Hunter Luepke had a fantastic college career as a fullback for North Dakota State football. Luepke did more than just block, he was a powerful runner, a threat in the pass game and more as he helped the Bison win multiple FCS titles.
Here's more on Luepke's college football career.
The vitals on Hunter Luepke
School: North Dakota State
Position: Fullback
Height: 6-1
Weight: 236 pounds
Years active: 2018-22
Here are Luepke's career stats in college.
| YEAR | GAMES | RUSH ATT | RUSH YDS | RUSH TDS | REC | REC YDS | REC TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | REDSHIRT | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2019 | 14 | 5 | 43 | 1 | 11 | 96 | 1 |
| 2020-21 | 6 | 84 | 458 | 6 | 4 | 37 | 1 |
| 2021 | 13 | 87 | 543 | 8 | 9 | 165 | 3 |
| 2022 | 10 | 98 | 621 | 9 | 14 | 196 | 4 |
| Career | 43 | 274 | 1,665 | 24 | 38 | 494 | 9 |
Luepke, a native of Spencer, Wisconsin, signed with North Dakota State over an offer from Northern Iowa, another FCS school, per 247Sports.
lol Hunter Luepke had a wide open path to the end zone and decided "nah, i wanna hit this guy instead" pic.twitter.com/dhX2kAXzvl
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) January 8, 2022
What kind of prospect was Luepke in high school?
Hunter Luepke was a two-star fullback at Spencer High School in Spencer, Wisconsin. Luepke was the eighth-best fullback in the country, depending on the recruiting service, and a top-30 player in Wisconsin in the class of 2018.
Luepke was a four-sport athlete in high school, competing in football, wrestling, baseball and track and field. Luepke was a conference champion 100 meter sprinter and three-time all-conference center fielder. He was his school's first-ever state champion wrestler, winning two titles in 2017 and 2018, going 49-0 during his senior year.
On the gridiron, Luepke started all four years playing running back, linebacker, defensive end and returning kicks. He finished high school with 5,770 all-purpose yards, 95 all-purpose touchdowns, 4,452 rushing yards, 82 rushing touchdowns, 171 tackles and 10 sacks. Luepke earned all-conference honors three times as a running back, First-Team All-Region honors as a linebacker his junior year, Conference Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2015 and 2017, and Regional Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2017.
Welcome to the Bison FB/TE Hunter Luepke, 6-1, 225, Fr., Spencer, WI (Spencer HS) #B1S8N pic.twitter.com/7ZA7M5WaMS
— NDSU Football (@NDSUfootball) December 20, 2017
What was Luepke's record in college?
Luepke and North Dakota State finished a combined 49-4 during his final four years. Luepke helped lead the Bison to the 2019 and 2021 FCS national championships.
👀 COLLEGE CAREERS OF NFL STARS
2023 NFL Draft QBs: Bryce Young | C.J. Stroud | Will Levis | Anthony Richardson | Hendon Hooker
2023 NFL Draft Off. Skill: Jaxon Smith-Njigba | Jordan Addison | Quentin Johnston | Zay Flowers | Bijan Robinson
2023 NFL Draft DL: Jalen Carter | Will Anderson Jr. | Myles Murphy | Tyree Wilson
2023 NFL Draft FCS: Tucker Kraft | Andrei Iosivas | Hunter Luepke
2022 NFL Draft: Christian Watson | Brock Purdy | Bailey Zappe | Skylar Thompson | Isiah Pacheco
2021 NFL Draft: Trevor Lawrence | Trey Lance | Ja'Marr Chase | Justin Fields | Mac Jones | DeVonta Smith
2020 NFL Draft: Joe Burrow | Tua Tagovailoa | Tee Higgins | Jalen Hurts
2019 NFL Draft: Kyler Murray | Deebo Samuel | Gardner Minshew II | Miles Sanders | A.J. Brown
2018 NFL Draft: Lamar Jackson | Baker Mayfield | Josh Allen | Darius Leonard
2017 NFL Draft: Patrick Mahomes | Deshaun Watson | Cooper Kupp |
Juju Smith-Schuster | Haason Reddick
2016 NFL Draft: Carson Wentz | Jalen Ramsey | Chris Jones
2014 NFL Draft: Aaron Donald | Odell Beckham Jr. | Khalil Mack | Jerick McKinnon
FCS alums: Jimmy Garoppolo | Taylor Heinicke
Legends: Tom Brady | Jackie Robinson | Deion Sanders | Cam Newton
More: Matthew Stafford | Travis Kelce
Which awards did Luepke win in college?
Here are the awards and honors Luepke won in college:
- First-Team All-American by Stats Perform and Phil Steele (2020-21, 2021, 2022)
- First-Team All-American by HERO Sports (2021, 2022)
- Second-Team AP All-American (2022)
- First-Team All-MVFC (2020-21, 2021, 2022)
- Walter Payton Award finalist (2022)
- NCAA Championship Game Most Outstanding Player (2021)
- Sophomore All-American by HERO Sports (2020-21)
- Honorable Mention All-MVFC (2019)
#ThisDayInNDSUHistory: January 8, 2022. The Bison have another monster game on the ground in Frisco. NDSU rushes for 378 yards, led by Hunter Luepke's MVP performance scoring three first half touchdowns in a 38-10 rout of Montana State for the school's 9th FCS title. pic.twitter.com/Vug3tWaa0P
— Dom Izzo (@DomIzzoWDAY) January 8, 2023
