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Mar. 2—BROOKINGS — Dan Jackson will walk onto the field as head coach of the Jackrabbits for the first time when South Dakota State kicks off spring football practice.
The first of their 15 sessions begins at 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday. The Spring Game (yes, they’re having one) is slated for Saturday, April 12.
Obviously, the Jacks will look markedly different than a year ago, when their season ended with an FCS semifinal loss to North Dakota State.
Jimmy Rogers and his entire coaching staff are gone, along with quarterback Mark Gronowski, receiver Griffin Wilde, linebacker Adam Bock, cornerback Dalys Beanum and several other offensive and defensive starters.
Jackson brought back former SDSU coordinators Eric Eidsness (offense) and Brian Bergstrom (defense) to bring some familiarity to the new coaching staff, and was able to bring in a handful of transfers to restock the roster.
Now the work begins.
There are many questions facing the Jackrabbits as spring arrives, here are five we’ll be focusing in on this week:
1. The post-Gronowski era begins
Off to the Iowa Hawkeyes for his final year of college football eligibility, all Gronowski did was take the Jacks to three national championship games, winning two, while going undefeated as a starter at home. Not a bad legacy.
In steps Chase Mason, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound senior who was nothing short of one of the greatest high school athletes in state history. The Jacks gave him plenty of reps over the last two seasons after he transferred in from Nebraska, and he looked great as a runner and good as a passer.
Is he ready to be the every-down QB1? How well can he command the huddle and work under pressure? When Eidsness was last here he developed Taryn Christion into the Jacks’ all-time leading passer. It’ll be interesting to see what he can do with Mason.
Meanwhile Tak Tateoka, a…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/sdsu-spring-football-primer-five-004800665.html
Author : The Daily Republic, Mitchell, S.D.
Publish date : 2025-03-03 00:48:00
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