A versatile, defense-first Bison safety with proven playmaking pedigree
Essler profiles as a smart, physical **free safety** who earned preseason All-Great West recognition and was described by NDSU as the “quarterback of the Bison defense,” a clue to his command, communication, and field awareness. His value is in reading offenses, taking away space, and bringing reliability to a strong NDSU defense rather than piling up flashy stats. If you want a dependable back-end defender with leadership traits and a coach’s trust, he fits; if you need pure size-or-speed headlines, he’s more about disruption and instincts than raw measurables.
