	8.9	3.4
Mekhi Collins	34	18	227	15.7	3.8
Christopher Kiel	19	13	152	10.1	2.8
DJ Scott	10	9	65	-0.5	8.4
9 others	42	27	231	4.8	5.5
No receiver charted	26	All eight interceptions are among these

Play by play: 228 passes, 145 caught, 1,710 yards. Throw depth: average air yards per target. After catch: average yards after the catch per catch. Bar: targets; the blue part was caught.

Passing profile

Pass Profile · True throw depth (charted plays)

Adjusted ANY/A, sack rate, and where the yards came from

145/228 (63.6%) · 13 TD · 8 INT

228 of 228 attempts matched to play-by-play

227 of 228 attempts charted for true throw depth

Adjusted ANY/A

6.5790 of 185 QBs

Sack rate

3.8%51 of 185 QBs

Rarely sacked (51 of 185 QBs) and still 90 of 185 in Adjusted ANY/A.

Adjusted ANY/A uses full-season box-score totals (attempts, yards, TDs, INTs); sack rate is play-by-play-derived.

Behind LOS · Negative air yds

15% of attempts (34)

94%comp1 INT

Air -3.6 · YAC 9.7 avg

Short · 0–9 air yds

46% of attempts (105)

68%comp2 INT

Air 4.3 · YAC 3.3 avg

Middle · 10–19 air yds

20% of attempts (46)

48%comp3 INT

Air 13.2 · YAC 1.6 avg

Deep · 20+ air yds

19% of attempts (42)

45%comp2 INT

Air 32.1 · YAC 4.2 avg

Overall 63.6% completion on 228 attempts · 45% completion on 42 deep attempts (20+ air yds).

Situational

Is he a different quarterback when it matters

Each situation vs his own 2026 baseline

No situation moves him more than 45 percentile points from his baseline.

BaselineThis situation

Down 1

-45 pct pts vs baseline · sacks 2/71 (2.8%) · league sack rate 4.5%

Down 2

+13 pct pts vs baseline · sacks 2/78 (2.6%) · league sack rate 5.0%

Down 3+

+29 pct pts vs baseline · sacks 4/73 (5.5%) · league sack rate 8.3%

Deltas are vs. this player’s own season baseline, never a league average. League sack rate by down is shown as context because sack attribution isn’t incompletion-denominated.

Teams and coaches

2026North Dakota State7-2HC: Tim Polasek · Run-leaning

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 47 (#76 of 145). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the QB cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles

47Rotational starter #76 of 145?

13 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: fumbles lost (92nd percentile). Strength: rush tds (86th percentile). Concern: interception rate (13th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

Sack rate#36 / 157 · 77th pct

3.8%

Explosive rate#47 / 157 · 70th pct

11.8%

EPA / dropback#73 / 157 · 54th pct

0.19

Success rate#81 / 157 · 48th pct

41.7%

Interception rate#137 / 157 · 13th pct

3.5%

Box-score rates (8)

Fumbles lost#1 / 142 · 92nd pct

Rush TDs#19 / 159 · 86th pct

Rush yards#42 / 159 · 74th pct

228

Pass TDs#41 / 159 · 71st pct

Pass yards#53 / 159 · 67th pct

1710

Completion %#74 / 159 · 53rd pct

63.6%

Yards / att#76 / 159 · 51st pct

7.5

Interceptions#149 / 159 · 4th pct

Season trend

EPA / dropback— first qualifying season

Success rate— first qualifying season

Explosive rate— first qualifying season

Sack rate— first qualifying season

Interception rate— first qualifying season

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Zeitgeist Passer Rating

2026 · our own passing-efficiency number, shown next to the 1979 formula it does not replace.

After 222 dropbacks

55Zeitgeist Passer Rating47th of 119 FBS QBs

NCAA passer rating 138.4 67th of 119 FBS QBs

ZPR ranks this quarterback 20 places higher than passer rating does: passer rating cannot see sacks, and a sack comes on only 3.6% of dropbacks.

Positive-play rate weight 24%

47.5%55th pct of FBS QBs

share of dropbacks that gained expected points · +0.7% schedule adj.

Yards per attempt weight 56%

7.6652nd pct of FBS QBs

sacks excluded

Sack rate weight 21% (penalty)

4.1%76th pct of FBS QBs

the input passer rating cannot see · +0.5% schedule adj.

Opponent-adjusted; garbage time excluded (13 of 235 dropbacks dropped). 50 = FBS average; the number is pulled toward 50 when the sample is thin. How ZPR is built.

Splits

Home and road splits, scheme and staff

Splits · Per-game

2026 season · 9 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	YDS/g	TD/g	YPA	INT/g
Home5g	190	1.4	7.6	0.4
Road4g	190	1.5	7.6	1.5

First half vs Second half

	YDS/g	TD/g	YPA	INT/g
Weeks 1-77g	182	1.4	7.8	0.7
Weeks 8+2g	219	1.5	6.8	1.5

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Tim Polasek

Pass share

40.7%

236 pass / 344 run

Plays / game

64.4

9 games

Scheme: Run-leaning.

North Dakota State’s quarterbacks

Nathan Hayes	Threw in all 9 games · 145 of 228, 1,710 yds, 13 TD, 8 INT · 7.5 yards an attempt on 228 attempts · ran for 228 yds, 5 TD
Preston Brown	Threw in 3 of 9 games · 1 of 4, 4 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT · 1.0 yards an attempt on 4 attempts · ran for 36 yds, 0 TD
Trey Drake	Threw in 1 of 9 games · 3 of 4, 35 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT · 8.8 yards an attempt on 4 attempts

Box score. Every quarterback on the team who has thrown a pass this season.

Awards

Player standing · 2026

Starter

228 pass attempts and 50 carries in 9 games, fewer passes and runs a game than most FBS quarterbacks who play every week.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score

47 · #76 of 145 QBs

Two-star recruit. Now #76 at the position.

Starter

The No. 2,723 recruit in the country is starting at quarterback in the Mountain West.

Nathan Hayes

Style of play

This week

What’s being said

Worth knowing

His most important play this season

In the news in the last 30 days

In the news this season

What they’re talking about

Week by week

What fans said

Named in

Where to follow

Career stats

Game log

The latest game

The season, game by game

Highs and lows

Where he ranks

Pass targets

Passing profile

Situational

Teams and coaches

Our ratings

Splits

North Dakota State’s quarterbacks

Awards

Starter

Starter

First season at North Dakota State, 9 games

2022