You’ve probably heard the jokes. People see a 2,000-seat stadium with metal bleachers and assume it’s just glorified high school ball. They think if a kid was actually good, he’d be at Alabama or at least playing on a Tuesday night in the MAC. But honestly? That’s just laziness. Division 3 football’s finest are playing some of the most violent, technically sound, and frankly heartbreakingly pure football on the planet.
There are no athletic scholarships here. Think about that for a second. Every single guy on that field is paying tuition—or at least grinding for academic grants—just to get their heads kicked in on a Saturday afternoon in October. They aren't there for the NIL deals or the free housing. They’re there because they're obsessed.
The Absolute Monsters of the 2025-2026 Season
If you aren't watching North Central (Ill.), you’re missing out on a literal dynasty. They’ve basically turned the Stagg Bowl into their personal annual vacation. Even after losing legendary quarterback Luke Lehnen—who, by the way, finished his career as a two-time Gagliardi Trophy winner and ended up slinging it for the Arlington Renegades in the UFL—the Cardinals haven't slowed down.
Currently, the torch for individual brilliance has passed to guys like Kaleb Blaha at UW-River Falls. Blaha didn't just win the 2025 Gagliardi Trophy because he has a cool name; he won it because he’s a dual-threat nightmare. Last season, he was accounting for touchdowns at a rate that felt like a video game glitch.
Then you’ve got the defensive side. JP Sullivan at North Central is a name that NFL scouts actually have circled. He was recently named the D3football.com Top Defensive Player. We’re talking about a guy who treats offensive linemen like revolving doors. It’s not just "good for D3." It’s elite football.
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The Names You Need to Know Right Now
- Kaleb Blaha (QB, UW-River Falls): The reigning Gagliardi winner. He’s the engine of an offense that moves faster than your morning commute.
- JP Sullivan (DT, North Central): A Cliff Harris Award finalist. If he’s in the gap, the play is dead. Period.
- Montie Quinn (RB, Curry College): A First-Team All-American who hits holes like he’s shot out of a cannon.
- Nazair Jean-Lubin (CB, Cortland): After Cortland’s massive 2023 title upset, they’ve stayed relevant because of secondary play like this. He’s a total lockdown corner.
Why Division 3 Football’s Finest Often Outwork the Big Names
There's this weird misconception that D3 is where talent goes to die. Tell that to Quinn Meinerz. He played at UW-Whitewater, spent his COVID summer "the Belly" lifting propane tanks and hay bales in the Canadian wilderness, and now he’s a cornerstone for the Denver Broncos.
Basically, the D3 path is for the late bloomer or the guy with "one missing trait." Maybe they were 5'10" in high school but now they're 6'3". Maybe they played in a rural town where scouts didn't have GPS. In many ways, division 3 football’s finest have a higher "dog per capita" ratio because nobody handed them a locker with their name on it in a $100 million facility.
Take Sam Mills. He was "too small" for everyone. He ended up at Montclair State, became a D3 All-American, and then went on to be a 5-time NFL Pro Bowler. His "Keep Pounding" mantra is literally the soul of the Carolina Panthers now. That’s the D3 DNA. It’s gritty. It’s sorta desperate. It’s beautiful.
The Hierarchy of the Top Programs
It isn't a level playing field. Some of these schools have better facilities than mid-tier D1 programs, while others are sharing a weight room with the dance team.
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Mount Union and North Central are the Ohio State and Alabama of this world. Since the late 90s, Mount Union has been a factory. If you’re a recruit and the Purple Raiders call, you go. But lately, the Wisconsin schools (the WIAC) have become the toughest gauntlet. UW-Whitewater, UW-La Crosse, and UW-River Falls beat each other up so badly during the regular season that whoever survives is usually ready to win a national title.
- North Central (Ill.): The current kings. They play a brand of modern, high-speed football that’s hard to replicate.
- Mount Union: The gold standard. They don't rebuild; they just reload.
- Wartburg / Bethel: These are the "smart" teams. High-execution, low-mistake football.
- St. John's (MN): They play in a literal forest (Clemens Stadium). It’s the most iconic atmosphere in small-college sports.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Level of Play
"It’s just slower." Honestly, no.
Sure, the average speed isn't the same as the SEC, but the top 5% of D3—the guys we call division 3 football’s finest—are plenty fast. The difference is depth. A D1 team has 85 guys on full ride. A D3 team might have a superstar defensive end, but the guy backing him up is a chemistry major who just wants to stay in shape.
The strategy, though? It’s often better than D1. Because these coaches can't just out-recruit everyone with bags of cash, they have to out-scheme them. You see some of the most creative offensive wrinkles in the country at schools like Johns Hopkins or Linfield.
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Actionable Insights for the D3 Obsessed
If you want to actually follow this level of the sport, don't look for it on ESPN. You have to go to the source.
- Follow D3football.com: It’s the Bible for this level. Pat Coleman and his crew do more work than most national outlets.
- Watch the WIAC: If you want to see the "pro" style of D3, watch the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. It’s basically a minor league.
- Check the Gagliardi Trophy Finalists: Every December, look at the five finalists. Those are the guys who will be in NFL training camps or the UFL next summer.
- Attend a Stagg Bowl: If you’re near the championship site, go. It’s the only place in sports where you’ll see a kid win a national title and then go study for a Monday morning physics final.
The reality is that division 3 football’s finest are the last true "student-athletes." When you see a guy like Kaleb Blaha or Luke Lehnen making plays, you aren't seeing a business transaction. You’re seeing a guy who would probably play the game in a parking lot for free if he had to. That’s why we watch.
To truly understand the impact of this level, start tracking the "NFL D3" list annually; usually, about 15-20 players from this tier get a legitimate look at pro camps each spring. Pay close attention to the offensive linemen specifically—D3 "hogs" like Quinn Meinerz and Ali Marpet have proven that if you can move a 300-pound man at this level, you can do it on Sundays too. Find a local program, stand on the sidelines, and listen to the pads pop. You'll realize very quickly that there's nothing "small" about it.