Carson Wentz taking a snap for North Dakota State (North Dakota State University photo)

Even long shots make it sometimes and five years ago as he was graduating from Century High School in Bismarck, North Dakota as the class Valedictorian, Carson Wentz had to think he was a long shot to make it to the promised land that is the NFL let alone be selected as the second overall pick.

“I didn’t think quite like that,” Wentz said when asked at his introductory press conference with the Philadelphia media if he ever dreamed things would turnout as they have, “but I did know, once I got on campus, I had the potential. I knew physically I was very talented. I knew that from an early age but I had a lot to do, a long way to go. I just kept working…and here I am today.”

Today,Wentz is a Philadelphia Eagle but in the Fall of 2011, he was a freshman at the North Dakota State University. Having turned down his only FBS scholarship offer (it was from Central Michigan), Wentz elected to walk-on to the Bison football team and was red-shirted.

“As a competitor you want to be out there,” Wentz said when asked how he would deal with not playing while he learns at the NFL level, “but I understand there’s a lot to that. I’m just going to come in learn and compete. When coach feels fit for me to go out there, I’ll go out there and hopefully do well.”

While Wentz was sitting out, the Bison won the first of what is now five-straight FCS championships. The quarterback on that first championship team was Brock Jensen, a sophomore, meaning that Wentz would have to wait two more seasons before he would be the starter as a red-shirt junior. After he graduated, Jensen was signed as a free agent by the Miami Dolphins. He briefly made their roster but is now playing in the Canadian Football League. Jensen, who has NFL size at 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds, is on the roster of the Ottawa Redblacks and backs up one-time Temple star Henry Burris who, at 40, was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player in 2015.

Playing sparingly as Jensen’s backup, Wentz appeared in 19 games and threw a total of 46 passes completing 34 of them for 353 yards and three touchdowns. Once he took over as the starter in 2014, Wentz got off to a slow start. In his first two games, Wentz had no touchdowns and threw two interceptions but he would turn things around. He finished the season with school records in passing attempts, completions, yards and total offense per game. He threw for 3,111 yards and 25 touchdowns while completing 228 of 358 passes with 10 interceptions. Additionally, he was the team’s second-leading rusher with 642 yards and six scores. None was bigger than his five-yard run to score the game-winning touchdown with 37 seconds left in the Bison’s 29-27 win over Illinois State in the FCS Championship game.

“If I’m not the best at something it kind of ticks me off,” Wentz said after being asked about his competitiveness, “and I want to work my tail off to be the best. I just hate losing, it’s just how I’m wired.”

In his final season in Fargo, Wentz started the first six games before break his right wrist against South Dakota. He missed the next eight games but his teammates put the Bison in position to win another title and the 6-6, 235 Wentz returned to lead them to a 37-10 win over Jacksonville State.

North Dakota State fans pack the Fargo Dome for every home game. For the championship games, the ticket requests exceed the school’s allotment by thousands so Wentz knows all about a passionate fan base.

“We have some crazy, passionate fans back in Fargo,” he said. “They have high expectations for the team in Fargo and I know the expectations are high here as well.”

Email Rock Hoffman at Rock@footballstories.com
Twitter @rockhoffman