NEW YORK, N.Y. – A trio of North Dakota football players were named All-Americans by the Associated Press on Tuesday. Offensive lineman
Seth Anderson and edge
Lance Rucker gained Second Team honors, while defensive back
Antonio Bluiett garnered honorable mention accolades.
Anderson started all 14 games at right tackle in 2025. With his help, UND ranks No. 22 in the FCS in scoring offense (34.5 points per game). North Dakota quarterbacks were also only sacked on average 1.1 times per game this season, which sits No. 13 nationally and No. 2 in the MVFC. Thanks to the 701 Moving Company up front, the backfield also registered an average of 194.9 yards on the ground each game, ranking North Dakota's backfield No. 16 in the country.
The offensive lineman from Moorhead, Minn., also helped North Dakota pile up more than 400 yards of offense five times, highlighted by 564 yards in the 46-17 win over Indiana State. Anderson was named the MVFC Offensive Lineman of the Week twice (at Kansas State and vs. Murray State) and earned First Team All-MVFC honors at the end of the season.
Rucker started all 14 games at edge this season. He currently ranks No. 11 in the nation in forced fumbles per game (0.29) and No. 13 in sacks per game (0.82), with both of those marks leading the MVFC. Rucker also ties for No. 6 in the FCS in blocked kicks, blocking extra points in the 50-20 win over Portland State and in the 31-6 win at No. 13 seed Tennessee Tech during the FCS playoffs. He ranks No. 2 in the conference in tackles-for-loss each game (1.1) and leads the team in both TFLs (15.0) and sacks (11.5). He is second on the team in quarterback hurries (8) and sits fifth in total tackles (64.0).
The Omaha, Neb., native, was a force to be reckoned with in the FCS First Round, where he threw down three strip-sacks, three forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and blocked an extra point to go with six tackles in the 31-6 win at No. 13 seed Tennessee Tech. In the FCS Second Round at No. 4 seed Tarleton State, Rucker broke the all-time school record for sacks in a single-season with his fourth strip-sack of the playoffs and brought his single-season sack total to 11.5. He broke the record of Eric Schmidt (2001) and Wes Atkinson (1999), who shared the previous record with 11.0 sacks those seasons. Rucker gained First Team All-MVFC accolades at the end of the season.
Bluiett started seven games at cornerback and appeared in 10 contests before missing the rest of the season with an injury. He currently ranks No. 3 in the MVFC in interceptions per game (0.3). Bluiett ties for second on the team in interceptions (3) and also ties for third on the team in pass breakups (6).
The defensive back from Buffalo, Minn., had a pair of interceptions in the 24-23 loss at No. 5/7 Montana and became the first player to pick off the Griz twice inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium since Sept. 11, 2021 (Michael Lawson – Western Illinois). On the season, Bluiett also contributed 29 tackles (25 solo), 2.0 TFLs, and a sack to go with his six pass breakups and three interceptions. At the end of the season, Bluiett earned First Team All-MVFC status.
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