2024 Roster Discussion

[bigticket1]

not so important, but curious, does anyone know about the 6th year guys? will any of them return for classes this spring? i assume the jankes, greenfield, mccormick, stahlbird, and any others that are planning to pursue professional football have finished or postponed graduate degree plans, in order to prepare for combines, drafts, free agent workouts / signings, etc...

but i would guess some of these 6 year guys will be back on campus finishing up graduate degrees? just curious who will be around

a related change is someone like Mark, who apparently has lived with one or both of the Jankes for multiple years will probably be moving or getting new roommates. assuming he will not be the only one in that boat

Jimmy said on the radio show that Zay has an apartment in Dallas where he will train, and that most of the other NFL hopefuls would not be coming back to Brookings. I think that may be part of the reason the team stayed in Texas an extra day, so that they could say the proper good-byes.

[LetsGoRabbits]

I calculate Chase at 3 yrs eligibility remaining. I would imagine Gronowski has been frank with him about his plans. If Mark says "I'm here for one more only then NFL" I would think he stays. If Mark says he wants SDSU FB to pay for his masters, maybe he goes.

Who knowa what the kids are thinking?

More importantly though: LFG!!!

i believe you totally nailed this!!

i believe Mark's plan has always been stay through next year then go NFL. complete his 4 years of playing eligibility and go to the NFL- no covid year, just like his buddy Isaiah. and surely there is lots of communication with Chase

i will be very surprised if we keep Bell and maybe lose more from the QB room, but the room is deep and adding the Dells kid who i think they are VERY excited about!!!

[LetsGoRabbits]

I just do not understand with how dynamic of an athlete Chase is that there isn't a way to get him involved even if he isn't the starting quarterback.

i am NOT claiming that i have expertise or ANY absolute knowledge of the situation!! but my family have long standing connections with multiple of Chase's close family members. again NOT claiming expertise or trying to be an expert!! from the conversations family members have had...

the lack of moving to another spot is from Chase. Chase REALLY wants to stay at QB and has NO interest in playing another spot. and this was established when he came to the Jacks. it was understood he was coming to play QB and not another position. so he knew what he was getting into and so did the Jacks! he knew Mark was here and would occupy the only position he wanted to play for multiple years

otherwise totally agree with you, i believe they would have had him at TE or just as a HUGE WR already

it just seems like they are bound to have some packages that put him on the field a bit, but that seemed true for this season also

actually this is another great example of the way the Jacks do things and WHY kids stay!! once it was established that Chase wanted to play QB and only QB there was a seemingly minimal reason for him to choose SDSU. but the Jacks talk about more than football and Ws and Ls and PT and Chase wanted to be a part of it despite the obvious PT challenges

they did not blow him any smoke about his chances of playing QB soon. they said here is the situation. we have Mark and other excellent QBs. we would LOVE to have you be a part of what we are about!! and we will do everything we can for you and help you be everything you can be no matter if you are the starter or not!! and we are going to love you if you are the number one guy or the number 200 guy!! if you want to be a part of the Jackrabbit family both the challenges and the successes we would love to have you!!

no benefit package
no you give us a better chance to win more games and we are gonna get you on the field as soon as possible
just this is who we are and we would be happy to have you join us and we think you will be glad that you did

[LetsGoRabbits]

Jimmy said on the radio show that Zay has an apartment in Dallas where he will train, and that most of the other NFL hopefuls would not be coming back to Brookings. I think that may be part of the reason the team stayed in Texas an extra day, so that they could say the proper good-byes.

thanks ticket!! i would imagine several probably did not return with the team, ala Tucker last year and apparently Zay this year

but some of the 6 year guys must be finishing degrees. can you imagine trying to go back to school after winning the NC? obviously that is just another aspect of how special these guys are. i feel like it would be a real challenge for me

[salemjack]

https://x.com/mattjzimmer/status/174...61hJI6VfYrJrpA

Not so fast

[Jackrabbit2012]

https://x.com/mattjzimmer/status/174...61hJI6VfYrJrpA

Not so fast

I'm a little confused how a reporter can specifically state in his article "he has two years of eligibility left and is planning to return to South Dakota State" if those words didn't come out of his mouth.

[salemjack]

JI is back tracking now too.

No bueno.

[Jackrabbit2012]

So per JI he is just going to school at SDSU for the entire semester to graduate but doesn't need to let the coaches or the other quarterbacks know what his plans are?

[LetsGoRabbits]

So per JI he is just going to school at SDSU for the entire semester to graduate but doesn't need to let the coaches or the other quarterbacks know what his plans are?

yep! that is exactly the way it would HAVE TO HAPPEN if he was gonna leave. he would come here to finish school. he would NOT talk to his coaches or teammates. he would NOT participate in lifting programs? and then come may say, i decided i will come back in the fall? or see y all later?

does someone really imagine that happening? and that scenario is just unimaginable. i guess if he really wanted to stay to finish school but is pretty sure he wants to leave he could talk to everyone and let them know and the coaches and players would still want him around and obviously are not gonna turn their backs on him but how would he work out with them all spring semester and watch them getting ready to go defend the two titles he helped win and NOT want to come back for just one more year?

i have said all along maybe events will prove me wrong, but it just does not seem possible

[WestSideRabbit]

So per JI he is just going to school at SDSU for the entire semester to graduate but doesn't need to let the coaches or the other quarterbacks know what his plans are?

He has made no decision yet. I'm sure the coaches and other QBs (and team) will all know soon enough. The "deadline" for today was not a real deadline in his situation with grad school.

[Jackrabbit2012]

He has made no decision yet. I'm sure the coaches and other QBs (and team) will all know soon enough. The "deadline" for today was not a real deadline in his situation with grad school.

I understand he is a kid and we need to respect his decision. This whole situation just seems weird to me. He may not have a deadline but Chase and Jon do. If an employer offers a candidate a job he can't just take as long as he needs to make the decisions while other candidates wait in the wings. Again, I am not talking smack about Mark and I am happy for him regardless of his decision. I guess this is just the world we live in now.

[jbjack]

Who knows what the rules mean anymore in college football but I presume to qualify for a grad transfer (free from portal windows) a player needs to actually graduate. If he hasn't entered the portal by whenever he'd need to today, then he's still a Jackrabbit. While Mark could certainly leave as a grad transfer next summer or enter the portal in the May window, for the time being, he's a Rabbit. I would think that if one wants to play QB at a P5 program, one would ideally be on campus for spring ball. I like our chances in that scenario. In all fairness to Mark, he's never said himself publicly that he's leaving. And if he's as professional as he seems, he wouldn't make that decision prior to Frisco, and wouldn't rush the decision during the short post championship window. It's crazy that it's come to this - assuming good players are leaving until they say otherwise.

I would think reps in spring practice will be telling. Whether it's Chase or Mark under center, I still say: LFG!!!

[bigticket1]

Who knows what the rules mean anymore in college football but I presume to qualify for a grad transfer (free from portal windows) a player needs to actually graduate. If he hasn't entered the portal by whenever he'd need to today, then he's still a Jackrabbit. While Mark could certainly leave as a grad transfer next summer or enter the portal in the May window, for the time being, he's a Rabbit. I would think that if one wants to play QB at a P5 program, one would ideally be on campus for spring ball. I like our chances in that scenario. In all fairness to Mark, he's never said himself publicly that he's leaving. And if he's as professional as he seems, he wouldn't make that decision prior to Frisco, and wouldn't rush the decision during the short post championship window. It's crazy that it's come to this - assuming good players are leaving until they say otherwise.

I would think reps in spring practice will be telling. Whether it's Chase or Mark under center, I still say: LFG!!!

Having him on campus this semester also gives the new collective some time to put together a package. There might be some big hitters who would kick in some sizable $ for this specific reason.

[RahRahRabbits]

NCAA lays it out fairly clearly in this article and NCAA transfer guide. The transfer window for fall sports is a 30-day window after FBS conference championship games (Dec 4-Jan 2 this year), plus an additional 5-day window for teams participating in CFP, bowl games, or FCS championship after those contests. In addition, there is the 15-day window from May 1-15 each spring for the fall sport participants.

Graduate transfers are treated differently though, as they are not limited to the 30+5 and 15 day portals, as long as they did complete an undergraduate degree. It appears in the link above first time grad transfers do need to notify by May 1 to not be penalized though. I believe out-of-window portal jumps for undergrads (outside of the 30+5 and 15) or late grad jumps (after May 1) would result in having to sit out a year. There doesn't appear to be any limit on grad transfers to only 1-year left, as another document declares you have to have at least 1-year eligibility remaining. That seems like just a carryover observation from traditional days before they handed out eligibility like candy on Halloween.

I believe Mark is graduating in May 2024, though it would certainly be possible for someone of his caliber to complete the BS in Mechanical Engineering degree in 3 1/2 years. Regardless, if May is the plan for graduation, and IF he is planning a change in schools/teams... he would have until May 1 to announce such intentions with the completion of an undergrad degree a couple weeks later.

All that to be said... if you're holding your breath for the next couple days waiting for a potential announcement from Mark... you might as well stop... unless you're good at holding your breath for more than 3 1/2 months.

Lots of misinformation running around, especially on the FB pages. Due to pending graduation, Mark has until May 1 to declare if he's coming back or not. Chase and Jon would have from May 1-May 15 to enter the portal if they are dissatisfied one way or the other with Mark's choice since the 5 day window from the championship game is closing today.

The only things certain in life are death, taxes, and that I will be in the stands cheering on the Jacks next fall regardless of what happens! These are all just kids with their own lives to worry about too. Cut 'em some slack, give them some space... and hold on to your hat I guess! GBGBGJ!

[73alum]

This is probably more guess work from Sam Herder, Heroes Sports saying South Dakota State will lose 18 seniors, but 16 seniors plan to return and 18 juniors who will also be seniors in Fall 2024 plan to return making 34 seniors on the roster for this Fall. It’s about 2/3 the way into the article. Hope address is correct!!
https://herosports.com/fcs-champions...t-season-bzbz/