Ventrelli Inks with Montreal Alouettes

MONTREAL (UND Athletics/KVRR) – North Dakota left guard Donny Ventrelli has signed with the Montreal Alouettes, the organization announced on Tuesday. Ventrelli recorded 50 starts on the offensive line at North Dakota in his career.

Last season, Ventrelli started all 12 games at left guard for the Fighting Hawks and his blocking helped North Dakota rank No. 2 in the MVFC and No. 3 nationally in completion percentage (70.3). UND quarterbacks had the No. 14 passing efficiency rating nationally (153.02) with him on the line and he was consistently one of the highest-graded offensive guards in the FCS by Pro Football Focus. Ventrelli helped the Fighting Hawks rack up over 500 yards of offense twice, highlighted by 652 yards of offense against Drake in the 55-7 win. He served as a team captain throughout the season and was named Second Team All-MVFC.

In his senior season in 2022, he started every game at left tackle. His blocking was outstanding once again, helping North Dakota quarterbacks to a completion percentage of 67.1 percent to rank No. 2 in the MVFC and No. 11 in the FCS. He also helped the Hawks lead the league and sit No. 8 n the country in time of possession with 33:23 minutes of offense per game. North Dakota scored 91.5 percent of the time when in the red zone and ranked No. 6 in the FCS in red zone offense. He earned the title of MVFC Offensive Lineman of the Week on Nov. 7, 2022, after the 42-7 win at Indiana State. He also served as a team captain and earned Second Team All-MVFC accolades.

In 2021, he started all 11 games on the offensive line, starting the first three games of the season at left guard before moving to right tackle. With his blocking, the Fighting Hawks surrendered only eight sacks in the entire season. North Dakota also ranked at the top of the MVFC in fewest negative plays. He had one tackle at Utah State.

During the COVID season in 2020-21, Ventrelli started all seven games at right tackle. The Fighting Hawks racked up 1,294 yards on the ground and 1,472 yards through the air that season. With the help of Ventrelli’s blocking, UND advanced to the FCS quarterfinals for the first time in program history after knocking off No. 12 Missouri State, 44-10, at the Alerus Center. The Fighting Hawks also became the first program in MVFC history to claim the conference title in their first year as a member of the conference that season.

As a redshirt freshman in 2019, Ventrelli appeared in 10 games and started eight of them on the offensive line. He made his collegiate debut in a 47-7 season opening win over Drake. Ventrelli had his first career start at right tackle against No. 24/21 Sam Houston State, a game in which North Dakota won, 27-23.

His freshman season was 2018, a year in which he redshirted. He did not appear in any contests that season.

The Alouettes will host the Toronto Argonauts in week two of the pre-season this Saturday at 6:30 p.m. (CT).

There are now five UND products on active rosters in the Canadian Football League: Donny Ventrelli (Montreal Alouettes), Evan Holm and Brady Oliveira (Winnipeg Blue Bombers), Mason Bennett (Hamilton Tiger-Cats) and Tyron Vrede (Ottawa REDBLACKS).