SDSU football: Jackrabbits kick off spring practice
· Yahoo Sports
Mar. 10—BROOKINGS — South Dakota State hit the field at the SJAC bright and early on Tuesday, kicking off spring football with the first of their 15 scheduled practices.
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It felt different — immediately.
Last year new coach Dan Jackson came in needing to bring in an entire coaching staff and restock a roster that was hit hard by the transfer portal, and while he did so rather admirably, there were more than 50 new faces when the team took the field for their first spring practice. Players were still getting to know each other. Coaches were putting names to faces, and getting their first in-person look at many of their new players, finding out in real time how good they were, what their tendencies were, what they needed to improve on and what offensive and defensive schemes could best serve a cobbled-together roster.
"The coaches didn't know anybody, everyone had name-tags on their helmets, we were all getting to know each other," said wide receiver Lofton O'Groske. "That first month of spring ball we could barely complete a pass. We didn't really have schemes in place."
It's not like that this year.
Yes, there are still many new faces — that's SOP in the transfer portal era. But the coaches and players know and understand each other better. Schemes are established and in place. There are several returning starters on both sides of the ball to create a solid foundation, while captains who were new to leadership roles last year are now comfortable with those responsibilities.
Given that the Jacks still began last season 7-0 despite that preseason uncertainty, and ended up winning nine games and reaching the second round of the playoffs, there's reason to believe that starting from a more advances place this year will lend itself to an even better year in 2025.
Under previous coaches John Stiegelmeier and Jimmy Rogers, spring practices often felt no different than a Wednesday night practice in October. Tuesday's 2026 spring opener felt more like that than any practice last spring.
"The organization across the board is so much better," said senior wideout Grahm Goering. "Like, we've been going over schemes and concepts of our own film, whereas last year we had to watch film of other teams because we didn't have anything of ourselves. Things are going smoother and practice is better because when you know your job you play faster, and that makes everything better."
Here are a few notes from Day 1:
* The QB room's depth jumped out.
An injury to Chase Mason knocked the Jackrabbits from title contention last year, and it happened largely because they didn't have any experience among their backups.
Now there's plenty. Jack Henry started three games last year and is no longer an untested freshman. He's ready.
And incoming transfers Josh Holst and Anthony Rezac elevate the room. Holst started games at the FBS level, while Rezac spent two seasons with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator Eric Eidsness is clearly excited about them. He already coached Holst at Northern Illinois and knew Rezac as well. Eidsness sounds extremely confident about the room as a whole.
Mason's bazooka arm was launching rockets all over the field on Tuesday. He was a little wild but his arm talent continues to be incredible, and teammates and coaches are noting that he's even more comfortable in a leadership role with a full year as starter under his belt.
And Henry had the best throw of the day, a ridiculously well-thrown deep ball that had teammates jaws dropping open.
Jack Thue looks improved as well.
* With all that depth the Jacks won't be needing an emergency quarterback, but if they did, new running back Ramon McKinney might be an option.
The transfer from Division II Northeastern State gives the Jacks some much-needed experience in their young running back room, but while McKinney has a 1,000-yard season under his belt he's only been playing running back for a couple years, having been recruited out of high school to play quarterback.
Running backs coach Deontae Cooper will spend plenty of time this spring smoothing over the rough edges on McKinney, who had 35 catches last year in addition to his 1,093 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground.
* The Jacks' defensive backs played noticeably aggressive in team sessions.
There were a few plays where they were probably guilty of pass interference, but there were also several breakups and contested catches. It looks like coordinator Brian Bergstrom and the other defensive coaches are pushing the secondary to play physical.
* Landon Dulaney is a star in the making.
The 2024 Sioux Falls Live 25 player of the year at Brandon Valley, Dulaney didn't get in a game last year because the Jacks didn't need him. They might not need him this year, either, just because of how deep they are at wide receiver, but Dulaney is going to force his way into the conversation.
The 6-2 speedster made a handful of impressive lunging, stretching catches on Tuesday, bringing in a couple of balls that were off-target and wouldn't get caught by most receivers.
Jackson just shook his head in amazement after each one.
* Jack Smith is switching from No. 19 to No. 2. I hear his mom wasn't happy about it since the family had already bought a bunch of 19 shirts and jerseys last year. C'mon, Jack, you gotta run these things by mom, first.
* The tight end room is loaded.
Greyton Gannon is back after an all-conference season, Brayden Delahoyde showed signs of breaking out last year while Sac State transfer Coleman Kuntz is healthy after being limited last year.
H-back Andrew Gustad returns as does former Iowa Hawkeye Jalyn Thompson, while Ben Brooks, the 6-8 freshman from Madison is an impressive specimen.
* Former standouts Mason McCormick and Caleb Sanders both stopped by practice. You'll hear from McCormick about his second year in the NFL and his thoughts on the state of the Jacks later this week.
* The Jacks will host their Pro Day on March 27.
Tackle Sam Hagen, running back Julius Loughridge, wide receiver Alex Bullock and defensive backs Koby Bretz and Jayden Oliver are expected to participate, while former safety Tucker Large may also attend. Large transferred to Washington State for his final year but has been rehabbing an injury at home in Sioux Falls.