Apr. 13—BROOKINGS — If the Spring Game attendance is any indication, the end of South Dakota State’s two-year run as FCS national champions and departure of Coach Jimmy Rogers has not led to a decrease in interest from the Jackrabbit fan base.
What was likely the biggest crowd yet for an SDSU Spring Game turned out Saturday, clearly intrigued to see what new coach Dan Jackson is cooking up, but also as a show of support for a program that in just a few short months has taken something of a collective chip on its shoulder. Rogers left and brought his staff and many players and recruits with him, while star offensive players Mark Gronowski, Griffin Wilde, Evan Beerntsen and Davin Stoffel all transferred to Big Ten schools, and it seems to have ignited a fire under the leftover and new players.
Advertisement
The Jacks still believe they will be national championship contenders this year, and Saturday’s Spring Game showed essentially two things — the ceiling is indeed high, but there’s a long way to go before the season opener against Sacramento State.
“The big goal of the spring was fundamentals and technique and building the brotherhood stronger than it was before, and it is,” Jackson said. “I think the confidence is pretty high. The first two weeks the offense had a hard time moving the ball because everything was new for them and nothing was new for the defense. Then we started tweaking things on defense and the offense started clicking. So it was interesting to see the back and forth.”
As for Saturday’s game, there were several notable takeaways.
* The QB room is still green.
Advertisement
Chase Mason put his incredible talents on full display. He was on target with several deep balls that drew oohs and aahs from the crowd, he had defenders off-balance with his running, and his lighting quick release makes it hard for defenders to get a jump on his passes.
Mason did miss a few too many short and intermediate passes, at times putting too much heat on the ball or just missing moving targets. He showed an improved touch while throwing on the move, and Jackson and quarterbacks coach Eric Eidsness have both noted that Mason is still learning how to play the position. They’re encouraged by his growth and potential more than they’re concerned about his need for more polish.
“I really liked how Chase threw the deep ball,” Jackson said. “I liked to see how he operated and took care of the football. He’s only had one turnover in our last 10 practices, so pretty proud of how he looked.”
Jackson Henry, the redshirt freshman from Dell Rapids, looked promising and appears to be getting serious consideration for the backup role. He impressed while redshirting last year and is visibly bigger and stronger this season, but the inexperience is still there. On a 4th down play he threw an ill-advised pass into the flat that Dontay Johnson picked off and took 60-yards the other way for a touchdown. Eidsness said no one has yet gained separation for the QB2 role, and the Spring Game didn’t appear to change that.
Advertisement
* Wide receivers Grahm Goering and Lofton O’Groske were both held out on Saturday, as was tight end David Alpers. The result was a few too many dropped passes, though Sammy Dresie provided a highlight with a one-handed catch for a touchdown on a quick seam over the middle.
At running back, Wisconsin transfer Nate White is already pretty much locked into the starting tailback role. He has obvious tools but isn’t as smooth as the Jacks’ last three 1,000-yard rushers (Amar Johnson, Isaiah Davis, Pierre Strong) were, as White is obviously still feeling his way through the offense. He runs hard, doesn’t shy away from contact and has breakaway ability.
Brendan Begeman, the former 9-man star from Selby, was impressive Saturday, running hard and physical. The offensive line had a pretty good day, though for now the gap between the starters and backups could challenge their depth.
* Koby Bretz, the safety who transferred from Nebraska, was impressive all spring and that continued Saturday. He makes plays all over the field. Johnson’s pick-six was the culmination of a big spring for him.
Advertisement
D-line is a little thin but they have a solid nucleus led by Kobe Clayborne and Reis Kirschenman.
The Jacks linebackers and secondary were active and ran to the ball. There are no returning starters in the second level, but virtually all the players in the rotation have experience and appear ready for a larger role. At linebacker, Chase Van Tol, Joe Ollman, Bryce Johnson, Matt Goehring, Kytan Fyfe and others are almost surely going to make their unit a strength.
* SDSU coaches have said all through spring that they will add more scholarship players in the transfer portal before fall camp begins. Jackson said that number could reach double digits, and that it could include some immediate impact type of players.
“The unique thing about SDSU is there are players who want to come here, this isn’t about taking other people’s leftovers,” Jackson said. “There are some positions like D-line and running back where we can add some depth, but there’s gonna be some high profile guys that we just atke because they’re really good football players, guys that I think can be All-American players for us.”
