Twin football players with Montezuma ties finish on top

       Twin brothers Eli, number 53, and Will Mostaert, number 91, are joined by their parents, Tracey and Troy and older sister, Riley, before a game at North Dakota State University in Fargo. The twins played on defense for the Bison for six years. They both earned their bachelor’s and master’s degrees while playing football. Eli is currently training for a chance to play in the NFL and Will has plans to enter the workforce and will be getting married in June 2025. Tracey is a 1985 graduate of Montezuma High School. Submitted photo.

By J.O. Parker
 
         It was a season and football career that twin brothers with Montezuma ties will never forget.
       Eli and Will Mostaert, twin sons of Tracey (Tarvin) and Troy Mostaert, wrapped up their college football careers at North Dakota State with a NCAA Division 1 Football Championship Series victory on Monday, Jan. 6 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
       The second ranked Bison won the game, 35-32, beating the top ranked and undefeated Montana State Bobcats. The Bison finished the season with a 14-2 record.
        The twins’ mother, Tracey, is the daughter of Marcia Tarvin of Grinnell and formerly of Montezuma. She is a 1985 graduate of Montezuma High School. She and Troy live in Lakeville, Minn.
         Eli and Will are no strangers to hard work on the football field and in the classroom. They played football together since they were in first grade starting with flag and two-hands touch and continued up the ladder. They started playing tackle football at Lakeville North in fourth grade and continued into middle school where they played on A and B teams.
       “We had a select team (in middle school) where we traveled in Minnesota and Iowa playing games,” noted Will.
      The brothers spent their freshman year playing football on a freshman team and then moved up to the varsity team in high school.
       Their dad, Troy, coached them starting with flag football through their ninth grade year in school.
       “I started playing varsity the fourth game of my sophomore year and played tight end through that year,” said Will. “My junior and senior years, I played on the defensive line and as a tight end.
       Eli started playing varsity football midway through his junior year where he also played on the defensive line and as a tight end.
       The twins helped lead North Lakeville High School to a 13-0 record under coach Brian Vossen and a Class 6A State Championship in 2018, their senior year.
      Eli was named the Minnesota Defensive player of the year in high school. It’s an honor that only one player in the state receives each year.
       They were also part of the runner-up basketball team at Lakeville North their senior year and they both participated in track and field throughout high school where they threw the discus and shotput. They graduated high school in 2019.
      Will said he and Eli drew the interest of college coaches starting their junior years in high school. They attended summer football camps at the University of Northern Iowa and South Dakota State University. Will was offered a scholarship his junior year to play at Western Illinois for the Leathernecks, but did not accept the offer.
      Eli had offers from Western Illinois, UNI, South Dakota and South Dakota State. The twins attended a camp at NDSU in Fargo following their junior years in high school. Will was offered a scholarship by then head coach Chris Klieman at the camp. Eli received a PWO (preferred walk on) at the camp and was awarded a football scholarship before signing day his senior season in high school.
       Their mom, Tracey, said the NDSU coach flew to Lakeville and presented the scholarship to Eli to play for the Bison.
      Klieman left that year for Kansas State before the twins arrived on the NDSU campus. Will said it was unsettling as no one knew who would coach the team in 2019.
       Matt Entz landed the head coaching job at NDSU that year and coached the brothers through their junior years. Entz left NDSU to coach at USC one year. He will coach at Fresno State in 2025. Tim Polesek, who spent four years at Iowa, took the reins of the NDSU program in 2024, leading them to a national championship.
       Will played in four games and Eli in two games their freshman year before being redshirted
     “We were not really in the forefront,” said Will of the early days. “We tried to help where we could in supporting the team. It’s not super fun to be on the scout team getting beat up every day in practice by some 23-year-old men.”
        And during the Covid year of 2020, the season was canceled and played in the spring of 2021.
       During their six years at NDSU, the brothers were part of three national championship teams (2019, 2021 and 2024), one runner up team in 2022,  a quarterfinalist team in 2020 and semifinalist team in 2023.
      Eli, who is 6-3, weighed in at 289 pounds his senior campaign. He finished the season with 53 tackles, 30 solo tackles and 7 sacks and finished his college career with 61 tackles, 88 solo tackles and 19.5 sacks.
       Will, who is 6-2, weighed in at 274 pounds his senior campaign. He finished the season with 15 tackles, 10 solo tackles, two sacks and two forced fumbles. He finished his college career with 63 tackles, 34 solo tackles and 11 sacks. 
      Both players won a host of awards and honors at NDSU. Some of Will’s honors included MVFC (Missouri Valley Football Conference ) Special Teams Player of the Week, Academic All-District, MVFC Presidents Council Academic Award and numerous honor roll designations.
      Some of Eli’s honors include the 2021 HERO Sports Sophomore All-American Team, MVFC All-Newcomer Team, MVFC Commissioner’s Academic Excellence Award and numerous honor roll recognitions. 
     Eli earned a bachelor’s degree in Finance in May 2023 and Will earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration in May 2023. The two brothers earned their master’s degree in business, graduating in December 2024.
      In the spring, Will and Eli will have the opportunity to travel with the Bison to Washington, D.C. where they will meet President Donald Trump and tour the White House. This will be their second trip to DC to meet President Trump, who they met after the 2019 season. 
      Since graduating from NDSU, Eli has moved home to Lakeville where he spends seven hours a day training for the NFL.
     “I’m getting ready for pro day at NDSU in late March,” noted Eli. “Pro scouts and others will be there looking at my teammates and me.”
       Will is currently living in Fargo, N.D., and plans to enter the work force in a business, finance or insurance field. He and fiancée, Alexis, who he met at NDSU, will marry in June 2025.
       And their parents have supported them throughout their careers, attending all but two of their home and away games during their six years at NDSU.
      “Playing college sports is a full-time job,” said their mom, Tracey. “They really embraced the student part of the student athlete as well as the athlete part. They got their bachelor’s degree and masters’ degree. Being their mom, I’m very proud of that.”
       The twins have an older sister, Riley.
      When asked what was one of his favorite memories he will take away from playing for the Bison, Eli said the three championships.
     “Winning was a good thing,” said Eli. “I met a lot of good friends and good coaches up there. We will probably be friends the rest of our lives.”
       “The championships in football and relationships I have built in my six years were awesome,” noted Will of his time at NDSU.
        Will also mentioned the opportunity to play against Colorado and Arizona.
       When asked about playing football with his brother, Will said it wasn’t always sunshine and rainbows, but    “He understands how I think and I understand how he thinks.”
​     “It was a really cool opportunity to play 20 years of football together and just to get to do everything together was really cool,” said Eli. “We lived together for six years. Getting the chance to go out on top with my brother is something I will never forget.”

       Twin brothers Eli, number 53, and Will Mostaert, number 91, with the North Dakota State Bison, hold the FCS National Championship trophy on Monday, Jan. 6 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas after the Bison beat the number one Montana State Bobcats, 35-32. Eli and Will are the sons of Troy and Tracey (Tarvin) Mostaert, a 1985 graduate of Montezuma High School. Submitted photo.