The D2Football.com Elite 100 Watch List was released with 2-time All-American Jake Adams named to the defensive first team. The list is selected by the staff of D2Football.com with input from numerous sitting head coaches and professional football scout Josh Buchanan.
 
Adams was named the NSIC North Division Preseason Defensive Player of the Year last week as released by the league office. He is a 2-time NSIC All-Conference selection, 2-time Don Hansen All-American, 2-time Elite 100 recipient, 2-time all-region performer, and All-American with the D2CCA, Associated Press, and Walter Camp. In 27 career games played for the Wolves, Adams broke the NCAA Division II-era tackles record with 303 heading into 2026. In addition, he broke the school record with 147 tackles in the fall of 2024 and finished the year second in the country in total tackles and third in tackles per game.
 
The list was revealed on August 12 in a special edition of Inside D2Football, hosted by Matt Witwicki and Chuck Bitner.
 
D2FOOTBALL.COM ELITE 100 WATCH LIST

First Team - Offense
	QB	Judd Novak	Kutztown
	RB	Dawson Forgy	Wayne State
	RB	Andrew Miller	Harding
	WR	Shea Ruddy	Hillsdale
	WR	Hank Brown Jr.	Sioux Falls
	TE	Klayton Sattler	Augustana
	OL	Jamari Mason	Johnson C. Smith
	OL	Kaleb McCullough	Northwest Missouri
	OL	Tyler Leopold	Indianapolis
	OL	Jarvis Windom	Ferris State
	OL	Will Hart	Wingate
First Team - Defense
	DL	Freddie Retter	Kutztown
	DL	Gaven Haselhorst	Fort Hays State
	DL	Derrick Drayton	Albany State
	DL	Adom LeDuc	Saginaw Valley
	LB	Landon Boss	Emporia State
	LB	Jake Adams	Northern State
	LB	Mikey Blandin	Newberry
	DB	Marvelous Owens	Northeastern State
	DB	Preston McQueen	Minnesota Duluth
	DB	Jacob Tueimeh	Tiffin
	DB	Everette Dingle	East Stroudsburg
First Team - Special Teams
	K	Elijah Guyton	West Alabama
	P	Jay Todd Baker	Southern Arkansas
	AP	Kellen Reed	Grand Valley
Second Team - Offense
	QB	Andrew Schuster	Grand Valley
	RB	JayJay Jordan	Slippery Rock
	RB	Cephus Harris	Davenport
	WR	Denny Furlong	Findlay
	WR	Carter McElhany	Ouachita Baptist
	TE	Dane Petersen	Wayne State
	OL	Carter Geerts	Minnesota Duluth
	OL	Nico Traczyk	Ashland
	OL	Tyler Luzan	Central Washington
	OL	Ethan Lett	North Greenville
	OL	Cobe Williams	Harding
Second Team - Defense
	DL	Tim Allen	Ferris State
	DL	Kyree Butler	Kutztown
	DL	Ashton Blose	East Stroudsburg
	DL	Justin Sobczak	Harding
	LB	Owen Fitzgerald	Assumption
	LB	Jacob Vance	Hillsdale
	LB	Ian Loomis	Western Colorado
	DB	Vincent Cooley	Davenport
	DB	Jamal Spiyee	Minnesota State
	DB	Christion Stokes	Findlay
	DB	Gibson Leafgreen	Colorado Mesa
Second Team - Special Teams
	K	Austin Schmitt	Pittsburg State
	P	Lucas LeSieur	Colorado School of Mines
	AP	Taariik Brett	Ferris State
SQUAD - Offense
	QB	Jett Huff	Central Oklahoma
	QB	Dylan Hair	Truman State
	QB	Gunner Hensley	Augustana
	QB	Ethan Hamby	Northwood
	QB	Rahsaan Matthews Jr.	Virginia State
	QB	Wyatt Bower	Ferris State
	QB	Donnie Smith	Northeastern State
	RB	Kieran Falzon	Southern Connecticut State
	RB	Sam Backer	Minnesota State
	RB	Noah Dobert	Northern Michigan
	RB	Bobby Smith	Johnson C. Smith
	RB	KJ Smothers	Frostburg State
	RB	Johntarrious Thomas	Edward Waters
	RB	Hunter Patterson	West Liberty
	RB	Isaiah Harris	Nebraska Kearney
	WR	Charlie Guinade	Mars Hill
	WR	Que Kennedy	UNC Pembroke
	WR	Darius Cyprian	Kentucky State
	WR	Traylen Suel	UTPB
	WR	Marcellus Honeycutt Jr.	CSU Pueblo
	WR	Davon Jones	Clarion
	TE	Connor Shamany	IUP
	OL	Josh Crummitt	Shepherd
	OL	Leon Wesley	Valdosta State
	OL	Brandon Devries	Michigan Tech
SQUAD - Defense
	DL	Nijawn Sterling	Western Oregon
	DL	Jake Fredericks	Bentley
	DL	William Stemler	Chadron State
	DL	Drew Johnson	Western Colorado
	LB	Julius Pascal	Valdosta State
	LB	Jefferson Mobry	Minnesota State
	LB	JC Heim	Washburn
	LB	Jack Talkington	Ashland
	LB	Jack Weltha	Truman State
	LB	Brycen Indell	Central Washington
	LB	Jimmy Downs	Grand Valley
	LB	Justin Crutchmer	Ouachita Baptist
	LB	Alvin Contreras	Indianapolis
	LB	Trevon French	Edward Waters
	LB	Carter Mazalewski	Frostburg State
	LB	Jax Hertel	Northern Michigan
	LB	Blake Carr	Pittsburg State
	LB	Malachi Thomas	California (PA)
	DB	Tyler Schultze	Emporia State
	DB	Jason Dandridge	Minnesota State
	DB	Eli Liapis	Indianapolis
	DB	Miles Hill	West Texas
	DB	Caden Bolte	Bemidji State
	RS	Tre Roberson	Lenoir Rhyne
	RS	Zyaire Tart	Virginia Union