It has been well documented that the Jackrabbit secondary was slammed this off season with graduation and the transfer portal.  Dalys Beanum, Colby Huerter, and Steven Arrell graduated.  Cale Reeder, Tucker Large, Matt Durrance, Colby Humphrey, and Trey Ridley all transferred to Washington State.  These 8 spent most of last season holding down the secondary in some combination in 2023 and 2024.  The Jackrabbits did return three contributors in cornerbacks Ayden Dauterman, Myles Taylor, and Jalen Lee. Taylor did leave the team for the back half of last season and Lee played with the safety group during spring ball. At safety, Dontay Johnson was in the rotation, has been a special teams demon, but has struggled to stay healthy and Noah Thompson saw some action but it wasn’t extensive.

If the Jacks had to go into the season with these five as the starters they could certainly get by.  Behind them however, were young and untested players.  We all know that the MVFC tests every teams depth due to the physical play style and that injuries are almost guaranteed.  It is part of the reason why the safety depth and rotation was so deep.  The Jacks needed to add some help and experience to round out the rooms.

In the cornerback room they added Isaiah Johnson (Bemidji State), Jayden Oliver (Buffalo), Jamari Holliman (FIU), and Jackson Powers (Minnesota) to Dauterman, Taylor, Cody Cotton, and Noah St-Juste.  In the safety room they added Koby Bretz (Nebraska), Zayid Aziz (Georgetown), Jason Thome (Colorado Mesa), Ernest Blackshire Jr (DuPage College), and Graham Eben (Iowa) to Johnson, Lee, Thompson, and Max Stanard.

These transfers obviously added numbers to the room (certainly a need) but they also are really talented with some having lots of in-game experience.  I like these additions because they aren’t all just 1 season players.  The years are staggered in a way that builds continuity.  Johnson, Oliver, Bretz, and Aziz are 1 year guys (I believe but who knows with how NCAA eligibility has been going).  Thome and Blackshire have 2 years remaining.  Holliman has 3 years and Eben and Powers have 4 years remaining. I also really like the mix of FBS, FCS, and D2/JUCO players.  SDSU has had plenty of success recruiting players from all levels of football over the last handful of years.

At corner, Isaiah Johnson was an All-NSIC selection last season at Bemidji State while Oliver started 5 games at Buffalo in 2023 but has battled injuries throughout his career.  In the safety room, Bretz was a special teams dynamo for Nebraska that never got much of a shot in the base defense.  Aziz was a two year starter at Georgetown who had good production.  Thome was an All-conference selection and has 9 interceptions in just 21 career games and Blackshire who projects as a Sam/Nickel type, was part of a dominant program at DuPage and produced.

The competition this summer will be fierce to see who lines up across from Sacramento State’s skilled pass catchers on August 30th.  Whoever does not crack the starting lineup will need to be ready because their number will get called at some point during the season or they will have the opportunity to make a momentum turning play on special teams.   I’m excited to see how this group blends together and how Coach Bergstrom and staff deploys their talents!  Yes, we will take a deeper look at the secondary and interview Coach McLin (corners) and Coach Armand (safeties) later this summer.

Go Jacks!

Matt