North Dakota State added more talent to the defensive backfield as former Notre Dame cornerback Chance Tucker transferred recently.
Tucker’s representatives, Joseph Timpano and Jon-Michael Salter, broke the news on Sunday. A former three-star recruit from California, Tucker spent the three seasons with the Fighting Irish, and he had three tackles in 14 games.
Tucker missed the 2024 season due to an ACL tear, but he came back in 2025 and played in four games before he sustained another knee injury. His most productive season came in 2023, when he had three tackles in nine games as a sophomore.
Tucker has one year of eligibility to play for the Bison, which moved up to the FBS this offseason. NDSU has developed eventual NFL defensive backs before, so Tucker could make a strong final run with the Bison to close out his college career and make a bid for the NFL.
Past NDSU defensive backs in the NFL include Josh Hayes of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns defensive back Dom Jones, and former New York Jets defensive back Marcus Williams. Former NDSU defensive back Cole Wisniewski also made his way to the NFL recently as an undrafted free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Chance Tucker Background
Tucker became a football and track star at Crespi Carmelite in Encino, California, before Notre Dame.
As a junior, he accumulated three interceptions, 58 tackles, 10 pass deflections and a blocked kick on defense in 2019. Tucker also made an impact as a wide receiver with 13 catches for 176 yards and two touchdowns.
In recruiting, he ranked as high as No. 38 nationally among cornerbacks in the 2021 recruiting class via Rivals. Tucker didn’t play as a freshman with the Fighting Irish in 2021, and he debuted for the Irish in 2022 against Boston College during a 44-0 blowout.
During his junior season in South Bend in 2023, Tucker played in key wins over Duke and Clemson in the regular season. He also tallied two tackles in the Irish’s Sun Bowl win over Oregon State.
Tucker went down right away in the 2024 season during an Aug. 17 scrimmage and didn’t play in a game. He returned on special teams for the Irish’s dominant win over Arkansas in September 2025, and Tucker played in another three games before he endured another knee injury.
Chance Tucker Fills a Need in NDSU Secondary
Tucker joins a Bison secondary that will need more talent and depth in the first season of Mountain West Conference play.
The conference boasted three quarterbacks with 3,000 yards passing and two with 23 or more touchdowns in 2025. NDSU will only see Hawaii’s Micah Alejado, as the others transferred, but other passers could emerge as threats.
As for the Bison secondary, the team has a major turnover with top contributors Anthony Chideme-Alfaro, Antoine Booth, Jailen Duffie and Jaquise Alexander all gone. Tucker joins a crew of transfers in D.J. Voltz and E.J. Davis, who will look to boost the Bison secondary.
Last season, Chideme-Alfargo had 28 tackles, two pass deflections and two interceptions, and Booth had two tackles. Duffie had 15 tackles and two pass deflections, and Alexander had 28 tackles, six pass deflections and an interception.
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