MINOT, N.D. – It's become a major event during the college football off-season: National Signing Day.

The first day for upcoming high school graduates to sign to play college football is next week on Wednesday, February 4, and Minot State will be busy that day landing a talented group of new Beavers.

There is a social planned for 5:30 p.m. that evening downstairs at Sports On Tap, when Minot State's coaching staff will introduce fans to the newest Beaver recruiting class.

But Minot State head coach Ian Shields and his staff have already been busy adding to the team's roster for the 2026 season, landing 9 mid-year transfers and one freshman who all have already begun their time at Minot State this spring and will be part of the Beavers' 2026 spring football roster.

Five of the new transfers come from four-year programs in long-snapper Carter Lenzen from Quincy University, kicker Dylan Duhon from the University of Arkansas at Monticello, linebacker Austin Young from Western Illinois University, defensive back Mark Williams from the University of South Dakota, and linebacker Farani Va'a, who also is from the University of Arkansas at Monticello.

Lenzen played 3 seasons at Quincy University as a long snapper, earning the H.A.W.K. Award, and was named GLVC Academic All-Conference twice.

Duhon played three seasons with the Boll Weevils where he averaged 39.0 yards per punt for 48 punts, with a career-long of 65 yards, and averaged 56.3 yards per kickoff for 78 kickoffs. He also kicked 5 field goals and 19 extra points.

Young started his collegiate career at Butte Community College, where he had 82 tackles, including 3 1/2 sacks, in 11 games with an interception, and he forced a fumble, as he earned 1st Team All-State honors with the Roadrunners. This past fall at Western Illinois, he had 5 tackles in three games for the Leathernecks.

After finishing his high school career with 35 tackles in 11 games as a senior at Western HS, Williams started his collegiate career redshirting at the University of South Dakota this past fall.

Va'a had 25 tackles in 10 games, including a tackle for a loss and forced a fumble, in one season at Sacramento City College before transferring to the University of Arkansas at Monticello, where he redshirted.

Transferring in from two-year programs are wide receiver Armando Lewis from Victor Valley College, cornerback Donovan Howard from Glendale Community College, defensive lineman Tony Jakhvlan from San Francisco City College, and defensive lineman Genesis Felise-Ioka from the New Mexico Military Institute.

Lewis was a 1st-team All-4A Mountain League and 2nd-team All-Southern Nevada selection as a senior at Canyon Springs High School, then started his college career at the University of Hawaii before transferring to Victor Valley College where he played in 6 games this past fall for the Llamas.

Howard had 3 interceptions and 26 tackles, while adding in 3 pass break-ups, and he blocked a kick, in 9 games for the Gauchos this past fall.

Jakhvlan had 7 tackles in 4 games this past season for the Rams.

Felise-Ioka had 4 tackles in 4 games, including 2 tackles for loss, with the Broncos.

The 10^th newcomer is linebacker Meshach Arthur, a top linebacker from the NFL Academy team in the United Kingdom this past fall. Arthur begins in collegiate career with the Beavers.