BIG RAPIDS — Three Ferris State University football alums will open the NFL season this weekend after making their teams’ 53-man rosters.
According to a Sept. 5 news release from the university, defensive lineman Zach Sieler, with the Miami Dolphins, cornerback Tavierre Thomas, with the Minnesota Vikings, and defensive end Caleb Murphy, with the Los Angeles Chargers, all secured spots on their respective rosters.
The trio gives Ferris State the most active players on 53-man rosters of any NCAA Division II school in the country.
Murphy and the Chargers will host Kansas City on Friday night at 8 p.m. Sieler and the Dolphins visit Indianapolis on Sept. 7 for a 1 p.m. game, while Thomas and the Vikings open on Monday Night Football in Chicago.
Both Sieler and Thomas enter their eighth NFL seasons. Sieler, who was named the Dolphins’ Most Valuable Player last fall, became Ferris State’s first-ever NFL Draft pick when the Baltimore Ravens selected him in the seventh round in 2018.
He recently signed a contract extension with Miami. Thomas is beginning his first year with the Vikings, his fifth NFL team.
Murphy, in his third NFL season, originally signed with the Tennessee Titans in 2023 and played in five games before joining the Chargers midway through the 2024 season.
Two other former Bulldogs were with NFL teams this summer. Tight end Mason Pline is on the New Orleans Saints’ injured reserve list after a preseason injury, and wide receiver Malik Taylor was released by the Detroit Lions before final cuts.
Over the past decade, 10 Ferris State players have appeared in NFL regular-season games, and 13 have been in preseason camps over the last five years. The program has reached the Division II playoffs 10 consecutive seasons and has won three of the past four national championships.