WOW! You are all hungry for some Jackrabbit football. I didn’t anticipate as much interest in my first 5 questions article which ultimately turned into a position group preview. In this article, I’ll take a look at the remaining position groups entering spring ball and do my best to share what I know about the room and project how I think it will go.
With Mark gone, what does the QB room look like?
The Jackrabbits quarterback room is far from empty with #7 Chase Mason (6-4, 230) set to take the reigns. Last season he had limited passing opportunities but overall, I liked what I saw. He went 17 for 26 for 133 yards and 2 TD. Obviously, we all wanted to see more passing opportunities for him especially as a counter to the power running game but that did not happen for whatever reason. As a runner, he was pretty dang impressive carrying the ball 46 times for 464 yards and 6 TDs. Teams will certainly have to prepare for that and I look for Coach Eidsness to unlock the next left for Chase. #5 Jon Bell (6-3, 195) is not the dual threat QB that Mason is but he does throw a really nice, accurate ball, which is where his advantage lies. In limited action last season he completed 7 of 14 passes for 96 yards and 1 TD. The new guy in the mix will be St. Thomas transfer Tak Tateoka. It sounds like he was in a time share at St. Thomas but in 18 games spread across the last two seasons he passed for 1,884 yards and 15 TDs. This past season he rushed for 116 yards and 3 TDs with a long of 29 yards as well.
After these three there are a trio of Jacks (Amer, Henry, and Thue). These guys will battle in the future but this spring will need to learn the intricacies of Coach E’s offense and any terminology that may be different from last year. Preston Otter joins next fall as the incoming freshman.
Can Alpers and Gannon carry the load?
The tight end room had really high expectations heading into last season and then sort of sputtered along until the very end of the season when it felt like they sort of became part of the offensive game plan again. The guy who maybe experienced the most growth through the course of the season was #83 David Alpers (6-6, 240) who finished with 9 receptions for 164 yards and 1 TD. As the season went along, Alpers became a very good run blocker and 7 of his 9 receptions came in November and December. Again, it felt like he should have been part of the offensive game plan much sooner than he was last season. #88 Greyton Gannon finished with 9 receptions for 113 yards and 1 TD. Gannon dealt with an injury for most of the MVFC schedule but started the season hot including a 41 yard catch and run TD against UIW. If he can stay healthy, I really like the combo that him and David form. I really like #43 Andrew Gustad (6-1, 235) as a h-back/fullback type and I thought he performed well on special teams last season. #40 Brayden Delahoyde (6-5, 220) has as high of a ceiling as anyone in this room. Washington State wanted him but he chose to stay loyal to his state school. He did win scout offensive player of the week two times last fall and I am excited to see the jump he takes this spring. He will need to be ready to contribute next fall.
The Jackrabbits did add the athletic Jalyn Thompson (Iowa) to the room this semester. Jalyn attended the powerhouse Dowling Catholic and had 22 receptions for 305 yards his senior season. His senior year highlight tape shows a big and athletic kid with good hands. He should fit right into the room!
I don’t know if any of the 2025’s will be ready to contribute immediately at TE. It is a tough position to learn and is also physically demanding with all of the in-line blocking they must do. Jozef Reisz may be the top candidate to play but that is simply a guess at this point.
Who is the next link in the #ChainGang?
The Jackrabbit defensive line is certainly a unit that brings back talent but I also have questions about the depth. I think the group starts with the return of #94 Kobe Clayborne (6-0, 275), #55 Aaron Wolfcale-Holsten (6-2, 285), and #51 Logan Green (6-4, 290) at defensive tackle. You could win a lot of games with these three as your primary DTs. Clayborne, who entered the transfer portal and was heavily recruited but chose to return, also has the ability to play end and that is maybe where his best reps came in 2024. He fished last season with 34 total tackles and 4.5 sacks. Wolfcale-Holsten is so dang disruptive when he is in the game and healthy. He had 14 tackles last season and 2.5 sacks. He did manage to play in 15 games last season which is a good sign. I think he is in line for a big year! Green’s stats don’t tell the whole story as he had just 8 tackles and 1 sack but the man is incredibly hard to move off of the line of scrimmage and eats up blocks. This could finally be the time that #91 Jace Sifore (6-4, 290) breaks out. It is a new coaching staff with fresh eyes and he now should have the strength to go with the frame and athleticism that everyone who has worked with him has raved about. This is a huge spring for Jace. #71 Max Chapman (6-2, 300) and #98 Mac Muller (6-1, 270) are two young DTs that I know the previous staff was really excited about. They both have wrestling backgrounds and came in as big strong kids that played with good leverage. Muller won scout defensive awards twice last fall I’m curious to see how the new defensive staff will ask these tackles to play.
In the portal the Jacks added Brody Targgart (6-2, 285) from Iowa Western Community College, one of the top CC’s in the country. While there he had 24 tackles and 1.5 sacks across 14 games. His highlights show another really high motor run defender who sheds blocks well. His tape shows a guy with heavy hands that really rocks opposing guards with his punch. We’ll see if that carries over to the MVFC.
The defensive end group is also pretty exciting. As stated above, Clayborne‘s ability to play outside and inside gives the group some real flexibility. #99 Dawson Ripperda (6-4, 245) and #97 Reis Kirschenman (6-4, 245) were two HUGE keeps from going to Washington State. Both of these two battled through injuries but when they were right, they were the top two defensive ends. Ripperda finished with 23 tackles, 5.5 TFL, and 2.5 sacks. Kirschenman has that “it” factor as a pass rusher. He finished with just 10 total tackles but 6 were TFLs and 2.5 sacks. I think these two should see a huge jump this spring. After these three, it is a bit uncertain. #50 Nick Wells (6-4, 260) was really starting to see his playing time increase a knee injury vs. NDSU on October 19th ended his season. He still finished with 6 tackles and 2 TFL. His aggressiveness is something I really enjoy watching. He’ll miss this spring and likely most of summer. Hopefully the Jacks can get him back sometime next fall!
#92 Sam Watts (6-3, 245), #66 Rhett Schaefer (6-3, 240), and #46 Blake Leiferman (6-5, 250) are three young guys that need to have a good showing this spring. Watts won Scout Player of the Week 3x while Schaefer and Leiferman captured it 2x last fall. At this point, I don’t know much about these guys but I know they are all high effort type players. Pending on how spring ball goes and Wells’ recovery, this could be a group where the Jacks look to add via the portal. There isone outstanding offer to Targgart’s teammate at IWCC, Cam Done. He’d be a big addition simply for the depth alone!
We all know that the MVFC is tough on young guys in the trenches. 2025s, Liam Shaw, Daniel Bradley, and Luke Krempges may be three that look physically ready to contribute but I think it may be best to let them get stronger in the weight room next fall and adjust to college ball.
How does the safety room shake out?
One room that will look really different but I’m pretty confident in, is the safety room. The room returns three guys #3 Dontay Johnson (6-2, 190), #27 Noah Thompson (6-0, 185) and #38 Max Stanard (5-11, 190). Dontay is a player that Jackrabbit fans have been waiting to breakout for a few years now. His play on special teams has been excellent and I think he has played pretty well when given the chance on defense. Last season, when healthy, he was very good and had 10 tackles and 2 passes defended. Thompson saw his playing time increase last season with all of the injuries to the group. He too was very good on special teams and scored a 49 yard touchdown off of Cullen McShane’s blocked punt. On defense he made 8 stops and had 1 pass defended. Max Stanard is a player to watch after he was maybe the scout team defensive player of the year. He won the scout defensive player award 2x and the special teams award 2x. He’s a player to watch this spring! *EDIT* We learned that Jalen Lee is moving from the cornerback room to the safety room this winter.*
The Jacks bolstered this room with three Big 10 transfers in Koby Bretz (Nebraska), Graham Eben (Iowa), and Jackson Powers (Minnesota). Bretz played in 16 games across across 3 seasons at Nebraska while Eben and Powers did not see the field this past season. *EDIT* We learned on our 2/17/25 live show with Coach Bergstrom that Powers will be starting out in the cornerback room. I know that Eben was heavily recruited by the previous staff and our northwest Iowa Jackrabbit fans are really excited about his commitment. His high school tape shows a player that dominated on both sides of the ball.
The Jacks added 3 safeties in the 2025 recruiting class but I don’t anticipate any playing next fall. The growth is going to come from the six guys going through spring ball now!
How many punts can Max Pelham do each practice?
This one is mostly a joke as the Jacks special teams room is still pretty empty. Max Pelham transferred from Mankato prior to last season and had one punt for 44 yards. The Jacks also return both long snappers in Kaydon Olivia and Carson Strohbeen as well as holder, Jon Bell.
The Jacks are bringing in two combo guys as part of the 2025 class but I still anticipate they will look for a couple of experienced legs in the next portal window to compete for the starting kicking job.
Go Jacks!
Matt
