BROOKINGS — South Dakota State is getting an early start on spring practice this year.
The Jackrabbits take the field on Tuesday at 6:30 a.m. for the first of their 15 organized practices. The Jacks will go three times this week — Tuesday, Thursday, Friday — then break for 11 days and get back to practice on March 24. From there the practices are spaced out through the Spring Game on April 18.
Here are the practice dates, followed by five position groups that figure to have interesting competition throughout the spring.
March 10
March 12
March 13
March 24
March 26
March 27
March 31
April 2,
April 7
April 9
April 11
April 14
April 16
April 17
April 18, Spring Game, Time TBD
Backup quarterback
The Jacks are set at QB1 with Chase Mason, and it became apparent last year just how integral No. 7 is to SDSU’s success, as they went 8-1 with him in the lineup and 1-4 without him. If Mason goes down again this year you can bet SDSU will want to be more prepared to weather his absence.
South Dakota State quarterback Jack Henry (16) throws a pass downfield during the Dakota Marker college football rivalry game against North Dakota State on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, at Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings.
Landon Dierks / Mitchell Republic
Jack Henry returns after seeing his first significant action as a redshirt freshman last year, and while Henry certainly showed flashes of having starter ability there wasn’t enough consistency for the Jacks to hand him the role of top backup heading into 2026. As such, SDSU brought in plenty of competition. Josh Holst is a junior transfer from Northern Illinois with FBS starting experience — he was MVP of the Potato Bowl in 2024. And Anthony Rezac is a former Nebraska high school player of the year who spent the last two seasons at Notre Dame.
The battle to be Mason’s backup, and earn a head start on the QB1 role for 2027, should be a heated one.
Running back
Last year SDSU brought in transfers Julius Loughridge and Nate White to form a 1-2 punch, only for White to die tragically in his sleep just after spring ball ended. Loughridge picked up the slack admirably, rushing for over 1,000 yards, but White’s absence forced him to carry a heavy physical toll.
SDSU running back James Basinger (32) fights through a pile of defenders during practice on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025 at Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings.
Matt Zimmer/Sioux Falls Live
A trio of freshmen — James Basinger, Corey Blair and Josiah Johnson — all saw action behind Loughridge and all three showed promise. They’ll all be competing for carries this spring, while the Jacks again made sure to bring in a proven veteran, adding Ramon McKinney. A 5-10, 180-pound junior, McKinney rushed for 1,093 yards and 15 touchdowns last year for Division II Northeastern State.
Brenden Begeman, a 6-2, 210-pound junior who was injured last season, will also be back looking to establish a role as a power back.
Offensive line
The #605Hogs had an up and down 2025 season with plenty of moving parts. Quinten Christensen held down the fort at left tackle but injuries and late-season struggles led to the coaching staff tinkering with the rest of the lineup. Christensen is back, as are 2025 starters William Paepke, Kenyon Big Bow and Shane Willenbring and swing man John Pica.
SDSU offensive tackle Quinten Christensen (69) goes through a drill with teammate Kenyon Big Bow (62). Chrisensen is entering his second season as the Jacks starting left tackle.
Matt Zimmer/Sioux Falls Live
To that group the Jacks added transfers Cooper Starks (Vanderbilt) and Jae’Shaun Thomas (Minnesota Duluth), while they also have an upcoming group of promising underclassmen in Lincoln Semchenko, Kyan Rauk and Micah Hatch, among others.
It will be interesting to see who takes hold of starting roles, what rotations the Jacks use and if they’re willing to shift players to different positions within games like they did down the stretch last year.
Secondary
For the second straight season the Jacks will have a high amount of turnover in their defensive backfield. Cornerbacks Isaiah Johnson, Myles Taylor, Aydan Dautermann and Jayden Oliver are gone, as are safeties Jalen Lee and Koby Bretz.
SDSU defensive coordinator Brian Bergstrom talks over a play with safeties Noah Thompson (27) and Graham Eben (20) during practice on Tuesday, March 4, 2025 at the SJAC in Brookings.
Matt Zimmer/Sioux Falls Live
Noah St. Juste and Myles Green return at cornerback while Dontay Johnson and Noah Thompson are back at safety, and the Jacks added depth to both groups in the portal. Amaje Parker, a 6-0, 190-pound junior from VMI, and Jack Johnson, an All-NSIC pick at MSU-Moorhead, will compete at safety.
At cornerback the Jacks added a pair of big veterans in seniors Ife Current (6-2, 195 from Nebraska-Kearney) and Henry Pickens (6-1, 180 from Duquesne), and a pair of juniors in Jamari Holliman (FIU) and Paul Kim, who was a D3 All-American at Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Not only will the competition for starting spots be intense, but the depth should allow defensive coordinator Brian Bergstrom to use big rotations and fresh bodies on Saturdays in the fall.
Kicker
When Jack Stevens followed Jimmy Rogers to Washington State it left the Rabbits without a kicker for 2025. They pulled former SF Jefferson kicker Anthony Erickson (a Vinatieri relative) out of the student body to kick in the spring, and were prepared to roll with him until NAIA All-American Eli Stader became available. Stader had a decent year but he’s gone now.
Tristan Alvano was Nebraska’s primary kicker as a freshman and will now look to take over that role for South Dakota State.
Nebraska athletics
To replace him the Jacks brought in Tristan Alvano, a transfer from Nebraska with real Big Ten experience. Alvano was the Huskers’ primary kicker as a freshman in 2023, making 9-of-15 field goals, then was limited to four games by injury in 2024 and lost his job in ’25. The last time SDSU brought in a transfer kick from Nebraska it worked well in Cole Frahm. Ryan Harrington, a sophomore who saw a few reps last year, returns as insurance.
Matt Zimmer is a Sioux Falls native and longtime sports writer. He graduated from Washington High School where he played football, legion baseball and developed his lifelong love of the Minnesota Twins and Vikings. After graduating from St. Cloud State University, he returned to Sioux Falls, and began a long career in amateur baseball and sports reporting. Email Matt at mzimmer@siouxfallslive.com.