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Ex-NDSU QB Joins Old Bison Teammate With Buccaneers
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- Ex-NDSU QB Joins Old Bison Teammate With Buccaneers
Cody Mauch will play with former Bison Teammate Easton Stick again. Getty
North Dakota State has drawn from the prep talent pool in Tampa before, and now former Bison stars are starting to increase with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Former Bison offensive guard Cody Mauch has been with the Buccaneers since the team selected him with a second-round pick in 2023. Mauch played for the Bison from 2017 to 2022, and now a former teammate of his from that era, quarterback Easton Stick, is joining the Buccaneers.
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The former Bison great signed with the Buccaneers practice squad on Monday after the Indianapolis Colts released him. Stick played for the Bison from 2014 to 2018, so he and Mauch played together for two years, both championship seasons in Fargo.
Tampa Bay now gets a reliable veteran backup quarterback in Stick on the practice squad. The Buccaneers have a proven starter in Baker Mayfield, and Tampa Bay recently added Jalon Daniels as the backup quarterback.
The undrafted free agent from Kansas beat out Jake Browning for the backup job, and the Buccaneers released Browning during the final cutdowns. Stick joining the Buccaneers shows that head coach Todd Bowles and company have confidence that the former Bison star could come in an emergency if needed.
Easton Stick Became a Bison Legend as a Freshman
In light of the Bison's big opening win over Jacksonville State on Saturday, Stick made the first meeting possible in the 2015 season for the FCS championship game.
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A freshman at the time, Stick took over as the starting quarterback when Carson Wentz went down with a wrist injury and missed most of the regular season and the playoffs. Stick led the Bison to the Missouri Valley Football Conference title and a run through the FCS playoffs.
He had an 8-0 record that year, as he completed 61.2% of his passes for 1,144 yards and 13 touchdowns versus four interceptions. Stick also rushed for 498 yards and five touchdowns on 85 carries.
Wentz healed in time to play in the FCS title game against JSU, a 37-10 win for the Bison. Stick got to play in that game as Stick went for a pass to Wentz that didn't pan out.
After Wentz graduated and joined the Philadelphia Eagles as the No. 2 pick , Stick's career only took off. Stick amassed a 49-3 career record, the best in FCS history, until former South Dakota State quarterback Mark Gronowski matched him.
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NDSU won three national titles with Stick starting most of the season, and the only year the Bison didn't win it all occurred when James Madison pulled off a semifinal upset in the Fargodome . Stick notably led the Bison to win over No. 13 Iowa that year.
Easton Stick a Journeyman Backup Since Chargers
A former fifth-round pick in 2019 with the Los Angeles Chargers , Stick spent the first six years of his career with the team as a backup to Justin Herbert.
Stick then found a home with the Atlanta Falcons last season behind Michael Penix Jr. and former Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins. This year, he signed with the Indianapolis Colts, but he couldn't find a niche behind Daniel Jones and Anthony Richardson. For Stick's career, he has 1,133 yards passing for three touchdowns versus an interception, and he has completed 64% of his passes.
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