South Dakota State football preview: Title defense begins under new coach Jimmy Rogers

Aug. 28—BROOKINGS — After years of falling short, of devastating losses, dreams dashed and goals unfulfilled, the Jackrabbits are finally national champions. It came in glorious fashion, courtesy of a 45-21 romp over their rivals from North Dakota State in January.

But ask any South Dakota State football player and they'll tell you, the victory party didn't last long. Once it was time to get back to work in spring practice barely two months later, the quest for a repeat had officially begun.

"You get that feeling of winning it all, now you know what it feels like," said senior cornerback DyShawn Gales. "You see the impact that it has on the fans and the entire school and organization, and you just want to bring that back to them again. We're every bit as hungry to win this year as we were before."

With virtually every offensive starter back and the bulk of a top-flight defense returning as well, the Jacks are heavy favorites to do it. They're the No. 1 ranked team in the country and were the consensus pick to win the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The passing of the torch from longtime coach John Stiegelmeier, who retired as a champion after 26 years, to new coach and former defensive coordinator Jimmy Rogers has not lowered anyone's expectation for the program.

"There's no better feeling than being on top to start the season," said quarterback Mark Gronowski. "Everyone keeps talking about how we're the hunted now, but we're gonna continue to be the aggressors. We won't go out there like we're the prey — we're going to be the predators."

They have plenty of weapons with which to go on the attack.

Gronowski returns for his third year as the team's starter — he's taken them to the national championship game in each of his first two, and been a catalyst in doing so. Last year he threw for 2,967 yards and 26 touchdowns while rushing for another 12 scores, and he'll be leading an offense with essentially everybody back. The only starter from last year that doesn't return is tight end Tucker Kraft (now a Green Bay Packer) and he missed half of last year with injury. Zach Heins, who caught 29 balls as his replacement, is back.

So are running backs Isaiah Davis (1,451 yards, 15 touchdowns) and Amar Johnson (744 yards, seven touchdowns), receivers Jaxon Janke (60 catches, 857 yards, nine touchdowns) and Jadon Janke (51 catches, 774 yards), fullback Mike Morgan (two touchdown catches) and offensive linemen Garret Greenfield, Mason McCormick, Gus Miller, Evan Beerntsen and John O'Brian. Greenfield and McCormick are All-Americans and NFL prospects.

The defense has a couple of holes to plug, but still returns plenty of production, led by the linebacking corps of Adam Bock (76 tackles, four sacks), Jason Freeman (84 tackles, three sacks, two interceptions) and Isaiah Stalbird (55 tackles). The defensive line graduated its top two pass rushers in Reece Winkelman and Caleb Sanders but returns the rest of a rotation that will again go anywhere from eight to 10 deep, returns 14.5 sacks and adds a pair of transfers in Blake Peterson from Iowa State and Dawson Ripperda from Northern Illinois.

And in the secondary, Gales returns to lead a secondary that includes productive cornerbacks Dalys Beanum and Steven Arrell and safeties Tucker Large, Cale Reeder, Colby Huerter and Matthew Durrance. Daeton Mcgaughy, Dontay Johnson, Saiveon Williamson, Caleb Francl, Myles Taylor, Graham Spalding, Aaron Kusler and Bryce Johnson are among those to provide depth in the back seven. Hunter Dustman returns to handle kicking and punting duties after proving effective at both, and for the first time, the Jacks have a full-time special teams coach (Pat Cashmore), which they hope will make them sharper in the return and kick-coverage game. This is a team with essentially no weaknesses.

The Jacks didn't just win the national championship, by the way. They cruised to it — winning each of their four playoff games by at least 21 points. They'll take a 14-game winning streak into Thursday night's opener against Western Oregon, but lest any fans worry that complacency could be a concern, they say they're addressing that, too.

"We don't worry about complacency," Stalbird said. "The senior class on this team has been through so much, whether it's injuries, life or just the journey that brought them to South Dakota State. This is a hungry group. We never take a day off."

They'd best not. While they're regarded across the nation as the best team in the FCS they're still playing in the toughest conference in the nation. The rival Bison loom ready to reclaim their place at the top, while Northern Iowa will once again be paying a Hobo Day visit to Brookings, and Montana State visits in Week 2 for a rematch of the last two semifinals.

The Jacks proved last year they can handle all of those challenges. Now to prove they can do it again.

"It's an unbelievable opportunity," Rogers said. "We're excited about what our team looks like. Being the No. 1 team in the country comes with high expectations and we have the team to take on those expectations. We have the leadership to carry us through. A team isn't built on hype; it's built on the heartbeat and habits of those guys who step on the field."

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE JACKRABBITS

LAST YEAR: 14-1 (national champions)

COACH: Jimmy Rogers (1st year)

KEY RETURNERS: QB Mark Gronowski, RB Isaiah Davis, WR Jaxon Janke, WR Jadon Janke, LT Garret Greenfield, LG Mason McCormick, MLB Adam Bock, CB DyShawn Gales, LB Jason Freeman

TOP NEWCOMERS: DE Blake Peterson, WR Marcus Preston, DE Dawson Ripperda, WR Griffin Wilde, WR Ky Oday, LS Kaydon Olivia

OPENER: Thursday vs. Western Oregon