Jackrabbits begin fall camp a month ahead of season opener

BROOKINGS – South Dakota State football began its fall camp last week and the Jackrabbits got off and running quickly.

SDSU head coach Dan Jackson was pleased with how his team began its month of practices before the season opener on Aug. 29 and said that itís a lot easier to get right into team practices because of how lenient the NCAA is now during the offseason.

"I thought today went well," Jackson said. "It doesn't always feel like the first day anymore when you do so much throughout the summer and the guys have prepared so much during that time. But I thought the tempo was great. I thought the urgency was awesome. There was some really good back and forth."

In addition to talking about the first day of practice, Jackson touched on what he was looking to focus and work in these four weeks ahead of SDSU's game against Stetson at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.

Physicality

Jackson mentioned physicality a lot in his first season as SDSU head coach last year. He thought that SDSU wasn't physical enough along the line of scrimmage and the stats trend that way.

The Jacks were seventh in the Missouri Valley in running the ball in 2025, averaging 154.3 yards per game, and they were third in the MVFC in stopping the run, giving up 125.5 yards per game.

"It's about the details now," Jackson said. "It's about being the most disciplined team in the country. "It's about establishing a level of physicality thatíll make your opponent quit. When we say physical football, that means run the ball, stop the run, be great on special teams, and then we're always growing our connection.

"That's just something that I believe. And the closer the team you have, the more they're going to fight for one another and their coaches. And so we have that, but there's always room to grow. So [we want to be the] most disciplined, most physical, most connected."

Special Teams

The Jackrabbits struggled on special teams last season. The struggles were glaring in the kicking game where Eli Stader was 10-of-16 on field goals, including 5-of-11 from 30 yards and out.

The special teams mistakes reared their ugly head in a 35-21 loss to Illinois State on Nov. 15 when the Jackrabbits fumbled a kickoff and a messed up punt. Both mistakes led to touchdowns and helped the Redbirds get out to a 35-0 lead.

Jackson said he thought his team lacked depth all around last season and that led to playing some guys that werenít ready on special teams. He said that he is focusing a lot on special teams this fall.

"When you lack depth on offense and defense, it's just natural that you lack even more depth on special teams," Jackson said. "And so, we played a lot of young guys a year ago that weren't quite ready. We also played some guys that may not have even been young, but they just weren't good enough to be out there.

"And so, right now we've got a competitive, deep special teams group, and those reps and travel roster spots are going to be really competitive. I've been a special teams coordinator before, so I gravitate towards that, and I believe I can help add some value there. Itís not fair that it all lands on Isaiah Jackson as a special teams coordinator."

Running Backs

SDSU lost its leading rusher from last season in Julius Loughridge. However, they do return two backs who had strong seasons in sophomores Josiah Johnson and James Basinger. The Jacks also brought in Ramon McKinney Jr., who is a transfer from Northeastern State out of Oklahoma.

Jackson said each player in the running back room will have a chance to earn the starting position, but he's high on all of them.

"They're going to have to earn it," Jackson said. "I think Corey Blair Jr. is as talented as I've been around, but he needs to show that he can be consistent. He hasn't earned it earned it yet. Josiah Johnson was consistent in spurts last year, but he's got to grow in different areas of his game: pass protection and catching the ball.

"Ramon McKinney Jr. I think is one of the more explosive guys on the team, but he's evolving and emerging with his level of consistency. Same with Basinger and [John] Begeman. Dom Rezac will add an element to Vanderbilt transfer, and Jayon Scott has looked really good as well, the true freshman. So, I don't think anybody's pulled away. I would like to play four running backs in a game."

Defensive Backs

South Dakota State will have some new faces in the secondary and Jackson said that he focused on the defensive backs on the first day of camp.

The Jacks lost Myles Taylor, Koby Bretz, Isaiah Johnson and Jayden Oliver to graduation and lost Jalen Lee to the transfer portal.

Dontay Johnson and Noah Thompson will look to step up at safety, while Myles Green and Noah St-Juste move up the depth chart at cornerback.

The Jacks added transfers in the secondary in Ife Current from Nebraska-Kearney, Amaje Parker from the Virginia Military Institue, Paul Kim from Wisconsin-White Water, Jamari Holliman from Florida International, Noah Luginbill from Saddleback College and Jack Johnson from Moorhead.

Jackson said he's excited for that group because he believes that they have fun with each other and that's a big key for him.

"I think coach McClinton and coach [DyShawn] Gales are doing a great job in the secondary. I'm just really excited about how that group has shifted it's culture and it's just so fun to be around them," Jackson said.