SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The credit goes to social media posts and phone calls for helping retain players for new South Dakota State University football head coach Dan Jackson.
The landscape of college football is changing and SDSU was not immune to that, as it learned on Dec. 28 when former head coach Jimmy Rogers said he was leaving for Washington State, SDSU president Barry Dunn said.
The university needed a new head coach and players needed to be retained and a group of supporters helped in the process,” Dunn said during a Friday news conference to formally introduce Jackson.
“There was a group of supporters who made the calls and said just the right thing at just the right time,” Dunn said of the response after Rogers’ departure.
Some of the most notable social media posts came from SDSU graduate and NFL player Tucker Kraft, who encouraged players to stay at the university.
Jackson himself talked about how retired head coach John Stiegelmeier contacted players to encourage them to stay with SDSU. Stiegelmeier’s contact “helped calm them down,” Jackson said.
He also mentioned Kraft called him at least once to encourage him.
Still, more than 20 players entered the transfer portal after former head coach Jimmy Rogers announced he was leaving to be head coach at Washington State on Dec. 28. The transfers include quarterback Mark Gronowski who committed to Iowa and wide receiver, Griffin Wilde who who plans to transfer to Northwestern. Several other players also plan to follow Rogers to Washington State.
When Rogers told officials he was leaving on Dec. 28, it set off what Dunn called a “rapid fire response.”
Rogers was named the head coach in January 2023 and led SDSU to a national championship in 2024. Before Rogers, John Stiegelmeier was the coach for 26 years.
Dunn said the athletic department and other staff started the process to hire a new head coach “very quickly and without hesitation.” Jackson was hired on Dec. 31.
“It took an effort from the president down to graduate assistants,” athletic director Justin Sell said.
“There is no way we would have hired a coach in 3 1/2 days without (Dunn’s) support,” Sell said.
Jackson is a former SDSU assistant. He had just taken the job as defensive coordinator at New Mexico about a week prior to accepting SDSU’s job.
Although the landscape of college football is changing with the transfer portal and Name, Image and Likeness contracts, Jackson said he is ready for those challenges. “To me, the transfer portal gives players mobility,” he said.
Yet, programs can keep players who believe in the program’s system, Jackson said.
“There’s a selectiveness to the type of player we are going to bring into the program,” Jackson said.
The players may not have all the best talent but they will be players that can develop, he said. Providing players resources and developing skills is a role Jackson said he relishes as a coach.
Although, Sell said “This place is bigger than any one person,” Jackson was the right choice for SDSU. Sell cited Jackson’s success as a coach and his ties to SDSU. Jackson was a graduate assistant and promoted to cornerbacks coach and recruiting coordinator in 2014. He left for Northern Illinois in 2019.
For Jackson, it’s always been a dream to be a college head coach and he found it with the right program. “This is the best job in FCS football. This is the best head coaching job in college football,” Jackson said.
Jackson will still need to recruit players but Dunn had comments for those who stayed and those who plan to join SDSU, “I’m so proud of you. I am so grateful to you.”
