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Former quarterback Randy Hedberg played for the Buccaneers in the early years of the franchise.
While former Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Randy Hedberg endured two of the lean years in franchise history, he found gold later in his coaching career at North Dakota State.
Hedberg helped develop four NFL quarterbacks as a position coach for the former FCS powerhouse, recently turned FBS program. He will have a fifth protégé called at the NFL Draft on April 23-25 in Pittsburgh — Cole Payton. That will put the Bison in a tie with Alabama and Ohio State for the most quarterbacks drafted from any college program in the nation since 2016.
“They grew up in our system,” Hedberg told the New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy in a March 28 article. “Our verbiage is very similar to what NFL teams are doing.”
NDSU’s pro-style offense has led to a pair of quarterbacks going in the top three of the draft — Carson Wentz in 2016 and Trey Lance in 2021. Easton Stick and Cam Miller landed in the later rounds for 2019 and 2025 respectively, and Payton is expected to land on day three this year.
“The legacy of the quarterback room has always been really special to these guys,” Hedberg explained. “But it’s not just a one-position thing. If your goal is to be an NFL player, you can do it from NDSU.”
Tampa Bay has recognized that at other positions. Former NDSU offensive lineman Cody Mauch starts in the trenches for the Buccaneers at offensive guard, and former Bison cornerback Josh Hayes has been with the Buccaneers since 2023.
Randy Hedberg’s Time With the Buccaneers Wasn’t Pretty
An eighth-round draft pick in 1977, Hedberg played in seven games for the Buccaneers during the 1977 season when the team went 2-12. Hedberg only threw for 244 yards on 90 passing attempts for the team that was coached by late former head coach John McKay.
After the 1978 season with the Buccaneers, Hedberg went into coaching amid failed attempts to get back into the NFL with the then-Oakland Raiders and Green Bay Packers. Hedberg grew up in Parshall, North Dakota, and played for Minot State in college before his short NFL career and 40-plus years of coaching before his retirement in 2025.
The NFL Combine wasn’t pretty back in Hedberg’s day. He threw the football in a parking lot while a scout watched, followed by the Wonderlic test, which Hedberg recounted for Dunleavy.
Randy Hedberg’s QBs Put In Time
Hedberg enjoyed success in developing quarterbacks at NDSU because most of the five stayed five years, an antithesis to the transfer portal era.
“The biggest thing is they each have passion to learn the game at a big pace,” Hedberg said. “Other than Trey — who was 20 years old when he went into the NFL — all of them have been five-year guys who were a critical part of the team even when they aren’t playing. If you have a passion to get better and learn, any coach is willing to teach you.”
That’s a similar case with the other former Bison players in the NFL, including the two with the Buccaneers. Mauch played five years at NDSU, and Hayes played four before he transferred to Virginia and Kansas State.