FARGO — Grey Zabel will be back on a football field in Fargo Thursday. North Dakota State fans had better soak it in, because the next time Zabel will be on a gridiron will be in a preseason game in the National Football League.
The All-American left tackle for the Bison has become one of the quickest risers in the 2025 NFL Draft class, so much so that Zabel is being considered to be a mid-to-late first round draft pick.
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“I’ve had the mindset to be excited for day one, but expect Day Two,” Zabel said. “You have no idea where you're going to go.”
How Zabel got to be in the conversation of a first-round draft pick began right after NDSU’s 38-35 win over Montana State in the FCS Championship Game. He left the next day for Irvine, California and began working with Excel Sports, the agency that represents him and former Bison teammate Cody Mauch.
Zabel spent the rest of January preparing for the Senior Bowl, his chance to really show the scouts and coaches that he could handle playing against the top competition in the country. Draft gurus were amazed as Zabel consistently dominated his position drills, going up against the likes of guys from Michigan, Nebraska and Florida State.
Zabel left the Senior Bowl earning the practice player of the week award.
“Let's go see if I can go up against this guy or go up against that guy.” said Zabel. “Having that mentality throughout the three days of practice helped set myself apart a little bit. I wanted to show my versatility and be able to play multiple positions.”
Zabel got reps at tackle, guard and center. Most mock drafts have Zabel being moved inside from the tackle position, where he started 31 straight games for the Bison, to the guard spot.
He checked another box at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, where he tied for the third highest vertical leap by an offensive lineman, going 36 and a half feet. That mark tied with NFL All-Pro Tristan Wirfs. The only hiccup that Zabel had was that he didn’t participate in the 40-yard dash. That’s because of a slight groin injury that Zabel sustained during the second day of practice in Mobile.
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North Dakota State's Grey Zabel reacts after a Bison touchdown against South Dakota during the NCAA FCS quarterfinals on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, at the DakotaDome in Vermillion, S.D.
David Samson/The Forum
His agent told him he could sit out the rest of practices in Mobile to rehab and run the 40 at the Combine, or play football at the Senior Bowl.
“It was an easy decision. Football, 100 percent,” Zabel said. “Then throughout the month of February, I was just rehabbing it, trying to get it back to 100 percent so I could do all the O-line drills and run and jump in Indy.”
Zabel’s last box to check comes Thursday at NDSU Pro Day. A bevy of scouts and NFL personnel will be at NDSU’s Indoor Practice Facility to watch Zabel go through the position drills and maybe ask a couple follow-up questions. Zabel had 14 formal interviews with teams in Indianapolis and has spoken to all 32 NFL teams.
“This process has been super enjoyable, but at the same time it's been stressful,” Zabel said. “You’re checking boxes all the while and then you get into the month of April, and now you're traveling and taking 30 visits and going to basically as many teams as you possibly can in those three weeks of April.”
The subterfuge of the Draft is well-known. Mauch gave Zabel some valuable advice leading up to next month’s draft.
“The team that doesn't really talk to you is probably the team that's going to pick you.” Zabel said. “Having that in the back of your mind, do they actually like me?”
There are plenty of teams that not only like Zabel, but love him. He had the opportunity to transfer for major NIL money to spend his final season of college football. Zabel chose to stay in Fargo, and in the process, won a national championship and became an All-American.
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“You can go anywhere you want to go from NDSU,” Zabel said. “The grass isn't always greener on the other side, and NDSU is the place to be. I think they're going to use that moving forward in recruiting, for sure.”
[ Dom Izzo](https://www.thedickinsonpress.com/Dom Izzo)
By [Dom Izzo](https://www.thedickinsonpress.com/Dom Izzo)
Dom Izzo is the Sports Director at WDAY-TV. He began working for WDAY in 2006 as the weekend sports anchor and was promoted to Sports Director in 2010.
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