Carson Wentz: From Bison Legend to NFL Quarterback

Carson James Wentz, born on December 30, 1992, is an American professional football quarterback. His journey to the NFL began at North Dakota State University (NDSU), where he transformed from an underrated high school recruit to a celebrated college player. Wentz's college career is a story of athletic prowess, leadership, and academic achievement, culminating in his selection as the second overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft - the highest any FCS player has ever been selected.

Early Life and High School Career

A native of Bismarck, North Dakota, Wentz excelled in multiple sports at Century High School. He was a three-sport athlete, participating in football, basketball, and baseball. In baseball, he played first base and was a three-year starter, boasting a .421 batting average with 41 RBIs. On the basketball court, Wentz played forward and center for North Dakota’s top-ranked team. However, it was on the football field where he truly shined. As a quarterback and defensive back, he earned All-conference honors and was named the 2010 North Dakota Class 3A Player of the Year. Despite these accomplishments, Wentz was considered an underrated recruit coming out of high school.

Arrival at North Dakota State

Wentz arrived at North Dakota State with little fanfare. As a redshirt freshman in 2012, Wentz was the backup quarterback to Brock Jensen. He played in his first collegiate game on September 22. Wentz was again the second-string quarterback in 2013 and appeared in 11 games.

The Rise of a Starting Quarterback

Wentz became the Bison starting quarterback during his junior year in 2014. He led NDSU to a 15-1 record. On January 10, 2015, he started in his first national championship game against the Illinois State Redbirds and passed for 287 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 87 yards and scored a touchdown on a five-yard run to give the Bison the lead with 37 seconds left. NDSU won their fourth consecutive NCAA Division I Football Championship game, 29-27. Wentz started all 16 games in 2014, completing 228 of 358 passes for 3,111 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.

As a fifth-year senior in 2015, Wentz had one of the best games of his career on October 10 against the Northern Iowa Panthers, when he passed for a career-high 335 yards. The following week against the South Dakota Coyotes, Wentz suffered a broken wrist in the first half but managed to complete the game with 16-of-28 completions for 195 yards and two touchdowns as the Bison lost 24-21. After starting the first six games of the season and completing 63.7 percent of his passes for a total of 1,454 yards and 16 touchdowns, Wentz missed the next eight weeks of the season after undergoing surgery to his broken throwing wrist. He returned to practice in the beginning of December and was cleared to play in the national championship.

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Statistical Highlights

Wentz threw for 5,115 yards, 45 touchdowns, and completed 64 percent of his passes over the course of his 43-game college career. He rushed for another 1,028 yards.

Key Games and Moments

Wentz's college career was marked by several memorable games and moments:

January 10, 2015: National Championship vs. Illinois State: Wentz's performance in this game solidified his status as a top quarterback. He passed for 287 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 87 yards and a touchdown, leading the Bison to their fourth consecutive NCAA Division I Football Championship.
October 10, 2015: vs. Northern Iowa: Wentz passed for a career-high 335 yards, showcasing his arm talent and ability to lead the offense.
Key Victories: Wentz led the Bison to numerous crucial victories, including North Dakota State 37, Jacksonville State 10 | Jan., North Dakota State 31, Northern Iowa 28 | Oct., North Dakota State 29, Illinois State 27 | Jan., North Dakota State 27, South Dakota State 24 | Dec., North Dakota State 38, Youngstown State 14 | Nov., North Dakota State 45, Missouri State 10 | Nov., and North Dakota State 34, (FBS) Iowa State 14 | Aug.

Academic Achievements

Wentz was not only a star athlete but also excelled academically. He was named a CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division I Football Team member and was recognized as the Division I Academic All-America® of the Year.

Road to the NFL

Wentz's college success launched him to become the highest selected North Dakota State player in NFL draft history - No. NFL scouts were impressed, and the pre-draft buzz grew around Wentz. In February 2016, most analysts had Wentz projected to be selected in the mid-first round of the draft. However, Wentz began to be regarded as a Top 10 prospect after his pro day. On January 30, 2016, Wentz played in the 2016 Reese's Senior Bowl and finished the game completing 6 of 10 pass attempts for 50 yards. At the NFL Scouting Combine, Wentz showcased his athleticism as he was in the top three in the 40-yard dash, the broad jump, and the three-cone drill among all quarterbacks.

Former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich on Wentz during the draft evaluation process: “When you evaluate Carson and the process, if there are five to seven key boxes that you are trying to check off for a guy to come in and be an elite quarterback, he checks off all of the boxes.

Professional Career

The Philadelphia Eagles traded several draft picks to move from No. 8 to No. Wentz suffered a rib injury in the team's first preseason game of 2016, but was fully healthy for the beginning of the 2016 regular season. In his rookie season, Wentz started all 16 games for the Eagles as they finished the season with a 7-9 record. Wentz threw for a league-record 379 completions by a rookie, breaking the record of 354 held by Bradford, who was with the St. Louis Rams at the time. His 379 completions also set a single season franchise record, breaking the record of 346 also held by Bradford from the previous season. In Week 1 against the Washington Redskins, Wentz finished with 307 passing yards, two touchdowns, and an interception from a pass tipped at the line of scrimmage as the Eagles won by a score of 30-17. In the next game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Wentz threw for 333 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. During Week 14 against the Los Angeles Rams, Wentz left the game due to an apparent knee injury. He finished with 291 passing yards, four touchdowns, and an interception as the Eagles won on the road 43-35. The victory earned Wentz's first NFC East title in the Pederson/Wentz era. The next day, an MRI revealed that he suffered a torn ACL, keeping Wentz out for the rest of the season. In 13 starts, Wentz finished the year with 3,296 passing yards, 33 touchdowns, seven interceptions, a 60.2 completion percentage, and a 101.9 quarterback rating. Wentz's most successful season was in 2017 when he helped the Eagles obtain their conference's top seed, before suffering a season-ending injury, which led to their winning the franchise's first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl LII with Nick Foles at quarterback. Wentz earned Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors.

Wentz helped take Philadelphia back to the playoffs during his next two seasons, but further injuries again limited his participation. Following a slow start at 3-3, another report came out, containing information from an anonymous Eagles player, who was critical of Wentz. The source said that Wentz was trying to do too much and was often looking for a big play rather than taking the short check down. In Week 13 against the Miami Dolphins, Wentz threw for 310 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception in the 37-31 loss. In Week 14, against the New York Giants, Wentz helped lead a comeback victory with 325 passing yards and two touchdowns in the 23-17 overtime win. In Week 15 against the Redskins, Wentz threw for 266 yards and three touchdowns during another comeback victory as the Eagles won 37-27. In Week 16 against the Dallas Cowboys, Wentz threw for 319 yards and a touchdown during the 17-9 victory. He helped lead the Eagles to a crucial 34-17 victory over the Giants in Week 17. Wentz had 289 yards and a touchdown in the victory, which gave the Eagles the NFC East title. In the NFC Wild Card Round against the Seattle Seahawks, Wentz left the game with a head injury in the first quarter after defensive end Jadeveon Clowney made a helmet to helmet hit on him. He was ruled out of the game with a concussion after playing just nine snaps in his post-season debut. Wentz made his return from injury in Week 1 against the Washington Football Team. During the game, Wentz threw for 270 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions as the Eagles lost 27-17. In the second quarter, the Eagles had a 17-0 lead over Washington, but they never managed to score for the rest of the game. In the next game against the Los Angeles Rams, Wentz continued to struggle, throwing for 242 yards and two interceptions during the 37-19 loss. The following week against the Cincinnati Bengals, Wentz threw two more interceptions in the 23-23 tie. In Week 7, against the New York Giants, he had 359 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, a rushing touchdown, and an interception during the narrow 22-21 victory. In Week 8 against the Dallas Cowboys, Wentz struggled, throwing for 123 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions during a 23-9 victory. In Week 11, Wentz went 21 for 35 throwing against the Cleveland Browns for 235 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions, one being a pick-six in the 22-17 road loss. In Week 13 against the Green Bay Packers, Wentz was benched in the third quarter for Jalen Hurts after the Eagles were trailing 20-3. At the time of his benching, Wentz scored 21 total touchdowns (16 passing, 5 rushing).

After losing his starting position due to a production decline, Wentz spent his next four seasons as a starter and backup with the Indianapolis Colts, Washington Commanders, Los Angeles Rams, and Kansas City Chiefs. In Week 3, Wentz made his return against his former team, the Philadelphia Eagles. Wentz completed 58% of his passes for 211 yards and was sacked nine times and fumbled twice during the 24-8 home loss. In the 21-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans in Week 5, Wentz threw a game-sealing interception to linebacker David Long Jr. On November 8, 2023, Wentz signed with the Los Angeles Rams to be the backup to Matthew Stafford. He was announced as the starter for the Rams' final regular season game against the 49ers after the team secured a playoff berth the previous week. In the game, Wentz threw 17-for-24 for 176 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. On August 24, 2025, Wentz signed with the Minnesota Vikings as a backup to J. J. On September 15, 2025, it was announced that Wentz would start for the Vikings in their Week 3 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Personal Life

Wentz's older brother, Zach, played college baseball, pitching for the North Dakota State Bison team from 2009 to 2012.

Overcoming Adversity

Wentz faced his share of adversity in Philadelphia. In 2022, an article in The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that prior to Super Bowl LII, Wentz expressed displeasure to other injured teammates that the Eagles were seeing success without him. Wentz was immediately confronted by one of the players and the two had to be physically separated. Later in November 2022, former teammate Darren Sproles, who was on the Super Bowl winning team, revealed that he had a conversation with Wentz saying: "I had to make him realize that you [have to] be happy for the team. Near the end of the season, Wentz dealt with a back injury and the Eagles, not wanting to risk further injury, decided to shut him down for the season and put in Foles as the starter for the rest of the season. Following the conclusion of the 2018 season, Joseph Santoliquito, writing in PhillyVoice, ran a piece in which more than a half dozen Eagles players were anonymously interviewed. The story revealed how players found Wentz to be "selfish" and "egotistical". The players stated that Wentz often called unnecessary audibles on plays and was not open to coaching. However, several of Wentz's current and former Eagles teammates, including Ertz, Fletcher Cox, Brandon Brooks, Lane Johnson, Torrey Smith and Nate Sudfeld, refuted the report and came to Wentz's defense as a teammate and a leader.

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