Aug. 5—BROOKINGS — Towards the end of Tuesday’s practice — South Dakota State’s sixth, and third with pads — coach Dan Jackson gave his players a quick ‘recovery’ break for water and snacks.
When they returned to the field, Jackson gathered them at midfield and, through some high-volume colorful language and animated gesturing, let them know the first 3/4 of practice had not been satisfactory.
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“It’s not OK to miss a block,” Jackson shouted. “It’s not OK to drop a pass. It’s not OK to waltz through a drill. If you want to win a (expletive) national championship, that won’t get it done.”
The players responded by roaring their approval, someone cranked the volume on Motley Crue’s ‘Kickstart My Heart’ over the PA system, and the Jacks finished off practice with the kind of intensity that it almost hadn’t been apparent they were missing until they finally brought it.
“Yeah, we were practicing just OK, and OK is not good enough,” Jackson would say later. “They care, and they respond. Our job as coaches is to demand the best from them. If they don’t practice to our standard we’re going to let them know. We only have so much time on this field and I just believe in this team, and when you believe in them and they’re not reaching their standard you have to call them on it. The good thing is our guys want to be challenged, they want to compete and they want to be told when things need to pick up. So I was proud of how they responded from an energy standpoint, now we just have to clean up the execution part.”
Here are some other notes from Tuesday’s practice:
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* In his first stint as SDSU’s defensive coordinator Brian Bergstrom doubled as safeties coach, but this year the Jacks brought in Robert Armand to fill that role, freeing up Bergstrom, who spent the last two years as head coach at Winona State, to spread himself around.
“Selfishly I kind of miss having a group of guys but it’s been really good,” Bergstrom said. “We have a ton of talented coaches but they haven’t all coached in this system, so this allows me to teach them and coach them better so they can be better coaches. I sit in a different meeting every time and I’m able to give the players insight but then also give the coaches feedback.”
* The Jacks aren’t calling their base defense a true 4-2-5 as many programs do these days, but they have long blurred the line between strong-side linebacker (Sam) and a fifth defensive back (Nickel), and that will continue to be the case under Jackson. Former SDSU cornerback DyShawn Gales is serving as the unofficial Nickels coach.
* The Jacks defense made the jump from good to elite under former coach Jimmy Rogers and one of the hallmarks of that success was depth, and playing a big rotation at all three levels. Indications are that the Jacks will be able to keep doing that.
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At linebacker the Jacks said goodbye to All-American Adam Bock and starters Graham Spalding and Caleb Francl, and they still feel as strong and deep as ever there.
Returners Joe Ollman, Chase Van Tol and Cullen McShane have all shined so far, while Matt Goehring, who was a Division II all-conference pick at USF, is getting lots of reps and looks physically impressive.
Bryce Johnson, Kytan Fyfe and true freshman Andrew Price are also heavily in the mix for snaps, while Graham Eben, a transfer from Iowa, shows his versatility in the Sam/Nickel role.
In the secondary, Dontay Johnson is emerging as a leader in the safety group, with Jalen Lee, Koby Bretz and Noah Thompson among the others impressing so far.
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At corner, Myles Taylor has been sharp, while Jayden Oliver, a 6-3 grad transfer from Buffalo, made his practice debut Tuesday and showcased length, speed and ball skills.
If those units are strong the Jacks should be in good shape, as their front four should remain a strength behind captains Kobe Clayborne and Logan Green. Reis Kirschenman and Dawson Ripperda are penciled in as the starters on the edge, but Bergstrom has every intention of continuing the tradition of playing as many as 10 linemen on Saturdays. A pair of senior transfers — Mason Brosseau from Sacramento State and Kevin Spelman from Valparaiso, will add to that depth.
* The first unit offensive line on Tuesday was (left to right) Quinten Christensen, Will Paepke, Shane Willenbring, Kenyon Big Bow and Sam Hagen. Nate Adams, a transfer from Stephen F. Austin, Dakota Wesleyan transfer John Pica and redshirt freshman Thomas Martian are the top challengers for time.
* While the wide receiver group is loaded, sophomore Lofton O’Groske is continuing to raise expectations with his standout play. The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder saw action as a freshman last year and has shown hands, moves and speed that have drawn comparisons to SDSU’s several other all-conference caliber pass-catchers in recent years.
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* Freshman running back James Basinger scored a 20-yard touchdown in a team session, and drew praise from Jackson for his play thus far in camp.
* Between the permanent specter of the transfer portal and the rule allowing freshmen to play up to four games (and unlimited playoff games) without losing a redshirt, Jackson said he’s not going to give much consideration to ‘saving’ players’ redshirt status when deciding who to play.
* There’s an opening at kicker (and punter) with the graduation of ironman Hunter Dustman, and right now the edge for placekicking duties seems to lie with another branch on the Vinatieri tree.
Anthony Erickson, a cousin of Chase Vinatieri and nephew of Adam, has a slight edge over Kevin Carrigan, a transfer from Central Florida, and Ryan Harrington, a freshman from Ankeny, Iowa.
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A left-footer, Erickson was an honorable mention All-State pick for Jefferson in Sioux Falls but didn’t play football in his first year attending SDSU as a student. Now he’s on the team and showcasing a strong leg.
Max Pelham, a senior transfer from MSU-Mankato, has the edge for the punting job.
