The 2023 NFL season is finally here, and DII football fans can be on the lookout for former standouts this season.

Though initial 53-man rosters were announced on Tuesday, Aug. 26, we like to wait closer to opening day to dive into the final rosters for the coming season. Several DII players — like Kutztown's Craig Reynolds, who has been on the Lions the past two years — were left off the initial 53-man roster but brought back a few days later. Waiting a few extra days for those last few signings gets this list as close to accurate as possible. 

This year, 43 DII football players are on opening day rosters. Shepherd's Tyson Bagent, Ferris State's Caleb Murphy, Fort Valley State's Emanuel Wilson, and Wingate's Ethan Evans are a few of the big-name rookies that made the final cut. Evans was the only one of the four drafted, so Bagent, Murphy and Wilson all turned some heads this preseason.

NFL 2023: Every FCS and HBCU player on the initial 53-man 2023 NFL rosters

Additionally, many familiar faces are back on NFL rosters. Western Colorado's Austin Ekeler — who has led the NFL in touchdowns two years in a row — is back with the Los Angeles Chargers. Grand Valley State's Matthew Judon — who made his fourth-straight Pro Bowl last year — is back with the New England Patriots. West Alabama's Tyreek Hill — the NFL's "Cheetah" and seven-time Pro Bowler — is back with the Miami Dolphins. And of course, Adam Thielen, one of the most reliable targets the past few seasons, is with a new team in Carolina, hoping to catch many touchdowns from No. 1 overall draft pick Bryce Young. 

Here is how the rosters look.

DII NFL rosters, broken down by the numbers

• There are 11 defensive backs on NFL rosters. That is the most of any position. There are seven defensive lineman, six wide receivers and five each of linebackers and running backs.
• There is only one quarterback on any roster. Tyson Bagent is in uncharted territory as there hasn't been a DII football QB on any active roster in quite some time. 
• The current two-time defending national champion Ferris State Bulldogs have the most players on active rosters with three. The aforementioned Caleb Murphy made the Tennessee Titans roster, Tavierre Thomas made the Houston Texans roster and Zach Sieler is on the Dolphins. 
• Both the Indianapolis Colts and Dolphins have four DII players apiece on their 53-man rosters, tied for the most of any NFL team. The Green Bay Packers, Chargers, Lions and Patriots all have three players on the active roster.
• The Baltimore Ravens, Las Vegas Raiders, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers have no DII football players on their active rosters.   

DII alum on 2023 NFL 53-man rosters (based on NFL.com rosters as of Sept. 4, 2023)

Player	NFL team	School	Position
Dennis Gardeck	Arizona Cardinals	Sioux Falls	LB
Christian Matthew	Arizona Cardinals	Valdosta State	DB
Dee Alford	Atlanta Falcons	Tusculum	DB
Kyle Hinton	Atlanta Falcons	Washburn	OL
Deonte Harty	Buffalo Bills	Assumption	WR
Adam Thielen	Carolina Panthers	Minnesota State	WR
Alex Cappa*	Cincinnati Bengals	Humboldt State	OL
Tyson Bagent	Chicago Bears	Shepherd	QB
D'Anthony Bell	Cleveland Browns	West Florida	DB
Jonathan Harris+	Denver Broncos	Lindenwood	DL
John Cominsky	Detroit Lions	Charleston (WV)	DL
Anthony Pittman	Detroit Lions	Wayne State (MI)	LB
Craig Reynolds	Detroit Lions	Kutztown	RB
Matt Ozrech*	Green Bay Packers	Azusa Pacific	LS
Jonathan Owens	Green Bay Packers	Missouri Western	DB
Emanuel Wilson	Green Bay Packers	Fort Valley State	RB
Tavierre Thomas	Houston Texans	Ferris State	DB
Dallas Flowers	Indianapolis Colts	Pittsburg State	DB
Kenny Moore II	Indianapolis Colts	Valdosta State	DB
E.J. Speed+	Indianapolis Colts	Tarleton State	LB
Grover Stewart	Indianapolis Colts	Albany State (GA)	DT
Gregory Junior	Jacksonville Jaguars	Ouachita Baptist	DB
Joshua Williams	Kansas City Chiefs	Fayetteville State	DB
Austin Ekeler	Los Angeles Chargers	Western Colorado	RB
Morgan Fox	Los Angeles Chargers	CSU Pueblo	DL
Trey Pipkins III	Los Angeles Chargers	Sioux Falls	OL
Ethan Evans	Los Angeles Rams	Wingate	P
Tyreek Hill	Miami Dolphins	West Alabama	WR
Kader Kohou+	Miami Dolphins	TAMU-Commerce	DB
Zach Sieler	Miami Dolphins	Ferris State	DL
Kion Smith	Miami Dolphins	Fayetteville State	OL
C.J. Ham	Minnesota Vikings	Augustana (SD)	RB
Kyle Dugger	New England Patriots	Lenoir-Rhyne	DB
Matthew Judon	New England Patriots	Grand Valley State	LB
Sam Roberts	New England Patriots	Northwest Missouri State	DL
Nathan Shepherd	New Orleans Saints	Fort Hays State	DL
Irvin Charles	New York Jets	Indiana (PA)	WR
Greg Zuerlein	New York Jets	Missouri Western	K
Gunner Olszewski	Pittsburgh Steelers	Bemidji State	WR
Matt Feiler	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Bloomsburg	OL
Zach Triner	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Assumption	LS
Caleb Murphy	Tennessee Titans	Ferris State	LB
Dareke Young	Seattle Seahawks	Lenoir-Rhyne	WR
* = school no longer has a football program; + = school is now DI, but was DII when player attended

WATCHLIST: 22 players that could be the DII football player of the year

Other DII football alum of note

Below is a list of players on injured lists, physically unable to perform lists, or practice squads. This information is as of Monday, Sept. 4, per NFL.com. These players could move around frequently (in fact, some may have by the time you read this). This is a preliminary list for the opening of the NFL season and will not be updated before or after opening kickoff because of how fluid it tends to be.

Player	NFL TEAM	SCHOOL	Position
Zay Malone	Atlanta Falcons	Henderson State	WR
Zach Davidson	Buffalo Bills	Central Missouri	TE
Domenique Davis	Cincinnati Bengals	UNC Pembroke	DT
David Durden	Dallas Cowboys	West Florida	WR
Shane Zylstra	Detroit Lions	Minnesota State	TE
Trevor Nowaske	Detroit Lions	Saginaw Valley State	LB
Corey Ballentine	Green Bay Packers	Washburn	DB
Ashton Dulin	Indianapolis Colts	Malone	WR
Jake Witt	Indianapolis Colts	Northern Michigan	OL
Tershawn Wharton	Kansas City Chiefs	Missouri S&T	DL
Jody Fortson	Kansas City Chiefs	Valdosta State	TE
Andrew Farmers	Los Angeles Chargers	Lane	LB
Sam Webb	Las Vegas Raiders	Missouri Western	DB
Chris Reed	Minnesota Vikings	Minnesota State	OL
Joey Fisher	Pittsburgh Steelers	Shepherd	OL
Ryan Jensen	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	CSU Pueblo	OL
Matt Gotel	Seattle Seahawks	West Florida	DL
Alex Armah	Washington Commanders	West Georgia	RB
Nick Whiteside II	Washington Commanders	Saginaw Valley State	DB