The South Dakota State University Jackrabbits have a new leader at the helm.
Dan Jackson was introduced as the 22nd head coach of the program.
SDPB’s Jackson Dircks sat down with SDPB Sports and Rec reporter Nate Wek and had a conversation about the changes happening in Brookings.
Nate Wek:
We're very fortunate in the state of South Dakota to have two really good programs when it comes to football. If we're talking about football with the University of South Dakota, South Dakota State University, having two teams, we were legitimately USD and an SDSU went away from having an All–South Dakota National Championship. So, for both of those teams to reach the FFC semi-final round this year was exciting. But I think the future is bright. I think people should just enjoy it every year, keep supporting the schools, and I think both programs, because of the leadership that they have at the top, I think both programs will be all right. So, a lot of fans were questioning like, how do you keep that culture? Who is it that you can bring in that maybe has some of those SDSU ties that has maybe been here before and seeing what they did, bringing in Dan Jackson I think is a big time get, I think SDSU fans should be happy with it.
Not only bringing in Dan Jackson but bringing back Eric Eidsness to be the offensive coordinator. Dan Jackson was going to go with Jason Ack, another SDSU guy to New Mexico to be the defensive coordinator. He's going to solidify. He's a defensive coach. He's going to come in. He's a good leader. He is. Got those SDSU ties. He was an associate head coach underneath John Stiegelmeier. He was a player at SDSU, so he very much fits the mold of what a guy like Justin Salva the ad up there is wanting to do. So, bring in Eric Eidsness then as well, who used to be the offensive coordinator before you had Zach Lujan. That was the OC was a little bit of a flashback and then Vince Benedetto was the other one that kind of surprised me. The head coach at Jefferson High School, also former player getting plucked out of there and going to be the tight ends coach up in Brookings. So, I mean, the staff is filling in really well and you're starting to see that players aren't leaving. There was that first wave, but there's other players that are very much committed. I think for SDSU fans, the seat they're sitting in today is a lot different than it was three weeks ago.
Jackson Dircks:
Yeah, I would agree. I think South Dakota is going to have a lot to look forward to, whether you're a Jack Rabbits fan or a Coyote fan, there's a lot going on here, which is pretty cool to see at the FCS level. I guess the worry for Jack Rabbits fans probably has to be, the program becomes a steppingstone for coaches who want to reach the FBS. I know, especially after John Stiegelmeier left, that was the big concern. Do you see that happening with Dan Jackson or did he do enough to alleviate those fears at least for a little bit?
Nate Wek:
It's hard to say. I think there was also people that would've maybe thought Jimmy Rogers might stick around for a long time too. It's just kind of the world that we live in now, right. I mean, it's just the way that I'm not going to blame anybody that wants to take another opportunity to go to that next level. It's hard to say. I think with the way that the landscape is with college sports now, specifically with football and basketball, you kind of have to live in the now a little bit and just try to amplify what you can control on a year to year basis just because at the end of every year, it doesn't matter the program, there's going to be players jumping in the portal and the portal is becoming such a different conversation. It's exploding way more than I think anybody really realized when the whole NIL thing kind of started.
So, I think it's a learning curve, I think for a lot of these programs, and I think it's a little bit of, I think a lot of jackrabbit fans were maybe a little shellshocked right away because they hadn't really experienced this before. With Stiegelmeier being there for 20 plus years as the head coach, obviously taking 'em to the national championship, getting a win, and then you had Jimmy Rogers that was waiting in the wings that then took them back to that same spot. I think there was a little bit of that spoiled thing, and they hadn't really experienced this whole thing as far as the football program goes before. So, I think it's just the way college athletics are nowadays. I don't know if you can necessarily plan for a guy to stick around for five to 10 years. I just don't know if that's the reality of the world we live in anymore. As far as the college sports landscape goes,
Dan Jackson:
Truth of it is, is I'm a jackrabbit and being home means so much to me. I'm driving around town a few days ago, I guess it may feel like a few weeks with the work we've been doing but driving around campus and seeing young and beese where I stayed driving downtown and looking at the apartment that I used to stay in when I was a graduate assistant. Haven't got a chance to stop in at Cubby's yet. I'm sure at some point I will. But buzzing by cubbies and the memories and the relationships that were built there, South Dakota State is a special place and it's just so comforting to be back.
Jackson Dircks:
Sort of the vibe I got from the introductory press conference was that Dan Jackson's going more for this homegrown talent pluck in high school, local high school coaches to come in there, and he actually started as a high school coach himself, which is pretty different. What do you kind of see of being that importance of maybe going back to those roots and that homegrown talent in South Dakota?
Nate Wek:
Well, you look at who you're recruiting, right? And you're recruiting, you're always going to start looking. When you're doing recruiting, you're going to look at the state you're currently in. SDSU has had a lot of, I don't want to call it luck, but when you have success, there's a lot of kids in state that maybe have those college aspirations that are going to get an opportunity to play college ball. And you got USD, SDSU, division one FCS programs. They're going to be looking at those local talent right away. The other thing through this whole process too that I thought was really interesting is Tanner Ke, who kind of does his own independent reporting and stuff like that surrounding South Dakota State University. He had a really good article that came out here at the end of last week about Chase Mason, Chase Mason Viborg-Hurley kid, backup quarterback last year with South Dakota State did come in and played some gadget type plays and stuff like that.
And then also Quinten Christensen, Wessington Springs kid. So, I mean, there's a couple local kids that were very heavily involved that Tanner highlighted in this process of these two individuals, Chase and Quentin, going out and contacting recruits, contacting current players and saying, stay, there's something special here. We're going to be okay. 2025 could be a really special year. And they were getting players that were thinking about maybe leaving to stick around. And people are going to ask too, will SDSU take a step back? They might take a step back in 2025, but what does that mean? Because the FCS is what it is. Even if they take a step back, could they still be in that upper tier or that second tier throughout the entire FCS? I think they might, and I think they could still make a deep playoff run.
