BROOKINGS The South Dakota State football team opened fall camp on Wednesday morning at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
The Jackrabbits will begin the Dan Jackson era in one month when they take on Sacramento State in Brookings. SDSU has plenty of new faces on its roster, but the defensive side of the ball will be led by a familiar one in Brian Bergstrom.
Bergstrom, who is the defensive coordinator and safeties coach, was at SDSU from 2017-2021. He was the safeties coach his first two seasons in Brookings and then was promoted to co-defensive coordinator in 2019.
Bergstrom said on Wednesday that he was excited to start his second stint at SDSU and is pleased with the amount of growth the team has had since the coaching staff and team was put together in late December.
Im excited about the growth that weve made since Christmas time. Theres been a lot thats gone on, both good and bad, and were sticking together, and we have throughout. I was just excited to get out here and practice real football. Almost real football, well get in pads soon, but football with coaches. Theres plenty to clean up but Im proud of today, Bergstrom said.
The defense has players that have seen action at SDSU, but collectively as a group, they have not played together. Thats one of the biggest differences from the past five seasons where every year the Jacks brought back many starters and were a cohesive unit.
Bergstrom said one of the keys to this fall camp is going to be continuing to learn how to play with each other and make sure the chemistry is strong when they take the field a month from now.
I think the biggest area that weve grown and the biggest area that we need to continue to grow in is chemistry. Were just getting used to playing with each other now, especially after the summer. But thats also the emphasis. To get a bunch of reps so that we can develop our culture and improve our chemistry by the time we step on the field [for a game], Bergstrom said.
With just one starter returning on the defensive side of the ball, there will be plenty of position battles. Some starters may already be decided due to the fact that there are upperclassmen but Bergstrom said he thinks this fall camp will be fun because of the competition aspect at every level of the defense.
I think theres less proven guys, but in reality, every year, everyone comes in unproven. I think it really shows your ability to believe and have faith in people. Were asking them to have faith in us as coaches and were going to have faith in them. But certainly its going to be fun to have those [position] battles unfold and have them compete, Bergstrom said.
The secondary is one of the biggest question marks for the Jacks heading into the season just because of a lack of experience. Bergstrom noted three transfer cornerbacks have made an impact so far when it comes to the depth at that position. Jayden Oliver is a senior that comes from Buffalo, Jamari Holliman is a sophomore from Florida International and Isaiah Johnson is a senior from Bemidji State.
The linebacker room is one of the strongest rooms with Chase Van Tol, Cullen McShane and Joe Ollman all returning, even though they did not start last season. Bergstrom said junior Matt Goehring and redshirt freshman Boden Schiller could also see time at linebacker.
Bergstrom said there is a sure-fire strength of the defense and thats up front. He said the defensive line is deep and has experience and talent.
When two of your three defensive captains are on the defensive line, with Kobe [Clayborne] and Logan [Green], we know where our strength lies in terms of our defense. Between those guys and [Dawson] Ripperda and Reis [Kirschenman], we feel really good about the 8-10 guys that we’re going to play. Thats where our strength is and thats where it has been, Bergstrom said.
SDSU has had a top-five defense in the FCS the past three seasons. Even with the lack of returning production, Bergstrom said he believes that trend can continue if the Jacks play up to their standard.
Its the same expectation. One, to be the best that we can be, but if were going to be the best that we can be, that should put us at the top of the country in terms of production. But were not really worried about the outside. Were worried about us being the best that we can be. But that standard has not slid one centimeter, Bergstrom said.
With the likelihood of injuries at some point in the season, all of the freshmen on SDSU have to be ready to step up. Bergstrom said the coaching staff has let them know that and he mentioned a few of the young guys that could make an impact even if they arent starters.
I think theres some guys on the defensive line in Daniel Bradley and Liam Shaw and also maybe Reggie Kloehn and Sam Watts [could have an impact this season]. Those are all true freshmen. Casey Larson is a linebacker that has shown really good things since hes been here and also Andrew Price at outside linebacker. Myles Green [at cornerback] was here last spring, so I dont even feel like hes a freshman, but he is and hes a guy [that could see playing time]. We told all of [the freshmen] to be ready to play, Bergstrom said.
There will be a story on the offensive side of the ball with comments from offensive coordinator Eric Eidsness in Fridays Register.
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