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Summer wasn't a break for Jacks
59 players stayed for workouts
By Terry Vandrovec
tvandrovec@argusleader.com
Published: August 8, 2007
BROOKINGS - It's not like other NCAA Division I teams don't do this.
Rather, the new level of commitment to summer workouts shown by the South Dakota State football players brings the program closer to being up to code at the D-I level.
"When I got here (as a freshman), guys weren't sticking around, and it was their junior year," senior linebacker Justin Kubesh said Tuesday during the team's annual media day. "Now, it's business."
A record 59 players stayed in Brookings for voluntary workouts, some giving up family vacations and jobs to do so. Some of the incoming freshmen took part. Sophomore receiver Mike Steffen missed only one training session, working around the limitations of a dislocated ankle.
The players worked out four days a week, running for one hour at 6:30 a.m. or 5:15 p.m. and lifting weights for 90 minutes once a day under the supervision of strength and conditioning coach Nathan Moe and his two graduate assistants.
Skill players took part in 7-on-7 drills twice a week, while the lineman worked on technique once a week.
And although football coaches are prohibited by the NCAA from having activity-related contact with players during the summer, each of SDSU's coaches recorded a one-hour long video playbook on DVD so the players could stay schematically sharp.
Two-a-days don't begin until Thursday and the season opener isn't until Aug. 30 at Western Illinois. But the early returns from an extended summer: A bunch of broken records in the weight room and fewer failed conditioning drills - a series of 16 110-yard runs - than ever before.
"We can't make it mandatory, but if we want to be successful as a program, this is something we have to do," said Moe, who worked at Eastern Illinois, Rice and Texas prior to joining the Jackrabbits in 2005. "It doesn't matter how strong or explosive you are in May. If you don't do anything all summer you're going to be starting from scratch come August and that's when you need to be in the best possible shape." . . .
New players
Since the end of spring camp, SDSU lost two players and added three.
Sophomore linebacker Matt Grimlie and junior cornerback Justin Horn, who each appeared in nine games last fall, have opted not to rejoin the team, but will remain in school, according to Stiegelmeier.
Meanwhile, redshirt freshman defensive back General Pernell, a transfer from Idaho, heads a list of three previously unannounced newcomers.
The 5-foot-9, 175-pound California native was penciled in as a starter for the Vandals at the end of spring ball only to wind up as one of 15 players dismissed by new coach Robb Akey. Stiegelmeier said that there were no "red flags" associated with the dismissal, and that Pernell will see extensive time on special teams and defense.
Junior receiver Saunders Montague (6-1, 190) was recruited by SDSU out of high school and now joins the team after making 29 catches for 502 yards for Scottsdale (Ariz.) Community College last fall.
True freshman receiver David Kavish (6-0, 190) caught 51 passes for 1,054 yards with 17 touchdowns and made eight interceptions in earning first-team all-state defensive honors from the Chicago Tribune and helping Sacred Heart-Griffin of Springfield repeat as Class 5A state champs. He originally planned to walk-on at Southern Illinois, turning down a scholarship offer from SDSU only to change his mind after the 90-man roster had been set and come to Brookings as a walk-on. He will join the team when school starts and - like all the true freshmen - is expected to redshirt. . . . (read more)
Go State!
Summer wasn't a break for Jacks
59 players stayed for workouts
By Terry Vandrovec
tvandrovec@argusleader.com
Published: August 8, 2007
BROOKINGS - It's not like other NCAA Division I teams don't do this.
Rather, the new level of commitment to summer workouts shown by the South Dakota State football players brings the program closer to being up to code at the D-I level.
"When I got here (as a freshman), guys weren't sticking around, and it was their junior year," senior linebacker Justin Kubesh said Tuesday during the team's annual media day. "Now, it's business."
A record 59 players stayed in Brookings for voluntary workouts, some giving up family vacations and jobs to do so. Some of the incoming freshmen took part. Sophomore receiver Mike Steffen missed only one training session, working around the limitations of a dislocated ankle.
The players worked out four days a week, running for one hour at 6:30 a.m. or 5:15 p.m. and lifting weights for 90 minutes once a day under the supervision of strength and conditioning coach Nathan Moe and his two graduate assistants.
Skill players took part in 7-on-7 drills twice a week, while the lineman worked on technique once a week.
And although football coaches are prohibited by the NCAA from having activity-related contact with players during the summer, each of SDSU's coaches recorded a one-hour long video playbook on DVD so the players could stay schematically sharp.
Two-a-days don't begin until Thursday and the season opener isn't until Aug. 30 at Western Illinois. But the early returns from an extended summer: A bunch of broken records in the weight room and fewer failed conditioning drills - a series of 16 110-yard runs - than ever before.
"We can't make it mandatory, but if we want to be successful as a program, this is something we have to do," said Moe, who worked at Eastern Illinois, Rice and Texas prior to joining the Jackrabbits in 2005. "It doesn't matter how strong or explosive you are in May. If you don't do anything all summer you're going to be starting from scratch come August and that's when you need to be in the best possible shape." . . .
New players
Since the end of spring camp, SDSU lost two players and added three.
Sophomore linebacker Matt Grimlie and junior cornerback Justin Horn, who each appeared in nine games last fall, have opted not to rejoin the team, but will remain in school, according to Stiegelmeier.
Meanwhile, redshirt freshman defensive back General Pernell, a transfer from Idaho, heads a list of three previously unannounced newcomers.
The 5-foot-9, 175-pound California native was penciled in as a starter for the Vandals at the end of spring ball only to wind up as one of 15 players dismissed by new coach Robb Akey. Stiegelmeier said that there were no "red flags" associated with the dismissal, and that Pernell will see extensive time on special teams and defense.
Junior receiver Saunders Montague (6-1, 190) was recruited by SDSU out of high school and now joins the team after making 29 catches for 502 yards for Scottsdale (Ariz.) Community College last fall.
True freshman receiver David Kavish (6-0, 190) caught 51 passes for 1,054 yards with 17 touchdowns and made eight interceptions in earning first-team all-state defensive honors from the Chicago Tribune and helping Sacred Heart-Griffin of Springfield repeat as Class 5A state champs. He originally planned to walk-on at Southern Illinois, turning down a scholarship offer from SDSU only to change his mind after the 90-man roster had been set and come to Brookings as a walk-on. He will join the team when school starts and - like all the true freshmen - is expected to redshirt. . . . (read more)
Go State!
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