From thoughts of a NASA career to leading Falcons’ preseason offense

Strand still remembers flipping through his first space shuttle magazine, watching “Apollo 13” and falling in love with rockets and space travel. He was 4 years old, maybe 5, and he believed he already found his life’s ambition.

Piloting a rocket and going to outer space would be a “dream come true,” he says, and designing and building spaceships would certainly suffice as an alternative.

“The dude loves space,” Gage Florence, Strand’s go-to receiver and close friend at MSU-Moorhead, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “You could talk about space with that dude for hours and hours and hours.”

Here’s the book on Strand: he’s a quasi-genius. Some affectionately call him “nerdy.” He scored a 31 on the ACT. He graduated from MSU-Moorhead with a degree in engineering physics, carrying a 3.87 GPA, and he was a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, given annually to the nation’s best scholar-athlete.

But he has no intent on using his degree — or living his NASA dream — any time soon. Football changed his plans and stole his heart.

“Right now, the long-term plan is to play football as long as I can,” Strand said.

Perhaps someday, he’ll help send space ships firing into the abyss. But for now, he’s focused on his newest ambition: piloting the Falcons’ offense this preseason.

‘This is the best kid I’ve coached in 30 years’

Between his fingers and his toes, Strand can count the number of touchdown passes he threw at Bloomer High School and still have three digits to spare.

Nestled within Wisconsin’s west side, Bloomer is home to some 3,000 people and, for several years, coach John Post’s double-wing offense. There were minimal passing concepts. Most commonly, Strand took a shotgun snap, rolled right and threw a pass to a receiver running a comeback route.

And even that carried a bit of improv.

“I just yelled out the route that I wanted them to run,” Strand said, “and then I told the line, like, ‘Oh, this way, I’m just going to boot this way and throw it to this guy.’”

Strand admits he didn’t know much about football then. When he went to camps, he had little clue how to run a spread offense. And because of the system he played within, he just didn’t have many throws to put in a highlight reel.

Kevin Murphy was MSU-Moorhead’s primary recruiter in Wisconsin. His process started by looking at all-conference lists and reaching out to coaches. Strand, despite his minimal production, was an all-conference selection as a junior and warranted an inquiry. So, Murphy emailed Post.

“He might not have the stats,” Post responded, “but this is the best kid I’ve coached in 30 years.”

Coaches on Minnesota State-Moorhead’s staff visited with and offered Strand a scholarship shortly thereafter. Nobody else ever did. The player who grew to be 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds, who became a three-time finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy — Division II’s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy — and currently ranks as the No. 10 all-time leading passer in D-II, flew entirely under the radar.

Strand often thinks about the reasons why. He’s the son of a pastor — Jim Strand leads services at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Bloomer — and his parents live in the church’s parish. Jack, years later, has come to terms with divine intervention.

“God works in mysterious ways like that,” Strand said.

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

Think like Tom Brady

Steve Laqua’s first-year assistant quarterbacks coach came to him with a doting review. Justin Czech, who played under Laqua the year before, had just finished a throwing session with Strand back home and saw a big-armed, long-limbed kid loaded with potential.

“There’s something there with that kid,” Czech told Laqua. “It might take a year or two for his form to come in, but when that hits, he’s going to be really good.”

It was the summer before Strand’s freshman year, and he still hadn’t fully put his high school baseball season behind him. He was overstriding in his delivery, trying to get more power on his throws but sacrificing accuracy for it.

Czech told Strand to tighten his base and gave him a few drills to try. When fall camp started one month later, Strand fixed it all.

“How did you do this in a month?” Czech asked.

“I sat in my room and did this all day, every day,” Strand answered.

Czech went to Laqua with a new message.

“This kid might start games for us this year,” Czech said.

And he did. Strand played in nine games as a true freshman, throwing 2,280 yards and earning second-team all-conference honors. He didn’t have much touch or anticipation. He couldn’t layer passes. Everything was a rocket. Murphy compared him to prime Brett Favre, who’d throw so hard he broke receivers’ fingers.

After the 2022 season, Strand and Czech sat down and watched film of NFL quarterbacks and their offenses. They watched Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins. They watched Justin Herbert and the Chargers. During the 2023 campaign, they’d go through and grade every game. They also added NFL concepts like the Dolphins’ cheat motion into the MSU-Moorhead playbook.

That was Strand’s introduction to NFL offenses. Soon, he felt a glimpse of NFL expectations.

In the 2023 season opener, Strand went 42-for-58 passing for 351 yards, three touchdowns and one interception — in a losing effort. He was upset by the result, but it opened his eyes to the level he’d need to play for MSU-Moorhead to win games.

“I think that game was a little bit of a turning point,” Czech told the AJC, “because I was like, ‘Look, man, it’s not fair that we have to ask you to play NFL-level quarterback at 19 years old, but if we’re going to win these games against these teams, we need you to play at that level.’ And he didn’t shy away from it.”

And after stacking two years of production — in 2023, he became the first MSU-Moorhead player to win Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 16 years, and in 2024, he broke every major program passing record — he garnered NFL attention, too.

The summer leading into Strand’s senior season, he connected with Tony Racioppi, a well-acclaimed quarterback trainer with a reputation for prepping small-school draft prospects. Racioppi received Strand’s name from several different scouts, each of whom graded Strand as a draftable prospect, anywhere from the fifth to seventh round.

Scouts visited Minnesota State-Moorhead for every single practice. On the first day of fall camp, the Dragons’ coaching staff addressed it with the team. Strand never wanted it to become a distraction. He wanted the focus on the team at large, not him as an individual.

But his strong frame doesn’t easily dodge the spotlight. And he often gave scouts quite the show.

In one fall camp practice, with representatives from the Giants and Bills in attendance, MSU-Moorhead ran a 7-on-9 period — seven players on offense, nine on defense — and Strand routinely rocketed passes into tight windows.

“He was making some throws that were pretty ridiculous,” Czech said, “and you can see on film, them just laughing in the background of it, which is pretty cool. But then, they didn’t go on him. I don’t know how you can see that and be like, ‘Yeah, this kid’s not an NFL guy,’ because there ain’t 10 guys in the world that can make some of those throws.”

The staff at MSU-Moorhead gave Strand a challenge last season: think like Tom Brady.

Some plays used to require the quarterback to make two reads. Now, he had to make five. MSU-Moorhead often ran empty protections, leaving Strand with only his offensive linemen and no additional help. He was forced to learn how to read and shift protections, but also how to get the ball out fast while clicking through his progressions.

There’s little denying Strand faces an adjustment period in the NFL. Better competition. Faster game speed. Tighter windows. More complex concepts. Quicker tempo. Different dimensions.

Czech thought the same thing when Strand first arrived in Moorhead in 2022. Strand overcame it then. Czech thinks he can do it again.

“I think the learning curve is a lot less than people think,” Czech said. “I never viewed him as this project, high-upside, toolsy guy. I view him as this guy that understands how to play quarterback.”

Transfer? Not Jack Strand.

On June 20, 2025, the deadliest tornado North Dakota had seen in over 45 years ripped through Enderlin, killing three people, wiping out colonies of trees and posing danger to a major farm community. It had been two years since Strand played under Murphy, but he knew his lead recruiter lived in the area.

Strand checked in to make sure Murphy was fine. Then, he drove an hour southwest from Moorhead to Enderlin — he wanted to help clean up the rubble. There he was, the area’s star quarterback, picking up branches, tree limbs and pieces of people’s homes from soil so it wouldn’t ravage any farm equipment or hurt the potential crops.

Together, the group of 20 workers helped clear one field at a time. Then, they’d jump into Ford Rangers and clear another. And another. And another.

By day’s end, as they ate the burgers and fries donated by a local cafe, Strand and Murphy talked about football, about life. Strand was the only former Minnesota State-Moorhead player to make the trip.

“He didn’t have to do that,” Murphy told the AJC. “He knew he was going to get a shot (at the NFL). A lot of people would have been like, ‘Well, I’m kind of big time now.’ But he did that, and that speaks volumes.”

Strand’s painting job? Picked up because he didn’t want his teammates thinking he was too big for them. He had something of an NIL deal — a commercial for a local law firm, run by Czech’s dad, just so he could pay to participate in a few camps. He doesn’t particularly like cameras, or microphones, or attention.

At a wedding for a former teammate after his senior year, Strand ditched conversations about football and agents to ask Murphy about his wife, his kids, if they’re still growing, if he still enjoys coaching. For 20 minutes, Strand peppered Murphy with questions.

“He’s just a genuine guy that cares,” Murphy said.

Strand never seriously considered entering the transfer portal. That topic also came up while he and Murphy ate their burgers and fries after tornado cleanup.

Strand valued Minnesota State-Moorhead’s culture. He valued Czech. He valued Florence, the all-time receptions leader in Division II. His valuation of life development — and his personal happiness — trumped his care for fame and fortune

“When you’re at a place that you know you fit in, you’re at a place that is the right culture, why would you ever want to leave that?” Strand told Murphy. “This is home. You guys gave me a shot and it’s where I want to be.”

Strand still sends Czech his practice film and meeting notes over Snapchat. He plays Fortnite with Florence. He was skeptical, worried even, about asking the Falcons’ equipment staff for two different pairs of cleats or a different facemask than he wore in college.

The Falcons took Strand out of Moorhead, but they haven’t taken Moorhead out of his mind.

“Jack is the most down to earth, humble person I’ve ever met,” Florence said. “I’ll put all my chips on that kid any day of the week.”

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

‘One of the best arms I’ve ever had’

After word of Strand’s next-level potential reached Racioppi, he quickly searched for film. He marveled at Strand’s size, arm talent and pocket presence.

Wait, ultimate Frisbee?

There were times, Racioppi said, where there were club Frisbee games happening in the background of Minnesota State-Moorhead’s games. Such is life in Division II, and partially why there’s a D-II stigma.

But Racioppi, who’s trained over 60 NFL quarterbacks across 15 years, believes Strand can beat it. One of his clients, Bears backup Tyson Bagent, already has. Strand and Bagent are “very similar,” Racioppi said, in terms of their mindset and mental toughness, and Strand has the tools necessary to survive.

“He’s got one of the best arms I’ve ever had in the draft process,” Racioppi told the AJC. “He has elite physical traits. I think he has the mental aptitude to learn and process information, and I think he’s mentally and physically tough.”

From 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. this spring, Strand spent his days at TEST Football Academy in New Jersey. He worked on 40-yard dashes and change of direction. He went through mock interviews with teams. He lifted, watched film, learned NFL concepts and protections and, of course, threw passes several times each week.

Throwing fundamentals and under center dropbacks were focal points of Racioppi’s sessions with Strand, who ultimately stole the show at North Dakota State’s pro day with a 4.75 40-yard dash and, in Racioppi’s words, went throw-for-throw with fifth-round pick Cole Payton.

And about the Division II stigma? There’s an undrafted stigma, too. But Racioppi feels that should come with an asterisk.

“He worked his butt off every day,” Racioppi said. “He was a joy to coach, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if he was drafted.”

Strand takes center stage

In the quarterback meeting the night before his first training camp practice, Strand heard the unthinkable: he’d get all the team reps the next day.

Tagovailoa had a back injury flare up the week before and wouldn’t practice. Michael Penix Jr. wasn’t cleared to participate in 11-on-11. Trevor Siemian was released. Cooper Rush was on his way to try out and eventually join the roster.

So, the 22-year-old undrafted rookie from Division II Minnesota State-Moorhead would lead an NFL offense, command an NFL huddle and try to beat an NFL defense in his first training camp practice — with the starting unit.

The biggest surprise? He had no issues falling asleep.

“I got a good sleep,” Strand said. “I’ve been getting good sleep over in the dorms. The beds are pretty comfy. The room stays nice and cold. Got a nice fan on the ceiling. But yeah, that didn’t really affect my sleep the night before.”

Inevitably, Strand’s run in the sun ended, and he returned to the No. 4 spot on the Falcons’ depth chart, vying with Rush for a spot on the roster — but not before impressing several decorated teammates.

“It’s really impressive, because to be thrown in the fire like that, that’s pretty cool to see how he’s embracing it,” All-Pro tight end Kyle Pitts said. “Him being the quarterback, you can’t ask, ‘What do you have?’ He’s the one who’s telling everybody what they have. So, it’s pretty cool to see how he’s growing each day and he’s getting better.”

Tagovailoa, who Strand watched on tape for much of the 2023 season, said his rookie teammate can “sling the ball” around the field and made a significant jump between minicamp and training camp.

“Jack has really handled it well,” Tagovailoa said. “Being a rookie, being able to come into a system like this where it’s not easy to be able to regurgitate what he’s getting told in the headset to the offense. I think he’s done a really good job this offseason studying, understanding the playbook a bit. And you don’t see that a lot in rookies, especially rookie quarterbacks.”

But he’s an atypical rookie. He’s an atypical person. He’s uniquely Jack Strand.

“He’s not somebody who’s going to go out on a Saturday night before a game. … He’s not going to go out after a Super Bowl win,” Czech said. “He’s going to go watch film. Like, he is there to play football and to become the best quarterback that he can be and I don’t see that ever changing.”

The unofficial motto of Minnesota State-Moorhead is this: find a way. On the recruiting trail, Murphy sought players with the right intangibles. If teams get the right people in their building — the people who are willing to work hard — they’re going to find a way to succeed.

Strand now carries the Dragons’ flag to heights it’s never reached.

He’s found a way to make an NFL roster, and he’ll see playing time when the Falcons open the preseason at 7 p.m. Friday against the Broncos. When he does, he’ll be the first Minnesota State-Moorhead graduate to take an NFL snap in the 21st century.

How long Strand lasts in Atlanta — and the NFL — will be dictated, in part, by his preseason performance. He’s already made history playing football. He wants to make a living doing it. NASA, he says, can wait.

Because this Hollywood tale still has more scenes to film.

“He’s a zero-star kid that was a double wing high school quarterback that’s now playing with the Atlanta Falcons,” Racioppi said. “I’ll sign up for that any day of the week. I mean, that’s a really cool story.”