Story by
The Daily Republic, Mitchell, S.D.
USD's retooled defensive line ready to make a bigger impact in 2026
- Story byThe Daily Republic, Mitchell, S.D.
- USD's retooled defensive line ready to make a bigger impact in 2026
Aug. 19—VERMILLION, S.D. — The University of South Dakota football team knows what it needs from its defensive line this season.
More pressure. More disruption. More depth.
After losing senior defensive tackle Mosai Newsom and edge rushers Caden Crawford, who left for Iowa State , and Nyle Dickel to graduation, the Coyotes enter the 2026 season with a retooled defensive line that will look different from a year ago. But there is some experience returning.
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At the center of it all is senior defensive tackle Chris Dixon , a four-year player within the program who started all 15 games last season and played more than 700 defensive-line snaps. On the edge, Nathan Laperi is moving from a rotational role into a starting spot after finishing second on the team in both sacks and tackles for loss last season.
"Dixon is obviously the No. 1 part of our unit, just his ability to understand the defense and step up as our leader so far has been huge," USD defensive line coach Nathan Nelson said. "Laperi, who played last year, has owned his new role as being more of a leader and a guy that has come in and put in the extra work to carve out a significant role."
Then come two transfers tasked with stepping into starting roles: John Starman at defensive tackle and Isaiah Wray at defensive end. Together, the four have become the lead guys so far throughout preseason practices.
Dixon's importance is obvious. After playing a heavy workload last season, he enters his senior year as the most experienced piece of the group and the player expected to help set the standard for everyone around him.
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Beside him, Starman represents one of the biggest changes to the interior. The 6-foot-3, 285-pound fifth-year transfer from Brown did not see much playing time during his four seasons with the Bears, but he appeared in all 10 games in each of the last two seasons as a rotational player. Now, he has been handed an opportunity to make his biggest impact yet.
"I have just been looking to make an impact on both transition passes and stopping the run, while also becoming a vocal leader in the room," Starman said. "So, that has been great since spring ball, where I felt like I made a good impact. And now, rolling out with the team here during these first few weeks of fall camp, we feel really good as a unit going into the season."
On the outside, Laperi is taking the next step. The former North Texas transfer arrived at USD last season and immediately showed his ability to affect opposing offenses. He finished second on the team in sacks and tackles for loss despite working primarily as a rotational player. Now, he is expected to do it with a much larger workload.
Across from him is Wray, a 6-foot-5, 255-pound junior transfer from Concordia, St. Paul. Wray brings a different physical profile to the position, combining length and athleticism with experience. He started eight games as a freshman and recorded 6.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. Last season, he added 7.5 tackles for loss, 72 total tackles and 1.5 sacks in 11 games.
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The pairing gives USD two solid edge threats with Laperi's speed, power and explosiveness on one side and Wray's length and physicality on the other.
"The two guys that have really caught my eye are two transfers: John Starman and Isaiah Wray," Nelson said. "Starman joined us for his last year, and he has just fit into the culture, scheme, and understands it as a smart football player as well as talented. Isaiah has stepped into a starting role, so far, and he has taken it and run with it. He's a bigger, longer defensive end that plays physical. Those two guys have shown that they are ready to step into a role where we are going to need them a lot this year."
The starting four may be established, but Nelson is not planning to limit the unit to four players.
That is where the competition behind Dixon, Starman, Laperi and Wray becomes important. Jeff Bowie and Tyler Sapit have made strides throughout fall camp, emerging as potential rotational contributors. Nelson said the Coyotes are still sorting through a large group of players competing for opportunities, with roughly four to 12 players in the mix for spots within the rotation.
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"We have talked heavily on affecting the quarterback during the spring and through fall camp so far," Nelson said. "Obviously, we want more sacks, but how do you affect them in different ways? We just want as much pressure on the other side of the line of scrimmage every play. That's our goal. I also created the emphasis that really the depth to rotate guys in and keep them fresh to keep that pressure on the other team was extremely important for us if we want to succeed as a unit this year."
The emphasis on pressure is not accidental. Last season, USD finished second-to-last in the conference in quarterback pressure and sacks, recording just 18 sacks on the season. That number was tied with Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois and is an area the Coyotes know must improve if the defense is going to take another step in 2026.
Nelson believes the answer is not necessarily asking one or two players to play every snap. Instead, USD wants to build a rotation capable of keeping its front fresh deep into games and creating pressure from multiple bodies.
USD first-year head coach Matt Vitzthum has seen that approach take shape throughout camp.
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"That group has been the model of consistency, and that starts with coach Nelson," Vitzthum said. "I trust him with everything, and I think he has a great culture going in there about just a 'we over me' mentality. We could play four guys, we could play eight guys, but everyone is their best cheerleader through the good and bad. They haven't had many bad days at camp, and I am excited to see what they can do this year for us."
For a defensive line replacing three significant contributors, there will be plenty of questions to answer before their first real test of the new-look group Aug. 29, when Central Connecticut State comes to the DakotaDome for the season opener.
For Starman, though, the opportunity is about more than replacing a departed player or improving a statistic. It is about finishing his career with something bigger in mind.
"I think it's really special," said Starman about deciding to transfer to USD for his final collegiate football season. "We are chasing after something great, and we want to hold that trophy at the end of the year. I think that we have the crew to do it and I am super excited to finish my career out with these guys."
