Photos By J. Alan Paul Photography
Nick DeLuca and Nate Tanguay are returning from injury to join forces with All-American safety Tre Dempsey for one goal—returning to Frisco. But first, they need to take care of business in the regular season. The Bison will look to the defense, Code Green, to lead the way.
Tanguay has started 41 games during his Bison career, which officially began against Iowa State in 2014. He’ll be a captain for a second consecutive season.
Finishing Strong
NDSU had the best rush defense in the Missouri Valley Football Conference last season, and the man creating the chaos in the middle was defensive tackle Nate Tanguay. Unfortunately, his junior year was cut short when he tore his ACL against Youngstown State nine games into the season.
Tanguay was statistically on pace for a career-year. But what NDSU missed more than his thumping tackles behind the line of scrimmage was the way he attracted multiple offensive linemen to keep him at bay.
The Mukwonago, Wisconsin, native has returned with a reconstructed knee and ready to join Aaron Steidl, Grant Morgan and the other interior linemen in the feared “Code Green” Bison defense.
Tanguay on his new perspective on football after his injury
“It made me realize how much I love the game, how much it means to me and how much the guys around me mean to me. It’s great to be back because I want to do so much for this program and leave a legacy for the young guys so they can do something when they grow up and get to the older stage of their career.”
Tanguay on the struggles of rehabbing a knee injury
“It’s really tough because you want to get out there so badly. You’ll feel good one day and the next day you can barely run. The rehab process really sucks because you’re by yourself most of the time and it just goes so slowly.”
Tanguay on the depth along the defensive line
“This is by far the most depth we’ve had since my freshman year with that 2013 class. Having depth means everyone can be fresh out there. I’m not going to take 80 plays against Montana this year. I’m going to take half that because of Grant (Morgan), (Aaron) Steidl, and Blake Williams, and Quinn Alo — who is a redshirt freshman right now — are going to step up and play and I trust them on the field.”
