Bison 2022 depth chart position preview: Defensive Tackle

Thru the summer months, we will look at each position on the Bison football team and examine the depth chart at those positions, ranging from current players on the team to incoming players that could play.

The next position group up focuses on the interior of the defensive line and perhaps one of the most important players, defensive tackle.

NDSU saw two productive players graduate after last season in Lane Tucker and Costner Ching, each that spent multiple years in the program and took their time to get to the field.

The Bison may not have that luxury with the group of players set to hit the field this fall.

JAVIER DERRITT - JUNIOR

Derritt was a high profile recruit out of Kansas when he signed in 2018 and that promise started to pan out last fall.

Derritt played in all 15 games, but really started to show his impact on the field in the postseason. He finished the season with 20 tackles and four sacks, making big stops against Southern Illinois and a huge sack against James Madison in the semifinals.

Derritt's experience will be counted this coming fall at a position where NDSU is lacking many game reps.

WILL MOSTAERT - JUNIOR

A fun experiment is set to play out this year on the defensive line where the Mostaert twins are set to play right next to one another.

Will Mostaert enters his fourth year in the program, eager to play an even bigger role on the defense. Will finished with 4.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks in 2021, showing the ability to get to the quarterback and make big plays.

He will be counted to be a disruptor even more this season and playing alongside his twin brother Eli, you can see each of them trying to spur the other one on. The Mostaerts played side by side during Lakeville North's 2018 state championship season and will look to duplicate that success this fall.

ELI MOSTAERT - JUNIOR

Eli Mostaert may be the most talented defensive player on team. He's earned back to back places on the Missouri Valley Football Conference honorable mention team, but he's got big goals for 2021.

To see how much of a talent Eli is, just look back at the Illinois State game last year. Mostaert single-handedly dominated the Redbirds offensive line to the tune of 3.5 sacks in the game, one of the best defensive performances in a game in Bison history.

Eli finished the year with 10 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks and I could see those numbers easily double this coming season. His frame is perfect for defensive tackle and has thrived on the field since coming to Fargo in 2019.

He wears a popular defensive number in 53, Kyle Emanuel's old number and I see similar accolades in Eli's future. As in league defensive player of the year, that's how good I think Mostaert can be this season.

JAXON DUTTENHEFER - REDSHIRT FRESHMAN

The first commit for NDSU for the Class of 2021 immediately impressed when he arrived on campus last summer.

Head coach Matt Entz told me that Duttenhefer "just looks like a Bison." He picked up the defense quickly, so quickly that he was on the field during the second game of the season against Valparaiso.

Duttenhefer played in two games last year, preserving his eligibility and the Bison coaches have big things in store for him this coming fall.

The Mandan native is 6-2, 282 pounds and I fully expect him to be on the field and being a key contributor at defensive tackle in 2022.

IN THE PIPELINE: NDSU also has another redshirt freshman in Kody Huisman, an Iowa native that comes in at 6-4, 282 pounds. Depending on how quickly Huisman is adjusting, you could see him playing a big role this fall.

NDSU hit the defensive line hard during recruiting for the Class of 2021, signing eight players, that each arrived on campus back in June.

Logan Larson and Trevor Brown are two names to keep an eye on as time goes on. Larson was a three year starter at East Ridge High School in the Twin Cities, he was one of seven players invited to play in the Minnesota All-Star Football Game in December.

Brown is a big man from Waverly High School in Nebraska. He was a four year starter in high school.

This isn't a position where young players come in and contribute right away. I can think of Nate Tanguay as the only player in 2014 as a redshirt freshman that came in and was immediately playing a lot of football.

This is a position of maturity, as in the one that mature quicker will play more. We don't know how that race will play its way out until fall camp is going on.

ANALYSIS

To me after spring ball wrapped up, this was a position I was curious about. But the move to put the Mostaert twins togther and Derritt's steady progression, this could be an area of strength on the Bison defense. The question know is who to going to be the leader like Ching and Tucker were.