Hunter Luepke
No. 40 – Dallas Cowboys
Position:Fullback
Personal information
Born: (2000-02-28) February 28, 2000 (age 23)
Spencer, Wisconsin, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:238 lb (108 kg)
Career information
High school:Spencer
College:North Dakota State (2018–2022)
Undrafted:2023
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2023
Rushing yards:19
Rushing average:3.2
Rushing touchdowns:1
Receptions:3
Receiving yards:18
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Hunter Jon Luepke[1] (born February 28, 2000) is an American football fullback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the North Dakota State Bison and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Cowboys after the 2023 NFL Draft.

Early life and high school

Luepke grew up in Spencer, Wisconsin and attended Spencer High School. He played football on a co-op team composed of students from Spencer and Columbus Catholic High School in Marshfield, Wisconsin. Luepke finished high school with 4452 rushing yards and 82 touchdowns.[2] He also added 644 receiving yard with 9 touchdowns.[3] As a sophomore Luepke helped his team reach the Division 5 State Championship game, where they would lose to the Amherst Falcons.[4] Luepke committed to play college football at North Dakota State.[5] Luepke also competed in wrestling, where he was a two-time WIAA state champion.

College career

Luepke redshirted his true freshman season with the North Dakota State Bison.[6] He played in 14 games as a redshirt freshman as the Bison won the 2019 FCS national championship.[7] Luepke was named first team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) as a redshirt sophomore after rushing for 458 yards and six touchdowns on 84 carries and caught four passes for 37 yards and one touchdown.[8][9] Luepke repeated as a first team All-MVFC selection after rushing 87 times for 543 yards and eight touchdowns.[10] Luepke entered his redshirt season as a top fullback prospect for the 2023 NFL Draft.[11][12] He rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns and caught three passes for 65 yards and another touchdown in 31-28 loss to FBS Arizona.[13]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump
6 ft 1+1⁄4 in
(1.86 m) 		230 lb
(104 kg) 		31+1⁄2 in
(0.80 m) 		9+5⁄8 in
(0.24 m)		 4.61 s 1.50 s 2.67 s 4.43 s 7.03 s 36.5 in
(0.93 m)		 9 ft 9 in
(2.97 m)
Sources:[14][15]

Luepke was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent on April 29, 2022, shortly after the conclusion of the 2023 NFL Draft, and received a $200,000 signing bonus.[16][17] He made the Cowboys' initial 53-man roster coming out of training camp.[18]

Professional statistics

Year Team Games Rushing Receiving Kickoff return Fumbles
GP GS Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Ret Yds Avg Lng TD Fum Lost
2023 DAL 7 0 3 13 4.3 9 1 2 10 5.0 12 0 1 15 15 15 0 0 0
Career 7 0 3 13 4.3 9 1 2 10 5.0 12 0 1 15 15 15 0 0 0

References

  1. ^ "Spencer High School celebrates graduates in Class of 2018". Marshfield News Herald. June 4, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  2. ^ "Spencer/Columbus Catholic - 2017 Regular Season - Roster - #44 - Hunter Luepke - LB/RB". www.wissports.net. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  3. ^ "Spencer/Columbus Catholic - 2017 Regular Season - Roster - #44 - Hunter Luepke - LB/RB". www.wissports.net. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  4. ^ "Spencer/Columbus Catholic at Amherst - 4:05pm CST, November 19th, 2015". Wisconsin High School Sports | Wisconsin Sports Network | WisSports.net. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  5. ^ Lecker, Paul (August 10, 2017). "Running with the Bison: Spencer/Columbus' Hunter Luepke commits to NDSU football". Hub City Times. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  6. ^ Bellman, Zac (January 6, 2022). "Spencer's Hunter Luepke preparing for FCS championship with NDSU". Marshfield News-Herald. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  7. ^ Dinesen, Isak (January 13, 2022). "Former S-C Rocket Luepke soaring to new heights with accolades". WAOW.com. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  8. ^ "Bison running back Luepke may be best player from tiny Wisconsin town since Green Bay Packers star of the 1940s". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. March 26, 2021. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  9. ^ "NFL Draft Profile: Hunter Luepke, Fullback, NDSU Bison". SI.com. September 10, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  10. ^ "ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. ranks Bison fullback Luepke among top 2023 NFL Draft prospects in his position group". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. June 1, 2022. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  11. ^ Hunt, Emory (October 5, 2022). "College football top 25: North Dakota State star FB elevates Bison in latest FCS Power Rankings". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  12. ^ "Hunter Luepke from little Spencer, Wis., gets big-time national love in NDSU victory". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. October 1, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  13. ^ "Luepke's night to remember vanishes in defeat". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. September 18, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  14. ^ "Hunter Luepke Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  15. ^ "2023 NFL Draft Scout Hunter Luepke College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  16. ^ "Why Dallas Cowboys guaranteed undrafted free agent fullback Hunter Luepke $200K to sign". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. May 1, 2023. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  17. ^ "NDSU's Hunter Luepke signed by Dallas Cowboys". kxnet.com. KX News-Bismarck. April 29, 2023. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  18. ^ "T.J. Bass, Hunter Luepke detail making active roster". DallasCowboys.com. August 29, 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.

External links

2019 North Dakota State Bison football—NCAA Division I FCS national champions
2021 North Dakota State Bison football—NCAA Division I FCS national champions
Dallas Cowboys roster
Categories