Former Drake, ND 9-man football star now living out his dream

Cordell Volson drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2022 NFL Draft

By: Ross Blilie
05-18-23

Have you ever been to a small town in North Dakota? No? Well, I'll tell ya, it's great! Everyone knows you, your mom and dad, your brothers and/or sisters, and they know how well you played sports in high school. Everyone remembers so many different things about you and your personality, sometimes its just crazy!
I grew up in a small farming community around Kindred and Colfax. Cordell Volson grew up in Drake. He and I are alike in the fact that most people in the closest towns near our family farms knew who we were. We also grew up to be tough and to put the time in if we wanted to be successful.

For Cordell, that meant doing a lot more things around the town than he probably wanted. However, he put the time in during high school and was recruited to play football at North Dakota State in 2016.
For me, my football career was long over when he turned a year old. Interestingly, Volson's freshman season at NDSU came right after Carson Wentz was drafted number two overall to the Eagles.

Moreover, Volson's time at NDSU was pivotal in his development into the best Offensive Linemen in University history. According to cincinnati.com, "When he arrived in 2016 for his redshirt freshman year, Volson had never played 11-man football. He weighed 245 pounds and was pretty close to the bottom of the depth chart. He set out to add two pounds per day, and Volson turned himself into a future All-American."

A major difference between Volson and myself is that while we both grew up in small communities, he played nine man football and I played eleven man football. I realize that the concept is the same and some formations are different, but I don't have any experience playing nine man football. With Volson, I believe it toughened him up. Plus with going to play his college ball at NDSU, it helped that he played for a well-established winning team.

Getting drafted into the NFL is every little boy's dream. Here's what Frank Pollock had to say about Volson's ability to play Left Guard. "Bengals offensive line coach Frank Pollack describes him as a player “with a little you know what in the back of his neck.” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said Volson’s “anchor” and “grip” give him a good shot to be a starter in the NFL." According to nfl.com, Volson's statistics from his rookie season included playing in sixteen games and starting all sixteen games. That's pretty impressive for a guy whose height and weight are prototypical.

When asked about his experience in playing nine-man football, Cordell said “You grow up going to football games and it was something I wanted to be a part of,” Volson said. “My cousin was an All-State quarterback. I was in second grade when he was a senior, that made me more passionate about football. I always knew I was going to be a lineman, but I had to play whatever position helped the team."
He played various positions on the field in high school. offensive and defensive line, linebacker, tight end, fullback, punter, and kicker.

In 2019, Volson became a full-time starter on the offensive line. Offensive Line Coach Dan Larson credits Volson for helping him adjust and learning the nuances of the offense. “His understanding of our offense and of defenses probably taught me as much as I was learning from the coaches that had been here,” Larson said. “I was learning from (Volson) on the field. His body looked like he had been doing it for a long time. But listening to him go through Xs and Os, you wouldn’t have anticipated that (2019) was his first full year starting.”

Now in his sophomore season with the Bengals, you can bet that he is going to improve quite a bit from his rookie year. That Bengals offensive line is going to be scary good in a few years. In addition, when you look at how talented the offensive skill positions are, they are going to be putting up a lot of points and winning lots of games. I think it will only be a matter of time before the Bengals win a Super Bowl with Volson as their starting Left Guard.

Ross Blilie is an avid NFL fan of the Minnesota Vikings since the 1990’s. He loves to talk about the NFL. He also enjoys attending the University Of North Dakota Men’s Hockey games in Grand Forks, ND. His hobbies also include bowling with his wife and friends, narrating audiobooks, fishing, and even sitting by a campfire with family at Lake Blackduck in Minnesota. You can find Ross on twitter & Instagram @Rossthenarrator.