Four takeaways from South Dakota football's 2024 early signing day class

VERMILLION — The past few weeks have been a whirlwind for the South Dakota football coaching staff.

Following USD’s loss to North Dakota State in the FCS quarterfinals, the Coyote coaches immediately hit the road, looking to fine tune the recruiting class it spent the season building.

A week-and-a-half later, the team released its final product, an early signing day group which consists of 19 high school recruits and four four-year transfers.

“We’re very excited,” coach Bob Nielson said in an interview Wednesday. “We feel like we added an excellent group of young men to our program today.”

From the continuation of the Miami-to-Vermillion pipeline, to the rebuilding of the linebacker core, here are four takeaways from South Dakota’s 2024 class.

With the graduation of All-American linebacker Brock Mogensen, all-MVFC linebacker Stephen Hillis and linebacker Jonathan Joanis, the team’s strongest position group this season entered the offseason shorthanded.

In turn, USD signed more linebackers than any other position Wednesday, bringing on West Central’s Crew Heier, Omaha, Nebraska product Beau Ryan, Illinois recruit Lincoln Adams and Florida product Quinton Moore Jr.

“(There is) a need there to build back the numbers,” Nielson said. “That was a position group that was hit pretty hard by graduation. And you’re always trying to keep your roster in balance, positionally. So that position group had a little higher, I don’t want to say priority, but had a higher need of getting more players as part of this class.”

Additionally, USD acquired former St. Thomas linebacker and graduate transfer Jonathan Bunce. The two-time all-Pioneer League first team player is expected to make an immediate impact for the Coyotes. Bunce had six tackles and three quarterback hurries on Sept. 9 in Vermillion when the Tommies played the Coyotes.

“He’s a guy that I think will come in and hit the ground running and be a guy that brings that experience,” Nielson said. “You try to make sure, when you’re identifying any transfer, that you are bringing somebody who is going to be a player but also be a great addition from a team chemistry standpoint. And we feel that that’s the case.”

Beneath the east stands at the DakotaDome lies a classroom, and within it, a refrigerator with a sticker on it that reads “Vermillion: The Miami of South Dakota.”

The phrase, which perhaps is a reference to Vermillion being in the southeast part of the state, is fortuitously becoming a reality thanks to a growing pipeline between Miramar High School, located just 20 miles north of Miami, and the University of South Dakota.

Three defensive backs on the Coyotes’ 2023 squad, Myles Harden, Josiah Ganues and Tim White, are all Miramar products, and on Wednesday, a fourth was added to the bunch: Jaheim Williams. The 5-foot-10, 165-pound Hollywood, Florida native passed up offers from FBS schools Appalachian State and Western Kentucky to come to Vermillion.

“Really good players, and I think it tells you something when you have young men from a high school that far away that are having such a good experience that they’re encouraging other guys from that school to come,” Nielson said. “And we couldn’t be happier to keep that connection going.”

Though time will tell, the Coyotes appeared to have an impressive haul of offensive line talent in its Wednesday signing class. Of the three high school signees and one four-year player who joined the USD’s line Wednesday, the average height is just over 6-foot-7, and the average weight is 287 pounds.

The highest-rated signee in the Coyotes’ class,

per 247 Sports

, was three-star tackle Jacob Arop, a Bellevue, Nebraska native who received an offer from Wyoming and a preferrred walk-on offer from Nebraska. Sam Hawker, a high school prospect from Wisconsin, had a preferred walk-on offer from Wisconsin, and Adrian Hawkins, a transfer from Monmouth, held an offer from North Texas. Rounding out the group is Brendon Crispe, who was an all-state player at the 5A level in Colorado.

“We got some size and length in that position group, guys that are going to develop,” Nielson said. “And that’s one of the things we want our program to be about is development and taking young men and helping them move forward from a physical development standpoint. It’s important every year that you’re bringing in a group of guys in a position group where you’re going to play five guys on the field at the same time … we feel like we’ve got a really good group of those types of young men in this class.” 

USD signed a single quarterback in this year’s class. Blue Island, Illinois native

Nick Mayfield will join the Coyotes

after producing gaudy on-field numbers that smashed the records book at Eisenhower High his senior season. Mayfield went 101 of 185 passing for 1906 yards and 26 touchdowns, and ran for 835 yards and 12 touchdowns on 61 carries.

According to Nielson, it wasn’t just Mayfield’s talent, but his personality that impressed the Coyotes’ staff.

“With quarterbacks, it’s a position where I think you have to do a good job of evaluating the individual both from an athletic standpoint, and from a fit standpoint,” Nielson said. “ I think he was really a guy that provided great leadership for his team.”