FARGO — CJ Anderson was literally waiting by the phone waiting for a chance to continue his college football career. He wasn’t expecting the phone call to come from Fargo, North Dakota.
“I hadn’t heard anything from NDSU until the coaches reached out to me on social media,” Anderson said. “I’m beyond excited to be a Bison and looking forward to contributing any way I can.”
Anderson plays a position that toils in obscurity, but that goes with the territory. He’s a long snapper. And a good one at that, he was named an all-conference player at DivNCAA ision II North Greenville last fall during his senior season. The Trailblazers finished 7-5 in 2025, falling in the Division II playoffs to West Florida. WFU just made the move to FCS Football on July 1, joining the United Athletic Conference.
Anderson comes to Fargo with one year of eligibility remaining as a graduate transfer. He’s from Elgin, South Carolina. He played two years for NGU, with 2025 being his first full season of getting on the field. NDSU was in need of a new long snapper after Chase Balzer left the team after spring football. Balzer had transferred to Fargo in January after All-American Caleb Bowers left NDSU for Florida State.
“I think special teams is a huge part of the game,” Anderson added. “Games can be won or lost through special teams and I’m really happy NDSU is a place that they recognize that.”
The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Anderson joins a special teams group that will have two new pieces in 2026. NDSU will have a new placekicker as well, with Drew Klein taking over the position after Eli Ozick transferred to Iowa. The only returner is punter Aaron Bickerton, a transfer himself, in his third season at NDSU.
Long snapper CJ Anderson will transfer to North Dakota State after spending the last four years at Division II North Greenville.
Submitted photo
Anderson arrived in Fargo just a couple of weeks ago and now is in full preparation to make the jump from Division II to FBS football. “Playing on one of the biggest stages of college football excites me,” he said. “I love competition and I think this will be an amazing opportunity for that.”
Much like Anderson, Tochi Okoro was just looking for a chance to keep playing. NDSU wasn’t on his radar until his phone rang.
“Coach (Steve) Crutchley hit me up in mid-May and said I like your film and I would like you to come up here for a visit. I loved it automatically, Fargo is a great place,” Okoro said.
The 6-foot-3, 205-pound wide receiver comes to Fargo after spending the last two years at Garden City Community College in Kansas. He’s from Dodge City, where he was a multi-sport standout in both basketball and track.
“I was getting nervous,” Okoro added. “I waited for the last minute, so when I got the text it was the last week of school. I was just shocked.”
Okoro played in eight games this past fall for Garden City, with eight receptions for 78 yards and a touchdown. He said he wasn’t that great in football not that long ago.
“Football, I was average, I wasn’t that good,” he said. “Garden City wanted me because of my speed. They could work with me, so I committed there. Then I just kept on developing, and I just got better. Then I started making plays, and the coaches realized that I could be that guy.”
Okoro is the third wide receiver transfer addition since NDSU wrapped spring football at the end of April. Jeremiah Patterson and Jordan McCants transferred in from Arizona and West Virginia to add more depth to a position that lacks both receptions and playing experience.
Mekhi Collins and Jackson Williams are the two most experienced players back in that group, but combined for just 23 catches last year. NDSU has some younger players that have potential, but have either not played a collegiate game or barely played in a game.
Okoro is ready to help out anyway he can on the field. His mindset has completely changed thanks to one phone call that came in mid-May.
“I thought I was done,” he said. “ I thought I had to go to a lower level, which is fine, but I wanted to find a way to Division I.”
With these transfer additions, NDSU will have a total of 12 transfers they have added since last season ended.
NDSU TRANSFER ADDITIONS FOR 2026 SEASON
CJ Anderson — Long Snapper (North Greenville)
Nyeoti Punni — Running Back (Holy Cross)
Jeremiah Patterson — Wide Receiver (Arizona)
Chance Tucker — Cornerback (Notre Dame)
Kene Anene — Offensive Lineman (Kansas)
Truman Griffith — Defensive Lineman (Kansas State)
Anthony Okes – Defensive Lineman (Montana Tech)
Tochi Okoro — Wide Receiver (Garden City CC)
Keith Williams — Linebacker (Cornell)
Caleb McGrath — Punter (Minnesota)
DJ Voltz — Cornerback (Saginaw Valley State)
EJ Davis — Cornerback (Wayne State)