South Dakota
2024 FCS Top 25: No. 1 South Dakota State Football Preview
South Dakota State ranks No. 1 in HERO Sports’ FCS Preseason Top 25.
The Jackrabbits won their second straight FCS national championship last year, beating Montana 23-3 to finish 15-0 overall.
Here’s a look at the 2024 SDSU football squad, which has 28 seniors on the roster.
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Returning 2023 All-Conference Players (8)
1st Team
QB Mark Gronowski
S Tucker Large
AP Amar Johnson (RB)
2nd Team
OL Gus Miller
P Hunter Dustman
LS Kaydon Olivia
RS Tucker Large
Honorable Mention
OL Evan Beerntsen
CB Dalys Beanum
D1 Transfer Portal Movement
Transfers Coming In From The FCS (2)
Sam Hagen (OL), North Dakota
Colby Humphrey (DB), Northern Arizona
Transfers Coming In From The FBS (1)
Marcus Hicks (OL), Oklahoma
Transfers Lost To The FCS (0)
Transfers Lost To The FBS (0)
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Offensive Outlook
SDSU had six offensive players from last year’s championship team sign NFL contracts, including its two best offensive linemen, top two wide receivers, top tight end, and All-American running back.
With that production gone, a major boost to the 2024 offense is signal-caller Mark Gronowski, the 2023 Walter Payton Award winner and back-to-back national championship game Most Outstanding Player. Gronowski turned down six-figure NIL offers from Power 4 programs to stay at SDSU for one more season.
Gronowski has 7,590 career passing yards, 70 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions, plus 1,387 yards rushing and 27 TDs. Last season, the 6-foot-3 and 225-pounder completed 68 percent of his passes for 3,058 yards, 29 scores, and five interceptions while rushing for 402 yards and eight TDs. Gronowski is 37-3 as a starter with only one FCS loss as a full-game starter (2021 spring at UND). He’s 13 victories away from breaking the FCS record for QB wins currently held by NDSU’s Easton Stick (49-3 career record).
Protecting Gronowski will be key for an offensive line that needs to replace three starters.
Gus Miller (6’3″ 290 lbs) returns after grading out as PFF’s No. 1 FCS center. He also won the Rimington Award as the best center in the FCS. Evan Beerntsen (6’4″ 300 lbs) is also back after an All-MVFC season. Beerntsen was the No. 6-graded FCS offensive guard on PFF.
Quinten Christensen (6’5″ 295 lbs) will probably work his way into the starting lineup after playing a lot of reps last year in packages that included six offensive linemen. SDSU added two D1 transfers who look to make an impact. Marcus Hicks is a large human being (6’5″ 305 lbs) coming in from Oklahoma. And Sam Hagen is another large transfer, both literally and figuratively. The 6-foot-6, 325-pounder started all 12 games at right guard last season on a good North Dakota o-line. He also started five games at right tackle in 2022.
Amar Johnson takes over the RB1 role after two productive seasons behind Isaiah Davis. He averaged 6.6 yards per carry in 2022, carrying the ball 63 times for 414 yards and three TDs in eight games. Last fall, Johnson rushed 128 times for 801 yards (6.3 YPC) and four scores. Angel Johnson will have a bigger role after averaging 8.9 yards per carry last year, rushing for 381 yards and five TDs on only 43 carries.
Griffin Wilde has a chance to be the next big-time SDSU wide receiver. The 6-foot-2 and 195-pounder caught 20 passes for 399 yards and six touchdowns last year as a true freshman. The next most productive pass-catcher is Grahm Goering (6’3″ 200 lbs), who had 13 catches for 171 yards in 2023.
SDSU really likes its backup QB Chase Mason. Mason is an elite athlete at 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds. The South Dakota native had FBS interest out of high school, but he began his career on the Nebraska baseball team before transferring to SDSU in 2022. He’ll likely factor into the offense with certain designed packages.
Defensive Outlook
The Jackrabbits bring back eight of their top 13 tacklers from last year’s historic defense, which allowed an FCS-best 9.3 points per game.
The top two tacklers, linebackers Jason Freeman and Isaiah Stalbird, are gone. But multi-time All-American Adam Bock returns. Bock has 344 career tackles, 25 tackles for loss, and 10.5 sacks, although he’s been slowed by injuries the last two seasons. He looks to return to his 2021 form when he racked up 125 tackles, 9.5 TFLs, 2.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, two interceptions, and eight passes defended. Despite missing five games last fall, he finished third on the team with 65 tackles.
SDSU has solid linebacker experience returning alongside Bock. Graham Spalding (143 career tackles), Caleb Francl (55 career tackles), and Daeton Mcgaughy (60 career tackles) are all fifth or sixth-year seniors with starting experience.
The Jackrabbits had arguably the best group of safeties in the FCS last year, a room that stays intact. Tucker Large is an All-American-level player who totaled 49 tackles, four interceptions, and nine pass breakups in 2023. He’s also a top punt returner in the country. Cale Reeder finished fifth on the team with 58 tackles last fall, Colby Huerter totaled 42 tackles, and Matthew Durrance played a lot of snaps, tallying 25 tackles.
Cornerback DyShawn Gales is off to the NFL, but two-time All-MVFC CB Dalys Beanum returns. The 6-foot-1 Beanum has 88 career tackles, 11 interceptions, and 29 passes defended.
SDSU loses three of its four starting defensive linemen from the national championship game, returning Jarod DePriest (6’5″ 285 lbs) at defensive tackle. The Jacks had a strong rotation across the d-line and six of the 11 players listed on the two-deep return this fall. Defensive end Zac Wilson will be looked at to step up. Blake Peterson, a 2023 transfer from Iowa State, should also be an impact player at DE after missing half of last season due to injury.
2024 Preseason Preview Central
8/31 at Oklahoma State
9/7 vs No. 12 UIW
9/14 vs Augustana
9/21 at Southeastern Louisiana
10/5 at Northern Iowa
10/12 vs No. 23 Youngstown State
10/19 at No. 2 North Dakota State
10/26 vs No. 5 South Dakota
11/2 vs Murray State
11/9 at North Dakota
11/16 vs No. 9 Southern Illinois
11/23 at Missouri State
Bold indicates MVFC games
HERO Sports’ rankings
RV = Received Votes
See Republican Zach Lahn speak after primary win in governor’s race
GOP gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn speaks to his supporters during an election night watch party on June 2, 2026, in West Des Moines.
The makeup of the Legislature was up in the air as of 1 a.m. after South Dakota’s primary election.
Ten Republican state lawmakers ousted in 2024 are angling to get their seats back in 2026. Results were mixed for the nine who had primaries on Tuesday, with results still coming in for several races and others set for possible recounts.
Shawn Bordeaux of Rosebud won the state’s only Democratic primary, beating Troy “Luke” Lunderman for a chance to return to the state Senate.
Bordeaux will face Chamberlain Republican Rebecca Reimer in November’s general election. Reimer, who was term-limited in the state House of Representatives, beat Lower Brule Sen. Tamara Grove in Tuesday’s primary.
In Watertown’s District 5, Rep. Josephine Garcia fell in a state Senate primary to incumbent Sen. Glen Vilhauer. Garcia beat Byron Callies in the 2024 primary to earn her seat in the House of Representatives, but opted to challenge Vilhauer for his Senate seat instead of seeking reelection to the House.
Callies, Vilhauer and Garcia are all from Watertown.
Vilhauer won with 59% of the vote. His was one of the first state legislative victories of the night reported on the Secretary of State’s website.
Vilhauer won handily, but he said he wasn’t necessarily expecting to as polls opened on Tuesday.
“I knew it was going to be a battle going in,” Vilhauer said. “She worked hard on her side, and I didn’t know what to expect.”
Callies was among the first to call Vilhauer to congratulate him, around 9:30 p.m.
“I’m happy, because Glen’s a solid legislator,” said Callies, who’s angling to win his seat back in the general election.
Garcia did not return a call seeking comment.
In District 21, Sen. Mykala Voita of Bonesteel beat former Sen. Erin Tobin of Winner in a rematch of their 2024 contest, which Voita won by a few dozen votes that year. This time around, Voita bested Tobin by 1,002 votes.
In response to a request for comment, Voita sent a text reading “Glory to God!”
Tobin did not return a call from South Dakota Searchlight about her race after it was called, but said earlier in the evening she would be “at peace” with the results regardless of what they might be.
Another rematch saw Yanktonites Lauren Nelson and Jean Hunhoff battling for District 18’s state Senate seat. Nelson was a newcomer in 2024 when she beat Hunhoff, who’d spent decades in the Capitol between stints in the House and Senate. On Tuesday, Nelson held off Hunhoff, winning by 243 votes.
Other notable races
- District 4 Rep. Dylan Jordan of Clear Lake, first elected in 2024, finished fourth in a five-way race. As of 1 a.m. Wednesday, he trailed Ryan Kohl of Milbank and former Rep. Fred Deutsch of Florence, in first and second place, respectively. A recount is possible in that race, with 59 votes separating the top two vote-getters while Rep. Kent Roe, of Hayti, came in third place, with 72 fewer votes than Deutsch.
- District 4 has two possible recounts. In the other, Bryant’s Stephanie Sauder beat Clear Lake’s Tim Begalka by 105 votes in the unofficial tally from the Secretary of State.
- District 1 Rep. Logan Manhart of Aberdeen, elected in the 2024 primary, fell to Rep. Nick Fosness, a hospital administrator appointed by Gov. Larry Rhoden in 2025, and newcomer Daniel Kjos.
- Another recount was possible as of Wednesday at 1 a.m., in the District 16 race for House of Representatives. Rep. John Shubeck of Beresford trailed Lisa Bogue of Beresford by 245 votes in unofficial results. Jason VanDenTop of Canton was in third place, trailing Shubeck by 68 votes.
Vote totals incomplete
- Sen. John Carley of Piedmont, who won his first term in 2024, trailed William Meirose of Sturgis by 166 votes as of 1 a.m. Wednesday.
- Former Rep. Tyler Tordsen led Rep. Tony Kayser by two votes in the District 14 primary, with results still coming in. The Sioux Falls men are vying for second place and a spot on the November general election ballot alongside Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt of Sioux Falls, who led by more than 600 votes early Wednesday.
- District 28 Sen. Sam Marty of Prairie City was in a close race with former legislator Ryan Maher of Isabel.
- Former Rep. Gary Cammack of Union Center, who lost his seat in 2024, and Gary Deering of Hereford, led Reps. Terri Jorgenson of Piedmont and Kathy Rice of Blackhawk in the District 29 race.
- In District 30, Hot Springs Sen. Amber Hulse led former Sen. Julie Frye-Mueller of Rapid City by more than 1,300 votes.
- Former Sen. David Johnson of Rapid City led Sen. Curt Voight of Rapid City in a rematch of their 2024 race for District 33 Senate in early results.
- Rep. Heather Baxter of Rapid City has signaled her intention to challenge sitting Secretary of State Monae Johnson for the Republican nomination to that constitutional office at the state’s Republican Party convention this summer. In early results, Baxter trailed former Rapid City Rep. Becky Drury and Rep. Mike Derby in the District 34 primary.
- Early results in the District 35 primary put Sen. Greg Blanc, elected in 2024, in a close race with fellow Rapid City resident Nicole Mitzel.
South Dakota Searchlight is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
South Dakota
Republican businessman Toby Doeden advances to primary runoff in South Dakota governor’s race
Republican businessman Toby Doeden has advanced to a runoff in South Dakota governor’s race, NBC News projects.
Gov. Larry Rhoden, who replaced Kristi Noem last year when President Donald Trump nominated her to lead the Department of Homeland Security, was battling with Rep. Dusty Johnson and former state House Speaker Jon Hansen for a second spot in the July 28 runoff. The primary will go to a runoff because no candidate eclipsed 35% of the vote.
Trump did not issue an endorsement in the race. Doeden branded himself on his campaign website as “a total political outsider who’s tired of the government’s failure to deliver on its promises” and one of Trump’s “fiercest supporters.”
Rhoden, a former lieutenant governor, agriculture secretary and lawmaker, campaigned on property tax cuts and lowering crime in his bid for a four-year term.
Johnson is the state’s lone representative in the House, where he previously was chair of the Republican Main Street Caucus. Hansen, who was elected to the South Dakota House in 2010, held several leadership positions before he became speaker.
The Republican nominee will be the favorite to win the general election in the solidly red state this fall. A Democrat has not served as governor in South Dakota since the 1970s, and Trump carried the state by 29 points in 2024.
News
Agronomist: eastern South Dakota crops hit and miss
An agronomist in eastern South Dakota says corn and soybeans are hit and miss as the growing season begins.
Steven Zemlicka with AgTegra Cooperative tells Brownfield, “We’ve got corn anywhere from V1 all the way up to V4. Biggest stuff’s maybe touching V5. Corn’s coming right along, looks pretty good. A little bit of hail here too, but I don’t think it’s going to be much of an issue. Stands for the most part are pretty good, pretty solid.”
Zemlicka says soybean emergence has been slow due to the wet, cool conditions, and there are a few fields that still need planted.
“People were still working on planting soybeans when we got the recent rain.”
He says recent rain totals ranged from a half inch to as much as four inches in the northeast part of South Dakota; the southern part of the state has been drier.
South Dakota’s corn is rated 61 percent good to excellent, with soybean conditions rated 57 percent good to excellent, according to USDA’s first condition ratings of the season.
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