A combine for NFL prospects from the Football Championship Subdivision will be held in January in conjunction with the Division I national championship game in Nashville, the NCAA announced Friday.
The FCS title game is scheduled for Jan. 5 at Vanderbilt’s FirstBank Stadium. The FCS Showcase will be held the morning of the game and feature 50 players who are draft-eligible doing on-field drills for NFL scouting staff. Underclassmen will not be included.
“Having coached at the FCS level, I’ve seen firsthand the caliber of players that exist across that division,” said Craig Bohl, executive director of the American Football Coaches Association. “The AFCA is honored to partner with the NCAA and NFL Football operations to help put on the FCS Showcase. This collaboration is about ensuring every talented player has a chance to be evaluated on the biggest stage.”
Each NFL team has been asked to nominate a list of 10-15 prospects it would like to evaluate.
“The FCS Showcase represents another important step in our shared commitment to player development and opportunity,” said Roman Oben, NFL vice president of football development. “By bringing this platform to championship weekend, we’re ensuring that deserving FCS student-athletes have access to the same visibility, evaluation and support as their peers from larger programs.”
The official NFL combine is held in early February in Indianapolis. Typically, about 320 players are invited.
FCS players in the NFL Draft
The FCS talent pool has been an important asset for the NFL forever, even before the subdivision was called Division I-AA.
It has become a semi-regular thing for FCS prospects to creep into the first round. Since 2016, six FCS players have been drafted on the draft’s first day. Most recently in 2025, Seattle drafted North Dakota State center Grey Zabel with the No. 18 pick, and he has been a productive starter all season.
Cody Mauch, another NDSU alum, was drafted by the Buccaneers in the second round of the 2023 draft and has been one of the team’s starters ever since. The 2022 draft featured a whopping 24 FCS players selected, led by first-rounders Trevor Penning (Northern Iowa) and Cole Strange (Chattanooga). Packers standout receiver Christian Watson went in the second round that year.
Zabel was one of 15 FCS players selected in the 2025 draft. Since 2022, 62 players from the FCS level have been drafted by NFL teams. Farther back in draft history, the FCS has provided future NFL stars like Kurt Warner (Northern Iowa), Randy Moss (Marshall was a I-AA school at the time), Terrell Owens (Chattanooga), Cooper Kupp (Eastern Washington), Michael Strahan (Texas Southern), Tony Romo (Eastern Illinois), Steve McNair (Alcorn State), Phil Simms (Morehead State), Jared Allen (Idaho State) and so many more.