South Dakota State Football: Offense trumps defense in Spring Game, 21-17

What looked like hundreds of South Dakota State fans dressed in Jackrabbits blue eagerly filled the Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex Saturday morning for SDSU’s Spring Game.

The Spring Game was the public’s first look at the 2024 South Dakota State team that is tasked with replacing a talented group of super seniors including Isaiah Davis, the Janke brothers, and Mason McCormick among others.

Saturday’s contest consisted of two 25-minute halves with a running clock and a brief halftime. The Jackrabbits were split into offense and defense. The defense started the game with a 17-0 lead, but the South Dakota State offense put together three scoring drives to earn a 21-17 win.

Reigning Walter Payton Award winner Mark Gronowski played the first series and completed all five of his passes for 38 yards. Chase Mason and redshirt freshman Kentrell Prejean connected three times late in the first half, including a one-yard touchdown pass that made the score 17-14 heading into the break.

Mason completed seven of his eight passes for 110 yards while Prejean had six receptions for 95 yards and a touchdown.

In the second half redshirt freshman Brenden Begeman exploded for a 70-yard run, weaving his way through the defense, all the way to the endzone to secure the lead and the win for the offense.

Here are some takeaways from the game.

11 under center

Gronowski played the first series under center and looked as good as he did last season. He went a perfect five-for-five on his throws and led the offense to a 65-yard, 12-play scoring drive.

While Gronowski could potentially still enter the transfer portal after his graduation, he’s been an active participant in spring practices and South Dakota State is approaching next season as though the Walter Payton Award winner will remain on the team.

If he does end up transferring, Jackrabbits football coach Jimmy Rogers said Chase Mason will be more than ready to lead the offense.

The Jackrabbits still have talent, depth – albeit unproven – at skill positions

One of the biggest questions entering the 2024 season is how SDSU will replace their super senior talent. On offense they graduated the Janke twins at wide receiver, Zach Heins at tight end, and Isaiah Davis at running back.

The Jacks still have depth at the running back position with Amar and Angel Johnson ready to elevate to the No. 1 and 2 options out of the backfield. Who will fill the tight end and wide receiver positions is a little less obvious, but we got a look at possible options Saturday.

Redshirt freshman Davin Stoffel got playing time at tight end and received high praise from Rogers, who said he believes Stoffel will be “the next great one.” Rogers also said David Alpers had a great start to spring practices before getting banged up, and that Brody Gormley has a chance to be a special prospect as well.

Griffin Wilde is an obvious option to slot into one of the wide receiver spots and with his performance on Saturday, Prejean could be in line for some game time too, whether as a starter or as a rotation player. The redshirt freshman is small but extremely quick and has great hands. He had six receptions, 95 yards, and a touchdown in the Spring Game.

Defense

The South Dakota State defense still looked strong and aggressive, even with only a few players that played a majority of the snaps last season returning. Notably, the Jackrabbits return Dalys Beanum at corner and Adam Bock at linebacker.

Rogers attributed the solid defensive performance to the standard the program has set in terms of what they expect on defense and how quickly they try to help their players develop with more reps and opportunities.

Sophomore defensive end Dawson Ripperda was a standout on Saturday. He racked up three of the defense’s five total sacks and ended the day with four total tackles. Daeton Mcgaughy and Chase Van Tol each registered five tackles while Bock had four.

What’s next

The Jackrabbits will look to win their 30th consecutive game when they open their season in Stillwater, Oklahoma. South Dakota State will take on Oklahoma State on Saturday, Aug. 31.

Jonathan Fernandez covers high school and college sports for the Argus Leader. Contact him atjfernandez1@argusleader.com. Follow him on Twitter at@JFERN31

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: SDSU football: Three takeaways from 2024 Spring Game