SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The SDSU football team claimed the national championship back in January, and the Jackrabbits continue to bring joy to fans around the state.
The Jacks held a meet and greet at Great Shots in Sioux Falls this past weekend, where their fans continued to show their support.
“It’s something that the whole city of Brookings been looking for, for a long time now and honestly, the whole state of South Dakota. Ever since we won, it’s just been crazy everywhere we went, events like this, where a lot of the community is showing a lot of love to us,” SDSU linebacker Jason Freeman said.
SDSU is in the midst of their spring season as they gear up for their national title defense this fall alongside new head coach Jimmy Rogers.
“A lot of the guys really like him and he’s pushing us to be even better than we were last year, which is awesome. He’s holding us to a higher standard than we hold ourselves to sometimes,” SDSU quarterback Mark Gronowski said.
The reigning champs have lost a few players to both the NFL Draft and the transfer portal allowing other Jacks to shine this upcoming season.
“We’re losing some good guys that we had last season, but that’s what we had last season, a lot of guys got injured and a lot of guys stepped up. The focus we’ve had during spring ball, you can see a lot of those guys who weren’t playing as much are stepping up to those big roles. So I’m looking forward to the fall,” Freeman said.
“We have the veteran group that has taken a ton of reps and they don’t need as many reps to polish up, so that will really be what the fall will be. This spring is really trying to develop talent and develop our youth right now,” Rogers said
Heading into the spring game the Jackrabbits are not expecting much to change, including the fan support.
“What to expect, the same type of style of play in which we play with, which is aggressive on defense and then attacking on offense. I’m excited to see the fans come out and show up to support,” coach Rogers said.
The spring game is set for Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
