Finals are done. Graduation is all cleaned up. The players have a few weeks away from Brookings before returning for summer workouts. This is officially the “dead period” of Jackrabbit football before the players return and the prospect camps fire up. With that being said, here is a question for each position group that I have rolling around in my head.
Quarterbacks
Who is the backup?
It appears that Jack Henry and Josh Holst have emerged as the top two contenders. Last year, once Chase Mason went down, the Jackrabbit offense struggled with consistency from drive to drive. This team has national title aspirations and if Chase misses any amount of time, a quality and consistent backup quarterback is essential. Henry showed a lot of moxie in 2025 but lacked consistency. Holst did well in Coach Eidsness’ offense in 2024 at NIU but struggled in 2025. These two both looked good this spring but it is still a battle.
Running Back
Who emerges as “the guy” this season?
Yes, we love to talk about the #Stable and how deep this group is BUT running back is often a position that takes a number of carries to get in the flow of the game. Josiah Johnson, James Basinger, and Corey Blair Jr. all saw action last season with Basinger taking a majority of the snaps early in the season and Johnson taking most of the late season carries. Blair was electric when healthy but missed a bulk of the middle part of the season with injury. They brought in Ramon McKinney and his speed and run after the catch ability was evident in the spring game. This will be a fun competition to watch!
Tight End
Who emerges from the young guys?
Coleman Kuntz and Greyton Gannon feel entrenched as the top two tight ends and they are both seniors. Ben Brooks is a name that I consistently hear in conversations and Brayden Delahoyde is a player that has flashed for his pure athleticism. The Jacks are also bringing in 3 very highly regarded freshmen tight ends this season but I don’t really see any of them pushing for playing time right away as tight end is a difficult position. With Kuntz and Gannon graduating after this season, I think the coaches will want to get some experience built up for the future. Brooks and Delahoyde will be in competition and will see plenty of action this year.
Wide Receiver
What will the snap breakdown look like?
The Jackrabbits starting trio of wide receivers is as good as any in the country. Lofton O’Groske, Grahm Goering, and Jack Smith all proved themselves last year. O’Groske was on pace for an All-American season and made some incredible catches before his season was derailed by injury. In the playoffs, Goering had 10 receptions for 212 yards and a TD. Smith is so crafty as a route runner and just made plays when the ball was in his hands in 2025. Behind those three are Sammy Dresie, Landon Dulaney, Reese Osgood, Zac Van Meeteren and Landon Tate. Dresie looked really solid as the #4/#5 wide receiver last season. I think he’s in line for an expanded role. Dulaney has rare speed and it sounds like he tore it up this spring. Osgood’s route running really replicates what Smith does, Van Meeteren has been compared to Jackrabbit greats, and Tate played at NIU as a true freshman and was in line to start for them this season before transferring closer to home. How do the coaches get opportunities for everyone to see the field this season? I’m glad I don’t have to make that decision!
Offensive Line
How does the group gel?
As I wrote previously in my two-deep projection, I don’t think the starting five has played a snap yet together as a unit. I projected that from left to right the Jacks will go, Quinten Christensen, William Paepke, Cooper Starks, Shane Willenbring, and Kenyon BigBow. The Jacks have John Pica as a swing player who started multiple games last season. Willenbring was good at center but according the the PFF grading, he became elite at guard and I think it may be the best position for him. Christensen is an All-American with NFL aspirations. Paepke and BigBow have plenty of experience and I’m excited to see their growth this season. However, playing offensive line is a lot about communication and chemistry. It felt like this was lacking at times last season. Can this group gel together more quickly then they did a season ago? That is something I am watching.
Defensive Line
Will this group have more depth than in 2025?
The #ChainGang has the best starting four (Ripp, Sifore, Green, and Reis) in the FCS. However, at this position group, that really doesn’t matter. You need to have quality depth in order to win a national championship. The season gets too long and there are too many injuries. To combat that, the Jacks brought in two experienced D2 transfers in Carter Sitzman (DE) and Ashton Sayre (DT). These are grown men who absolutely raise the ceiling. That gets you to 6 guys that can play. I believe we still need to be deeper than that. At end, it’ll be a battle with Leiferman, Krempges, LeBrun and Shaw along with a very talented group of freshmen ends all competing to make the travel roster. On the interior, Sam Christensen, Mac Muller, Brody Targgart, and Danny Bradley are all trying to earn a spot.
Linebacker
Who comes off the field in nickel situations?
The Jackrabbits defense under Coach Stig rarely strayed from it’s base 4-3 defense, even as offenses continued to put more and more receivers on the field. Under Jimmy and now under Coach Jackson, the Jackrabbit’s have utilized a nickel more regularly. I think the one player who you want to keep on the field is Chase Van Tol. His movement skills and coverage skills are elite and he is just a true difference maker when healthy. That means that the player coming off will either be Cullen McShane or Joe Ollman/Jes Krcil. Ollman forced 3 fumbles last year, had an interception and a fumble recovery, and had 3 PBUs. IF the starting lineup is McShane, Krcil, and Van Tol, I could see Ollman coming in for those nickel situations to pair with Van Tol because of his reliability and nose for the ball. If this is the biggest question we have at linebacker entering the season, we are sitting pretty good!
Cornerback
Will this group be better than in 2025?
The group as a whole in 2025 struggled and lacked consistency from rep to rep let alone game to game. To me, this group having a spring together (minus Jayden Robertson) is HUGE. It gave them more time to learn the technique and terminology that this coaching staff utilizes. I really like whatever combination is rolled out but until we see it on a college football Saturday, we really don’t know. Besides Robertson, other names to watch are Kearny transfer Ife Current, White Water transfer Paul Kim, VMI transfer Amaje Parker, and holdovers Noah St-Juste, Myles Green, and Jamari Holliman. These six were all here for the spring. Again, its a talented freshmen class and Robert Hunter was an early enrollee.
Safety
Who plays where?
The safety group, after being a pillar of consistency for the last handful of years, struggled in 2025. The one guy who has seen plenty of time over his career is Dontay Johnson. When healthy, he has all conference potential. I think he is slotted in to start. Opposite him though, it’s any ones guess. I could see Myles Green or Amaje Parker sliding into the spot opposite him. I could see Saddleback College transfer Noah Luginbill being the guy opposite him. Max Stanard is in the mix as well after an impressive spring. Tank Farr, an early enrollee, turned some heads this spring too and actually started the spring game. This group has a ton of potential but again, it’s one of those competitions that we will just have to wait and see.
Special Teams
Who is the kicker?
The Jackrabbits landed their 2025 kicker, Eli Stader, in the middle of August last year after it was determined he still had a year of eligibility remaining. The Jacks relied upon true freshman, Ryan Harrington, to handle the kickoff duties and he did really well in that role until a late season slump. The Jacks brought in Nebraska transfer Tristan Alvano to compete with Harrington and it sounds like they had a battle this spring. It wouldn’t shock me to see Harrington handle the kickoff duties again this fall with Alvano handling field goals.
Go Jacks!
Matt
One Response
Matt,
ExcellentX2. Thanks for doing this ….Old duffer thoughts:
Football life begins with the O-Line, ours has individuals, but 0 group experience. That frightens me. We should know early in the season-NLT 5 Sep, are we good-to-go? I’m not a fan of the DB room, based totally on last year’s failures. Current room has flash/bang, but not much cohesion. Coaching there is a worry. Rest looks good-to great. I live 80 miles from Nashville.
Thanks again