Matt Zimmer: Jackrabbits took steps in spring practice to get back to championship contention

Apr. 20—BROOKINGS — It's hard to really suggest that South Dakota State's 9-5 season that ended in the second round of the FCS playoffs was a failure, given that Dan Jackson was in his first season as head coach and had to assemble an entirely new staff and replace dozens of players who had either graduated or transferred.

But just because it wasn't a failure doesn't mean it was good enough.

The Jacks had made it to at least the semifinals in each of the five previous seasons, including three national championship appearances and two wins, and that had become the standard.

It's a standard the Jackrabbits want to get back to, pronto.

Can they do it in 2026? The spring practice season that concluded with Saturday's Spring Game gave us our first potential answers to that question, and, well, things looked pretty promising.

For starters, a lot of really good players are back.

Quarterback Chase Mason should be one of the best players in the nation, and his backups are far more experienced than the group that was thrust into action last year.

Wide receivers Lofton O'Groske, Grahm Goering and Jack Smith and tight ends Greyton Gannon and Coleman Kuntz are all-conference caliber players, and new running back Ramon McKinney had everyone whistling at his playmaking ability at the Spring Game. He'll be sharing carries with three promising sophomores who were all good enough to get on the field as true freshmen.

And the offensive line returns four who started multiple games last year, led by senior bookend tackle Quinten Christensen, with transfers Cooper Starks (Vanderbilt) and Jae'Shaun Thomas (Duluth) ready to add depth.

The defense? For starters, they're motivated. They gave up 50 points and over 500 yards in their season-ending loss at Montana last December, and it sounds like they haven't forgotten it.

Up front, edges Dawson Ripperda and Reis Kirschenman and tackles Logan Green and Jace Sifore are back, and while all four of them can be impact players, the coaching staff has made building depth up front a priority. Carter Sitzman looks like a demon at edge rusher after a successful four years at Wayne State, while Ashton Sayre was a productive tackle at MSU-Moorhead and will figure into the rotation as well. The Jacks' ability to play 8-10 deep on the D-line during their national championship seasons is a point that's been beaten to death, but they weren't able to do it last year and it looks like they might be able to in 2026.

The linebacking corps has probably 6-8 starting caliber players, and while the secondary is a question mark due to the number of new faces, it was apparent all through spring that the additions the Jacks made in the portal have the physical ability to contribute.

Corners Ife Current, Paul Kim, Jamari Holliman and Henry Pickens and safeties Amaje Parker, Jack Johnson and Tank Farr all look like legit additions, while Myles Green, Noah St. Juste, Dontay Johnson and Noah Thompson are underrated returners.

They didn't forget about special teams, either. Tristan Alvano and Ryan Harrington give them two reliable kickers, while Max Pelham is a top-flight punter. It will be interesting to see who special teams coordinator Isaiah Jackson chooses to return kicks, as there's tons of candidates.

Is it possible we're overselling these guys? That this is all just hype from guys going against each other in a low-stakes environment in March and April?

Actually, no. It's not.

Nearly all of the transfers the Jacks brought in were all-conference or even All-Americans at the D2 or D3 level. That caliber of player has routinely proven he can play in the FCS. These guys aren't fools gold. They came here for a reason, and Jackson brought them here for a reason.

And remember, this team was 7-0 and ranked No. 2 in the nation before Mason went down with an injury. They won on the road against the eventual national champion. They did all that despite having to endure a speed-dating style spring and summer after Jackson was hired. They were still adding players after the Spring Game.

Now they've got a full year under the new staff and no longer have to tape their names on their helmets in practice. It's just hard to imagine a scenario in which this team isn't markedly better in every conceivable way than they were last year.

And let's face it, North Dakota State is out of the picture. That helps, too. UND and Illinois State should be good. USD needs a quarterback, but assuming they come up with one, they've been winning for long enough now that they deserve the benefit of the doubt that they're going to be there in December.

Defending champion Montana State will enter the season as the No. 1 team and championship favorite, and they deserve that. They're bringing back a lot of talent, too.

Spring practice was kind of awkward for the Jacks last year due to all the new faces, but by the end of it players were talking about how close-knit they'd become. Maybe they were talking themselves into that to some degree, but the way Mason and Christensen recruited so many of them to stay and new guys that came in had to buy-in quickly certainly created a unique bond.

Going through the ups and downs of the season — 7-0 start, four-game losing streak, season-saving wins at the end — seems to have strengthened that bond. The joy and enthusiasm the Jacks brought to 6 a.m. practices all spring and the way they rooted for each other day after day was hard to miss.

Does enthusiasm mean they're going to win a national championship? No.

But when you combine that kind of chemistry with the talent that's been assembled, you have reason to feel pretty damn good about your chances come fall.